Seattle welcomed FC Dallas to the Lumen Field grass last weekend, and the machine kept humming. With no Cristian Roldan or Albert Rusnák in the squad, the bench looked a little more Tacoma-heavy than usual, yet the Sounders managed to mail three points right back to Dallas. It was not always pretty, but it was another home win for a team hoping to be in the Supporters’ Shield conversation. Jesús Ferreira opened the scoring against his former club, and Jordan Morris notched his first after setting up the opener, but the Sounders turned a comfortable 2-0 lead into a more stressful 2-1 survival act. They survived a long injury list, a missed penalty, and a number of late-game Dallas attempts. Walking away with three points in those circumstances is the kind of professional cleanup job that separates the contenders from the rest. They relied on pure grit to ensure the lead was held, and they kept the momentum going without any self-inflicted mailing errors.
Special delivery: With a number of big name players missing, Seattle still got the win. Morris drove both goals, Ferreira punished his old team, and the depth pieces did enough to keep the machine running.
Forwarding issues: Seattle mostly controlled the match, but Dallas pulled one back, Ferreira missed the penalty kick that should have made this feel comfortable, and Andrew Thomas ended up doing more work than anyone wanted.
Signed for: It still counts the same. Seattle got the three points, kept moving in the right direction, and reminded Dallas that Lumen Field remains a Sounders fortress.
Goalkeeper
Andrew Thomas – 7 | Community – 7.5 (MOTM)
Thomas was a big reason this did not get more irritating. Five saves in a home win against Dallas is not how Seattle would have drawn it up after going up 2-0, but some strong attacking combinations meant the away team had chances. Andrew was alert through the second half, watching the rest of his team leave just enough mess around to require cleanup.
Special delivery: Thomas had some big saves to keep the points from wandering off. This included a 5th minute shot block through traffic, and an impressive save right before half, diving to his left and adjusting to a deflected shot to push it away.
Forwarding issues: This one was a little too busy for a match that Seattle mostly controlled. Thomas’ awful pass in the 10th minute almost came right back at him, and an 88th minute goal kick was nearly disastrous.
Signed for: Thomas did the cleanup work that made the lead hold, and his consistent strong goalkeeping meant only a near-perfect flicked header on a set piece would get behind him.
Defense
Nouhou – 6 | Community – 7.2
Nouhou defended hard, ran a lot, and contributed enough physical certainty to help Seattle survive the stretches when Dallas got ideas. It was not one of his more chaotic evenings. It was also not a night when he offered much extra precision on the ball, instead relying on those around him to create. He had 86 touches and 84 percent passing without being dispossessed all evening.
Special delivery: Strong, engaged, and mostly on the good side of defensive work, Nouhou had a silly dribble in the 29th that reminded everyone how fun he is, then a lovely 88th minute drive forward and pass that reminded everyone how good he is.
Forwarding issues: As usual, Nouhou didn’t add much extra attacking quality and had another slow start, mirroring Seattle’s struggles in the first 15 minutes. He was beaten so badly he fell in the 62nd minute, yet he recovered and blocked any success from Dallas afterwards.
Signed for: Good floor, familiar ceiling, this was another solid, almost boring Nouhou match.
Jackson Ragen – 7 | Community – 7.2
Again, a Sounders defense defined as “mostly fine, slightly annoyed by set pieces” would have been a talking point this week in drills. Dallas got too many corners and a goal, which means the center backs didn’t accomplish a shutout, but it wasn’t a collapse. Ragen had a massive 132 touches and brilliant 93 percent passing rate, showing the calm, clean distribution at which he is the best in the league. He added 11 defensive contributions.
Special delivery: Jackson was solid enough over most of the match and had 10 clearances as part of his action. Rarely needing to get into duels, he had to do more game management from the back without Cristian in the match.
Forwarding issues: Seattle allowed too many corner kicks, and the second-half noise made it a nervy ending. Ragen wasn’t active in the build up, hitting only half of his long balls and not having any luck releasing over the top.
Signed for: This performance was not spectacular, but also not disastrous, which is pretty darn good for a centerback.
Alex Roldan – 6 | Community – 6.8
Alex at centerback had a night where you barely noticed him, which is a compliment. He helped keep things organized, didn’t make the match about himself, and let Seattle’s more direct attackers do the damage. That meant 103 touches, 91 percent completion, and 10 defensive contributions. The central defense was extremely clean on the ball, consistently negotiating and eluding any Dallas pressure.
Special delivery: Alex was calm and steady, but also willing to look vertical. A gorgeous 20th minute over-the-top ball to KKR was a side effect of Seattle shifting right and Roldan looking forward.
