Seattle Sounders FC Get Huge 4-1 Win vs. St. Louis City SC

On Saturday night, the Seattle Sounders continued their MLS campaign with a Western Conference matchup against St. Louis City SC. Going into this fixture, the Sounders stood at ninth place in the Western Conference with 13 points (3W-3L-4D). Seattle came in with a three-game unbeaten streak in which they got wins versus Nashville and at Dallas as well as drawing at Colorado. This run of games had been a positive sign for the Sounders as they looked to continue to climb up the standings. St. Louis City SC, on the other hand, found themselves at 12th place in the Western Conference with 10 points (2W-4L-4D).

These two clubs faced off earlier this season on March 15th. St. Louis emerged victorious that night at home with a score of 1-0. In that match, Seattle held 66 percent of the possession and yet, only registered one shot on goal. It was certainly a match to forget as the side looked uninspired and, at times, ouright lethargic in the attack. To get the three points this time around, the Rave Green had to make sure that they were more lethal in their possession in the final third.

The early stages of the match were solid for the Sounders. Their movements, on and off the ball, looked precise and dangerous, but unfortunately, the back of the net could not be found at that time. St. Louis took advantage of this in the 26th minute, when Yeimar Gomez Andrade fouled Cedric Teuchert in the penalty box, after what had been an impressive counter attack by the visitors. Marcel Hartel was then able to convert from the spot in the 29th, giving St. Louis the lead.

"Yeimar took up a bad angle there so I am not letting him off the hook. No chance. He needs to to better in that moment. he knows it," said Sounders manager Brian Schmetzer after the match.

Up until this point, the result seemed quite harsh for Seattle as they had been the better side. Just three minutes after conceding the opening goal, however, Paul Rothrock drew a foul in the penalty box and earned a kick from the spot for the hosts. Albert Rusnak put the shot away and the match was level again. For the rest of the half, the Rave Green looked spirited in the attack and finished the half in strong fashion.

The Sounders would gain full control of the match in the second half. In the 61st minute, Obed Vargas found the back of the net after his shot from the left side of the box was deflected into the goal. The play leading up to the goal was facilitated by second half substitute Ryan Kent, who slipped Vargas through after a nice one-two movement.

Danny Musovski would add to the lead in the 81st minute. The forward found himself in the middle of the box with the ball at his feet after a great ball from Nouhou. Musovski would then do a turn after collecting the ball and would fire the ball into the goal. With that goal, the streaking forward now has four goals in four matches, which is something that the Sounders have desperately needed as Jordan Morris recovers from a hamstring injury.

"Credit to [Musovski], because three...four weeks ago, something clicked in him and he started to put the work in. It's credit to his hard work," said Schmetzer.

The best moment of the match would come in the first minute of second half stoppage time when Nouhou scored just his second ever goal for the Rave Green across all competitions. The Cameroonian shot the ball into the upper corner of the goal after a clinical low cross from Kent.

"[Nouhou] is at that point now where he needs to be at this level, at his standard, for a consistent period of time. The goal was great, but he did a lot of good things," said Schmetzer.

Another player worth mentioning for the Sounders is Kent. The Englishman recorded two assists on the night, despite coming into the game in the 57th minute. Virually from the moment he came on, he looked sharp and added a brand new dynamic for Seattle. His speed and ability to navigate open spaces was a breath of fresh air.

"I am starting to feel sharp again, starting to feel good with a ball, you know, and in games like this, I have got to come in and make an impact," said Kent.

This result is one that could give the Sounders some huge momentum as we rapidly approach the haflway point of the season. The side, which is notorious for having significant late-season surges, could definitely enjoy having a season in which they were both solid and competitive throughout the whole season. If Seattle can keep being creative and clinical in the attack, as well as keeping defensive mistakes at the back to a minimum, the Rave Green could have a very successful season.

"If we continue to do well, and we play well at home, and we get into the playoffs, nobody is going to to want to come here [to] Seattle in October," said Schmetzer.

The Sounders return to action this coming Saturday, May 10th, to face the Houston Dynamo on the road at 5:30pm PT.