It is becoming increasingly difficult to find new ways to talk about the Seattle Sounders’ four-month winless run. There have been times when they’ve been outright awful, others when they were a bit unlucky and plenty of examples of them simply not being good enough.
Against the Colorado Rapids on Saturday, though, they at least gave us something a little different.
Playing at altitude against a team that had not conceded a goal at home in six straight league games, the Sounders were always going to be underdogs. Sure enough, they gave up an early goal when Rapids Designated Player Morgan Whitaker was allowed a virtually uncontested chance from the penalty spot.
But what happened from there onward was perhaps the most encouraging sign yet that the Sounders’ season isn’t quite cooked. The Sounders managed to get into halftime tied 1–1 after Albert Rusnák connected with Cristian Roldan on a free kick; and despite giving up the next two goals, the Sounders still fought back to score three for the first time since May 13 to earn a point. It was the first time in more than two years that the Sounders had salvaged a result in a match in which they trailed by two goals or more.
“What I saw today was a team that didn’t stop fighting, a team that was so united,” Roldan said at the postgame press conference. “We haven’t been good in front of goal and to see us score three goals … I think that’s a good sign for the future.”
Throughout this 13-game winless run, the Sounders’ biggest problem has been a mostly punchless offense. But we’ve started to see some positive signs over the last five games in which they’ve managed to at least secure draws.
What was particularly encouraging against the Rapids was how the Sounders were able to absorb punches without letting their heads drop. Even after giving up the first goal, the Sounders always looked like a team who looked capable of getting a result.
The Dejan Joveljić goal came only a few minutes after Morgan Whitaker had given the Rapids a two-goal lead and just about a minute after Joveljić had another goal ruled out for offside. His strike was also a wonderful example of how much of a game-changer he can be. Picking up the ball after a solid Sebastian Gomez tackle kept the play alive, Joveljić let it rip from about 20 yards to find the back of the net. It was the kind of goal that has been in particularly short supply all season.
Perhaps buoyed by the confidence to just let it rip, Caden Clark then found the equalizer in second-half stoppage time. In similar fashion to Joveljić, Clark took a couple touches after receiving a simple pass from Albert Rusnák and shot through traffic from about 23 yards out.
The goal came in Clark’s Sounders debut, about three weeks after he joined the team in a trade that has widely been seen as a sort of last chance for the once-heralded talent.
“It’s been probably the best experience I’ve had so far being a part of a team, just from the beginning,” Clark said. “The way they go about things, the culture they have, they’ve been successful in the past for a reason. There’s no secret to that. They have such a bond, have played together for so long and have high standards. Just coming into that, I was very fortunate. I was trying to learn from them and take that with me and put my best foot forward with these guys.”
As they have with increasing frequency during this unbeaten run, the Sounders even had a chance to win this. With time ticking down, Snyder Brunell got out on a counter with Joveljić to his left, Rusnák to his right and Gomez making a run up the middle and occupying two defenders. But instead of laying it off to one of the veterans, Brunell forced a pass into to Gomez. The ball was a little out of reach and the chance faded.
Although Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer insisted “nobody’s in a bad mood in that locker room,” time is running out to allow for moments like that one. The Sounders are well aware that their upcoming three-game homestand could be make-or-break for this season.
“We have to be on the front foot, first and foremost,” Roldan said. “We have to eliminate some of these smaller mistakes. We have to be more disciplined. We have to be more savvy. There’s not just one thing that is going to get us magically out of this funk.
“I think we have to have that attitude and mentality going forward.”
