The Seattle Sounders continued their hot start by beating Real Salt Lake 2-0, a scoreline that dramatically understated their level of dominance. The Sounders opened the scoring in the 35th minute on a Jordan Morris header and added an insurance goal from Héber in the 58th minute, but finished with six “big” chances according to Opta. They are now one of just four teams in MLS to start the season 2-0-0.
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 2 – Real Salt Lake 0
Saturday, March 4, 2023
Venue: Emerald Queen Casino Pitch at Lumen Field
Referee: Victor Rivas
Assistants: Jeffrey Greeson, Mike Rottersman
Fourth Official: Elijio Arreguin
VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero
Attendance: 30,011
Weather: 40 degrees and cloudy
SCORING SUMMARY
SEA – Jordan Morris (Alex Roldan) 35’
SEA – Heber (Alex Roldan) 58’
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
COL – Braian Ojeda (caution) 62’
SEA – Nouhou (caution) 73’
SEA – Léo Chú (caution) 86’
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC – Stefan Frei; Alex Roldan, Yeimar, Jackson Ragen, Nouhou; João Paulo, Albert Rusnák, Cristian Roldan, Nico Lodeiro (Josh Atencio 80’), Jordan Morris (Léo Chú 80’); Héber (Raúl Ruidíaz 81’)
Substitutes not used: Stefan Cleveland, Reed Baker-Whiting, Kelyn Rowe, Danny Leyva, Dylan Teves
Total shots: 19
Shots on goal: 8
Fouls: 12
Offside: 0
Corner-kicks: 4
Saves: 2
Real Salt Lake – Zac MacMath; Andrew Brody, Bryan Oviedo, Justen Glad, Marcelo Silva; Braian Ojeda, Jefferson Savarino, Scott Caldwell (Diego Luna 72’), Maikel Chang (Carlos Gómez 60’); Damir Kreilach (Justin Meram 72’), Anderson Julio (Rubio Rubín 60’)
Substitutes not used: Danny Musovski, Bode Hidalgo, Erik Holt, Tomas Gomez, Moses Nyeman
Total shots: 7
Shots on goal: 2
Fouls: 9
Offside: 0
Corner-kicks: 5
Saves: 5
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POST-MATCH QUOTES & SOUNDBYTES: SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC 2 – REAL SALT LAKE 0
SOUNDERS FC HEAD COACH BRIAN SCHMETZER
On the performance of the team:
“It’s not often, I guess, that I have openers, you know, wins or losses but I just want to go on record that, I don’t know what you guys saw but some of that play in the second half, I mean, I almost wish I wouldn’t have subbed, you know. But you know Josh [Atencio] and Léo [Chú] and those guys deserve to play, and I wanted to give Raúl [Ruidíaz] some minutes and all that but, I mean, the team was really good. It was only 2-0, it was a shame that we didn’t score again but some of that, you know, the passes and the one touch and everything. That was some of the best soccer that the Seattle Sounders have played in a very long time. It reminded me a little bit of some of the stuff that [Obafemi Martins] and Clint [Dempsey] used to do. Some of that stuff that you would see and it was entertaining. I think that was a really entertaining match. I was sitting on the bench with the guys, and I had to complement the staff. I just said ‘You guys this was another super good week of training you guys have done a great job preparing the team.’ And all of that hard work that they did showed up within the players. I thought it was great.”
SOUNDERS FC FORWARD JORDAN MORRIS
On scoring three goals in two games:
“Yeah, it feels great. I’m feeling confident. I mentioned last time that the coaches and support staff did a really great job getting us ready for the season, we just got to keep building.”
On if the team is having fun during the matches:
“For sure, definitely. When you have two pretty dominant performances like that you definitely have fun, especially that second half when we were keeping the ball, a lot of combinations, one touch, one plays and creating a lot of chances. It was definitely a really fun game to be a part of, that’s what happens when this group plays up to its potential. We know the quality that we have and I’ve think we’ve shown that the last couple games but we can’t rest on that, we got to keep building.”
SOUNDERS FC GOALKEEPER STEFAN FREI
On how the win and shutout feels:
“Great. Great way to start the season. Really happy with obviously the results and the shoutouts but really happy with the quality of football we are displaying. We are playing some of the best football I’ve seen us play, honestly. It’s really nice, very decisive at times, good combos, lethal. Really asking a lot of questions of the opponent. Even in the first game some people might say that they are lucky goals. Well, you have to create your own luck. You have to put people in uncomfortable situations and that’s how we were able to win that one, mostly. And then today again, there was a couple of them where they were barely able to keep the ball out of the back of the net and other than that we capitalized on our chances. Very promising, if we can maintain that were going to be a difficult team to play against.”
SOUNDERS FC DEFENDER ALEX ROLDAN
On the type of soccer played tonight:
“That’s just the beauty of it with the type of players that we are and the type of players that we have. It’s a fluid game for us. Coaches have been pretty adamant about letting us interchange and just having the fluidity in a game. I know it throws teams off when I’m in the midfield or in different positions when I’m high in the box. Just keep building on those things and finding the right pockets to be in so I can provide an option for my teammates and we can hopefully keep building on that.”
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