It’s good to be home: Sounders slam St. Louis

SEATTLE – The Seattle Sounders hosted St. Louis CITY SC in their first league game at Lumen since February 22, and picked up a 4-1 win to mark the occasion. A pair of goals from Cristian Roldan in the 22nd and 37th minutes, a 49th minute penalty from Albert Rusnák and a late notch from Osaze De Rosario in the 86th minute secured the result for Seattle before Eduard Löwen scored a consolation goal for St. Louis in the 2nd minute of second-half stoppage time.

The start of the game was relatively quiet as a reworked and rotated Sounders side tried to find a rhythm early on. Then in the 22nd minute Snyder Brunell forced goalkeeper Roman Bürki to parry a shot away for a corner, and on the ensuing service from Albert Rusnák, a completely unmarked Cristian Roldan was waiting at the back post for a header that he sent across goal into the side netting to give Seattle a 1-0 lead.

Fifteen minutes later Roldan doubled the lead, securing his brace on a nearly identical corner. Once again it was Rusnák sending in an in-swinger, and once again Roldan was wide open at the back post. The only difference was that instead of heading the ball back across goal, he took this one on the volley and his shot bounced before beating the GK at the back post. Seattle weathered a few attempts from St. Louis in the final minutes of the half, but took that 2-0 lead into halftime.

Coming out of halftime the Sounders made one change, swapping one Paul for another as Paul Arriola made way for Paul Rothrock. It didn’t take long for Rothrock to make an impact, as he earned a penalty in the 48th minute when he made a cutback inside the box to try to find a pass and was taken down by Conrad Wallem. Rusnák stepped up to the spot and sent Bürki diving one way and put his shot into the opposite side of the net to add a goal to the two assists he’d already earned, making it 3-0 for Seattle. Unfortunately Rusnák's night ended just a few minutes later when he came out with what looked like discomfort or an injury in the 53rd minute.

The game fell into a bit of a lull after that point. Both sides had a handful of looks, but they were all dealt with fairly easily until the 86th minute. The Sounders looked like they were about to turn the ball over for a counter in St. Louis’s end, but a sliding poke from Peter Kingston maintained possession and got the ball to the feet of Jesús Ferreira, who then found Osaze De Rosario with an incisive pass. De Rosario took a few touches, seemingly moving away from an opportunity until he found the window he was looking for and sent a slow shot towards the far post that unsighted Bürki and went just beyond his reach to make it 4-0 and put the result beyond any doubt.

While the result was secure, the clean sheet wasn’t. In the second minute of stoppage time St. Louis were bearing down on an unconventional Sounders back line that included Cristian Roldan playing as a CB in a back-three. Sergio Cordova took a shot that came off the back of Roldan, and the first player to the loose ball in the box was Eduard Löwen, who smashed a shot into the roof of the net to give his side a consolation goal and mark his first appearance of the season following the tragic passing of his wife, Ilona.

The result leaves Seattle in 4th in the West with a 5-1-1, +7 record, even on points with LAFC in 3rd and RSL in 5th for the time being. They’ll now turn their attention to next Saturday, April 25 when they host an FC Dallas team that’s unbeaten in their last 5 games with 2 wins and 3 draws.

Lineups

Ch-ch-ch-changes! The Sounders make five changes and move some things around from Wednesday’s starting lineup against Tigres. Danny Musovski starts up top in place of Jordan Morris, Paul Arriola starts on the left wing and Snyder Brunell slides up to the right wing as Paul Rothrock and Jesús Ferreira move to the bench. Hassani Dotson lines up next to Cristian Roldan in midfield, Antino Lopez gets the nod at centerback alongside Alex Roldan, and Andrew Thomas returns to his place between the posts as Jackson Ragen gets a rest and Stefan Frei is available as a substitute.

Key moments

2' - Save. Nouhou turns the ball over in Seattle’s end and St. Louis quickly go towards goal, but Thomas is able to easily get down and catch it.

21' - Corner! Antino Lopez plays a ball over the top that Kossa-Rienzi beats Bürki to, but a defender clears the ball before he can put a shot on the empty net.

22' - Save! Brunell takes a hammer of a shot from outside the area that Bürki can just parry away for a corner.

22' - Goal! Cristian Roldan heads home a Rusnák corner at the back post to give Seattle the lead! 1-0, Sounders

35' - Wide. Brunell goes close with a shot from distance again, but his shot goes just wide of the goal.

37' - GOAL! Roldan makes it a brace with another wide open look at the back post on a corner! He takes it off the volley rather than a header, but beats the ‘keeper all the same. 2-0, Sounders

HT - Sub. Paul Rothrock enters the game, replacing Paul Arriola for the Sounders.

