Realio’s Ratings: Seattle battles back

Last Sunday, Seattle played the Columbus Crew, one of the top teams in the league, and came out with a deserved 1-1 draw. Although the Sounders conceded first, they were the better team for long stretches, and they kept a strong Crew team on their heels for much of the first half. The teams seemed evenly matched for most of the game, although late subs and tactical switches swung the possession and aggression edge to the away team, who dominated late. The shots and possession were fairly even, as two teams played a high quality soccer match. A brutal collision between a Crew player and Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei ended the match on a scary note, as Frei was knocked unconscious and eventually left the field by ambulance. That sobering moment was the last play of the match, as the gracious Columbus coach agreed to end the match instead of forcing a continuance of the few seconds left. 

Quick hitter: It’s hard to define that game by anything other than the terrifying last few minutes. The build up to that had Seattle dominating the first half but only able to tie the match, followed by a second half that was a tense yet even affair, resulting in points split between two quality teams. 

Goalkeeper

Stefan Frei – 7 | Community – 8.3

Frei didn’t have a lot to do against Columbus, whose possession was often their own version of the Horseshoe of Death. Although credited with three saves, none were particularly stressful, and Stefan had little chance to stop the goal against. That goal was the majority of the Columbus xG, although they controlled the game late and were pressing for a winner when Stefan came out in stoppage time and was clattered into. 

Quick hitter: Frei is going to be okay, and that’s a massive relief. He did suffer a concussion which can have long term negative effects, and hopefully his symptoms are minimal. Nothing matters from this match more than Stef’s long term health. 

Defense

Nouhou – 6 | Community – 5.8

Against Columbus, Nouhou had a chance to re-establish himself as the incumbent left back. He didn’t do that, but he didn’t move the bar too far the other direction either. He had 86 percent passing, a few defensive plays, and overall a muted and fairly boring outing. He managed notable transition defense in the 70th minute, but also made a number of pointless forays into the offensive third where he made his usual poor decisions. 

Quick hitter: Nouhou was fine in this match, and after his polarizing ups and downs from the Club World Cup, that’s likely a good thing. 

Jackson Ragen – 7 | Community – 7.1

Ragen’s best play was a crucial 15th minute recovery on an over-the-top clearance when Columbus briefly got in behind. This showed solid speed and exceptional defensive angle taken to slide and block the ensuing shot. Outside of that, Jackson played solid defense that shunted everything around the outside of the box and did his usual distribution job (96 percent passing). The central pairing limited chances and facilitated vertical movement from both outside backs. 

Quick hitter: Ragen and Roldan in the back are a solid distribution pair that helps Seattle handle pressure and create forward thrust, using their vision and passing ability to put teammates into opportune areas. 

Alex Roldan – 7 | Community – 6.7

Ninety percent passing, nine passes into the final third, not dispossessed a single time, nine defensive actions and 76 clean touches! This was a monster game from Alex, who barely put a foot wrong all night, again showing that not only can he play at centerback, he can thrive there. His 77th minute defense and instant transition to a vertical pass were gorgeous. 

Quick hitter: Again, Alex was near-perfect as a distributing center back, and this pairing with Ragen has to be considered a realistic option moving forward. Unfortunately, KKR’s red card likely shuffles him back to the right. 

Kalani Kossa-Rienzi – 7 (MOTM) | Community – 6.8

For nearly an hour, this match was the Kossa-Rienzi show. He was mostly excellent on defense, although caught out of position and easily split on the Columbus goal. Most importantly, Kalani was an offensive outlet for Ragen and Roldan’s distribution. This meant he was charging up the wing and creating even before his brilliant 43rd minute highlight. And what a play that was, with KKR taking a tough touch on the wing, cutting inside to find space, driving through the defense before dropping a deft assist into the waiting feet of Paul Rothrock to tie the match before halftime. Kalani did tire and become less effective as the game went on, before stupidly subbing himself out and taking a game off due to an avoidable second yellow card in extra time. 

Quick hitter: KKR can use his “one time dumb pass” on his late red card, but it now changes the whole dynamic of a backline that was doing some cool and interesting things in possession. It’s a shame because he had been absolutely fantastic prior to that. 

Defensive Midfield

Cristian Roldan – 7 | Community – 7.7

Cristian did nearly everything well. His 10 defensive actions paired nicely with his eight passes into the attacking third; as usual, he did a lot of work on both sides of the ball. His highlight event was a wow moment in the 28th minute as he showed incredible speed to outrun both his brother, who had a head start on him, and the Columbus attacker, who was in behind. Cristian’s tenacity annihilated this half chance before it could come to fruition. He had a number of uncharacteristic missed passes, as it took him a while to get into the match against a disciplined opponent. 

Quick hitter: It’s not surprising that Roldan getting caught up field resulted in defensive failures behind him on the goal against. With the kind of effort Cristian consistently puts into the game, it has to be draining, and he’ll need rest at some point, right? RIGHT?

Obed Vargas – 6 | Community – 6.6

Another quietly effective match saw Obed covering the middle of the field well, pairing with Cristian, and distributing calmly under constant pressure. His nine defensive actions included five tackles to lead the team, the kind of dirty work defending that was necessary against a loaded opposing midfield. An odd stat: of all the players who played the full match, Vargas had the fewest touches. This was likely due to Columbus’ strong midfield and Seattle’s utilization of the wide areas, but it’s worth watching. 

