The Seattle Sounders continue a historic unbeaten run in the MLS era with a 1-1 draw at BC Place against the Vancouver Whitecaps. While a draw on the road is almost universally a good result in MLS, Seattle is disappointed with only the one point, considering their 25 shots, 10 corner kicks and general dominance offensively for stretches of the match. Playing a man up for 30 minutes after Tony Tchani’s second yellow card, the Sounders couldn’t break down a stalwart Vancouver defense who did well to equalize and save face at home.
Seattle are now 11-7-8, with a goal difference of +7. They have 41 points through 26 games, or 1.58 PPG. The Sounders sit in first place in the Western Conference, just ahead of the Portland Timbers and Sporting Kansas City, though there are more matches to play this weekend.
STATS RECAP
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 1 - Vancouver Whitecaps FC 1
Wednesday, August 23, 2017
Venue: BC Place
Referee: Ricardo Salazar
Assistants: Cameron Blanchard, Mike Rottersman
Fourth Official: Alex Chilowicz
VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero
Attendance: 22,120
Weather: Clear
SCORING SUMMARY
SEA - Nicolás Lodeiro (penalty) 19'
VAN - Fredy Montero (Alphonso Davies) 64'
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
SEA - Nouhou (caution) 31'
VAN - Fredy Montero (caution) 31'
VAN - Kendall Waston (caution) 32'
SEA - Tony Alfaro (caution) 45'
VAN - Tony Tchani (caution) 52'
VAN - Tony Tchani (ejection) 60'
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC - Stefan Frei; Kelvin Leerdam, Chad Marshall, Tony Alfaro (Osvaldo Alonso 76'), Nouhou (Aaron Kovar 84'); Cristian Roldan, Gustav Svensson, Jordan Morris (Clint Dempsey 68'), Nicolás Lodeiro, Victor Rodriguez; Will Bruin
Substitutes not used: Tyler Miller, Oniel Fisher, Jordy Delem, Calum Mallace
Total shots: 25 (Rodriguez, 6)
Shots on goal: 8 (Lodeiro, 3)
Fouls: 7 (Alfaro/Leerdam, 2)
Offside: 1 (Lodeiro, 1)
Corner-kicks: 10 (Lodeiro, 9)
Saves: 1 (Frei, 1)
Vancouver Whitecaps FC - David Ousted; Sheanon Williams, Kendall Waston, Tim Parker, Jordan Harvey; Andrew Jacobson (Bernie Ibini-Isei 56'), Tony Tchani, Christian Bolaños, Yordy Reyna (Russell Teibert 68'), Cristian Techera (Alphonso Davies 56'); Fredy Montero
Substitutes not used: Stefan Marinovic, Marcel de Jong, Brek Shea, Nicolás Mezquida
Total shots: 8 (Montero, 3)
Shots on goal: 2 (Montero, 2)
Fouls: 13 (Tchani/Montero, 3)
Offside: 1 (Ibini-Isei, 1)
Corner-kicks: 4 (Bolaños, 3)
Saves: 7 (Ousted, 7)
POST-MATCH QUOTES
SEATTLE SOUNDERS HEAD COACH BRIAN SCHMETZER:
On tonight’s result:
“We had more than enough chances to put them away. Whenever you leave a team that’s playing at home, we’ve always talked about the parity in MLS, you talk about the quality that Montero possesses, you let a team like that stick around, they are going to make you pay.”
On not scoring in the run of play:
“I’m not concerned about it. We created enough. They will come.”
On the active first half:
“It was a good half. We ended up putting the game in a good spot. 1-0 up, controlling tempo, I thought maybe we could’ve gotten another one in the first half. The pursuit for perfection is insanity, right? But we’re all trying to get there. We’ll keep working at it.”
On making mid-game adjustments:
“We knew they were going to bring in some speedy guys on the field. They couldn’t get out of their end. They’re setting their team up for the counter. We were ready for it. The young kids came on and did a good job. Cristian comes down on the left, does what he does, Tchani’s out, then again, we were in control of that game.”
On Victor Rodriguez’s debut:
“Good. You saw what he brought. Good quality, good passer. I liked the fact that he was being a little dangerous, that’s something we discussed. I need goal production out of that position. He was good.”
FORWARD WILL BRUIN
On tonight’s result:
“We dropped two points. It’s a game where we should’ve gotten all three points out of. It’s just the final touch, final pass, final cross. It wasn’t happening tonight.”
On the disappointment in a draw:
“It’s definitely a good quality to have. A lot of teams in the league would be happy with ties on the road. We look at the way we played, even before the red card, I think we controlled the game. We had the better of the chances. It’s just disappointing but it’s a quick turnaround, and no better opponent than Portland.”
On the active first half:
“We got the goal and we continued going the exact same way it was. Sometimes you get a goal and teams want to take their foot off the gas pedal a little bit but I think we just kept the same possession style that we’ve been doing and that was working. I think if we get a second one, we put away the game to bed. That’s just something we need to improve on.”
MIDFIELDER CRISTIAN ROLDAN
On tonight’s result:
“When they went down to 10 men, we have to set the tempo of the game. I think we didn’t do that in the second half.”
