RENTON – Among Jordan Morris’ more notorious traits is his body language. Ever since Morris broke into the Seattle Sounders as a MLS Rookie of the Year in 2016, observers have pointed out how demonstrative he can be. Misses are almost always followed by his hands going to his head, his frustrations there for all to see.
Given his history, it was hardly surprising to see him splayed on the field, face in the grass and hands on his head, after he missed what would have been a 90th minute equalizer against the LA Galaxy on Saturday. Morris stayed there for about 12 seconds.
“I think he scores that 10 out of 10 times in training,” Sounders midfielder Albert Rusnák said. “He scores those all the time. He’s good at finding space. Right now, it’s just not going in for us as a team.”
The miss felt like a potential turning point in the season had been missed for both the Sounders and Morris, neither of whom have so far lived up to the lofty expectations with which they entered the season.
If the shot had gone in, the Sounders would have secured a well-earned point after dominating the second half on the road against the Western Conference’s best team. Yes, they’d still be winless, but at least they’d have gotten something out of the match and gained some momentum.
For Morris, it would have been his first goal of 2024, ending a scoring drought that effectively stretches back to the final game of the 2023 season when he failed to convert the Sounders’ best chance of the game in what was ultimately a 1-0 loss to LAFC in the Western Conference semifinals.
It would also have likely been an emotional lift for Morris.
“We’ve had multiple conversations with Jordan around confidence,” Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer said. “He feels bad about that play. If he puts himself in those situations a bunch of times, he’s going to score a bunch of goals. It just so happens that when the team is struggling, there’s already some pressure building on him because he wanted to play center forward, it’s all come together.”
