Cruising in Carson: Sounders put 4 on the Galaxy

The Seattle Sounders hit the road to take on the LA Galaxy following their perfect run in Phase One of Leagues Cup, and head home with all three points after a 4-0 win. An own-goal created by Pedro de la Vega and Paul Rothrock got things going for Seattle before a Danny Musovski brace and a debut goal for Snyder Brunell secured the result.

Brian Schmetzer made seven changes for a variety of reasons following the Wednesday match against Club Tijuana in Leagues Cup, and got almost immediate results against a Galaxy team that had been on a decent run of form coming into the match. The two sides exchanged looks in the opening minutes, but the Sounders were the side creating more and better chances. Pedro de la Vega was particularly active and threatening, creating chance after chance for his teammates from the left wing.

After several near chances, de la Vega hit pay dirt. He hit a heavy a cross from the left wing to the back post where Rothrock was crashing and forced defender Julian Aude into knocking the ball into his own net for an own goal in the 25th minute. Rothrock got a touch, but only enough to bang it off defender Julian Aude to force an own-goal.

Joseph Paintsil nearly provided an immediate answer for the Galaxy in the 26th minute. Paintsil got a fortunate bounce as Alex Roldan challenged him for the ball inside the area, and he was able to continue into close range with Andrew Thomas, but Thomas was able to make himself big and block the shot. That was just about the last time the game felt like it was in any kind of jeopardy. Musovski was able to bust the game open not long after, following up his own shot for a simple finish in the 37th minute. Rothrock was the provider for the chance on this one, playing a fantastic through ball from the right wing that set up perfectly for Musovski to run onto it and have a shot. Galaxy goalkeeper Novak Micovic made a save on the initial shot, but gave up a big rebound that fell kindly for Musovski to put away and take a 2-0 lead into halftime.

The Galaxy came out reinvigorated for the second half, applying pressure early on and creating a dangerous chance in the 48th minute. Cristian Roldan had a simple pass from the defensive third go right to Marco Reus, and Reus was able to play the ball to Nascimiento who had a good look but Andrew Thomas was more than up for the challenge, stopping the shot and collecting the loose ball. Just a few minutes later Musovski pounced on another rebound to give Seattle a 3-0 lead in the 54th minute. Cristian Roldan played a simple pass to the feet of de la Vega who was able to redirect it into space for Ferreira to get a good shot off that Micovic was able to block but he put the rebound right into the feet of Musovski who wasn’t going to miss from there.

At that point the Galaxy were as good as broken. Over the next 30 minutes the Sounders outshot their hosts 7-3 with the Galaxy settling for hopeful efforts, only forcing Thomas to make one routine save. The Sounders seemed destined for at least one more, as Rothrock struck the cross bar from an open look and several shots headed for goal were blocked by a packed-in defense.

Then in the 85th minute, making his MLS debut, Snyder Brunell put an exclamation mark on the result. Kalani Kossa-Rienzi played a dagger of a through ball through the defense for Alex Roldan making an outside-in overlapping run before cutting it back to Brunell who had made a very mature run through the box before calmly slotting the ball away for Seattle’s 4th of the night.

The Sounders now turn their attention to a trip to the Twin Cities to face Minnesota United on Aug. 16.

Sounder at Heart is what it is because of readers like you. We are 90% subscriber funded and August is our most important fundraising month. If you like what we do, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. To help entice you, here’s a 10% discount on our entry-level plan.

Get 10% off a Backer membership

Lineups

For a second consecutive game the Sounders make seven changes to the lineup. Danny Musovski returns to his starting spot, sending Osaze De Rosario back to the bench. Jesús Ferreira moves inside and Pedro de la Vega starts on the left with Ryan Kent and Albert Rusnák out injured, while Paul Rothrock starts on the right. Nouhou and Alex Roldan retake their places on the left and right of the back line, and Kim Kee-hee starts alongside Yeimar as Reed Baker-Whiting, Kalani Kossa-Rienzi and Jackson Ragen all join the substitutes.

Key moments

1 - Chance! De la Vega rips in a cross from the left that Musovski gets a touch to as he runs through the box, but his header isn’t able to redirect the ball and it goes out for a goal kick.

4 - Miss! Pec gets off a shot from the top of the box as Kim closes him down, but his effort curls wide of goal and out.

12 - Chance! Kim plays a ball over the top for the diagonal run of Alex Roldan, but Roldan can’t quite get the positioning to take a shot after bringing the ball down.

13 - Chance! De la Vega creates enough separation on the left to send in a low cross for Ferreira, but Ferreira doesn’t quite connect and the ball goes out for a goal kick.

19 - SHOT! Vargas plays a ball over the top for de la Vega who is able to play a chopped little cutback for Ferreira, but Ferreira’s shot slides just wide.

25 - GOAL! De la Vega sends in a cross to the far post and Rothrock is right there to punch it home, but forces Aude to put it in his own net! 1-0, Sounders

26 - SAVE! Paintsil gets a lucky bounce in a challenge with Alex Roldan and is able to get a shot, but Thomas makes a huge close-range save to deny an equalizer!

33 - Shot! Vargas slides the ball out left to de la Vega who runs onto it and pulls from outside the area, but his low, curling shot doesn’t trouble Micovic.

