By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – Facing perhaps the toughest contest of their remaining schedule, the Seattle Sounders came out swinging and toppled second seeded Austin FC. Seattle was powered by star forward Raul Ruidiaz, recording a brace in yet another critical performance for the rave green. The result keeps the Sounders four points out of the last playoff spot in the Western conference. While this is a bit to go, Seattle takes a huge and critical first step in their stretch run.
Raul Ruidiaz looks to work his way around a defender (Photo by Maddy Grassy)
Raul rises to the occasion
Throughout Sounders history, there are numerous clutch moments created by Raul Ruidiaz. From Concacaf Champions League Final to last season on the road against this Austin club, Ruidiaz is as clutch as they come for Seattle. Battling against the second seeded Austin in essentially a must win, Ruidiaz landed two huge blows early on. While Austin put the pressure on the Sounders, Seattle was able to hold strong and respond with their peruvian play maker.
Nico Lodeiro, in a congested Austin box, kept the Seattle passing moving to a wide open Ruidiaz. Without much pressure on him, Raul was able to one touch the ball past Austin keeper Brad Stuver. Seattle had struck first, in the 12th minute. In the 34th minute, Seatle had some quality buildup from their back line. Jordan Morris’ run was spotted by Alex Roldan. Morris used his speed to push the Austin defenders on their heels, finding a trailing Raul Ruidiaz. Ruidiaz again one touch punched the ball past Stuver to extend the Seattle lead to two. Just like that, the Sounders had jumped ahead in a critical match.
The Sounders celebrate Raul Ruidiaz's second goal (Photo by Maddy Grassy)
Defensive performance holds it down
From the very start of this match, Austin kept their foot on the gas and applied consistent pressure to Seattle’s defense. Austin, with their 15-goal differential on the season, seemed poised to bring pressure considering Seattle’s defensive miscues of late. Locked in, and with a little luck at times, the backline and keeper Stefan Frei were able to record a clean sheet against one of the best teams in MLS. Despite leading the match in chances, Austin was held to only one chance created.
Xavier Arreaga's header helped Seattle get an own goal on Austin , and his defense helped in the match too (Photo by Maddy Grassy)
What it means for the rest of the road
This win sets up a great rest of the stretch run for the Sounders, considering that Austin was the big bad amongst the rest of Seattle’s opponents. From this point, the Sounders will face four opponents that all are looking on the outside of the playoff race. FC Cincinatti is the closest one to that race, but even they are six spots out of the last seed. This result achieved tonight must be a launch point for Seattle to reach the postseason, and getting Cristian Roldan back wouldn’t hurt either.
Nico Lodeiro recorded an assist in the match (Photo by Maddy Grassy)
Quick notes
Austin FC has yet to win a match against Seattle in their existence, as there have been two draws in the past and two wins now for the Sounders.
Despite the two goals, Seattle only had one shot on target.
The Sounders third goal of the match came on an own goal
With his two-goal night, Raul Ruidiaz became the all-time leader in Seattle history for multi-score games with eleven. He passes Clint Dempsey.
Tonight’s match attendance was 34,721
What’s next
Seattle’s next contest comes on the road, a September 17th clash against the Vancouver Whitecaps. The Sounders will battle their Cascadia rivals with a 7PM PST kickoff time, as the Whitecaps will aim to play spoiler. This match can be viewed on ESPN+ nationally, as the Sounders road to the postseason continues to come down to the wire.
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