RENTON — Like most goal scorers, Jordan Morris tends to be a bit streaky. He’s currently on one of those streaks.
But this one feels a little different. While he has scored more goals in fewer games before — you might remember that he had eight in his first six games last year — he’s never before scored in so many games over such a long period.
Morris has now scored six goals in five different games spread out over a seven-game span. He’s also scoring them in different ways, through patient buildup, off set pieces and on breakaways. Perhaps the most encouraging thing is that his last three goals came during a week in which he was able to play 239 minutes spread out over three games and that he still had the legs to score a breakaway in the 4th minute of second-half stoppage time in the final game.
“It’s been coming,” Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer said after Tuesday’s training session. “He’d tell you his frustration used to be they wouldn’t let him play three games in a week. He’s built his durability and done a good job to have the confidence in three-game weeks that he can perform.”
Mixed reviews
Danny Musovski got just his third MLS start of the season on Saturday. But unlike his previous starts, he was deployed as a right winger. The idea, Schmetzer said, was for him to mostly replicate what Paul Rothrock had done at midweek, providing some energy and stretching the field. Musovski didn’t get on the scoresheet, but he put his one shot on frame, was credited with two shot-creating actions, had two tackles, completed 17 of 20 passes and was a willing runner before making way for Raúl Ruidíaz in the 60th minute.
“It was good,” Schmetzer said when asked to assess his performance. “Is he a winger? No, but we had him in that pocket out wide. … I needed him to sprint.”
Availability updates
- Alex Roldan (concussion) and Pedro de la Vega (hamstring) were both full-in at training and Schmetzer said he had “no doubt” that both would be available to play against the Chicago Fire on Saturday.
- João Paulo was held out of Tuesday’s training session, but Schmetzer said it was merely to give him some rest after a three-game week in which he twice logged 90 minutes.
- Braudilio Rodrigues’ season-long struggles with his hamstring suffered another setback after he was hurt in his first appearance with Tacoma Defiance on June 11 and will be out for the foreseeable future. “It’s not a good one,” Schmetzer said.
