SEATTLE — Rarely have the Seattle Sounders ever needed a win as badly as they did on Wednesday.
Riding a interminable 13-game winless streak in league play, facing the one team who had fewer points since the end of the World Cup break, and playing one of the two games in hand they have on most of the league, this was perhaps their last chance to show their playoff aspirations still had any reasonable life.
That the Sounders ultimately delivered a 2–0 win over Real Salt Lake does not mean their season has been saved in any meaningful way. It does mean, however, that hope endures.
“It was a result we needed to have,” Sounders forward Danny Musovski said after scoring his first league goal since May 9. “We have nine games left and we need to take care of business at home. It was a must-win and we took care of business.”
Before getting too far ahead of ourselves, it’s absolutely worth highlighting exactly who the Sounders beat. Not only did RSL come into this game winless in 12 games, but they had secured a league-low three points in the 11 games since returning from the World Cup break. Their last away point came on Aug. 1 and their only away win this year came way back on March 7.
On top of that, RSL were missing at 10 players — including at least four starters — through a combination of injuries and international absences. In warmups, they lost left back Alexandros Katranis, forcing another last-minute lineup change. In other words, this was a depleted version of what was already a pretty bad team.
Given all that, it shouldn’t have been entirely surprising that Pablo Mastroeni’s approach — especially in the first half — was to put numbers behind the ball and force the Sounders to break them down, something Seattle has struggled with even at their best this year.
While the Sounders were a bit sloppy in the final third, they were at least getting back to their aggressive counter-pressing ways that were such a big part of their success last season. Those efforts paid dividends early in the second half when Paul Arriola forced a turnover and then worked a 1–2 with Danny Musovski, who finished it off with a well-placed strike from about 20 yards out that beat RSL goalkeeper Rafael Cabral to the near post.
That sequence was bracketed by a pair of huge plays by Sounders goalkeeper Andrew Thomas, who has quietly put together one of the best statistical seasons in MLS this year.
Just before Musovski’s goal, Jackson Ragen was caught playing a little too casual when he allowed Sergi Solans to nick a ball off of him that should have been a relatively easy clearance. Solans was able to race in for a 1v1 chance with Thomas, who came up with a massive diving stop as the striker tried to round the goalkeeper with a long touch.
Immediately after Musovski’s goal, Thomas came up with another stellar play on Solans, who was able to work himself free for a chance at the near post. Thomas sprawled to his right to paw away a shot that looked bound for the back of the net.
Big as those plays were, the match was still very much in the balance until the 73rd minute on another sequence that started with defense. Hassani Dotson created a turnover with a clever toe poke that went to Arriola, who took a couple of touches to draw the defense before playing it to Albert Rusnák in space. Rusnák took it from there, driving forward to the top of the box where he blasted a low shot just inside the post.
By no means was this a perfect performance. Against a better opponent, it’s entirely possible this would not have been enough to secure a win. But the Sounders aren’t in a position to be picky about how they get wins. They needed this game just to remind themselves what it felt like to get three points. The relief in the building was palpable as the Sounders lined up for their customary post-victory bow to the Brougham End.
The Sounders are, almost impossibly, now tied for a playoff spot and have two more home games against comparably bad teams. A winning streak is entirely possible.
“I told those guys to enjoy this moment,” Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer said. “I think we’re building some momentum. But this really gives them a lot of belief and that’s what we discussed before about believing they could win.”