On missed opportunities in the first half:
“We just weren’t sharp enough in the final third. You can talk about how we created chances, we were good at that. Just the final product, we weren’t sharp enough. When you don’t put teams away in this league, especially on the road, they’re bound to take it back or get a couple of chances. That’s the storyline of this game.”
On the team’s possession soccer in the first half:
“I thought everybody worked extremely hard off the ball. We had possession of the ball. We always had guys moving. For us to be able to possess the ball, outpossess them and make them run was quite the joy for us but we have to bury our chances. Possession is nothing unless you win the game.”
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VANCOUVER WHITECAPS HEAD COACH CARL ROBINSON
On the effort after Tony Tchani’s ejection:
“From that moment onwards, the subs that came on were brilliant. The character shown was brilliant. The mentality was phenomenal.”
On the depth on display tonight:
“You need to do that. You get caught up sometimes. I wanted to play the same team and I nearly did, I played the same 10 players but we looked flat in the first half. Things didn’t go our way. Then we lose a man, then we need to make some adjustments. We do, the boys come on and they brought positivity. I expect the subs that come on to do that. They’re a bit disappointed when they don’t play. But when they come on, they have an effect. Bernie and Phonzie certainly did, and Rusty, when he came on, he was excellent. I need my players to do that. Forget the point, forget the game. The mentality and the character shown was phenomenal, and they deserve a lot of credit.
On the penalty kick and the red card:
“I haven’t seen it. I felt we could’ve avoided it. A penalty is a penalty, but Sheanon fell on the ball in the first place. Whether it’s a foul or not, we just gave away a penalty. I haven’t seen the red card.”
On Fredy Montero: “A difficult game all around for us, it wasn’t easy. It’s about concentration levels when the ball comes to the box and it’s alive. He nearly got one in in the first half. He waits for his chance, he showed great positivity in the final third. He should’ve scored again but he decided to hit Bernie in the middle of the goal or wide. Fredy’s in there for that reason. I’m delighted for him. He’s very calm and he won’t talk too much after the game because of the respect he has for Seattle. I applaud him for that. I was jumping over hoops today when he scored.”
On Alphonso Davies:
“I still don’t think he’s at 100 percent. Maybe we’ll get to see him on Saturday. He needed a break, a mental break, a physical break. You have to remember how old the boy is and there’s a lot of things going on. We support him and he respects my decisions and he listens, because I know what’s going on with him. When he comes on like that, he’s excited to watch. We want to encourage him to play like that more, and he will.”
On David Ousted and the backline:
“David was excellent. When you go down to 10 men, especially, you need to rely on your defenders and your goalkeeper. David came up with a few key saves. I think he even headed one out. Stewart Kerr deserves a lot of credit for teaching him how to do that. Jordan, Kendall, Timmy, Sheanon, they put their bodies on the line. You need to do that.”
On the character shown versus top teams:
“We’ve played two top-of-the-table teams in the last four days and came out with four points. We’ve got to be pleased, we know we can be better, but we have to know who we are. We certainly knew who we were today with our character.”
FORWARD FREDY MONTERO
On tonight’s result:
“It is like a win. We were playing one of the best teams in MLS and we were one man down, it was very tough. But at the end of the day, we pushed harder, and we got that goal and we got one point.”
On playing his former team:
“I just want to do the best that I can. I don’t see what team is in front of us. I just want to help the team. I’m happy that I scored. It means one point for us.”
On Alphonso Davies:
“That’s what Alphonso Davies is. He’s young, he has a lot of energy, and it was good for us that he fought for the ball, he won the ball, then he gave me a really good assist.”
On the message at halftime:
“We needed to push harder, we want to play more with the ball. Let’s run it. In the second half, we changed that mentality. The red card changed it a little bit. They forced us to draw back. But as I said before, we pushed harder, we gave everything that we had. We scored a goal and we got one point.”
DEFENDER KENDALL WASTON
On tonight’s result:
“It was a hard game, obviously we wanted to win but I think it wasn’t the best game that we’ve played this season, and sometimes it happens. Obviously, we’re going to learn from it and try to be better each day.”
On rallying around Tony Tchani’s red card:
“After Tony’s red card, I think we gave a little bit more of each one of us and the guys that came in as subs, they helped us a lot, they gave us more air. They’d tried to create more chances in the other box.”
On upcoming matchup versus Orlando City SC’s Cyle Larin:
“The same how we mark other players. He has good quality but we worry about ourselves and try to be very precise in every aspect and try to win obviously.”
GOALKEEPER DAVID OUSTED
On tonight’s result:
“We weren’t at it in the first 45, but a lot of character shown in the last 45, and going down a man and down a goal, got back and got a point.”
On Fredy Montero’s goal:
“I’m still really impressed with what he does, not just the goals he scores, that’s obviously something we need but the work rate, the way he sets the press up there. He’s been really impressive and I’m happy to see he’s getting his goals.”
On upcoming challenge versus Orlando City SC:
“Listen, we’re going in there to win, I’ll say it straight out. We’ve been good at going away from home and taking those games head on and I want to go there and win. It’s going to be a long travel, we all know that but we’re also going down to play a team that is really good at home but also see the possibility of going there to get points.”