Forwarding issues: Like the whole back line, he couldn’t keep the match from getting fussier than it needed to be, and he isn’t a physical presence on defensive set pieces.
Signed for: This performance was a good reminder that boring can be useful, and when your backline is near-perfect in passing with hundreds of touches, you have a hard-to-beat squad.
Kalani Kossa-Rienzi – 6 | Community – 6.6
This was a useful night from Kalani. He held his side reasonably well, joined the attack, and was part of a back line that looked fine for long stretches. Dallas did get a number of corners and the evening got more cluttered, but Seattle held. He ended with 69 touches, two key passes, and he nearly scored, while adding five defensive contributions.
Special delivery: Kalani remained active and steady in a match Seattle mostly controlled. That included a wonderful pass in the 17th minute to push the ball into attacking areas and a 39th minute near-score on a scrum in the box.
Forwarding issues: The defensive shell got a little too bendy late, and KKR was brutally skinned in the 64th minute. His biggest question mark is around his defensive positioning and being dribbled past, and while this is rapidly improving, it still needs work.
Signed for: As the defense improves, so does the Kossa-Rienzi stock, and the better he performs, the more options he gives the coaching staff on backline combinations.
Defensive Midfield
Snyder Brunell – 7 | Community – 7.2 (off 90’ for Baker)
With some midfield mainstays on enforced leave, the Sounders turned to a new central pairing, and Snyder proved to be excellent, even when not paired with Cristian. Brunell didn’t just survive the central battleground, he landed a decisive blow and more than held his own. He was solid all evening positionally, and sparkled at pushing the ball forward, delivering one moment of excellence: a slipped pass to send Jordan Morris in behind for the winning goal. The midfield cohesiveness ensured that Seattle had the calm and composure to mail three points home.
Special delivery: Brunell set the tone immediately, showing strong defense and turning to push an over-the-top ball in the first minute. In the 30th, his perfectly weighted ball put Morris into space to double the team lead.
Forwarding issues: The midfield lost some control as the match wore on, and Snyder lost possession a few times in inopportune spots. Neither of his shots were on frame, and he went 1/9 on duels attempted.
Signed for: This was a chance for Brunell to shine when paired with a new partner, and he did.
Hassani Dotson – 7 | Community – 6.3
Hassani earned another chance to be part of Seattle’s midfield solutions and mostly handled it well. He was not the star of the evening, but he helped Seattle survive without some usual polish, and he brought enough bite to keep the middle from turning into open space. He had fantastic control numbers: 85 touches, 95 percent pass completion, and 12 defensive actions.
Special delivery: Dotson had useful legs and enough steel in central areas, including seven interceptions and six recoveries. Any time Dallas looked to have space, he was there to break it up. His ability to track down danger and remove it was fantastic.
Forwarding issues: He couldn’t fully stop Dallas from sticking around. While it was his mark who scored their goal, it’s hard to fault him on that well-executed set piece.
Signed for: The depth looked real, not decorative, and this was Dotson’s best performance for Seattle.
Attacking Midfield
Paul Rothrock – 5 | Community – 6.6
This was a quieter one by Paul’s standards. He worked, buzzed around, and was present, but was not quite central to the scoring the way Morris and Ferreira were from the run of play. Rothrock still impacted the match, and did his part through 43 touches and getting one shot on goal. His physicality and toughness created a penalty.
Special delivery: His energy and nuisance value meant he got under Lalas Abubakar’s skin. Then, Rothrock got under his foot, sold the PK, and earned Seattle a massive chance for the second match in a row. When he wasn’t doing that, he was winning headers and playing his usual smart soccer.
Forwarding issues: There wasn’t much end product attached to his work rate for the second match in a row. He lost possession a few times, and in the 51st we saw a rare back-post miss from Paul.
Signed for: As far as highlights go, this was a mundane outing. He “only” created a yellow card, a penalty kick, and a forced sub. That’s the Paulie way.
Jesús Ferreira – 7 | Community – 7.4
Jesús started at the central attacking midfield position and delivered early and often. Whether it was finding teammates through and into strong attacking areas, or drifting into the box to be goal dangerous himself, the Sounders offense looked strong with Ferreira at the helm. He had a key pass, two shots, and scored.
Special delivery: Scoring against your old team without celebrating is either classy or funny, depending on how much you enjoy pettiness. Ferreira finished Morris’ setup nicely to give Seattle the early lead in the 15th minute. He was excellent in creating for others.
Forwarding issues: His missed penalty is the obvious stain; it should have put the match away in the 54th minute. Instead, he and Seattle were left poking and prodding for openings.
Signed for: It was still a net positive night for Jesús, even if he left one in the mailbox. He showed his incredibly good vision and ability to create for others.