48' - Penalty! Rothrock cuts the ball back inside the area and gets taken out by Conrad Wallem, and Seattle has a penalty.

49' - Goal! Rusnák sends Bürki diving the wrong way and slots his penalty home. 3-0, Sounders

53' - Subs. Albert Rusnák goes down with a non-contact injury and some clear discomfort in his leg, and he’ll come off along with Hassani Dotson. Jordan Morris and Jesús Ferreira replace the two of them for Seattle.

57' - Shot. Ferreira’s first real involvement is a shot from a nice layoff from Morris, but it’s a simple dive and stop for Bürki.

60' - Sub. Alex Roldan comes off and is replaced by Peter Kingston for the Sounders. Cristian Roldan drops back to form a back-three with Lopez and Nouhou.

62' - Subs. St. Louis take off Simon Becher, Cedric Teuchert, and Rafael Santos, bringing on Sergio Cordova, Sang Bin Jeong and Tomas Totland.

68' - Chance. Ferreira plays a great ball for Musovski, who gets into the box with the ball, but a sliding challenge keeps him from troubling the GK with his shot.

80' - Sub. Seattle’s last change sees Danny Musovski exit the game, replaced by Osaze De Rosario.

84' - High. Rothrock beats his man to the end line and sends in a lofted cross. Ferreira jumps to head it, but can’t keep his shot down and the ball goes over the bar.

86' - GOAL! DE ROSARIO MAKES IT 4! Kingston touches the ball over to Ferreira, who finds De Rosario in the box. DeRo takes a few touches to find a window and puts his shot beyond the reach of Bürki.

89' - Sub. Marcel Hartel comes off for St. Louis as Eduard Löwen comes on.

90'+2 - Goal, St. Louis. Cordova's shot from inside the box comes off of Roldan’s back and Löwen is the first to it, smashing his shot into the roof of the net to get one back. 4-1, Sounders

Quick thoughts

Playing the games in front of you: The Sounders may not have played one of the league’s top teams in St. Louis, who currently sit in 14th in the West with 6 points from 8 games. But they don’t get to choose who they play, and having acquitted themselves well against some of the top teams in the league, whether in MLS or CCC, they now have a good chunk of games at Lumen Field on the grass laid down for the World Cup ahead of the Summer break. Their only concern is making the most of those opportunities to perform in front of their home fans, and tonight they did just that. While it may not have been the game you’d expect given the scoreline, they certainly deserved the result. Apart from St. Louis’s goal, they only put one shot on target, forcing Andrew Thomas into his only save of the game. Meanwhile the Sounders peppered Roman Bürki’s goal, forcing him to make 5 saves in addition to the 4 goals Seattle scored. Considering the rotated lineup and unconventional pairs and groupings the team used across the field, the route is less of a concern than the destination in this one.

Building a case for the World Cup: Cristian Roldan’s path to the World Cup with the U.S. Men’s National Team is through his performances with the Sounders over the next six weeks or so. Performances like tonight’s, where he scored a pair of goals from corners, completed 75 of 79 passes including 33 of 34 in the attacking half, and won 4/5 ground duels while playing in the double pivot and later dropping in to play in the back-three, can only strengthen his case. He did it while wearing the captain’s armband, and on the field where the USMNT will face off against Australia in June. While he’s already seemingly pushed his way into USMNT Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino’s plans, filling the stat sheet and showing off his leadership qualities brings him that much closer to not only being in the squad but playing a real role in the Summer.

The next man to step up: Antino Lopez is one of the latest players to make the jump from Tacoma Defiance to the Sounders first team, following his own version of a path that’s become well-trodden. Tonight he started in place of Jackson Ragen, who similarly went from Defiance to eventually become a locked-in starter and one of the league’s best CBs. Lopez may not have made starting a foregone conclusion, or pushed someone like Ragen or Yeimar out of the lineup just yet, but with heroic performances in his earlier appearances and solid showings like tonight’s he certainly hasn’t given the team staff any reason to rule out that possibility down the road. He showed his ability to be a valuable part of Seattle’s possession with 53 completed passes on 55 attempts, while still putting in 9 defensive contributions including a tackle, 3 clearances and 2 blocked shots. That he did that while playing 30 minutes as the only true CB on the field only makes it more impressive.

Notable quote

Brian Schmetzer: “The strength of this team is the roster that was handed to me, and I’ve got a lot of guys who are playing at a high level because they understand that to be on the field they’ve got to be at a high level."

Player spotlight

Albert Rusnák – Two assists from excellent corners, a goal from a penalty, and a strong play all around. His substitution was a concern from afar, but there’s evidently no injury to worry about.