When the Seattle Sounders set out on their franchise-record five-game road trip, they didn’t exactly have a targeted point total in mind. But they did have an understanding that this stretch of games could go a long way in defining what was possible this season.
While no level of achievement was going to guarantee them any sort of silverware, the reality was that a significant slip-up could virtually knock them out of the Supporters’ Shield race before it had really even started.
After their 1-0 win over the Houston Dynamo on Saturday, the Sounders now have their first major test of the season in the rearview mirror. With 10 points in those five games, it’s safe to say they passed.
Although the Sounders are tied for fourth in the Supporters’ Shield race — three points behind pack-leading LAFC — no other team among the Top 6 has played more than three of their first six matches on the road. Of the three teams with more than the Sounders’ 13 points, no one has played more than two away from home.
The Sounders have done this while already digging into their bench. They’ve had to use different lineups in each of their eight matches — including both legs of the Concacaf Champions Cup, which were also played away from Lumen Field — while averaging about four changes from one game to the next and using 21 different starters in league play, which is tied for the most in MLS.
“Credit there to the coaching staff,” said Sounders midfielder Paul Rothrock, who scored his fifth goal across all competitions in the Dynamo win. “The last few years we are carving more of an identity for ourselves. The roles and shape are becoming clear. That helps players and it helps them to know their spots. That’s why we have a lot of success in our depth. Our roles and system are clear.”
That depth is made up increasingly of players from the Tacoma Defiance. This marked the third consecutive league game in which the Sounders used at least six starters who were first signed by the Defiance, which doesn’t even include goalkeeper Andrew Thomas, who played there for three seasons while on a first-team contract before making his MLS debut.
“We don’t lose anything,” Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer insisted when asking about his willingness to rotate his lineups and use early subs. “All the players are human, if someone is having an off day and we can bring a guy on. That’s a tool we can use to drive the group. They know their places aren’t confirmed. No one has a guaranteed spot. There’s competition in a lot of different places and that will just raise to level.”
Antino Lopez is the latest player to emerge as a reliable starter from Defiance, making his third straight league start first in place of the injured Alex Roldan, who himself had moved to centerback to cover for the absence of Yeimar Gomez-Andrade.
He’s helped lead a defense that has now registered four straight road shutouts and now has a road shutout streak that stretches past 400 minutes. That’s been a major area for improvement this year, with the Sounders already eclipsing last year’s road shutout total (two).
While the offense hasn’t quite clicked yet, the Sounders are finding ways to grind out results. This was the third time they’ve won a game 1-0.
“It’s really important to be able to win in multiple ways,” Sounders midfielder Cristian Roldan said. “This was another example of creating chances through run of play but defending well in a low block. That’s been a staple this year.
“Today was a good example of playing our system but also absorbing and getting a result.”
It wasn’t like this stretch was a cakewalk, either. Last year, these five fixtures netted the Sounders just three points. This time, the Sounders walked away with 10. The Sounders are already more than halfway to last year’s road point total (19) with 12 games left to play.
Next up, the Sounders still have one more match to go before the officially close the books on what the team has called “The Road Show” — the eight-game run of games away from Lumen Field — when they visit Tigres in the CCC quarterfinals.
There’s obviously a lot of work to do, still. The Western Conference looks like it will be particularly tough and CCC remains arguably the hardest trophy to win, but the Sounders are doing everything in their power to put themselves in an advantageous spot.
“It’s really difficult to be on the road, be away from family,” Roldan said. “It’s a credit to the environment coaches have created. The locker room, the front office, the depth we have. Everyone is pitching in.
“At times it’s really difficult. But we’re so glued together, that’s been a huge part of our success. This tight knit group that is willing to battle for each other when the time comes.”