37 - GOAL! Rothrock plays a great through ball for Musovski who goes 1-v-1 with Micovic and has his initial shot saved, but he’s right there to put away the rebound! 2-0, Sounders

39 - Miss! The Galaxy storm down the field looking to get one back, Paintsil gets around Cristian Roldan and cuts the ball back, but Fagundez’s shot from the top of the box goes into the bleachers.

45+2 - SHOT! The Sounders work the ball around the edge of the area a bit before Ferreira finds Cristian Roldan at the top of the box and Roldan hits a line drive that looks destined for goal but Yoshida gets a touch and the ref blows for halftime.

48 - SAVE! Cristian Roldan gives the ball away under no pressure in the defensive third and Reus plays in Nascimiento, but Thomas is there to block the shot and pick up the rebound.

54 - GOAL! Cristian Roldan slips Ferreira in for a shot from inside the area that Micovic stops but gives up a rebound, and Musovski is right there to put it into the empty net! 3-0, Sounders

62 - Subs. Pedro de la Vega and Obed Vargas exit the game, replaced by Kalani Kossa-Rienzi and Danny Leyva for the Sounders.

65 - Subs. The Galaxy bring on John Nelson, Isaiah Parente, Elijah Wynder and Miki Yamane, taking off Mauricio Cuevas, Diego Fagundez, Marco Reus and Zanka.

67 - Chance! Musovski has a great look at his hat trick, but his shot through traffic is blocked out for a corner!

73 - Miss! Musovski dribbles into trouble and gives the ball up and the Galaxy go the other way, but Pec’s attempt from distance goes wide.

73 - Subs. The Sounders take off Jesús Ferreira and Danny Musovski, replacing them with Snyder Brunell and Osaze De Rosario.

74 - SHOT! Rothrock receives a pass from Alex Roldan and fires from 10 yards out, but hits the cross bar and sees the ball bounce out for a goal kick.

79 - Sub. The final sub for the Galaxy is Christian Ramirez taking the place of Edwin Carrillo.

80 - Shot! Paintsil gets the ball on his feet on the left wing and drives at Alex Roldan, cuts inside and gets a shot off before Cristian can put pressure on, but Thomas easily catches it.

82 - Sub. Seattle make the final change of the game, swapping Georgi Minoungou for Paul Rothrock on the left.

85 - GOAL! Snyder Brunell scores on his debut! KKR knifes a pass through the back line for Alex Roldan, who plays the ball across from the end line and Brunell is perfectly placed for the put away! 4-0, Sounders

Quick thoughts

Rotation, rest and results: There’s plenty to be made of the number of changes over the last several games, some due to injuries and others to get players minutes and keep others fresh. Jackson Ragen got a well-deserved night off, and it meant that Kim Kee-hee was able to put in a very good shift alongside Yeimar. Cristian Roldan and Obed Vargas both started again, and while Cristian did put in another 90-minute performance, Vargas was able to come off for the game’s final 30 minutes. Danny Leyva was able to show well once again in his half-hour, and Snyder Brunell looked composed, completing all 11 of his attempted passes and scoring a goal, two performances that hopefully will mean Seattle’s starting midfielders can get a few more breaks in the coming weeks. The rotation in attack is yielding fruit, and the performances are earning more opportunities and hopefully keeping players fresh for the home stretch of the season.

Andrew Thomas is showing his worth: It’s hard to put too much of the team’s defensive frailty on the shoulders of the backup goalkeeper stepping in to fill Stefan Frei’s place while the Sounders legend recovers from concussion, but the truth is that while Seattle were absolutely smashing goals in during the month of July they also allowed two or more goals in four consecutive games. But since the start of Leagues Cup they’ve played 4 games and allowed just two goals with two clean sheets and the attack is still humming right along. Thomas seems to be improving as he gets more experience, not necessarily developing but getting “seasoned” as Schmetzer put it in his post-game comments. Against the Galaxy Thomas’ distribution was solid, completing 22 of 28 passes and going 6/12 on long balls. He was credited with just three saves on eight shots, but made several other crucial interventions. He certainly hasn’t unseated Frei, but the present and future of Seattle’s goalkeeper are in good hands.

The Puget Sound Pipeline: Seattle’s ability to develop players through the academy and Tacoma Defiance, and help them progress into real first team contributors is truly something special in MLS. There are other teams that are more famous or well-regarded by national media for their ability to churn out home grown players, but against the Galaxy four of the Sounders starters came through their developmental pipeline in one way or another. Another two were drafted by Seattle and turned into national team players and key players for the Sounders. All five substitutes made their way to the first team through Defiance, including Snyder Brunell who has progressed through the academy, made himself not only a crucial piece but a captain for Defiance, and now becoming the first Sounders’ Homegrown to score on his MLS debut.

Notable quote

“It doesn’t erase the sting of last November, but it was a good result. The team has been riding a high, so has the Galaxy ... it was going to be a tough game. The defending was excellent. ... I thought it was a pretty darn good performance defensively.” – Brian Schmetzer

Player spotlight

Danny Musovski’s brace was his second in three league games, gives him six since the Club World Cup and puts him on 10 goals in MLS and 12 in all competitions, which is a career best for him. He was a demon, constantly tormenting the Galaxy back line, and he got his reward.