The Seattle Sounders are comeback kings once again.
It really doesn’t matter who the Sounders are playing. There’s a format. They’ll concede an opener, wake up, and claw back a goal or two. It doesn’t always work — and it’s certainly not ideal — but it’s been the tale of their past three matches. Saturday’s edition featured a two-goal display from Albert Rusnák, who dispatched two penalty kicks to secure three points for Seattle.
Only two Sounders, Braudilio Rodrigues and Jonathan Bell, were listed as unavailable on Saturday, but a further two weren’t present. After a series of incidents following last weekend’s match against FC Dallas, Raúl Ruidíaz and Nouhou were suspended from training for the week, and neither appeared in the matchday squad. Ruidíaz is in the final year of a three-year extension he signed in 2022.
After an energy-boosting, three-goal comeback over FC Dallas, you’d have been forgiven for thinking that it was a different team out there on Saturday night. The statistics told the tale: In the first half, the Sounders posted just three total shots — one on target — and 0.03 expected goals (xG). Forward Jordan Morris, whose two late goals were the difference against Dallas, had just eight touches. One Sounder (Reed Baker-Whiting) completed a cross.
Those statistics were only half the story. Players across the pitch looked tired. Jackson Ragen was repeatedly targeted, including his role as ‘Nutmegged Sounder’ in the Fire’s 30th minute goal.
With his third chance of the half, Maren Haile-Selassie spun on the edge of Seattle’s box and tucked the ball neatly between Ragen’s legs, and the ensuing one-on-one with Stefan Frei was no contest.
Haile-Selassie generated 1.19 xG in the first half alone, including an early faceoff with Frei where the Seattle goalkeeper made a smart kicksave. Even missing Designated Player Xherdan Shaqiri, who is currently competing at the European Championships with Switzerland, the Fire were by far the dominant team — away from home, against a team with a historically strong home record.
“Honestly, I feel like the whole 11 could have been taken off at halftime,” Rusnák said. “Nobody was playing up to their potential or to the standard that we have. So you know, maybe if we had 11 subs, then maybe we would have all been off.”
Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer made an early change, inserting Paul Rothrock at the half and sliding Cristian Roldan to right back. The Sounders Academy product entered the match with two goals in his last three matches, including the equalizer in Houston last Wednesday.
“Against a backline of five,” Schmetzer said, “what you want to do is try and pin their wing back so they can put pressure on our guys that are advancing the ball of the field … We couldn't extend our possessions to get one of [our] guys high and wide on the field. That was one of the tactical adjustments at halftime. I wanted to get Paul get way up there, high to pin their left wing back, which created a little more space in there for Cristian [Roldan].”
Rothrock often stays wider, on average, than Cristian Roldan does on the right wing, and it showed. Immediately after entering, he was able to push into the attack, pinning Fire left-back Jonathan Dean back and forcing Seattle’s opponents to truly defend the counter-attack for the first time.
It worked. Under ten minutes into his cameo, it was Rothrock who found himself inside the box waiting on the end of a cross. Dean pulled the Sounder back, and VAR confirmed referee Joe Dickerson’s guess: penalty. Rusnák slotted it home, and the Sounders were even.
“At halftime,” Rusnàk said, “I feel like we were a lot calmer than in previous games just because, once you do something, you feel a little more comfortable and there's a little bit more belief that you can do it again … We didn't panic at all. We said that we've done it before. But we needed to raise our level because the first half wasn't good enough.”
In an attempt to capitalize on the momentum, Schmetzer inserted his rarest chess piece of all: Pedro de la Vega. The Argentine signed for the Sounders in the winter transfer window from Lanús as the club’s first ever Young Designated Player, but has been riddled with injury since scoring in the season opener.
His time on Saturday night was limited — just 20 minutes on the pitch didn’t see him make a huge impact on the match — but his appearance did showcase what Seattle often lacks: creativity when the counter-attack stalls.
“[He was] a little rusty,” Schmetzer said, “but our expectations for Pedro were that he builds up his minutes and he builds up his fitness. He's got to learn the league. He's got to play more with his teammates, not just in a training environment … He’s got some stuff to his game, and he’s going to get better.”
“As you probably saw,” De la Vega said through a translator, “I left the field a little bit upset because I do have high expectations for my own game, and I felt like I had a few errors and a few mistakes and I was also very anxious. But I believe that with more games with more minutes, I want to be able to get back into game shape … But the most important thing is that I help the team [and] support all my all my teammates helping me out and that is something that is going to help me continue to evolve my game.”
Seattle may not have created a gilt-edged chance in the final half-hour, but Chicago couldn’t stop fouling the Sounders in the box. With less than five minutes on the clock, Morris wandered into the area and was sent to the floor. Rusnák went left again from 12 yards out, and Seattle had recovered yet another lead.
“You've been around long enough to know that this team doesn't quit,” Schmetzer said. “We've got quality on this team. When everybody's healthy, there's going to be tough lineup choices. If you look at the stats, outside of the emotions of coming back and winning the game and winning two games at the death. Love that for the fans. We as coaches don't like that so much but fans love it.”
It’s the first time the Sounders have won back-to-back games this season, and a third could be well on its way. Next, Seattle welcomes the New England Revolution to Lumen Field. They’re led by former Portland head coach Caleb Porter, and despite winning four in a row prior to Saturday, they conceded five goals to the Columbus Crew and enter Seattle looking for redemption. That match kicks off next Saturday, at 7:30 P.M.
Feature photo by Jane Gershovich / Sounders FC Communications
