RENTON – The last few days have been tough on Seattle Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer. Sporting a temporary tattoo of his granddaughter’s face in honor of her recent birthday, Schmetzer said that was the one thing that has brought a smile to his face since the Sounders’ humiliating 5–1 loss to the Portland Timbers on Thursday.
“I know everybody’s in a bad place,” he said. “I haven’t shaved, I don’t eat anymore. This hurts. It’s a tough loss to swallow.”
Schmetzer didn’t seem to offer that anecdote in a plea for sympathy, but more to illustrate that he’s not taken the loss lightly and that he’s as committed as ever to making sure something like that doesn’t happen again.
“Film wasn’t easy for those guys because I didn’t hold back any words,” he said. “We’re going to try and learn from it and move forward.”
It’s not hard to understand why Schmetzer was so down. The Sounders came into Thursday's match with what seemed like significant tailwinds. They had spent a good chunk of the previous seven weeks preparing for this match, had one more game on a nearly perfect grass surface, were honoring a trio of legends during a pregame ceremony, had their biggest crowd of the season supporting them and were seemingly ready to tap into the momentum created by the World Cup.
Instead, they turned in arguably their worst performance ever. The five goals allowed were the most they had ever given up to any opponent during the Schmetzer era, the most they had allowed at Lumen Field during the MLS era and the most they have ever allowed to the Timbers in the entire 50-year history of the rivalry.
Frustrated as Schmetzer was with various mistakes both collectively and individually by the players, he chose to shoulder much of the blame himself.
"I said before the build-up to the game that I didn’t think I need to say much because it is Portland," Schmetzer said. "We had a little highlight film before the game of our bigger moments against Portland, the goals we scored at the beginning of the year. But maybe that wasn’t enough.
"Maybe I should have done a better job at making sure that the guys understand that it is a rivalry, and it’s something that's important to us. We mentioned Cascadia Cup; it was the first game of the Cascadia Cup. We did all that, but my reflection is I should have been firmer."
Asked if it’s fair to assume that a team made up of so many players with extensive Seattle history should need that kind of reminder, Schmetzer seemed to be at a bit of a loss.
"Well, obviously what happened on Thursday wasn’t correct," he said. "So, I am going to reflect on all of the little possibilities and the details that maybe we missed. Would they have been a factor? If I would have thrown up my hands and thrown my cap down, would that have helped? I don’t know. That's out of character for me. You guys know me by now. I am a pretty calm guy.
"I mean, the sky is not falling, but it sure as shit felt like it Thursday at about, 10 o'clock at night driving home. … Sure as shit felt like it."
Newly minted All-Star centerback Jackson Ragen was at a similar loss for explanations, admitted that the performance was "embarrassing," refused to offer any excuses and, instead, focused on the need for improvement.
"I think it starts in training with intensity and just going out next game and bringing it," he said. "We’re all disappointed and embarrassed by the result. There’s nothing we can do about it now, except go into the next game and try to bring intensity and have a good performance."
The Sounders’ first chance to atone comes tonight on the road against Austin FC, a team on its own three-game losing streak. Like the Timbers, Austin FC recently fired their head coach after a bad start.
In an effort to shake things up, Schmetzer said there will be some lineup changes, albeit not as many or exactly who he would have liked. Schmetzer noted that the Sounders’ still-lengthy injury list somewhat limits his options.
"It’s hard for me to change six guys," he said.
For all that, Schmetzer remained a bit non-committal about bigger changes on the horizon.
"Nobody liked the fact that people were leaving the stands early; nobody likes that," he said. "Is there a renewed sense? Have plans changed? Are there conversations going on? Yes, there are conversations going on, but we’ve always had conversations going on.
"I’m not saying the club's not gonna do anything, but right now, there is not anything on the immediate radar."
