SEATTLE – Perhaps, it’s only fitting for the Seattle Sounders to be in this spot.
In a season in which the Sounders went the entire summer without winning a game and set franchise records for longest losing streak (eight games) and longest winless run (13 games), it’s probably appropriate that they enter the final two-game stretch of the season with qualification for the playoffs very much an open question.
It did not have to be this way, though.
As recently as two weeks ago, the Sounders seemed to be coasting to a playoff spot and the only real question was how good of a seeding they could secure. By simply taking care of business at home, they were all but assured of skipping the play-in round. In theory, that would have been effectively wrapped up by now.
After Wednesday’s shocking 1–0 loss to the Houston Dynamo, though, the Sounders will now likely need to find a way to claim at least a couple of points from a road game against the Vancouver Whitecaps and then a potentially do-or-die season finale at home against LAFC.
“We’ve talked about that these last five or six games have been playoff games, and it hasn’t been good enough to get results,” Sounders captain Cristian Roldan said in the postgame locker room. “We have to correct the mistakes that we’ve made on our own. That’s been our Achilles’ heel. We’re shooting ourselves in the foot.
“We have two really tough games to finish out the season, and it’s not going to be easy. If you don’t defend well in set pieces, if you don’t put away teams, then you’re going to be out of the playoffs really, really quickly. We might not even make the playoffs if we continue in this way.”
Aside from the possible ramifications on the season, the Dynamo loss stings for reasons that go beyond one result.
The Dynamo came into this game having never won a match at Lumen Field, carrying a record of 0–14–3 that dated to 2009. While still managing to hold onto the No. 5 spot in the West, they were on a seven-game winless run and had gone just 1–3–7 in their past 11. They had also chosen to leave two of their best players – Guilherme and Hector Herrera – at home. Nothing about their form and quality suggested they should have expected much from this match.
The Sounders seemed to recognize this and came out with plenty of energy. They were effectively counter-pressing and virtually all of the match was played in the Dynamo’s half.
But it was the Dynamo who managed to score first. On their first corner of the match, the Dynamo sent in a ball that barely floated over the heads of both Dejan Joveljić and Sebastian Gomez; fell just between Kalani Kossa-Rienzi and Jackson Ragen; and bounced perfectly for Lucas Halter, who lost Hassani Dotson on a clever pick play.
The Dynamo didn’t seem particularly inclined to take chances before that goal, but were clearly content to put 11 behind the ball for the rest of the game.
While the Sounders’ effort was clearly there, they never really showed the kind of quality that would break down a committed defensive block. Until the 89th minute, the Sounders managed just five shots from inside the box, and none of those had caused Dynamo goalkeeper Jonathan Bond much trouble.
Over the final five minutes or so, the Sounders finally did manage to increase the pressure. During that stretch, the Sounders took seven shots – all from inside the penalty area – that accounted for more than 1.0 xG.
Add it all together and this was one of the Sounders’ most statistically dominant games of the season. They had their highest average point of confrontation of the season, forced the Dynamo into 66 clearances, held a 21–2 shots advantage, and finished with the most xPoints (2.64) of the season. Not that any of it mattered. The Sounders simply lacked the quality when they needed it most.
“All the categories we’ve been better in, except the most important one, and that’s the goals,” Sounders midfielder Albert Rusnák said. “At this stage of a season, I don’t know what’s more important, our results or the way you play.
“Maybe it’s not really worth talking about whether we played well or not. It’s just the simple fact that we didn’t win. We lost.”
This has been one of the Sounders’ most frustrating seasons ever. They have endured some of their lowest-ever lows, but have also shown themselves to be competitive as long as they’re healthy.
Health is no longer an excuse, though. The Sounders have two more chances to try to make something of this season. They’ve already wasted several.
“That’s the way sometimes this sport is," Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer said. "It’s very cruel. It’s cruel for the players who put a lot into stuff. It’s cruel for the fans that have to sit through that and watch that.
“Tonight wasn’t very easy to take. We’re running out of runway."
