SoCal, so what: Sounders rule the Galaxy

The Seattle Sounders went down to Carson, Calif. for their second road meeting with the LA Galaxy in about two weeks, this time with a spot in the Leagues Cup Final and Concacaf Champions Cup hanging in the balance. Pedro de la Vega got Seattle on the board early in the 7th minute, and Osaze De Rosario added what proved to be an insurance goal in the 57th minute to see the Sounders to another win on the road against the Galaxy. They will now host Leo Messi's Inter Miami in Sunday's final.

Seattle were on top of LA early, first with a look for De Rosario in the 5th minute. DeRo flicked an initial ball on to Ferreira, who worked to retain the ball before slipping De Rosario in on goal. Although the eventual shot was saved by Novak Micovic, it was the start of what felt like a patter as the first half wore on. Just 2 minutes later, another De Rosario shot was saved again by Micovic, but the goalkeeper could only parry the ball away and Paul Rothrock swooped in to keep the play alive. Rothrock was brought down and the ball came loose, Ferreira jumped on it but his shot was blocked and the rebound fell for de la Vega to run onto it and smash it into the back of the net to take the lead.

The Sounders continued to push for a second goal, but the Galaxy were able to work their way back into the game, even putting Seattle under serious pressure during a 10-minute stretch between the 20th and 30th minute when Andrew Thomas made a pair of quality saves to deny Mauricio Cuevas and Diego Fagundez. Seattle were able to withstand the pressure and had another good look of their own before halftime. In the 40th minute an Alex Roldan throw-in from a dangerous spot bounced around the area a bit before Ferreira was able to gain control of it, evading defenders with a few touches before allowing Obed Vargas to run onto the ball and get a shot off from the top of the box that was just tipped away from the bottom corner for a corner kick.

Taking a 1-0 lead into halftime, the second half started with plenty of energy and back-and-forth activity, but little to get anyone off their seat. That was at least until the 57th minute. Alex Roldan sent in another long throw-in and De Rosario took it out of the air with his head before spinning Zanka with a sombrero, evading a couple of challenges and blasting his shot into the far post, refusing to be denied yet again by Micovic.

The next real moment of excitement for either side came in the 83rd minute. Nouhou flew into a challenge on Gabriel Pec up against the sideline, connecting with the ball but on the follow-through his legs shot up with his studs exposed at Pec’s knees. Nouhou was initially shown a yellow card, but upon review the call was changed to a red card and Seattle were forced to finish the game out with 10 men on the field.

Seattle would finish the game out, maintaining their 2-0 advantage. They nearly added a third through a fantastic drive by Vargas, who slalomed his way down the field before shooting from the top of the box but Micovic was able to come up with a kick save to deny him. In the end, 2-0 was plenty and the Sounders now advance to the Leagues Cup Final. Seattle will host Inter Miami and the whole circus that comes with David Beckham’s Fighting Flamingos on Sunday, August 31 at 5 pm.

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Lineups

Lots of changes from the weekend against SKC, but nearly the same as the lineup that started against Puebla. Osaze De Rosario takes over for Danny Musovski up top with Pedro de la Vega, Jesus Ferreira and Paul Rothrock in the three behind him. Obed Vargas returns to the starting group alongside Cristian Roldan, with Snyder Brunell back on the bench. Nouhou, Jackson Ragen, Yeimar and Alex Roldan line up along the back ahead of Andrew Thomas, with Cody Baker, Jon Bell, Reed Baker-Whiting and Stefan Frei all available as substitutes.

Key moments

5 - CHANCE! De Rosario flicks a ball on for Ferreira, who eventually is able to slip a ball through to put De Rosario in 1v1 with Micovic but his shot is easily saved.

7 - GOAL! De Rosario has a shot saved, but Rothrock keeps the play alive as the ball bounces around and de la Vega pounces on a rebound from a Ferreira shot and blasts it into the back of the net! 1-0, Sounders

16 - Free kick! Vargas drives through midfield and draws a free kick from 40 yards out after several attempts to stop him earns Fagundez a yellow card.

20 - SAVE! Nouhou and de la Vega aren’t able to stop Cuevas as he drives into the box and shoots, but Thomas makes a strong diving save and Vargas clears the ball.

27 - Block! Paintsil swings a ball out to the right for Cuevas who plays a low cross that Pec tries to dummy but Ragen reads it well and blocks it out for a corner.

