At some point, the unbeaten streak was bound to end. That it happened on a night when the Seattle Sounders actually looked pretty good, may have even been a good thing if we’re inclined to look for positives.
The difference in the Sounders’ 1–0 loss to FC Dallas on Wednesday was not that the gameplan fell apart or that rotation and fixture congestion got the best of them, it was simply that they failed to convert any of their numerous chances while their opponents scored an absolute golazo. Sometimes the game does that.
“It was one of those losses that I felt like we were the better team across the whole game,” Sounders midfielder Albert Rusnák said. “We created enough chances to win the game.
“But maybe it’s a good reset button. We’ve had our ups and downs this year — and remember where we were two, three months ago — to be where we’re at and where we are right now, I think it’s a step in the right direction. We’ll be good.”
To Rusnák’s point, both the data and the eye test suggest the Sounders played pretty well, all things considered. The exact numbers vary depending on the source, but the Sounders generated nearly 2.0 xG on 17 shots. They weren’t just speculative, either. Ten of those shots were from inside the penalty area and seven were considered “good” or “great” chances based on their xG value.
Dallas, meanwhile, had just two chances that were deemed “good” and their goal came on a shot that was speculative, a perfectly struck volley from the edge of the penalty area.
By the “expected points” metric that gives a more holistic picture of how likely a team is to win based on the chances it created and allowed, the Sounders got 1.92. Using that metric as the scale, it was easily the Sounders’ best road performance of the season, but also the biggest gap between points and expected points this year.
Dejan Joveljić was probably the best representative of this dichotomy.
On one hand, Joveljić’s full arsenal of moves and ability were on display as he repeatedly got himself into dangerous positions. Unlike many previous games, the Sounders did a good job of finding him. Joveljić finished with seven shots — the most he’s had this year — all from inside the box, and accumulated 1.12 xG, according to Fotmob. His best look came in the 25th minute when Paul Arriola played him in with a throughball. Joveljić did well to create an angle to shoot from and even beat Daniel to the near post, but the left-footed attempt went just wide.
“There were a lot of moments, where we put one of them away — especially in the first half — that game goes different,” Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer said. “It’s disappointing, but the guys put the work in and I’m proud of them.”
That doesn’t make the result any less frustrating, but it does give some reason to believe this was more a continuation of their recently improved form than some sort of “crashing to earth” performance.
Coming into this road trip, the Sounders knew they needed to prove they could play with some of the top teams in the league. By beating the New England Revolution and going toe-to-toe with FC Dallas, they at least did that.
Now it will be up to them to show this wasn’t just a good run in form but indicative of a real change. Although they lost some momentum in their charge up the Western Conference standings, finishing in the top 5 is still within reach. The first chance is on Saturday against CF Montreal.
“I think we showed that we’re a more mature team than we were about a month ago,” Sounders captain Cristian Roldan said. “This loss feels sour, of course, but it’s a good thing that it’s sour. It means that we played better than we did a month ago when we would lose road games. It’s a step in the right direction. I think we leave this road trip with a bit of pride, with a bit of confidence going int our next game.
“But, look, if we don’t take advantage of being at home against Montreal on a short week, then then we’re going to have some frustrating thoughts. But I thought overall the road trip was decent on our part. We need to now bounce back on Saturday.”
