Sounders vs. Rapids, recap: Another frustrating loss

The Sounders came into Saturday's match with the Rapids hoping to right the wrongs of their 3-1 drubbing a few weeks ago in Colorado. Seattle were thoroughly outplayed in that match and deserved the result; Saturday's contest was nearly the opposite. The Sounders controlled possession for the entire match, and Colorado only managed a few real attacks on the counter. But set pieces were the undoing of the Sounders yet again as Colorado's Axel Sjoberg scored off a Marc Burch corner to score the match's only goal.

Seattle came right out of the gate with purpose, controlling the ball easily and putting in a number of solid attacks. Clint Dempsey looked great on the ball, showing some skill to beat a defender and put in a through ball to Jordan Morris that the rookie failed to put on target. Attack after attack came for Seattle, but nothing came of anything. Late in the half, the Rapids had a short spell of possession that ended in a couple corners. The second of those corners was put in the net by Axel Sjoberg, as his marker (looked like Ivanschitz) completely lost him and the Rapids defender was wide open to head the ball in.

The second half was mostly the same, as the Sounders controlled the ball and put in a number of excellent attacks that came of absolutely nothing. Clint Dempsey and Jordan Morris combined well to create chances, but neither were able to make anything happen. The Sounders had numerous corners that they were unable to do anything with, and every time a chance looked promising, the final ball was either inaccurate or toothless. The Rapids had a few chances of their own, even looking dangerous once or twice, but they weren't able to extend their lead at all. Herculez Gomez and Oalex Anderson came on later in the half, but the latter was forced off almost immediately due to an injury. Dylan Remick replaced him, but it didn't change much.

The match ended at 1-0, but it should have been far different had the Sounders been able to capitalize on their many opportunities. Only 4 shots on target from 17 total shots, 10 corner kicks, and 66% of possession for Seattle in a match they really should have won.