Match preview
Your Seattle Sounders football club come into this match riding the momentum of a three-match winning streak, notably two of those three coming against the 2nd and 3rd place teams in the Western conference, Sporting Kansas City and Colorado Rapids, respectively. The Sounders first place spot prior to the start of this match sat at only two points ahead of second place Kansas City, meaning that each match down the line as we creep towards the playoffs will be important in order to make sure that the playoffs run through Lumen field. With a win or draw against in this match, the Sounders would clinch a playoff berth for the 13th straight season. For the visiting whitecaps, Cascadia rivals, sit just outside the playoff bubble at 8th place in the Western conference. With that being said, they are not far from a playoff spot at all, sitting just one point behind 7th place Minnesota. This game had huge playoff implications for both clubs
Pre-match
Last match for Seattle
The Sounders last contest was a 3-0 drubbing of Colorado at home, a satisfying result considering the previous results that Seattle was coming up with at home, not exactly making Lumen field the “fortress” (shoutout to Stefan Frei for that terminology, from one of his pre-match pep talks) that it had been in previous seasons. Cristian Roldan had his goal scoring streak extended to 4-games; Jimmy Medranda scored his first goal since his laser in the 6-2 Timbers beat down in Portland, and João Paulo scored on a masterful run to put the cherry on top. All three of those goals took place in the first half, and Seattle was able to secure 3-home points against a Western conference opponent.
Injury report
Questionable: Nico Benezet, left hip flexor strain
Out: Raul Ruidiaz, Xavier Arreaga, Nouhou Tolo, Cristian Roldan, Alex Roldan, Jordy Delem, Nico Lodeiro, Jordan Morris
Raul Ruidiaz is still dealing with the injury that he suffered in his last match played prior to the international break, so it will be notable to see when Raul will be ready to go for the Sounders.
Sounders starting lineup
Goalkeeper: Stefan Frei remains in goal for your Sounders
Backline: The backline consisted of Shane O’neill, Yeimar, and AB Cissoko
Yeimar is one yellow card away from suspension, so it would be crucial for him to be careful in this match to avoid that.
Midfield: Joao Paulo, Nicolas Benezet, Kelyn Rowe, Josh Atencio, and Jimmy Medranda made up the midfield group.
Attacking front: Fredy Montero and Will Bruin would start the match up top, two men that notably featured in off the bench roles when the club is at full strength.
Bench unit: Spencer Richey, Reed Baker-Whiting, Leo Chu, Stefan Cleveland, Ethan Dobbelaere, Danny Leyva, and Juan Alvarez were all on the bench for this match.
Homegrown player Reed Baker-Whiting saw recent spotlight this past week, when an article from the official MLS website stated that he was being scouted by big European clubs Liverpool, Manchester City, and Borussia Dortmund. That is a lot to think about for someone who is only 16 years old, but still exciting none the less.
Key points to the game
Attacking front get going early: With the lineup that is playing, it seems almost reminiscent of the lineups that we saw earlier in the year when players were out both with international duty or injury. Will Bruin is someone who has been the energizer bunny off of the bench, so getting him and Fredy Montero on the offensive attack early should be a key point in getting a winning result. I am sure that the club would be fine with the draw and secured playoff spot, but this club has a tradition of winning, and I wouldn’t see them doing it any other way with playoffs on the line and each game meaning better chance at locking up homefield advantage.
Make do with what you have: Simply put, nobody in the MLS is going to feel sorry for you if you’re missing important players, let alone feel sorry for the Sounders, a club that has been at the top of the league consistently for years. So, players like Montero, Atencio, and Medranda need to step up in this game in order to help this team lock up a playoff berth, and help the Sounders standings in the Cascadia cup, as Seattle is in 2nd place, behind the Timbers.
Strengthen the fortress: Dating back to the Sounders 1-3 loss at home against Kansas City, you could tell that both the club and the fans have not been happy with the way that the team has performed in their own building earlier this year. At the current date, the record at home sits at 7 wins, 3 losses, and 4 ties. The frustration doesn’t come from those 3 losses, no, it comes from the ties. Those ties were missed opportunities against clubs that weren’t exactly top of their conferences. The Sounders had tied results with 4 non-playoff clubs (at the time of this article being written), those clubs being Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, and Vancouver. The losses against Portland and Kansas City at home did not help the frustrations that had been building. So again, as goalkeeper Stefan Frei said in one of his infamous pre-match pep talks, make this place a fortress, because this teams wants to play in front of its home fans when it comes to chasing the MLS cup.
