Last Monday, the Sounders went to Minnesota to start their MLS playoff run, and it went about like this year’s other matches against them: a loss, and miserable soccer that seemed to be unenjoyable for everyone. The home Loons sat back with everyone behind the ball, looking only periodically to attack via breakout or set piece, and the visiting Sounders repeatedly bashed their head against the defensive wall. Despite owning most of the best chances, Seattle didn’t have that bit of class and/or luck needed to break through. Having the match go directly to penalty kicks fit Minnesota’s catenaccio on steroids approach. The 0-0 draw in regular time ended as a 3-2 win for the Loons after penalties. Seattle will have to change the tactics to avoid losing four times in a row to a team with a frustratingly effective strategy against them.
En Fuego: The Sounders did just about everything right except score, limiting the opponent to few chances and creating multiple big opportunities of their own. Seattle has been capitalizing on those all year, and trusting the process is warranted, especially coming back to Lumen.
Cooked: Desperately missing Pedro de la Vega’s creativity, with adjustments coming too late, and underperforming players unable to break down the low block, Seattle struggled again with negative soccer. They seem to be particularly unsuited to play versus this depressingly effective Minnesota style, and Seattle did little to force the Loons to change their approach.
Goalkeeper
Stefan Frei – 5 | Community – 6.0
Another game, another shutout from Frei, who did everything needed in regulation time to keep the match level. His ability to direct traffic, add some distribution, and make the saves necessary meant all Seattle needed was one goal and they would have gone through.
En Fuego: Coming way out in the 28th minute was an example of how being aggressive against the set piece designs of Minnesota was essential. Frei added an excellent save in the 41st minute where he pushed the ball wide of the goal, and this was important as there were opponents waiting had he spilled it central.
Cooked: Seattle won multiple shootouts this year based on their kick-takers not missing, and Stef has rarely looked dynamic when forced to defend penalties. This was no different; Frei neither exuded confidence nor came close to saving any for his team, which fed the opponents’ confidence. You can’t rely on your guys to never miss penalties, but unfortunately, when Stef is back there for a shootout, never missing looks to be the only way the team can win.
Defense
Nouhou – 5 | Community – 6.2
This was a quiet match by Nouhou standards: he had 86 touches and excellent 91 percent passing, but lacked much of the forward dribbling and passing often seen from him. Most of this was due to there being no space for him to charge into, and his muted approach was a good adjustment not to push things. Unfortunately, this also meant that when combined with a struggling Paul Rothrock, the left side of the Seattle offense was almost a complete dud, as the Sounders simply weren’t creating down that side at all.
En Fuego: A nice 31st minute steal from the opponent earned Seattle a brief counter moment, one of the few times a transition opportunity arose. Nouhou didn’t force things, even when presented with an open shot at one point.
Cooked: In the 41st minute, Nouhou was beaten by a move in the box and Minnesota earned one of their best chances of the evening due to this blunder. Luckily, Frei pushed the shot wide, but Nouhou had to do better there. His lack of ability to influence the offense is exacerbated against a team that has such a deep defensive posture.
Jackson Ragen – 7 | Community – 7.2 (MOTM)
Ragen was a key distributor in this match, leading the team with an enormous 117 touches. He added clean passing by connecting on 98 percent of his 105 attempts. This meant Seattle kept the ball a lot, and had continual control of the match. Ragen also finished his penalty kick cleanly.
En Fuego: Ragen settled down in this match and started to make his usual great passing, but it was his strong defense that stood out. A 49th minute potential breakout against three Loons was stopped by Jackson’s excellent positioning, and more calm defending in the 66th minute limited Minnesota to yet another poor chance as Seattle’s defense did its job.
Cooked: When he was beaten early, there was a legitimate opportunity for the referee to call a penalty and likely DOGSO. It is mind-boggling that this team was not prepared for exactly the same thing the opponent has done all year, and it took this near catastrophic failure to adjust.
Yeimar – 7 | Community – 6.9
It was fantastic to not only see Yeimar back, but to have him go 90 in this match. The big man was his usual self, able to match up physically with Minnesota’s offensive attempts to go over the top, as well as winning nearly every aerial duel to limit set piece success for the Loons.
En Fuego: Immediately impactful, Yeimar almost scored in the 6th minute off a set piece flick. In the 53rd minute, Minnesota got Yeimar’d as he came across and destroyed a semi-chance single-footedly. Two minutes later, he won a header on goal that nearly saw Seattle take the lead.
Cooked: Long his biggest struggle, Yeimar’s penchant for misplaced passes almost bit Seattle in the butt a few times, notably in the 33rd and 86th minutes. Against a team like Minnesota that lives off turnovers and transition, these normally minor errors were dangerous.
