![]() ![]() While moving Lodeiro and Roldan back to their typical roles in the second half helped revitalize the team as SKC sat back, it was too little, too late. The goal sums up the worst of the Sounders’ afternoon defensively: a numerical disadvantage, lack of pressure on the ball, not tracking runners, slow to recognize danger, and a step late to react. The Sounders’ defense gives up an early goal. Despite both Vargas and Rusnák bracketing Erik Thommy, it is Thommy who reacts first to the loose ball off of Kinda’s foot and buries his shot. Rusnák takes a peek over his shoulder at the run of Gadi Kinda, but loses track of the run even as Reed Baker-Whiting breaks off to cover striker Alan Pulido’s run toward the far post. After Léo Chú loses his duel, neither Chú nor Vargas are able to counterpress in time to affect SKC, who are off to the races. On SKC’s first goal, Sporting start with a numerical advantage off of Stefan Frei’s long ball. Add the effect of João Paulo’s absence due to yellow card accumulation and Seattle’s build-up went quickly off the rails.Īside from problems with positioning, the Sounders were just plain sloppy and slow to react. The entire back line settled for long balls rather than building possession down the wings. Roldan was constantly trying to cut back inside on his right foot to play a pass, which was often recycled to the centerbacks. ![]() Rusnák is frustrated by Seattle’s lack of central passing options and off-ball movement. The problem extended to the midfield, where Albert Rusnák was frustrated by SKC’s numerical advantage while the Sounders’ movement was static. In this match, Héber and Morris did not provide the immediate passing options that might have made Roldan’s difficult task more manageable. His ability to drift out to both wings and play through balls was instrumental to Seattle’s success in their first meeting with SKC this season. Because of his constant movement when played in a free central role, Nico can be relied upon to provide an easy passing option. In the midfield Lodeiro was moved to the right wing, where he saw less of the ball. Alex Roldan misplays a pass, leading to a dangerous run from Johnny Russell. Russell was running free for a shot in the box if not for the heroics of Obed Vargas. In the sequence below, Roldan opts to flick a pass with the outside of his right foot, but Johnny Russell easily intercepts the under-hit ball. Roldan was moved across the field to a position where he was thoroughly uncomfortable on his left foot. Which players have attempted and completed the most passes on the team this season? Nicolás Lodeiro is third, João Paulo is second, and Alex Roldan is first in passing volume. Unfortunately, the result of those changes was a team that was completely out of sorts in the first half. Without the services of his two left backs and starting right winger, Brian Schmetzer played a highly shuffled lineup against Sporting Kansas City. With injury concerns looming at multiple positions, let’s look at what went wrong for Seattle last weekend and how they might cope with key absences in Houston. The kids played a courageous match against the Galaxy’s starters on Wednesday, but Seattle’s Open Cup run ended nonetheless. The first half against Sporting Kansas City on Sunday was the worst 45 minutes from this team in a long time. Meanwhile, the Sounders travel to Houston in search of some redemption after a rough week. Despite El Tri legend Héctor Herrera dealing in the Dynamo midfield, the offense has struggled to score from open play. Alas, forward and designated player Sebastián Ferreira, who tallied 13 goals in his 2022 debut, is out of favor with his head coach. This team may need just one prolific goal scorer in order to make waves in the Western Conference. Are the Dynamo back? The orange and black have not been to the playoffs since 2017, but new head coach Ben Olsen has his side playing respectable soccer. ![]()
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