At the end of Phase One of the Leagues Cup, only one team stands undefeated: the Seattle Sounders. This achievement came on the back of a gritty, hard fought, come-from-behind victory against Club Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles de Caliente. While the final 2-1 scoreline was close, Seattle missed eight big chances, hitting the woodwork multiple times, failing to convert a penalty kick, and needing a late goal to ensure moving on to the quarterfinals. The Sounders accomplished this win because they valiantly kept up the pressure all night, and outside of a few nervy moments, were the better team. Two backup strikers showed their abilities, and the Sounders’ excellent depth was again on display. Eventually breaking through, Seattle went about their business and never looked intimidated, even when things were sometimes shaky.
Cream of the crop: 4.4-1.0 xG illustrates how dominant the Sounders were in this match, and it was a matter of when, not if, they were going to come back and win. Seattle has expertly navigated this tournament thus far, winning and controlling all three games. They rotated lineups and still were able to dispatch three Mexican teams in a week, quite a feat!
Skim milk: The team didn’t emerge unscathed from the fixture congestion, with Alex Roldan getting cut open, and Ryan Kent and Albert Rusnák suffering potentially more serious injuries. This will test the depth and, worst case, could jeopardize the entire season.
Goalkeeper
Andrew Thomas – 7
Thomas has managed goalkeeping duties so far in this tournament, and has contributed to three wins and a +9 goal differential. We have solid team defense and consistent offense to thank, but Andrew has pulled his weight as well. Outside of Tijuana’s terrific strike right before half, Thomas denied their chances, from aggressive penalty area control to making multiple big saves.
Cream of the crop: In the 72nd minute, Seattle pushed numbers forward, but it was Tijuana who broke out and got an advantage. Thomas was quick off his line to parry a massive chance away, keeping the game tied until the Sounders could eventually score the winner.
Skim milk: A number of his saves were messier than hoped for, like a 65th minute fumble that almost spilled back into the path of an opponent. There is room to clean these up.
Defense
Reed Baker-Whiting – 7
Reed started on the left, resting Nouhou, and he started out very strong. His defensive numbers were good, winning all three tackles attempted and performing 10 defensive actions. He lost a few key duels, and his positioning was not in sync at all times, but he more than offset that with good decision making and combination pushing forward. He faded a little as the match went on, but a critical intervention across field late helped deny the Xolos their best chance.
Cream of the crop: Reed showed solid 1-v-1 defending and a number of important interventions, such as blocked shots in the 18th and 23rd minutes. He paired these with good forward support, nearly scoring in the 45th minute.
Skim milk: His spacing in the back still needs work, there were a few bad passes, and on the goal against, he dropped into no-man’s land – but overall this was a solid effort from RBW.
Jackson Ragen – 7
Jackson and Yeimar were once again a terrific pairing in the back, holding Tijuana to very few chances all evening while also being a force in the air on set pieces. Ragen was the distribution fulcrum, a safe outlet for the younger wide defenders as he consistently found the best pass through the opponent’s midfield.
Cream of the crop: Calm play in the back was Ragen’s game all night, even when banging with fast and physical forwards. As usual, everything went through Jackson, who was 70/75 passing.
Skim milk: In the 72nd minute, Tijuana had their best chance of the night. It came off Jackson over-committing around midfield, permitting a breakout behind him that forced Reed and Andrew to come up big.
Yeimar – 8
Yeimar did a bit of everything. He had 87 percent passing, pushed the ball into the attacking third 10 times by keeping a high line defensively, and hit the post on another set piece header. His 12 defensive actions included winning seven headers as Tijuana consistently tried him on the defensive right and consistently came up second best.
Cream of the crop: Yeimar was awesome all game, bossing defensively and winning every aerial on offense and defense. In the 47th minute, as the last man back, he took the ball from the opposing striker. Instead of pressuring Yeimar to get it back, the Tijuana player gave up and dropped off, understanding he’d just been Yeimar’d.
Skim milk: A 32nd minute poor pass put Cristian Roldan in a rough spot and nearly got his midfielder hurt as he tried to bail out the play.