Alex Roldan – 6 | Community – 6.1
Alex was near-perfect at passing and connecting forward, but struggled like his teammates to break down the defense. This was a strong match from Roldan who did every defensive thing he needed to do, supporting all the way across the field. He also took on a high position offensively, offering passing and control options in the right width and right channel areas.
En Fuego: An early 18th minute clear off the line was crucial to keep Minnesota from getting a lucky goal after a Rothrock mistake in the box. Alex also consistently popped up in the offensive third to add support, even earning a nice shot attempt through traffic in the box.
Cooked: Alex almost had an unfortunate own goal in the 68th minute off a corner. Most depressing, however, was his penalty take where the opposing keeper got in his head and easily saved Roldan’s weak effort down the middle.
Defensive Midfield
Cristian Roldan – 7 | Community – 6.4
Once again, Cristian Roldan was fantastic during the run of play. With 91 touches and five in the Loon box, he understood the need to get forward and overload the attacking areas. He led the team with eight won duels, and was a consistent distributive force for Seattle. His excellent play during the first 90 minutes was exactly what he has been doing all season.
En Fuego: A 22nd minute corner kick header was saved off the line and a 54th minute run through the defense and shot was exactly how to penetrate a defense set up like the Loons. Unfortunately, his shot was saved, but this direct vertical run was effective. Cristian was a commanding force for the entirety of regulation time.
Cooked: His usual dominant self in the middle, Cristian didn’t have that little bit needed to put the team over the top. Whether it was missing through balls, not finishing a big chance, or once again hitting the frame on a penalty take, the precision needed to help earn a win was not there in this performance.
Obed Vargas – 5 | Community – 6.2 (off 93’ for Leyva)
Obed returned to the starting lineup next to Roldan and they controlled the field and possession well. A number of opportunities for Vargas to get into the attack were ignored, and Seattle needed more forward push from their center, as Minnesota was happy to sit back and absorb everything Seattle threw at them. A number of direct runs from Obed had promise but led to only a single touch in the Minnesota area. He had 78 touches overall.
En Fuego: With 93 percent passing, Obed did what he was supposed to do. With all that possession he found teammates and moved the ball cleanly forward to the offense. He was rarely beaten and combined with Cristian to own the middle as Seattle pushed their team high.
Cooked: For much of the match, Vargas had little impact. His connection forward was average, and he lacked the kind of direct runs needed to help overload the box and add attackers to the area. He still seems allergic to penetrating the opponent’s penalty area. Dropping Albert Rusnák back to add more dynamic attackers to the front line should be considered against this opponent.
Attacking Midfield
Paul Rothrock – 4 | Community – 5.8 (off 81’ for Minoungou)
Rothrock struggled nearly the entire match to get anything going in Minnesota. His statistics were abysmal: one shot (missed), zero successful dribbles, long balls, or crosses, and he only won two out of 13 total duels. Somehow he stayed on the field for 81 minutes on sheer hustle and effort alone, but he was a black hole for Seattle in this one.
En Fuego: Although struggling with the numbers Minnesota got back, Rothrock’s smart movement found him open in the first minute as Jordan Morris shot near post, and he earned a great chance in the 30th after fantastic buildup from teammates Jesús Ferreira and Morris. Unfortunately, he lacked the precision to put this big chance away.
Cooked: Watching Paul attempt to break down disciplined defenders was painful. Unable to get around his man or find any space all night, Rothrock had an awful time attempting to make an impact. He continually made attempts that were rebuffed, and his physical play in response wasn’t enough to offset his struggles. Even worse, he made a foul in a massive moment, on a set piece when Morris was forcing a DOGSO penalty kick, which was called back for Paul’s foul. Bringing in more creative options has to be on the table now.
Albert Rusnák – 7 | Community – 6.5
With five key passes, Rusnák did his job against Minnesota, creating chances from set pieces and a number of connective plays through the middle. If Minnesota continues to play so deep, moving Albert back a line is an interesting idea, as having another creative midfielder might help break down the defense. Unfortunately, much of what Rusnák did was denied by the Minnesota defensive wall.
En Fuego: Albert created a number of opportunities for others, such as nice corners and set piece service that found Yeimar in the opening minutes and Cristian in the 32nd.
Cooked: Rusnák needs to take outside shots against this team, but all four of his attempts were blocked. Wasting a valuable set piece in the 61st with a wonky “shot” into the wall was an example of a flustered Sounders team struggling to break down a compact defense and moving away from the basics.