Jordan Morris – 8 (MOTM) | Community – 7.4 (off 83’ for De Rosario)
This is the easy kind of MOTM pick: Jordan made both goals happen. He slipped the pass across for Ferreira’s opener, then scored one himself after Brunell sent him in behind. Seattle was missing some usual midfield polish, so having Morris do the direct, useful part of the attack was a pretty nice workaround. After the early-season injury, this looked like the first “Jordan makes life difficult for opponents” performance.
Special delivery: With a goal, an assist, and the clearest attacking force on the field, Jordan started early by forcing the goalkeeper out in the 4th minute. His composure on both goal sequences was excellent.
Forwarding issues: Morris could have made the night safer with one more killer action, such as a 65th minute missed over-the-top ball from Jesús and a few minutes later missing a ball from Rothrock.
Signed for: When he is healthy enough to do this, the whole attack gets simpler, more dangerous, and harder to contain.
Striker
Danny Musovski – 5 | Community – 5.4 (off 68’ for Kingston)
Danny gave Seattle a functional striker shift without ever threatening to steal the story. He occupied defenders, helped keep the shape intact, and then got the hook when Seattle looked for fresh legs. This wasn’t a fancy performance, but as part of a team that grinded out the preferred result, Musovski did his job. He completed all his pass attempts, but only had 14 touches, as he struggled to find the ball.
Special delivery: He added useful structure up top, and had an excellent shot attempt in the 17th minute off a great Kossa-Rienzi feed.
Forwarding issues: Musovski added little actual scoring threat, and he repeatedly struggled to help the team via holdup attempts. He missed a wide open Rothrock in the 60th minute to put the match away.
Signed for: This was a team job done for Musovski, but he hasn’t looked fantastic lately.
Substitutes
Peter Kingston – 5 | Community – 5.6 (on 68’ for Musovski)
Peter came on to help Seattle manage the last third of the match and mostly did exactly that. He added some legs, picked up a yellow, and helped see out a game that had become more cluttered than comfortable.
Special delivery: Fresh legs and reasonable late-game management from Kingston, who had seven touches.
Forwarding issues: He earned a yellow card in the 82nd and was quite physical, and he only won one of his five duels. Missing was the control and defensive cohesion needed.
Signed for: This was a functional cameo but not one that will earn him more time.
Osaze De Rosario – 5 | Community – 5.6 (on 83’ for Morris)
Osaze did not have much time to do anything beyond run, bother people a little, and help preserve the lead. He managed all that adequately, having three touches.
Special delivery: ODR brought useful late energy, including a lovely juke move that earned a yellow card against his defender. He also earned a 93rd minute corner.
Forwarding issues: It was too little time to leave a real mark.
Signed for: Job done, quietly, but the holdup improvement was instantly apparent.
Cody Baker – 5 | Community – 5.5 (on 90’ for Brunell)
Cody got the closing-seconds treatment, which is less a rating opportunity and more a proof-of-existence exercise. He came on, Seattle won, and no fresh nonsense appeared.
Special delivery: There was a notable moment in the 91st when Baker came across to give excellent defensive support.
Forwarding issues: There wasn’t enough time for him to do much, but he didn’t make any mistakes happen either.
Signed for: Anonymous in the best way, Baker hangs around the back of the roster and is solid.
Referee
Tori Penso – 8 | Community – 7.0
Tori Penso remains one of the best referees in MLS. She wasn’t invisible, nor outrageous, and wasn’t the biggest source of frustration in a game where Seattle mostly argued with its own missed chances. She gave Dallas four yellows, Seattle one, pointed to the spot for Seattle’s penalty, and generally managed a match that had enough little irritations without the refereeing becoming one itself. That is exactly what you want from a referee, and as usual, Penso was great.
Special delivery: She got the main decisions right and kept the match moving, including the PK and the cards. You don’t need long VAR actions when you are this good at calling the match and fulfilling expectations.
Forwarding issues: The match had enough chippiness to stay frustrating, and there was at least one orange card and a number of dives that snuck by.
Signed for: This was par for the Tori Penso course, and as usual, when the refereeing is good, the Sounders seem to adapt well.
FC Dallas MOTM
While Nolan Norris had several key interventions in defense, it was his goal off a corner that gave FC Dallas renewed hope. Driving near post with Dotson on his hip the whole way, Norris found a flick header to redirect Santiago Moreno's delivery in at the far post. Norris made a game of it with 50 minutes still to play.
Upcoming: Traveling to play Sporting Kansas City is not usually fun, but their team is especially bad this year. Let’s dispel the worries of a trap game by scoring early and often.
