The Seattle Sounders went up to Canada to take on the Vancouver Whitecaps before heading into the Club World Cup and found themselves on the wrong side of a bit of a blood bath as they lost 3-0. After giving up a goal late in the first half, a pair of red cards to start the second half pretty much sunk the Sounders.
Things started out pretty well for Seattle. During the first half-hour or so of the game the Sounders were dictating the tempo and finding themselves in and around the final third. They were putting the Vancouver defense under pressure, but too infrequently was that pressure turning into real chances as they routinely moved the ball from side to side in predictable fashion before opting to hit a cross into the area.
The Whitecaps punished them for their indecisiveness in the 40th minute when J.C. Ngando played a ball in to Jeevan Badwal, who provided the finishing touch. Vancouver had played the ball around the edge of the box for a bit before working it out to Ngando on the wing, and when he received the ball the Sounders defense dropped towards goal, leaving Badwal completely unmarked to poke the ball in.
The second half started looking like the Sounders may be able to fight back when Obed Vargas showed some sharp dribbling skills, working his way into the box before losing the ball, but Pedro de la Vega picked it up, cut it back and ripped a shot that was blocked in the 48th minute. That was the last spark of hope.
Nouhou was shown Seattle’s first red card just 4 minutes later in the 52nd minute when he took an inconceivable angle to close down Mathias Laborda, got beat and reached around to pull him back with Laborda through on goal. Things quickly got worse for the Sounders in the 55th minute when Cristian Roldan, having moved over to left back with Nouhou gone, dropped too deep and kept Emmanuel Sabbi onside for a ball over the top. Jon Bell attempted to recover and chase Sabbi, but their legs got caught up, Sabbi went down at the edge of the box and Bell got an early shower.
The Sounders responded by making four subs, taking off Jesús Ferreira, Ryan Kent, Albert Rusnák, and Pedro de la Vega and replacing them with Kalani Kossa-Rienzi, Danny Musovski, João Paulo and Paul Rothrock as they tried to cover the ground left by being down to 9 and hopefully finding an equalizer. They did not.
Daniel Rios gave Vancouver their second goal in the 70th minute, smoking a shot from just outside the box across goal and into the side netting beyond Stefan Frei as he dove to his right but couldn’t get a touch on the ball. In the 88th minute Damir Kreilach capped things off from the penalty spot after JP slid into Sabbi in the box to make it 3-0.
Seattle next take the field for an MLS match on June 28th when they host Austin FC, but before then we all have the Club World Cup to get through. The Sounders start their CWC against Botafogo RJ on Sunday, June 15.
Key moments
2 - Shot! Kent beats his man on the left wing and sends in a cross that gets headed by a defender but falls for Alex Roldan who takes a first-time shot that goes wide.
11 - Corner! Seattle’s press allows Kent to force a turnover and win the ball in Vancouver’s end. Seattle circulate the ball until Alex Roldan sends in a cross that’s blocked out for a corner.
30 - Corner! Cristian Roldan, Kent and Vargas work the ball around the left side of the box to set up a shot for Roldan that gets blocked out for a corner.
31 - Shot! De la Vega receives a great pass between Vancouver’s lines from Cristian Roldan and curls in a shot that looks to have Takaoka beat but it goes just wide.
40 - Goal, Vancouver. Vancouver work the ball around the outside of the area before a pass in from Seattle’s right side finds Badwal for an open look and he pokes it home to take the lead. 1-0 Vancouver
48 - Block! Vargas slices through the Vancouver defense and dribbles into the box before losing control of the ball. De la Vega regains possession, but his shot is blocked.
52 - Red card! Nouhou is shown a straight red for a horse collar tackle on Laborda as the player ran in behind the defense. Seattle go down to 10.
55 - Red card again! Jon Bell is shown a straight red for a foul at the edge of the box as his legs get tangled with Emmanuel Sabbi. Seattle down to 9 men.
60 - Subs. Seattle take off Jesús Ferreira, Ryan Kent, Albert Rusnák, and Pedro de la Vega and bring on Kalani Kossa-Rienzi, Danny Musovski, João Paulo and Paul Rothrock.
63 - Sub. Vancouver swap Bjørn Utvik for Belal Halbouni.
70 - Goal, Vancouver. Daniel Rios rips a shot from the top of the box that he puts in the side netting. 2-0 Vancouver
81 - Sub. Jackson Ragen exits the game and is replaced by Cody Baker for the Sounders.
88 - Penalty. After JP brought down Sabbi in the box, Kreilach stepped up to the spot, sent Frei the wrong way and slotted his penalty home. 3-0 Vancouver.
Quick thoughts
Pointless possession: The Sounders want the ball, and that’s a completely reasonable thing to want. When they’re playing up to their level they use the ball to suffocate opponents, denying them the ability to create chances by keeping the ball off their feet, while generating waves of pressure on the other team’s goal. Of late, particularly in the last two games, Seattle have seen plenty of the ball but their possession has been plodding, lacking any real edge or decisiveness. When they do find themselves in dangerous positions, the final ball or finish hasn’t been good enough. There’s more than enough talent for the process and outcomes to look different than they have, but through a blend of performance and personnel choices the Sounders have been brutal to watch.
Head’s hot, game’s gone: The Sounders weren’t good enough when they were still in this one, but some truly bad decisions left them with no chance at even grinding out a result. Nouhou took a terrible angle and instead of trying to make a real defensive play on Mathias Laborda he instead grabbed him around the collar and pulled him down to earn his marching orders in the 52nd minute. Then in the 55th it was Jon Bell being sent off as he clipped Emmanuel Sabbi’s heel while trying to track the runner after Cristian Roldan kept him onside. Finally in the 88th minute JP made an ill-advised sliding tackle in the box and took out Sabbi to give Vancouver a penalty and a gifted chance to make it 3-0. Bad decisions compound, losing your head never helps, and the Sounders need to get their minds right in short order.
Making the worst of a situation: Regardless of the circumstances, this performance wasn’t anywhere close to good enough from the Sounders. Seattle are dealing with a lengthy list of injuries that includes 3 of 5 CBs on the roster and possibly their best attacker, but definitely their best striker, but even still they have the depth of talent to be able to put up a genuine fight against just about anyone in the league. Factor in Vancouver’s international absences and the Sounders should have had a real shot at three points here. Add in the alleged tummy trouble the Whitecaps had apparently been dealing with all week following their Concacaf Champions Cup loss against Cruz Azul, and even with Vancouver being able to field a pretty strong starting lineup Seattle should have been able to make them run and force Jesper Sørensen to go to his bench filled with WFC2 players. That was still on the table coming out of halftime, but instead the Sounders repeatedly shot themselves in the foot. Something’s got to change in that locker room to get things right before the good that the team had done in April and May could all be for nothing.
Notable quote
Brian Schmetzer on the team’s mood: “We have a dejected bunch of players. It’s a shot to the chin. But they’re going to be fine. … You’ve got guys who are good pros, who have been through ups and downs, they’re going to keep working.”
— Sounder at Heart (@sounderatheart.com) 2025-06-09T03:52:40.910Z
Player spotlight
Ryan Kent still hasn’t returned to the highs of his first few games, but in his hour of work tonight he created 1 chance, completed 28/31 passes and 3/4 dribbles.