Jesús Ferreira – 6 | Community – 5.8 (off 72’ for Musovski)
Ferreira was back on the right in this match but struggled at times to find the spaces he’s accustomed to working in. His usual tight control and passing were there, but Jesús wasn’t goal dangerous or able to add his number into the box to help overload on offense. Instead, Ferreira was a facilitator, a consistent pressing and control player who was minimized by the Minnesota defensive posture.
En Fuego: Immediately putting Morris through in the 1st minute signaled a verticality that Seattle needed, although this space closed quickly. An excellent 23rd minute tackle set up Morris again, and Jesús consistently counter-pressed. Brilliant 30th minute ball movement showed a blueprint to break down this defense, but it lacked the finish from Rothrock.
Cooked: Jesús’ effectiveness faded during the match, and he forced a number of passes trying to break down the defense. There was somewhat of a disconnect in how to attack that defense, and with Jesús pushing central, the added control didn’t translate into better opportunities.
Striker
Jordan Morris – 7 (MOTM) | Community – 6.0
Morris started up top and was both dangerous on goal and a quality distributor, earning a shot but also four important key passes, nearly willing Seattle to a late victory with some excellent wide play. Although starved of the ball for much of the contest, Jordan remained active and his movement and distribution nearly earned Sounders the win.
En Fuego: A threat all match, he went near-post in the 1st minute, flicked to get Paul a massive chance in the 30th, forced a DOGSO that was called back due to a suspect foul, created massive chances for Danny Musovski in the 80th, 91st, and 95th, and was generally the best non-goalkeeper player on the field.
Cooked: Unable to find space in the compact field, a combination of unproductive movement and not connecting with teammates meant that Morris was good, not great, until he moved outside where he had more space to attack.
Substitutes
Danny Musovski – 5 | Community – 5.6 (on 72’ for Ferreira)
Musovski came in with a quarter of an hour left in the match and immediately took up post central, pushing Morris wide. This combination turned deadly on multiple occasions, with Danny using his smart movement in the box to find pockets of space and earn big chances he nearly put away.
En Fuego: Immediately impactful by diving into space in the goal behind the defense, Moose earned a shot in the 80th minute from mere feet out before another giant chance late. Either of these would have won the match. His ability to go direct to goal and get on the end of wide service created huge chances for Seattle.
Cooked: An xG merchant all year, Danny has been successful this season at finishing those big chances he creates. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to in this match, and hasn’t scored in his last seven appearances. It’s not a great time for him to go cold.
Georgi Minoungou – 5 | Community – 5.3 (on 81’ for Rothrock)
Minoungou came in, but not until the 81st minute, in a curiously late addition after Rothrock had struggled most of the match. Seattle completely failed to find Georgi, and when subbed on so late, he never had a chance to do what he does best. Without ever finding him to set up his dynamic dribbling, this was a wasted appearance, and it didn’t show whether Georgi could be a difference maker against the Loons’ defensive style.
En Fuego: An excellent follow-up of the play in the 95th earned Georgi a shot, and it deflected out for a late corner.
Cooked: A late foul in the 89th minute gave a set piece-reliant team a set piece that could have been disastrous. Not subbing him in earlier or using Georgi to do Georgi things were mistakes.
Danny Leyva – 5 | Community – 4.9 (on 93’ for Vargas)
Danny entered late for Vargas, perhaps to be a penalty kick taker.
Cooked: When you are put on as a PK specialist, you have to at least hit the target. And by “hit the target” I mean INSIDE the post. Should have left Obed in.
Referee
Alexis de Silva – 4 | Community – 5.2
This ref had a turbulent match. Making a statement early on a big decision, he let play go for much of the match and was consistent on not making the big, game-changing calls. He called 27 fouls, and gave out five yellows, all to Minnesota.
En Fuego: On multiple occasions, this referee allowed play to continue before bringing out the book to card a player. This usage of advantage play was phenomenal. His yellow cards were sensible and he clearly seemed to prefer to keep players on the field and allow physical play instead of being overly eager with the whistle.
Cooked: Minnesota got robbed early as Ragen made no play on the ball and could have been sent off for his shove after being beaten on a break. Similarly, the phantom Rothrock foul that took away a clear deliberate hand ball on the line was a travesty. Adding an 84th minute red-cardable tackle similar to the one Rusnák was recently sent off for, and a yellow for a deliberate elbow to the neck meant that he missed four potential red cards in this match. Yikes.
Minnesota United MOTM
Dayne St. Clair is a good soccer goalkeeper. The big Canadian negated 2.4 Seattle xG, all before coming up huge in the shootout to earn his side a leg up in this showdown. He did particularly well at protecting his near post, as Seattle looked to get sneaky on a couple occasions, most notably through Morris straight away, and Musovski in the 80th minute.
Upcoming: Do or die time.