Kalani Kossa-Rienzi – 5 (off 65’ for A. Roldan)
Kalani had a muted match, enjoying some success on the right and being a functioning part of a quality possession game. He was credited with a shot on target and missing a big chance, both coming as he dashed diagonally into the box from wide positions. KKR didn’t have much luck combining with teammates, instead taking a backseat and being almost an afterthought. He had only 37 touches before subbing off early in the second half.
Cream of the crop: A nice breakout in the 28th minute showed the smart pairing with Jesús Ferreira, with KKR staying wide and consistently diving at the back line.
Skim milk: An unnecessary defensive play deep in first half extra time meant Tijuana earned a foul, yellow card, and dangerous free kick right after they’d taken match momentum.
Defensive Midfield
Cristian Roldan – 8 (MOTM)
Another match, another monster performance from Cristian. He not only ended nearly every Tijuana attack, but also drove Seattle’s attacks forward. He found Kent on the first goal and assisted on the second, but also had impressive stats: three shots, five key passes, 10 passes into the final third, and eight defensive actions. He was dispossessed only once all match.
Cream of the crop: Like two matches ago, it was a near-post run from Cristian that paired perfectly with a backpost flick and clean teammate finish. This one earned Seattle the game-winning goal in the 87th minute.
Skim milk: A number of uncharacteristic mistakes from Cristian were punished quickly, like being picked from behind in possession and a defensive miss in the 51st minute, which became an immediate counter attempt behind him.
Obed Vargas – 7
Obed combined seamlessly with Roldan, Ferreira, and Rusnák all night, helping Seattle to a possession and field-tilt advantage. His consistent vertical runs from inside out found purchase and created spacing for the attackers in front of him. He had 89 percent passing including a key pass, but also missed two big chances, and was less effective defensively in a number of important moments.
Cream of the crop: He was good all night, but as usual, he kept getting stronger as the match went on. He put the game to bed in the 95th minute with a beautiful run right up the middle, getting in behind and earning a DOGSO red card to end any debate on the winner.
Skim milk: With only three defensive actions and 50 percent duels won, Obed forced others around him to do more defense, while he was busy pushing forward.
Attacking Midfield
Ryan Kent – 7 (off 80’ for de la Vega)
Kent was excellent all night, poking and probing and giving Tijuana fits until he broke through to deliver important set up passes. One of his two key passes leveled the match, and he was consistent at diving to the end line as well as drifting inside and combining in impressive technical connections with teammates as Seattle looked unstoppable in spurts.
Cream of the crop: Kent fought through a number of fouls and still managed to constantly impact the match. His creation set up teammates, culminating in a ridiculous change of pace to create space in the 56th minute, followed by a lofted assist for Osaze De Rosario to slam home on the back post.
Skim milk: Some disappointing fumbles in good spots killed chances in the first half, but even more disappointing was seeing Ryan sub off with a hamstring injury after a terrific game.
Albert Rusnák – 6 (off 64’ for Rothrock)
This was likely a regrettable match for Albert, who missed a key penalty that would have changed the entire match, and didn’t get on the scoreboard even though he had three key passes before an injury forced him off the field. Prior to this, Rusnák was part of the beautiful, free-flowing attack that created chance after chance.
Cream of the crop: Rusnák was involved in a ton of great buildup, forced a 16th minute save and even scored a goal, which was unfortunately removed for offside.
Skim milk: Yet another hamstring casualty, seeing Rusnák forced off the field in the 64th minute was incredibly frustrating. Losing him for any amount of time would be devastating.
Jesús Ferreira – 7 (off 90’ for Kim)
Starting on the right, Jesús drifted inside and was a glue player, connecting with almost everyone. He ended with three shots, three key passes, hit the post, and served a number of effective set pieces late, one of which resulted in the game-winning goal. Ferreira’s ability to glide around and find the game without forcing things lets others around him excel.
Cream of the crop: This was the definition of a force multiplier performance. While not being on the end of any big chances, nearly everything good Seattle created had Ferreira’s influence. A great example was on the first goal where Jesús pulled four defenders near-post and opened up the back for ODR.
Skim milk: Seattle had chances to put the game away early, and none bigger than an open reflex header in the 16th minute by Jesús, who was alone with a chance to finish a ball that hit the post. Instead of going up a goal, Ferreira headed it off the crossbar and Seattle was denied.
