The Seattle Sounders must love Jenga. Why? Because after a promising start, almost always, it all comes crashing down. It certainly did in the DMV on Saturday night, as the Sounders slumped to yet another defeat after yet another game-changing red card negated yet another promising start.
Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer made wholesale changes to the lineup that endured a collapse against the Vancouver Whitecaps a week ago, inserting Cody Baker for a dropped Nouhou, Jonathan Bell for Jackson Ragen and shifting Cristian Roldan back a line for Alex Roldan (both out with red cards), as well as adding Danny Musovski in place of Raúl Ruidíaz and Léo Chú on the left wing.
“It was squad rotation,” Schmetzer said, “and it was a challenge knowing that you have to play with this lineup in Philly. On short rest, we wanted to give guys a break I needed to get Chú a few minutes.”
Those changes wouldn’t last long, though. Musovski exited just 21 minutes into the match with an unconfirmed injury. That brought Obed Vargas into play, and after Stefan Frei received a red card just seven minutes later, goalscorer Chú was removed in favor of Andrew Thomas.
Chú’s goal, in his half-hour on the pitch, showcased the influence that the Brazilian can have. His goal came off a headed effort, after Jordan Morris looped a ball retrieved from penalty-box chaos towards the back post. The Sounders, up early, were on the back foot but ready to defend.
The Jenga blocks didn’t take long to tumble. The home side found their way into the box, and as DC United winger Jared Stroud attempted to navigate his way past Stefan Frei on his six-yard line, the Seattle goalkeeper snagged his opponent’s leg. Player hit turf, and the referee’s back pocket was quickly vacated. Christian Benteke dispatched the penalty, and the Sounders were once again in a hole that they’ve shown no ability to climb out of.
“I visualized that, honestly,” goalkeeper Andrew Thomas said of his unforeseen substitution. “When it comes to the pen — obviously he’s taken it well. I fancied myself and just wanted to get to the corner.”
Despite Seattle dominating possession down a man in the second half, the real chances would be few and far between — limited to set pieces and missing the left-wing dynamism that Chú offered, Seattle struggled to create. Josh Atencio’s header off a João Paulo free kick hit the post with 20 minutes to play, and Ruidíaz entered at the half for Jordan Morris, but aside from a few blocked shots and half-chances, a halfhearted penalty shout was the closest Seattle got to goal.
“After the red card, I thought we did an excellent job of trying to control the game, at our own pace even down a man,” Bell said postgame. “I thought we handled ourselves pretty well.”
The pressure was applied through a flurry of corners and free kicks — the Sounders often had two or three in a row and DC committed a massive 22 fouls in the match (double Seattle’s 11) — but with nothing to show for it, that was the only line on the stat-sheet that increased.
What didn’t help was the struggle that Seattle even had getting the ball out of the back. It’s been a repeated issue, but with a new partner for Yeimar Gomez Andrade in the form of Jonathan Bell and the mid-match shift to a back three as a result of the red card, the Colombian would more often find a black shirt than a green one, it seemed.
Cristian Roldan’s chance at the death was a last-gasp opportunity to execute an improbable smash-and-grab. It was golden — worth 0.19 xG, it made up an outsized amount of the Sounders’ 1.32 expected goals.
Roldan couldn’t find his feet, though, and the Sounders once again were left to watch as a winnable match marched off into the distance, the other group shocked that they’d found a point at all.
"The determination of the group to try and get back into the game is commendable," Schmetzer said. "Now were there specific tactics and stuff like that? Yeah, sure. Okay. We changed the formation, but those players did it on their own. They wanted to come back into the game they felt they had a chance. They knew that they were creating some chances even a man down."
If there was a silver lining (those are in shorter and shorter supply), it was that Andrew Thomas had a chance to find match experience before what will now be at least two more consecutive starts. The netminder was already in for the rescheduled Philadelphia match, but with Frei’s red card, he’ll likely start against a high-flying LA Galaxy on the following Sunday as well.
Seattle’s rescheduled match against the Philadelphia Union is set to kick off at 4:30 P.M. Pacific time on Tuesday. It’ll once again be demanded of the team to turn around quickly and prove that this season can be pulled from the ashes. It’s been two and a half months. The Sounders have won one game.
Feature image courtesy of Sounders FC Communications