Before they played the Philadelphia Union on April 30, the Seattle Sounders were 0-4-3 in MLS matches decided by one goal or less. Since winning that match, they are 6-1-3. It’s been all about winning the close games, and that’s where Seattle has thrived.
The Sounders (9-7-7) picked up a 1-0 win in Austin against Los Verdes (8-9-6) as Jordan Morris entered at the half and wreaked havoc on the home defenders. Seattle’s leading scorer grabbed his ninth league goal of the season, and the Sounders remain above the playoff line as Leagues Cup bears closer.
Returning to the starting lineup for the first time since opening day against LAFC was Young Designated Player Pedro de la Vega. The Argentine signed with the Sounders in the winter for a reported $7 million fee, but has battled hamstring injuries since arriving in Seattle. De la Vega replaced Albert Rusnák in attacking midfield which, while not a position he’s appeared in yet, suits his desire to drive with the ball and create.
“He's certainly a tremendous player, a talented player,” Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer said, “but he has to understand the system and then players have to understand that if Pedro goes over here, then somebody's got to fill in his slot over there. It's still a work in progress, but I was very pleased with the effort he put in.”
Also returning to the lineup were right back Alex Roldan, who took his brother’s place (Cristian Roldan remained in Seattle with his pregnant wife), forward Danny Musovski, and left winger Léo Chú, who did not travel with the team to Sacramento.
De la Vega forced a save from Austin goalkeeper Brad Stuver with a 12th minute free kick before getting on the end of a cross from Paul Rothrock five minutes later. Austin defender Julio Cascante appeared to take out the Sounder from behind, but VAR had no joy for Seattle, and they played on.
However, the action in front of goal was limited as neither team could break into the other’s mid block. Both head coaches chose to forego an aggressive press, instead opting to allow the other to possess the ball in their own half, and what followed was minutes of U-shaped passing without successful efforts to break into the midfield. Without the usual speed of Jordan Morris in attack, Seattle struggled to play over the top and instead looked for balls in behind that weren’t there.
In an effort to find those passes, much of Seattle’s attack was funneled down the wing. Chú and Paul Rothrock cut crosses back from the endline when they could, but the Sounders struggled to put anything on target. By the half, they had taken four shots and accumulated just 0.14 expected goals (xG).
The inaction continued into the second half, where Austin led the teams in efforts early but struggled to test Stefan Frei. Sebastian Driussi made the Sounders’ goalkeeper work for a header, but as Los Verdes began to commit players forward, Seattle had the opportunity to move with freedom.
First, it was a four-on-three counter attack. Rusnák fed Chú to leave the Brazilian winger one-on-one with Stuver, but he could only aim at the goalkeeper’s chest.
It wouldn’t be long before it came back around. Obed Vargas made a fantastic drive into the Austin penalty area and found Rothrock. The ball slipped away from the first Seattle native, but it found Morris just ten yards from goal.
The Mercer Island man made no mistake as he slotted away past Stuver for his ninth league goal of the season. It’s his eighth goal in his last 11 all-competition matches, and it leaves him as Seattle’s standalone top goalscorer.
“You kind of go through those times where it feels like you're never going to score again, Morris said, “and then sometimes you're scoring every game and put your chances away. Obviously a lot of it’s up to the group playing really good balls.”
He would continue to be a matchup nightmare for Austin centerback Brendan Hines-Ike, who dragged the forward down on the counterattack in the 58th minute before hanging onto the Sounder for dear life less than 20 minutes later and drawing his second yellow. With Austin head coach Josh Wolff forced to sacrifice Owen Wolff, they posed even less of an attacking threat through the final 15 minutes.
Seattle closed out the match with relative ease — something they have struggled to do in seasons past. Aside from a flurry of stoppage-time corner kicks, they managed to avoid the peril that has haunted them and pick up three points that hold them just a win out of fourth place in the Western Conference.
“You can call it shaky or you can call it weathering the storm,” Frei said. “I'd rather stay positive and say you know, obviously they're there [and] they're throwing everything at it and you have to bend but not break. I think that's the mentality during the seasons where we were successful, because you can't get your foot on the gas pedal for 90 minutes.”
The Sounders now turn their attention to a midweek home meeting with St. Louis CITY, who remain without a permanent head coach after dismissing Bradley Carnell earlier this season. Seattle is unbeaten in its last seven home matches, and can continue to push up the table with a win.
Feature photo by Angela Wang / Sounders FC Communications
