While the Sounders are going through one of the worst stretches in their MLS history, the Defiance are trending the opposite with a 5-1-1 record since the beginning of June. Sunday's 2-1 victory over Colorado Rapids 2 also pushed the Defiance above the playoff line into 6th place in the Western Conference.
Defiance started brightly from the opening whistle. In the first 25 minutes, the team consistently found Charlie Gaffney in behind the Rapids 2 left back. He was able to create dangerous chances via the shot or cut back. However, Gaffney wasn't involved in ultimately breaking through. Mark Bronnik continued his exceptional run of games with a goal, receiving a beautiful pass in behind by Rafael Jauregui and finishing one time with a poked shot into the far corner. The team managed the rest of the half in a professional manner, highlighted by a rare occurrence of Tacoma winning the possession battle 53-47.
The second half started much the same as the first, with the Defiance having the better chances in the game and creating some really dangerous attacking movements. One such moment in the 51st minute started with Gaffney jumping a passing lane to make the interception. After playing a give and go with Edson Carli, Gaffney earned a penalty by blowing past his defender and positioning himself to force a push in the back. Carli stepped up to take the penalty and slotted it calmly past the diving keeper in the bottom corner.
The game seemed well in control until Colorado took a corner in the 75th minute that was flicked on at the near post and found a back post free header. The attacker put the header on frame but defender Jasper Winslow made the block on the goal line to avoid conceding. Unfortunately, this was with his arm and he was whistled for a penalty and given a red card. The penalty was scored and the Defiance spent the rest of the game defending for their lives. The defense almost broke in the 91st minute when a Rapids 2 cross was volleyed on frame from the middle of the penalty box, but Mohammed Shour made a wonderful diving save to preserve the win.
Overview
Lineup
Substitutions
- 75' Drew Brown ⇆ Danny Robles
Goals
- 30' Tacoma Defiance - ⚽Mark Bronnik (Rafael Jauregui)
- 52’ Tacoma Defiance - ⚽Edson Carli
- 75’ Colorado Rapids 2 - ⚽Sydney Wahuta
Stats
Key performers
Charlie Gaffney
While Gaffney didn’t officially end up on the scoresheet, he was the primary danger man for the Defiance all evening. From the early minutes of the game, he was beating the Rapids left back on the dribble and in behind, creating 3 chances and completing 2 successful dribbles. His best play of the night was earning the penalty that would become the game-winning goal. Gaffney anticipated a wide pass from Rapids 2, jumped the passing lane and secured the interception. He then played a nice give-and-go around the defender before smartly positioning his body between the ball and the recovering defender to force a foul.
Mark Bronnik
Bronnik has been a mainstay on the key performers list of late, as he has 7 goals and 3 assists in his past 9 games. He has completely turned around his season and is the driving force behind the Defiance’s run of good results. While his offensive performances have been eye catching, he put in the defensive work in this match, finishing with 2 tackles, 4 clearances and 2 recoveries. The best came when Rapids 2 got out on the counterattack after a corner, and Bronnik recovered all the way to his own touchline to make an important tackle. His primary job has to continue to be the offensive weapon he has shown recently, but that type of defensive work will make waves in the Sounders organization.
Rafael Jauregui
In the now solidified 3-4-2-1, Jauregui is the under the radar attacker in the front three, but we should take more notice. His assist on the Bronnik goal was a creative and strong attacking movement, where he was able to turn his defender and shield the ball before playing a perfectly weighted through ball. Similar to Bronnik, what was really eye-catching in this game was the defensive effort. Jauregui was involved in 21 duels and won 12 of them while also finishing with 3 tackles, 2 clearances, and 5 recoveries. At Defiance, I have not seen an attacker who is as strong of a defender as Jauregui.