Forward
Osaze De Rosario – 8 (off 80’ for Musovski)
It was Osaze’s turn to get a start and he showed what he can do. Not just a big body, De Rosario showed off quick burst speed, smart movement, and a nifty backheel flick to put a teammate in for a shot. When needed, though, it was his ability to use his size and strength to win key aerial battles to set up and finish chances for Seattle. Perhaps most impressive were the four key passes that ODR was credited with; he already looks like a quality MLS player in short minutes.
Cream of the crop: Constantly dangerous, especially in the air, ODR earned the first half penalty while challenging for a header in the box. He outdid this moment in the 56th minute, completely bodying the defender and dunking the game-tying goal with a thunderous header.
Skim milk: A few times in possession, Osaze missed his link ups, and especially in the first half, was up and down on connections with teammates.
Substitutes
Paul Rothrock – 5 (on 64’ for Rusnák)
Rothrock came in on the right and was largely absent for much of his time on the field. His 12 touches were very clean, though, returning perfect passing and earning two big chances, which he unfortunately squandered.
Cream of the crop: Racing up the line in the 86th minute to personally force a yellow card was vintage Rothrock, getting behind and selling the contact.
Skim milk: A 94th minute breakout had goal differential padding written all over it, as the free-flowing Sounders attack transitioned into the box and the ball found Paul wide open. His attempt was a weak effort, passing right to the opposition keeper.
Alex Roldan – 5 (on 65’ for KKR)
Roldan came in to deputize the right side and added some control when combining with Rothrock on the wing. He had only 18 touches but managed four essential defensive actions.
Cream of the crop: Almost immediately upon entering, Alex showed his ability to impact the play. He won a corner after a great push forward in the 66th minute, part of a burst of quality play from the Sounders.
Skim milk: A 73rd minute turnover meant that Tijuana got in behind with a chance to potentially boot Seattle from the tournament, but it was luckily not converted.
Pedro de la Vega – 5 (on 80’ for Kent)
In form Pedro joined on his now customary left side near the end of the match, and he had four important defensive recoveries as well as perfect passing. This included the ball that ended the match.
Cream of the crop: It took a while for Pedro to get involved, but after he earned a yellow for the Xolos via a nifty dribble, he grew into the match. A lovely dash up the middle and around the defense with his head up allowed PDLV to play Obed in directly behind for the game-ending DOGSO play.
Skim milk: An 83rd minute turnover in the box killed a chance right after arrival, and an inexplicable 94th minute back pass forced Thomas to clear long.
Danny Musovski – 6 (on 80’ for ODR)
Danny subbed in and did exactly what you want from him: dove toward the goal and finished when given the opportunity.
Cream of the crop: Moose entered inauspiciously and yet popped up perfectly in the 87th minute to head home the game-winning goal. His movement off the ball was excellent and he finished clean to send Seattle through.
Skim milk: Both prior to and after his goal (real “how was the movie, Mrs. Lincoln?” energy here) Musovski was absent, with three total touches and zero pass attempts.
Kim Kee-hee – 5 (on 90’ for Ferreira)
Holding on to the win and the tournament’s top spot, Kim and his big body were added to the match late. He did his job.
Cream of the crop: An essential 95th minute header helped kill off the match as Kim showed great aerial command.
Skim milk: That header was his only touch of the match.
Referee
Ekaterina Koroleva – 6
Although an improvement over recent referees, this was another frustrating match to watch. The referee crew fell into the familiar pattern of letting too much go and then having to crack down as the match got out of hand. Luckily, the Xolos were much less whiny and floppy than the two previous opponents, but they still outfouled Seattle 17-8.
Cream of the crop: Most of the first half was refereed well, with Seattle controlling play and earning many fouls. Her quick call on the goalkeeper foul in the 48th minute was spot on.
Skim milk: Similar to many other referees, Koroleva allowed too much early and was forced to show a lot of cheese late. This meant five yellows and a red were handed out after the 70th minute, only one of which was to Seattle. Alex Roldan’s face and the back of Ragen’s head were evidence that she missed multiple other yellow cardable fouls throughout this game.
Upcoming: Top seed into the next round … but first, down south to play the LA Galaxy this weekend.
