Last Wednesday, visiting Club Puebla arrived at Lumen Field with a clear strategy: anti-soccer. They parked 11 players behind the ball and dared the Sounders to break through their stout, desperate defense. Seattle had over 85 percent of possession well into the first half, but they struggled to create big chances, instead generating numerous set pieces and half-chances. The frustration on the field was mirrored by the fans, as Seattle grappled with Puebla’s physical play and lax refereeing that seemed to favor the away team’s cynical tactics. Late in the game, the pressure almost led to disaster when a Sounders player was sent off. However, even with ten men, Seattle remained on the front foot, clearly the better team. Puebla’s celebration at the end of regulation, with the score 0-0, signaled their intent to win on spot kicks. But they overlooked one crucial detail: they still had to take those kicks, and they hadn’t bargained for Andrew Thomas. In the shootout, Thomas saved two penalties, and the resilient Sounders emerged victorious, winning 4-3 and earning a spot in the Leagues Cup Semifinals.
Come at the king: Puebla did their best to slow things down, effectively Concacaf’ing their way to a physical, frustrating, and negative game. This was anti-football with fouls galore, constant after-the-play holding and tactics, packing 11 players behind the ball, and playing for a singular moment in transition or penalties. They executed this infuriating plan to perfection.
Best not miss: The perfect plan was undone by a combination of resolute execution from the penalty spot and the confident heroics of the mustached mafioso. Despite traveling Puebla’s preferred path, it was the Sounders that had enough in the tank to move on.
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Goalkeeper
Andrew Thomas – 8 (MOTM)
Thomas was credited with two saves, neither testing him in a match where the opponent was playing to get to the spot after regulation. He had six throws, showing off his long arm and good accuracy.
Come at the king: For nearly the full 90 minutes, Thomas was an afterthought. A number of questionable distributions, including a long 86th minute pass to no one, were moments not worth remembering.
Best not miss: The real game started after the final whistle, and Puebla forgot they were in Thomas’ house. He exuded so much confidence that it had to inspire his teammates. Stopping the first penalty was huge, negating Captain Roldan’s miss to even the score. When he smirked at the opponent before the fifth penalty, after calling his shot, it was over. Andrew Thomas wasn’t going to be beat and Seattle won.
Defense
Nouhou – 7 (off 93’ for Leyva)
Nouhou had 95 percent passing, including a key pass, 12 passes into the final third, and seven recoveries, and no one dribbled by him all night. He was excellent.
Come at the king: At times we were reminded of Nouhou’s offensive shortcomings, and with Puebla conceding massive amounts of possession, that meant Nouhou had more cross attempts than anticipated. Services in the 66th and 74th weren’t great.
Best not miss: Nouhou showed off a number of excellent plays, especially in the first half. In the 33rd minute, he picked out an amazing line-splitting pass, and he had an excellent cross to Paul Rothrock 10 minutes later. His defense was stellar.
Jackson Ragen – 7
Ragen saw the ball a lot and converted 94 percent of his 107 pass attempts. Defensively, he had eight recoveries and won four of his five defensive header attempts as Seattle often ran the ball through him to look for angles through the midfield.
Come at the king: An inexplicable slide tackle in the 47th minute was a poor choice, leaving Jackson sprawled well over midfield and unable to do much but watch a counter in behind him.
Best not miss: Ragen was great in possession, laid the lumber with a physical 53rd minute slide tackle, and is probably the only center back in the league trusted to shoot third in a penalty shootout. He made it.
Yeimar – 7
Yeimar was a monster defensively, winning 12/13 duels and adding 95 percent passing of his own. He was also a consistent progressive passer, moving the ball into the attacking third 13 times, and he even earned a shot.
Come at the king: Puebla didn’t have much luck against Yeimar, outside of a few bad passes and a reluctance to move the ball quickly in extra time as Seattle was still on the front foot, even down a man.
Best not miss: The few times when the Mexican representatives made transition attempts often ended with a vintage Yeimar recovery. His size and strength meant that what little Puebla tried was easily dealt with.
Alex Roldan– 6
Alex was an essential possession member, finding connectivity with teammates, looking forward to link through the lines, and dropping central to prevent transitions. He added 12 passes into the final third.
Come at the king: The best moment for Puebla came in the 60th minute after Alex got a bit wrong-footed, but luckily Nouhou came across to prevent a disaster from occurring.
Best not miss: Alex’s beautiful 27th minute ball put Paul Rothrock into the box for a chance, and he nearly scored his own on a 64th minute shot. After his brother missed his penalty kick, Alex stepped up and made no mistake, finishing cleanly and giving Seattle a lead.
Defensive Midfield
Cristian Roldan – 7
Roldan led the team with multiple key passes, won 75 percent of his tackles and 11 duels while possessing the ball centrally and giving physicality back against a team determined to set the tone.
Come at the king: An uncharacteristic lost ball in the midfield in the 40th minute led directly to one of Puebla’s few chances. Even more frustrating was seeing his penalty kick ricochet off the post and out.
Best not miss: For much of the match, Cristian controlled the center, whether it was defending strong, pushing the ball through, crossing into dangerous areas, or making meandering incisive dribbles like his 88th minute push through eight defenders.
Obed Vargas – 6
With 90 percent passing, Obed also won 75 percent of his tackles and used his incredible control to help Seattle out of pressure moments in the middle. His evening consisted of a lot of on-ball physicality and connection.
