Cascadia Clash: A Much Need Victory
The Sounders won their most recent clash 3-2 against the Vancouver Whitecaps by coming from behind twice to take their first road victory in BC since 2018. There was a lot going against the Sounders on Saturday from puzzling refereeing decisions to conceding soft goals via Route 1 footie. In spite of some of these challenges the defense came up big on both ends of the pitch, most notably contributing to all three Sounder goals. For me, this game was exciting to watch, which is not something I would have said about many of the matches in May or June. The win felt good and hopefully sparks the team on to more success.
I could go on and on singing the praises of the defense and there really isn't enough to go around for Yeimar who should be loudly proclaimed as one of the best MLS defenders and most important Sounder players of the last several years. Covering for concussed Frei, Stef Cleveland came up with two immense saves when called upon and was tidy with his feet. Joao Paolo is an absolute LEGEND. He was by far the best player on the pitch, the next closest competitor his fellow Brazilian Leo Chu.
The Sounders scored all three goals from set-pieces or immediately after and still struggle offensively from open play. Ruidiaz looked off the pace and his touch let him down a few times and he and Chu were often not on the same page. The Sounders need those two to develop an on-field relationship in order to put away some of the many chances coming down the left side of the pitch. Overall, the connection and movements down the left were exciting if imperfect and Lodeiro was key in that regard.
The game was exciting with five goals and plenty of momentum swings. That being said, there are still a lot of issues baked into the system that will continue to plague the team. The biggest issue for me is Albert Rusnak. The guy is clearly a solid player but doesn't fit into this Sounders system. He is heavily outworked by both Nico and JP and is often reactive and late to counterpressing opportunities and to making himself a passing option during build up play. The numbers back up this view, check out previous blog posts, and I really want to see Cristian Roldan take that spot and infuse more energy into the Sounders midfield. Will Schmetzer look at the numbers and game tape and come to the same conclusion? I doubt it, he sticks with his lineups until they break, often literally.
Staying with the midfield for a moment, Sounders fans seem eager to criticize an Academy player and literal teenager Obed Vargas, while refusing to criticize Rusnak, a DP and an experienced veteran. I don't understand that sort of thinking. My biggest problem with Sounders fandom is the weird culture around criticism and critiques. Fans are often way too hard and demanding of young players. Leo Chu did not get much love or support last season and while he was clearly a work in progress, and still is, look how much he has grown and developed. There needs to be more patience regarding young players. If you want to put high expectations on players, that energy needs to go to the veterans.
Somehow, despite not playing anywhere near their best, the Sounders sit second in the Western Conference and if they can retain that position going into the Leagues Cup break, they will be poised to make the playoffs when the league resumes in August. It's bit strange to be so far up the table while many fans remain frustrated by performances and convinced that a higher level of play is possible. Results and performance at the Leagues Cup will have a huge impact into how the second half of the season is viewed. Before that, San Jose and Dallas await and six points would go a long way to dispelling doubts. This is a team that is just a few adjustments away from going BANG and I think can take the rest of the MLS by surprise at the business end of the year.
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