The Sounders got back to their winning ways on Saturday afternoon when they shut out Sporting Kansas City 3-0 in the first match-up between the two long-time rivals this season. The western conference affair marked the fourth of a five-game homestand for the Sounders in which they have yet to taste defeat. But after letting a 1-0 lead versus league-leading LAFC slip and having to settle for one point instead of the full three, Seattle was chomping at the bit to make that right against SKC this weekend. Although they were hampered with injuries, most notably to regular starters Raúl Ruidíaz, Xavier Arreaga, and Obed Vargas, the boys in rave green came up with a trio of goals and earned three key points on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Lumen Field.
Seattle didn’t take too long to score when Jackson Ragen hit a beautiful cross-field switch ball that was then brought down by Alex Roldan for his brother Cristian Roldan to send it in to the box where Will Bruin was ready to head the ball in the back of the net to give the Sounders a 1-0 lead in the 8th minute. Bruin’s tally marked the second game in a row where Seattle managed to score the match’s first goal, even with the absence of Raúl Ruidíaz. “I wasn’t worried when Raúl went down,” said Schmetzer. “Raúl is our No. 1 guy, but I have complete faith in both Fredy (Montero) and Will (Bruin). Last time Will had a run-out, he scored a goal in Austin. Will has been active in training. He’s deserved of a chance.”
Although the Sounders had a couple more chances in the first half, including a shot from Cristian Roldan that was saved by Tim Melia in the final minutes of the opening half, Seattle took the unchanged 1-0 lead into the halftime break. The home side began opening up the game more in the final 20 minutes of the match when Jordan Morris’ presence came alive. Nouhou hit a spectacular cross from the left-wing into the box, where Morris, who seems to have built a knack for scoring goals with his head recently, put another one into SKC’s goal in the 71st minute to double the lead. Seattle sealed the deal just five minutes later when Jordan Morris sent a low cross past Tim Melia to the far post, where Cristian Roldan made no mistake in tapping the ball into the open net to give the Sounders a comfortable 3-0 lead in the 76th minute and extend Seattle’s unbeaten home streak from three games to four.
The notable key features of all three goals on Saturday afternoon were Jordan Morris and Cristian Roldan, who both earned their own respective goal and assist that contributed to the Sounders trio of goals versus SKC, with Roldan assisting the first goal, Morris scoring the second goal, and Morris combining with Roldan to score the third goal. With performances such as these, the case for both Morris and Roldan to qualify for the USMNT’s World Cup squad this fall surely gets bolstered. “The announcement of 26 players going to the World Cup certainly has helped, but Jordan and Cristian, I believe, stand on their own,” said Schmetzer. “Jordan is a one-of-a-kind attacking player. I think Cristian tactically is one of the smartest players in our league. Both of those players, I believe personally without any bias, should be included in that group.”
The Sounders, now with 10 points accrued out of four matches in this ongoing homestand, will begin preparations for the final game in a mid-week affair versus CF Montréal. “This five-game homestand, if we can close it out with a victory against Montréal, would be tremendous,” said Schmetzer. Seattle’s hot run in recent weeks can potentially break the club into the top four in the western conference standings by the end of the month, which would be a fantastic improvement from the team’s poorer league play to start the year while Champions League commitments were ongoing. “The momentum that we have having not lost in seven games certainly is good, but it’s still mid-season for us. There’s a lot of season left to play, but I like where we are sitting,” Schmetzer expressed. “Let’s talk about how the team is running and what run of form it is closer to the playoffs. Do we think we’re a contender? I personally believe we are, but let’s just see about that.”
