In the third and final game of a three-match week, the Seattle Sounders fell to the Colorado Rapids by a score of 1-0 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on Sunday evening. With the result, the Sounders saw their two-game win streak snapped and any momentum associated with that short streak seems to have been temporarily disrupted, as Seattle registered their sixth loss of the 2022 MLS season, tied for second-most losses of any team in the entire league so far in this year’s campaign. Due in part to the absence of Nicolás Lodeiro for the birth of his child and Alex Roldan for red card suspension from last week’s affair with the Houston Dynamo, coach Brian Schmetzer brought back his five-defender starting line-up that saw a noticeable amount of success in the MLS season one year ago.
The Sounders were able to create a promising half-chance in the 10th minute when Jordan Morris was able to get on the end of a through ball that got behind Colorado’s back-line, but his low cross in front of the Rapids’ net was hit with a bit too much power, as Raúl Ruidíaz was unable to get on the end of it to get the visitors the tally. In the 40th minute, Jonathan Lewis was substituted into the game for Mark-Anthony Kaye, who had to leave the match after a collision with the returning Sounders defender, Jackson Ragen. Although Colorado’s Michael Barrios and Diego Rubio had promising opportunities of their own, the Sounders were able to take the match into halftime with a 0-0 scoreline.
The home side broke the deadlock in the 50th minute when Diego Rubio’s cross into the box was initially saved by Frei but unluckily bounced off of Yeimar before reaching the feet of Jonathan Lewis who saw the ball into the back of the net. However, at the beginning of this goal-scoring sequence, Diego Rubio went up for a ball with Jackson Ragen in midfield, effectively winning the ball but taking down Ragen in the process. “To me, it’s a blatant foul,” Kelyn Rowe stated after the game. “The fact that it wasn’t (a foul) is beyond me.” Head coach Brian Schmetzer also chimed in with his thoughts in the post-match press conference. “The referees are never why you win or lose games, but I do think that especially on their goal, there was a foul that happened.”
Following this setback, the Sounders never seemed to be able to kick their attacking phase into second gear. Excluding a Jordan Morris chip shot that was kicked away by Abubakar and a shot by Raúl Ruidíaz from outside the 18-yard box that was saved by William Yarbrough in the same sequence in the 54th minute, Seattle struggled to create the goal-scoring chances they are capable of creating, even after Léo Chú was substituted into the game for Yeimar and coach Schmetzer reverted back to a four-defender system. “I have to reflect on going back to the 3-4-2-1,” Schmetzer shared with the media after the match. “I thought Raúl, Jordan, and Cristian on the top of the house shape with Obed and Albert was going to be a good look, but obviously we didn’t create enough (chances).”
Another moment in the match where officiating played a significant role was in the 66th minute when Raúl Ruidíaz was clipped in Colorado’s 18-yard box. Although the play was originally called a non-foul, VAR was still utilized to review the sequence. Upon spending a noticeable amount of time at the monitor, referee Tim Ford determined that the play was rightfully called a non-penalty, another call that Kelyn Rowe, who was filling in at the right-back position due to the absence of Alex Roldan, expressed some disagreement with. “It’s not up to us unfortunately,” Rowe stated after the game. “We have to go through and fight through it and play. We have to make sure that we don’t put it into their (referee) hands.”
Despite the fact that Seattle is five points below the playoff line even after the six-point swing they received after beating Minnesota and Houston in the past week, the Sounders have their next five matches in front of their home faithful at Lumen Field, including their Cascadia affair with the Vancouver Whitecaps that was rescheduled due to CCL commitments. Brian Schmetzer is well aware of the team’s current position and understands that his side needs to get back to accruing as many points in league play as possible. “We’re at a point where every game matters because we’re below the playoff line,” Schmetzer acknowledged. “We are going to try and correct it, and we are going to have a good week of training, and we’re going to try and have a good performance against Charlotte.”
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