SEATTLE – Seemingly nothing about the Seattle Sounders’ season has been easy. They have endured their longest-ever losing streak, gone four months without a win and have suffered so many injuries to so many key players that taking account of them all feels almost impossible.
It was probably fitting, then, that in a game they led 2–0 before halftime and in a season where they started 6–1–1, that they’d have to sweat out the final 10 minutes of their regular-season finale before knowing if they had advanced to the playoffs for the 17th time in 18 seasons.
"We talked at halftime about going out and scoring a third goal, putting the game really to bed," Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer said. "But obviously, LAFC … they’re a good team, and they didn’t allow us to get out of our half.
"So, we had to suffer."
In this instance, the suffering paid off. The Sounders beat LAFC, 2–1, got just enough help from other teams around the league, and finished eighth in the Western Conference.
But, boy, they really did suffer to get there.
After getting off to their best start of the season – the Sounders scored inside the 1st minute when Cristian Roldan jumped a passing lane and found Albert Rusnák for a finish right in front of goal – and then adding a second, it looked like advancement would be relatively straightforward.
As the game ticked beyond halftime, though, the outlook started to change. While enough results elsewhere continued to favor the Sounders, LAFC's press suddenly started working extraordinarily well. The Sounders could barely get out of their own end, attempted just one pass from inside their attacking third and were unable to even get a shot off after the 41st minute.
LAFC, meanwhile, peppered Sounders goalkeeper Andrew Thomas with chance after chance. He ended up making seven saves and being credited with 1.55 goals prevented.
By the time the match entered stoppage time, the importance of each of those saves came into focus. While the Sounders were holding on for dear life, Minnesota United had stormed ahead of the San Jose Earthquakes. A United win, combined with a Sounders tie, would have left them even on points; Minnesota had the necessary tiebreakers to jump into the Sounders’ playoff spot.
As if sensing the danger, the Sounders’ defense clamped down over the final 10 minutes. LAFC were only allowed two more shots, neither of which forced Thomas to make a save. The one play Thomas had to make in the game's final moments was to grab a cross.
There have been times – as recently as last week – when the Sounders seemed to lack the grit necessary to compete in high-leverage games. While they never appeared to quit, there were too many times when they were simply out-dueled or didn’t show a willingness to make hard fouls. It was those aspects of their game that they seemed to rediscover against LAFC.
"The effort that every single person that was on the field put in today was phenomenal," Thomas said. "And that's deservedly gotten us more soccer."
The Sounders have now played 41 competitive matches this year. At times, they have looked as if they could beat almost anyone. But more often, they have looked overwhelmed in a way that feels completely foreign to Sounders fans, but especially Schmetzer. I’ve seen him simply at a loss for explanation more times this year than I’ve ever seen before.
One relatively ugly win should not convince anyone that the Sounders have suddenly rediscovered their ability to do that on the regular, but it at least provides a blueprint for how they go about making something of this seemingly lost season.
"Sometimes, when you’re hard to beat in those moments, it’s just as good as being really, really good and scoring four or five goals," Schmetzer said. "I’m still a true believer that defense wins championships.
"I say that because I know we have enough quality ot get one or two. If we can become defensively strong, then that's how you make long runs in the playoffs."
