The Seattle Sounders, well at least most of them, returned to league play on Tuesday night in the first Cascadia match of the 2022 season. Even without key players who were missing due to international duty, such as Jordan Morris and Cristian Roldan, the boys in rave green found a way to not only get a positive result but earn an empathic 4-0 victory over their rivals north of the border on Tuesday night in Lumen Field.
The home side was able to set the tone early when captain Nicolás Lodeiro slotted a penalty kick into the bottom corner of the net to open the scoring in the opening five minutes. The opportunity was earned after Fredy Montero’s shot was initially saved by Cody Cropper, but the Whitecaps goalkeeper took him down when he and Montero were both in pursuit of the loose ball. Seattle went on to double their lead in the 28th minute when excellent build-up play by the Sounders saw Jimmy Medranda navigate the ball into the general direction of Raúl Ruidíaz at the top of the box, who curled the shot into the net.
Moments after Lodeiro had a golden opportunity to give the Sounders the 3-0 lead in the second half but his shot was rattled off the Whitecaps’ crossbar, Raúl Ruidíaz went on to double his goal tally on the night by being on the receiving end of a great low cross sent into the box by Léo Chú in the 54th minute. The Peruvian national team’s dreams of qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup were crushed in a devastating penalty shootout loss to Australia hours before their countryman Raúl Ruidíaz recorded a brace and tied himself with Fredy Montero for most goals scored in Sounders history after only being with the club since 2018. Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer doesn’t believe that there is any additional motivation operating for the Sounders’ striker. “I think Raúl is hungry for goals all the time,” Schmetzer said after the game. “I don’t think that he has a special message for the coach (of the Peruvian national team).”
Brian Schmetzer also shared his satisfaction with his team’s demeanor coming into the second half with a 2-0 lead, often times referred to as the most dangerous lead in the sport. “I was very pleased with our response coming out of halftime. We got that third goal and that kind of put the game away,” Schmetzer stated in the post-match press conference. “So being able to do that (and) keeping a clean sheet, lot of positives around tonight for sure.” Of course, the night wasn’t quite over yet, as the Sounders would find the back of the net one more time when Alex Roldan hit a ball that was supplied to him by Danny Leyva past Cody Cropper at the goalkeeper’s near post. With this final goal in the 89th minute, Seattle put the whipped cream and cherry to top the night with a 4-0 win and finally find themselves in a playoff position in the standings for the first time this season.
When starting lineups were announced prior to kickoff, it was notable that Lodeiro was slated in the center of the field with Obed Vargas, with Fredy Montero occupying the number 10 spot instead. However, coach Brian Schmetzer and staff saw the value in employing these tactics. “When Nico plays a little bit deeper, sometimes our play from back-to-front is a little bit better because Nico is not afraid to get the ball in tight spots (and) he’s able to turn out (and) he’s able to connect passes to the next line,” Schmetzer explained to the media after the contest on Tuesday night. “So when we put Fredy in Nico’s number 10 position and (put) Nico back a line, I thought that worked very well. We played our back four a little more narrow and shallow. That opened up space for Chú, Medranda, Fredy, and Raúl, so those tactics worked very well tonight.”
Following their triumph in the CONCACAF Champions League and making history, the Sounders seem to be on the path of gaining ground in the MLS standings, as their 4-2-0 record in league play since defeating Pumas in early May would suggest. However, their path will become much more rigorous this weekend when LAFC, the current leader of the Supporters’ Shield standings, will come to the Emerald City. While Seattle will be facing a much different caliber team in LAFC on Saturday afternoon, the positives from Tuesday night’s sound defeat of Vancouver could go a long way in helping the Sounders replicate their success on a short turnaround.