Come at the king: One of Seattle’s biggest struggles was converting chances to shots on goal. Obed, in particular, was frustratingly allergic to getting into the box, instead turning around when near the area and passing negatively.
Best not miss: A number of strong offensive moments came when Obed turned in traffic and dribbled offensively. He stepped up and converted what ended up being the winning penalty.
Attacking Midfield
Pedro de la Vega – 6 (off 64’ for Minoungou)
With only one shot and one successful dribble, Pedro didn’t have the direct impact he was likely hoping for, but he was still a vertical force, constantly dribbling centrally and looking to combine with teammates, often finding others in good spots but just missing the payoff.
Come at the king: For much of this match, Pedro worked hard to find connection, but couldn’t find his teammates. A few poor choices and a slow second half meant he was subbed off after a frustrating outing.
Best not miss: In the 24th minute, we saw what PDLV can do, dribbling multiple players and earning a free kick as the opponent was forced to foul him. His ability to create was almost enough in multiple big moments.
Jesús Ferreira – 7
Jesús started centrally and was a true fulcrum of the overwhelming possession Sounders earned. With 102 touches and 12 passes into the final third, Ferreira found the ball a ton and used it to push and prod and attempt to combine with teammates to create the chances they needed against a packed defense.
Come at the king: After having more set piece success, this match had inconsistent service and downright poor balls, squandering Seattle’s 10-0 advantage on corner kicks. Speaking of squandering, with the game-winning goal in his sights after a beautiful spin, Jesús was unable to put his off-balance shot on frame from six yards away in the 71st minute.
Best not miss: Ferreira’s movement was fantastic in this match, as he was constantly getting a touch, moving to space, and finding the ball again before looking to spring teammates forward and set up chances. He finished his crucial penalty take during the shootout.
Paul Rothrock – 5 (off 78’ for De Rosario)
Rothrock had 57 touches, but a low 79 percent completion rate, indicative of a struggling performance where he wasn’t able to have his usual impact on the match. He was credited with a chance created and seven touches inside the Puebla box, consistently crashing and attempting to create havoc, albeit without much luck.
Come at the king: For much of the night, Paul was a non-factor, unable to get in behind to spaces where he usually has success, and not creating much in his isolated 1-v-1 moments. He only managed a single shot.
Best not miss: A 16th minute nutmeg dribble and shot was an inspired moment amid much struggling offense. Moments later, he got into the box from a PDLV pass and forced a save from close.
Forward
Danny Musovski – 3
Moose was accurate in the few times he held the ball up, returning 92 percent passing, but was not a threat on goal, failing to shoot or present problems for the opponent defense. He was 1/1 on tackle attempts.
Just missed: Multiple holdup plays in the 40th minute helped Seattle get up the field, and he was a willing battler against a consistent handful of defenders at nearly every touch.
Not even close: Danny wasn’t having a good game before the 76th minute, struggling to control the ball and having zero shot attempts. He lost 14 of 15 duels. Then it went from bad to worse, as Musovski lost his mind, bumped the ref, got a red card, and shamewalked to the locker room. He has no one to blame but himself for getting kicked out of the tournament.
Substitutes
Georgi Minoungou – 5 (on 64’ for de la Vega)
With 70 percent passing, Minoungou didn’t quite find the final ball, but was a force on the dribble. Getting isolated moments on the wing were consistent chances for Seattle, as Georgi kept going by people and forcing fouls or dangerous moments.
Come at the king: Puebla sent waves at Georgi, double- and triple-teaming him and poking him in the eye at one point, so desperate to physically disrupt him.
Best not miss: Minoungou, as usual, provided instant offense. He immediately earned a corner kick, sent in a great 83rd minute cross, and followed that up with another in the 91st after a short corner featuring his brilliant dribbling.
Osaze De Rosario – 5 (on 78’ for Rothrock)
With a key pass, a foul earned on strong holdup, and perfect passing, Osaze was a solid late addition.
Come at the king: He nearly got on the end of a cross immediately after entering, but was greeted with a foul instead.
Best not miss: In 13 minutes, even down a player, you saw what ODR could bring, instantly crashing the box in the 83rd minute and using his big body to create a chance.
Danny Leyva – 5 (on 93’ for Nouhou)
Leyva arrived late and only got a handful of touches.
Come at the king: Danny had a chance at a cross and put it long, wasting his best opportunity.
Best not miss: Seattle went for it late, putting on the offense-minded Leyva who responded with an excellent long ball attempt among a number of slick passes.
Referee
Juan Gabriel Calderon – 3
Somehow, the team fouls were nearly equal, even though Seattle had more than 70 percent of the possession. So were the cards, as this ref was not interested in penalizing a ton of things that are usually whistled. This led to frustration all around.
Just missed: Even as poor as he was, you cannot bump a ref. Period.
Not even close: This was not a good performance. The biggest issue was the lack of yellow cards, as Puebla consistently got away with dangerous, cynical, and frustratingly unpunished fouls as early as the 20th minute. Not showing a card until the 69th minute was a complete travesty, allowing the away team to trip, foul, slap, delay, kick away, and completely obstruct the match, killing any attempt to play actual soccer. At one point, the ref whistled, then overruled himself, losing the plot entirely.
Upcoming: Testing the team’s depth against Sporting Kansas City on Sunday, without looking ahead to the Leagues Cup Semifinal next Wednesday, will be interesting.