28 - SAVE! The ball recycles out to Fagundez after the corner and Fagundez hits a hard shot headed for the corner but Thomas dives low to get enough of a touch to push it wide.

40 - SHOT! Alex Roldan’s throw in bounces around and Ferreira does well to keep control of the ball, allowing Vargas to run onto it and get a shot off that’s just tipped away for a corner.

HT - Sub. The Galaxy make the first change, bringing on John Nelson to replace Julian Aude.

57 - GOAL! OSAZE DE ROSARIO! DeRo absolutely bodies Zanka as he wins the ball on a throw, dribbles around defenders and finishes to the far post! 2-0, Sounders

60 - Subs. Paul Rothrock and Pedro de la Vega come off to make way for Danny Leyva and Reed Baker-Whiting for Seattle, while the Galaxy swap Christian Ramirez for Miguel Berry.

68 - Sub. Elijah Wynder enters the game in place of Diego Fagundez and Miki Yamane replaces Mauricio Cuevas for the Galaxy.

68 - Save! Cristian Roldan fouls Paintsil in a dangerous spot, but Thomas easily saves the free kick from Pec.

76 - Subs. Snyder Brunell and Kalani Kossa-Rienzi come on for Cristian Roldan and Osaze De Rosario.

83 - Red card. After review, Nouhou is shown a straight red card for a terrible tackle that involved his studs going knee-height on the follow-through of a challenge against Pec. Seattle go down to 10 men.

83 - Sub. Kim Kee-hee replaces Jesus Ferreira for Seattle.

86 - Sub. Edwin Cerrillo’s night is done as Harbor Miller comes on for the Galaxy.

87 - Chance! Vargas goes for a cross-country dribble, slaloming through defenders before firing a left-footed shot from the top of the box that Micovic kick-saves. Leyva follows up with an attempted chip, but hits it over the goal.

90 - Chance! Yoshida flicks a ball on to Ramirez who gets a touch on the ball in the air to try to control it, but Kim clears it before he gets a shot off.

Quick thoughts

Put your money where your mouth is: The Sounders didn’t sign anyone from outside of the organization during the summer transfer window that just closed. You know this, I’m not breaking news here. Part of the reason for not making any moves was that Seattle felt good about the guys they already had – looking particularly at the striker spot with Osaze De Rosario, and central midfield where Snyder Brunell and Danny Leyva both play – but those players hadn’t really been playing much of a role during the busiest part of the season. That started to change over the last month or two in drips and drabs, and tonight with a final up for grabs DeRo was forced into a starting spot by Danny Musovski’s suspension and battled with the Galaxy defense every minute he spent on the field, helping to create and get on the ends of chances throughout including his phenomenal goal. Leyva came on and absolutely looked the part at the 10 once again for half an hour, and Brian Schmetzer trusted Brunell to come in and spell Cristian Roldan for the final 15 minutes or so. The belief and faith in these players is starting to show, and it’s being repaid with good performances.

A star shining bright: Pedro de la Vega was the lone Designated Player available for Seattle in this game. With their relative lack of star power available, de la Vega seized his opportunity to shine. His goal gave Seattle the early lead – it was his third goal in 215 minutes in Leagues Cup and ninth across all competitions – but he was active all over the field for the Sounders. He completed 14/15 passes, 2/3 dribbles, won 1/2 tackles and 4/10 duels. He was constantly working for his teammates, battling with Cuevas and Pec on the right side to help limit their danger and create transition opportunities and attacks for Seattle. This is the player the club hoped they were getting when he came from Lanus, and now he’s looking more and more like that player with each performance.

Seattle’s no. 1b GK: Andrew Thomas doesn’t really feel like a No. 2 goalkeeper at this point. He’s more like 1b to Stefan Frei’s 1a. He didn’t have a ton to do in this game – the Galaxy only took a total of 4 saves – but Thomas was absolutely up to the task each time he was called upon. He made diving saves, pushing shots away from the corners, he controlled his box, and while his distribution struggled he did well to keep his defense organized. There are things he can iron out in his game, but this is a Big Moment Player, and whenever his time comes he and the Sounders will be ready.

Notable quote

Player spotlight

Osaze De Rosario was doing almost everything right all night, occupying defenders, completing both attempted dribbles, and taking 7 of his 29 touches inside the area. He took 5 shots and put 3 of them on target, and despite any frustration at the chances he didn’t finish he put them all behind himself to create a chance of his own and put it away very well.