First half: Seattle would come out of the gate trading possessions with Vancouver, until the 4th minute, where a crossing ball into the box was saved by Whitecaps keeper Thomas Hasal. However, Hasal would slide out of bounds with the ball, resulting in a corner kick for Seattle. The resulting kick would be short-passed to Kelyn Rowe, who’s cross would find Shane O’Neill’s head, leading to a Sounders goal, going up 1-0 in the 5th minute! The Sounders offensive aggression would continue, as in the 13th minute, a throw in that was adjacent to Whitecaps box finds Will Bruin, who then passes into Nico Benezet. Benezet fires a shot in for a second Sounders goal, bringing Seattle up to 2-0 in the 14th minute! The Sounders, like the precipitation in this match, would continue to pester Vancouver, with multiple corner kicks coming after the initial goals. Until the 45th minute, the Sounders would continue to get multiple opportunities, with the Whitecaps getting in opportunities here and there. In the 45th minute, Vancouver would finally slide one past Stefan Frei, as Brian White would volley in a save from Frei.
Shane O'Neill watch as his header bounces into the net for the first goal of the match
Members of the Sounders celebrate with Nico Benezet after his 14th minute goal
Halftime thoughts and potential adjustments: For the majority of the first half, the Sounders hit on all 3 of the keys to the game: The attacking front had been aggressive early on with Will Bruin notched an assist and a shot, and Fredy Montero putting up two shots. The other players that I mentioned in the “make do” key to the game were doing just that, as defender Shane O’Neill headed in a goal and Nico Benezet, a player that had been listed as questionable notched a goal. The third and final key is where the “majority” part of my talk comes in, as strengthening the fortress was going well until the 45th minute goal by White for Vancouver cut the Sounder lead to 1 goal. The Sounders attacking stats show that they are beating Vancouver in shots, shots on target, corners, and duels won. But, what sticks out is that Vancouver is tied despite having less shots by 6. Seattle will need to keep the pressure on and add an insurance goal in the second half, because as I mentioned, this team does not want to stay complacent and only get a 1-point draw from this match.
Second half: Vancouver would come out of the halftime break aggressive both offensively and in terms of attitude, as a few Sounders and Whitecaps players would get in each other's faces, followed by Vancouver putting pressure on Stefan Frei and the Seattle defense. Seattle would be able to get a counter attack going, with a cross in that would find Fredy Montero. Montero would find a streaking Will Bruin, who would power in a shot past the Whitecaps’ Thomas Hasal in goal, putting the Sounders up 3-1 in the 55th minute! The rest of the half, and the match would play out very similarly to the way that the first half ended, with the Sounders getting numerous opportunities on the goal, and Vancouver getting opportunities in here and there. This half just did not feature a Vancouver goal, which is a key difference, and a good one for Seattle.
Joao Paulo had an assist and two shots in this match
Vancouver fell flat on it's this match
Post-match reflection: The Sounders hit on all of the points that they needed to make going into this match against a Vancouver team that has climbed up the rankings since their first matchup of the season, and in doing so lock up a playoff spot for the 13th straight season. The only miscues and or areas that could have been fixed would be the goal that was allowed, and some of the shots on Vancouvers Thomas Hasal, but I could nitpick in almost every soccer match about shot efficiency. The team was able to win with the next man up mentality that has been a huge part of their success this year interestingly enough, as other clubs would crumble with the loss of a few key players, let alone a sizable chunk of the roster for solid periods of time. Bruin, Benezet, and Paulo played big roles in this win. Seattle picks up 3 more points, increasing their first-place lead over Sporting Kansas City to 5, giving them some breathing room. The Sounders gain a game in the Cascadia cup, tying Portland with 6 points in the Cascadia table. The Sounders only have one more Cascadia cup matchup, and it happens to be against Vancouver on the road, in the last game of the season.
Player of the match:
Sounders official player of the match: Kelyn Rowe
Stat line: 3 assists, 75.7 pass percentage
Charles’ pick for player of the match: Will Bruin
Stat line: 4 shots, 2 on target. 1 goal, 1 assist, 72.2 pass percentage.
Federal Way's own Kelyn Rowe notched 3 assists, a rare feat
Comentarios