Quick hitter: With only a single key pass, the hole in Vargas’s game is on the offensive side. Again, the Sounders midfielder was very reluctant to move the ball forward, constantly looking to drop and recycle possession instead of turning vertically or looking for more incisive play. 

Attacking Midfield

Paul Rothrock – 7 | Community – 7.6 (off 80’ for Kent)

Paul had errors against Columbus, like losing possession and not shooting when he should and putting shots into the stands when he should have passed. Yet it was no surprise that when KKR eviscerated the midfield near halftime, Paul was in lockstep with his teammate’s movement, and when his well-timed run was rewarded with a pass, he finished cleanly. Rothrock led the team with three shots, scored the goal, and reaffirmed that xDAWG should be added to OPTA stats immediately. Had Jesús Ferreira finished his early pass or Paul finished his own big opportunity from Albert Rusnák in the 52nd minute, Seattle may have taken all three points. 

Quick hitter: “All he does is score.” While not literally true (he has three goals plus four assists in MLS), Rothrock has been reasonably productive and finishes his opportunities well. That kind of player tends to get a lot of minutes around here. 

Albert Rusnák – 7 | Community – 6.4 (off 80’ for PDLV)

With at least seven defenders back for much of the match, Rusnák found it hard to get both the ball and runners at the same time. He couldn’t dial in crosses, so Seattle struggled to penetrate the Columbus defense through Albert. Even mostly bottled up, he had awesome setups for big chances in the 38th (to Moose) and 52nd (to the Rock) but his teammates let him down with their shot selection. Both of those should have been goals, and Rusnák is constantly making these big chances for teammates.

Quick hitter: While not able to be the difference maker in this match, Rusnák still led the team with three key passes and is the only consistent source of big chance creation in the offense. 

Jesús Ferreira – 5 | Community – 5.3 (off 95’ for Bell)

Ferreira hoped to build off his last match MOTM performance but was unable to do so. Against a better team, Seattle struggled to find midfield space and Ferreira wasn’t on the ball enough to help. When he did get on the ball, such as with excellent movement in the 3rd minute, he meekly put a wide open shot from six yards out into the Hawks Nest. Although his connective play and defensive pressure were useful in some of Seattle’s success, Jesús also tired and was a liability as he remained on the field. The Sounders need more consistent play from wide areas. 

Quick hitter: Ferreira must finish these big chances he is finding with more regularity. Hopefully Jordan Morris’ return will help unlock him.

Forward

Danny Musovski – 5 | Community – 5.6 (off 71’ for Morris)

In the 38th minute, Rusnák pulled some magic distribution and Musovski had the ball unmarked at the penalty spot. Instead of shooting he took an extra touch, fumbled the ball and made a desperation sliding shot that was easily blocked. These big chances were at a premium and Seattle wasted too many. That play ended up being his only shot, and a stiff Columbus defense limited Danny to a mere 13 total touches.

Quick hitter: Musovski’s big miss is the kind of play Seattle must convert on, as chances of that quality only make rare appearances. 

Substitutes

Jordan Morris – 5 | Community – 5.4 (on 71’ for Musovski)

Morris is slowly ramping up his fitness and getting more time, but wasn’t able to offer a lot when surrounded by tired teammates after coming onto the field in minute 72. His runs were crisp, and he added an important 82nd minute defensive header, but he was unable to impact the match on the offensive end. He had nine touches. 

Quick hitter: Everyone was hoping for more when Morris came on in a tied match with 20 minutes to go. With his best distributor leaving eight minutes later, this was frustrating. 

Pedro de la Vega – 5 | Community – 5.2 (on 80’ for Rusnák)

Pedro only getting 10 minutes again shows how little the staff appears to value him. He was active, getting six touches and completing 100 percent of his passes, but like other late subs, he wasn’t able to find much cohesion with tiring teammates. 

Quick hitter: Left wing … when?

Ryan Kent – 5 | Community – 5.3 (on 80’ for Rothrock)

Coming on about 15 minutes too late for Rothrock, Kent was brought in and asked to defend. Like PDLV, he had little impact, six touches, and spent most of his time trying to figure out how best to help a tiring defense. 

Quick hitter: The reversion from dynamic direct player to the guy who stands on the ball and passes backwards to Nouhou is so, so disappointing. 

Jon Bell – 5 | Community – 5.4 (on 95’ for Ferreira)

Somehow Seattle went from being on the front foot to barely holding on late, and that meant adding defender Bell to kill some clock and add another body for the last moments. He did those things well. 

Quick hitter: This is the one sub that made sense due to game state and position. 

Referee

Ismir Pekmic – 4 | Community – 4.0

Who could have guessed that this referee would give no cards for a half, then four in the last five minutes of the match? And that clear obstructions, fouls behind the ball, and other cardable offenses would be stored up for the end of the game? Not me!

Quick hitter: The ref is in charge. It shouldn’t be up to the coaches to agree to abandon the last few seconds of a tied match when a player has just been driven off in an ambulance. Shameful. 

Columbus Crew MOTM

Goalscorer Diego Rossi led the Crew with four shots, and completed 80 percent of his passes, including six progressive and one key pass. His forward surge on the goal was expertly timed, and his finish coolly taken. Prior to that, it was his run over the top that forced Ragen's decisive action.

Upcoming: Sounders travel to Kansas to play in almost 90 degree heat against a team that is starting to get their act together.