As the Seattle Sounders have climbed out of their midseason slump over the past two months, various questions have been answered. Are they just playing badly or are they one of the worst teams in the league? Is this a bad team that simply hit its floor or do they have a chance at the playoffs?
Yes, those were rather low-bar questions for a team as accustomed to winning as the Sounders, but they’ve at least given definitive answers. They are, at least, a good team trending toward something else. The more relevant question has begun to be asked more recently: Just how good is ‘something else?’
There’s still some work to be done before we can answer that with any certainty, but the Sounders at least made their boldest statement yet when they dismantled the New England Revolution 3–0 on Saturday.
“We came into their building, and it wasn’t just a smash and grab,” Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer said, casually sipping from a Sam Adams while he answered questions from the press. “It wasn’t like we just got fortunate.
“We came in here and did what we wanted to do.”
While the previous three wins and many of the five ties before that were against opponents of questionable quality, Schmetzer was quick to point out that the Revs were a different class.
The Revolution had started the week as the No. 2 team in the Eastern Conference and boasted a record of 9–2–2 at home. In a league where Nashville SC is all alone in the Supporters’ Shield race, the Revolution are firmly in the next tier of teams. The Sounders, meanwhile, had not won a road game since April 4 and had only even had the lead twice for a total of about 30 minutes in those eight previous road matches.
It didn’t seem to matter. The Sounders came out of the gates playing physical, and generated their first goal through that type of play. Hassani Dotson’s goal-scoring sequence in the 15th minute started with Sebastian Gomez losing possession, but refusing to give up on the play. That created an opening for Dotson to pick up a loose ball, take a couple of touches and blast a low, hard shot just inside the far post.
The Sounders weren’t necessarily dominant over the 60 minutes as they nursed their lead, but for all the possession and shots they surrendered, there were few genuine scoring chances either. The Revolution’s best look at an equalizer came in first-half stoppage time when Peyton Miller got off a tight-angled shot from close range, but Andrew Thomas came up with the save. The chance was worth .20 xG, not just the highest-probability chance the Revolution had all game, but the only one worth as much as .15 xG. For the game, the Sounders allowed the Revolution just .82 xG, the first time they’ve allowed less than 1.00 xG on the road this season.
Probably not coincidentally, it was also the Sounders’ longest run out on the road with what they had all along envisioned as their starting defensive grouping. Dotson and Cristian Roldan formed a particularly strong pairing in the defensive midfield; Yeimar Gomez-Andrade and Jackson Ragen looked every bit like a top centerback duo; Alex Roldan and Nouhou were solid as ever at either fullback; while Thomas made all the plays necessary to get his eighth shutout of the season.
But what made this performance particularly notable was how the Sounders closed it out. Finally reasonably close to full health, Schmetzer was able to use his bench in a way he’s rarely been able to this year. The most impactful sub ended up being Paul Arriola, who entered in the 68th minute.
Almost immediately, he set up Dejan Joveljić for a quality chance that ended up being shot right at the keeper. Just a few minutes later, though, another opportunity presented itself. Snyder Brunell, another sub, started it off by playing Albert Rusnák into space. Rusnák then found Arriola at the top of the box, who gave it to Joveljić. This time, the Serbian striker made the most of it, cutting it back and then lofting a shot inside the far post.
Just for good measure, the Sounders added one more when Jesús Ferreira — yet another sub — found Arriola for a 1v1 chance that made it 3–0.
None of this erases the memories of that nightmarish summer, but the Sounders’ plan does seem to be coming together at just about the perfect time.
“We talked about when we were going through our losing streak and then on our tying streak, we thought if we could just get one win, we could really get going,” Arriola said. “I think we just found a way to win, and it gives the the group a ton of confidence to continue to go forward.”
More tests await the Sounders. On Wednesday, they’ll face off against FC Dallas, the No. 3 team in the West and one of the hottest teams in the league over the last two months. This could also be a preview of a first-round playoff matchup, putting to test Schmetzer’s stated belief that at the very least the Sounders are a team “no one wants to face.”
The Sounders are as ready as they’ve ever been.
“We knew we were going to be back on top,” Joveljić said. “We just needed one win. Nobody was scared, there was no tension. Everyone knew how good we actually are.”
