Sounders' Loss To Union Means Supporters' Shield Hopes Officially Over
by Jeremiah Oshan on Oct 9, 2011 12:38 AM PDT
in Sounders: MLS Regular Season
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Winning the Supporters' Shield has been a longshot for quite some time now, but there seemed to be sliver of hope after the Los Angeles Galaxy lost on Tuesday. Well, we can officially stop worrying about it after the Seattle Sounders' 2-0 loss to the Philadelphia Union on Saturday. The Sounders can now finish with no more than 63 points, one fewer than the Galaxy's current total.
It certainly wasn't the most crisp Sounders' performance we've seen, which was probably pretty predictable. Saturday's game was the Sounders' 17th competitive match since Aug. 3. During that stretch, they've gone 12-3-2, clinched a MLS playoff spot, booked their ticket in the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals and won their third straight U.S. Open Cup. The Sounders were probably due for a come-down game, which this certainly was.
It wasn't so much that the Sounders played bad, it was more that they lacked the kind of urgency and fluidity we've gone accustomed to. They out shot the Union 13-6, but put just two of those shots on frame. Brad Evans had the Sounders' two best chances, and neither of his shots were officially on goal. His first came on a nice feed from Lamar Neagle, but he skied his shot over a sliding Union defender. His second was a nice chip that actually beat Union goalkeeper Zac MacMath but hit off the crossbar.
If Evans finishes either opportunity, the Sounders would have led and maybe the game turns out differently. Instead, the Union grabbed the lead in the 60th minute on a Freddy Adu goal that was the product of some nifty endline work by Gabriel Farfan. James Riley was attempting to screen Farfan off the ball, but the rookie midfielder reached around and was able to poke the ball to the front of the net, where Adu one-timed it past Kasey Keller. About 10 minutes later, Brian Carroll essentially put the game away with his first goal of the season.
Perhaps worse than having their dreams of the Shield dashed, Jeff Parke had to be pulled at halftime with an apparent concussion. As with any concussion, his return date will have to be determined once more tests are done. Clearly, losing their most consistent center back for an extended period would be highly problematic.
If we're in the mood to look for a silver lining, maybe the loss is not the worst thing in the world. The Sounders now have a week off and can go into Keller's final home game without worrying about the Shield or really even playoff positioning. The day can be just about celebrating Keller's career.
There is a fine line to walk, though. Last year, we saw the Sounders go through a similarly torrid run that ended just about this time. After winning six straight across all competitions, they lost their final two competitive matches of the season and ultimately lost to the Galaxy in the first-round of the playoffs. Avoiding that same kind of post-Cup hangover is an absolute necessity.
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MEH.
Wring your hands over this match if you want to but look at the big picture as well. For the Union, this was an absolute must win. For us, not so much.
I think MLS Cup means more than the SS. We can go back to the 2001 Mariners argument for that. I think that I’d rather have another cup as opposed to a kinda trophy that looks like the Trading Musician sign.
None of our starters got seriously injured. We’ll get a point in one of the next two League matches and book our flight to the exotic paradise that is Utah for the first playoff game.
I’m good with that.
by DaveValleDrinkNight on Oct 9, 2011 2:25 AM PDT reply actions
Wierd side effect
The strange thing about last night’s result actually isn’t about the Sounders. RSL all but earned a place in next year’s CONCACAF tournament. As long as LA wins its first round playoff match, RSL gets a berth. With both the Sounders and LA already owning berths, If LA makes the MLS semifinals they will play either the Sounders or RSL for a spot in MLS cup. Both MLS cup finalists earn berths. If either LA or Seattle wins the Western conf playoff, RSL earns a berth for finishing third in the league. If RSL manages to win the West, they earn a berth by being in the MLS cup. So last night’s result means there was cause for celebration in both LA and Utah. It also means that the top 3 teams from MLS will be competing in the tournament next year. A very strange night.
True for 3rd place in West
and Dallas could still win that spot.
And another way to rephrase your scenario is that the only way the 3rd place in West won’t get a CCL berth is if the West Conf’s Wild Card team makes it to the finals.
Wouldn't
3rd place qualify if let say a wild card team and Seattle makes the final?
By "the West Conf’s Wild Card team" he means the team LA will play first.
If that team makes the final the Sounders will not.
Here's a thought
Maybe there’d be a whole lot less concussions if the officials would start calling fouls on players who lead with their head instead of the shoulders…… just a thought…
i thought
they have been calling a foul for that. Parke took a ball to the head though.
The sounders did not look bad, just ordinary.
Strangely, I do not feel as bad about this game as I could. It sort of establishes the threshold of where the Sounders look like an elite offensive team and where they look like a solid but ordinary MLS side. No serious gaffes, just unremarkable play. Take away Montero, Rosales, Fernandez, Zakuani, OBW, and you have a good MLS club but it lacks the spark that makes them special on the attack. Philadelphia also played good defense which made it that much harder.
The positive aspect is how much depth we have in “special”. Unfortunately, none of them were available tonight.
by AliasDictusTyrant on Oct 9, 2011 9:09 AM PDT reply actions
Completely disagree...
They were dreadful. Absolutely terrible the entire first half. Look at their passing in the middle of the field. Every third ball was a bad pass and went straight to the Union for the entire first half.
But give credit to where it’s due, Union did a great job of keeping Fucito from looking too dangerous.
by thesafetylemur on Oct 10, 2011 7:34 AM PDT up reply actions
This game shows the need for creativity and technique
Without Montero, Rosales, Fernandez and, to a lesser extent, Zakuani we simply did not have the class to break down Philly. We were better than they were in many aspects but as ADT said, we were ordinary.
by brokejumper on Oct 9, 2011 9:44 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
I disagree
We were plenty creative, we just didn’t finish, same old story. Not saying I don’t want those guys back on the field, but if Evans hits his chances, this game is completely different.
Recessionproof since 2009.
by 253Sounder on Oct 9, 2011 10:14 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Finishing may have been lacking
But ultimately poor service was where our offense really fell down. We created very little of significance down the left – so much so that even Neagle’s best chance came from the right – and all but one of the balls into the box were into areas where Macmath could pluck them easily.
I was disappointed that no-one managed to come up with “You suck, Macmathhole”.
by Targaff on Oct 9, 2011 1:31 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
The midfield was clogged
It seemed to me that we couldn’t move the ball through the midfield. Ossie was solid, but we had trouble pushing the ball through. It was a victory to move the ball from James to Tyson, and we only got it forward in scrambles. Sigi tried to change things up by flopping Evans and Friberg, but that didn’t do it. Much like we did on Tuesday, Philly cut off service.
Not unexpected
Missing our top three offensive players, following a big emotional victory, nothing really at stake in this one for us, and the opponent was good and needed this game badly.
Even with that, if Evans’ shot sneaks in instead of hitting the post, we’re very likely talking about another victory. This evens out that victory in New England?
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