Sometimes, there is perfection in imperfection.
Ever since Kalani Kossa-Rienzi was a late first-round pick in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft, his technical ability has been the biggest question. A former gymnast, his athleticism has always been obvious. Deployed mostly as a right wingback, he goes touchline-to-touchline with relative ease. He also seems to have good instincts, regularly popping up in places that opposing teams don’t always expect.
But there are also times when he’s not as comfortable in tight spaces as coaches would like.
On what turned out to be the decisive goal in Saturday’s 1-0 win over St. Louis City, that worked to his advantage.
Jesús Ferreira had cleverly baited Conrad Wallem into a loose pass inside his own penalty area. Ferreira pounced on it, took one touch and found Kossa-Rienzi all alone at the top of the box.
Kossa-Rienzi’s first touch was not ideal. Rather than controlling the pass and immediately shifting the ball to his left foot to set up the shot, the ball bounced up and off his chest (VAR ultimately had to check if it was a handball). Then he had to take a second touch with his right foot. This turned out to be fortuitous, as midfielder Daniel Edelman ended up flying by him and leaving him an open look. Kossa-Rienzi took another touch with his left, then blasted a low shot just inside the near post and past a diving Roman Bürki. As he has often done, Kossa-Rienzi celebrated with a perfectly executed backflip.
“My first touch was not where I wanted it to go,” he admitted after the match. “But that’s what the game is. You take it how it comes.
“I think my first touch messed with them as much as it messed with me, and I was quicker to get my second touch ready to go.”
That Kossa-Rienzi was even on the field in the first place was an imperfection itself. For the third time this year, the Sounders were forced to use a first-half injury sub when Yeimar Gomez Andrade went out with a right hamstring injury in the 23rd minute.
With no natural centerbacks available off the bench, there would have been a certain logic to sliding into a back-5 and inserting a veteran like Paul Arriola as a wingback. Instead, head coach Brian Schmetzer decided to stay in a back four, trust Alex Roldan to handle the right centerback role, and insert Kossa-Rienzi as the right back.
Kossa-Rienzi did everything possible to repay Schmetzer’s faith. Aside from the goal, he also had three tackles, eight recoveries, three clearances and won 4 of 4 duels. All of them were especially needed in a game where the Sounders had just 38% possession.
“We were just overwhelmed with joy on the bench to see that kid make an impact,” Schmetzer said. “I talk about it all the time, about making plays. We needed to make plays to make sure we won on the road. That kid was stellar.”
Satisfying as the win was, this was not a typical Sounders performance, at least not by the standards they’ve set in the last year. Unlike the first two games of the year, the Sounders sat much deeper, gambling that they could withstand whatever pressure St. Louis applied.
Although the Sounders didn’t do themselves many favors by struggling to keep the ball, they did an admirable job of limiting St. Louis’ chances. Goalkeeper Andrew Thomas only had to make one really tough save and the Sounders ended up getting higher-quality chances than the hosts, despite the possession disadvantage.
It was not a perfect performance, but it was highly effective. As long as a road game ends in “Jingle Bells,” Schmetzer is happy.
“The defending throughout the match was really good,” he said. “Overall, I’d give the defending an A+.”
