Realio’s Ratings: Frei fends off foes

On short rest, traveling down to Texas, playing in heat and humidity with a rotated lineup, you may have thought Seattle would be lucky to get a road point against Austin. This isn’t your early-season Sounders team, however, and instead this Seattle version held a shutout, found the right moment to score, and left with a hard-fought but well-earned three points, winning 1-0 to continue their winning ways. The defense worked hard and kept Austin off the scoresheet, and a suddenly precise Sounders attack found a goal when they needed it through a quick transition. The resurgent Seattle side again showed their ability to grind out wins in games that are more gritty than pretty. The difference between this and the earlier version of the Sounders may be hard to see from the outside, but some tactical tweaks and return to form for injured players means this is a rising squad that fights for every possession in every competition at every venue. 

Goalkeeper

Stefan Frei – 8 (MOTM) | Community – 7.8

After a few hiccups echoing the tribulations of his teammates, Frei has been lights out for the past few months, and he added another shutout to his record against Austin. He came up massive, first to keep the team in it and then to assure Seattle went home with three points. Credited with four saves, Stefan was essential for the Sounders in Texas. 

What I liked: You don’t usually want your keeper to have to make massive saves multiple times a match, but better that than not making them. Frei came up huge in the 49th and 90th minutes, preventing goals with incredible goalkeeping. The 90th was through traffic and yet he somehow managed to push the shot wide, a masterful, sprawling parry. 

What I didn’t like: Although he was a clear MOTM, a few puzzling decisions in the box made things more exciting than necessary. A 27th minute chance to catch the ball was instead batted down awkwardly, and Frei was completely lost coming out into no-man’s land in the 91st. 

Outlook: Frei is second in MLS goals against average, and he’s somewhat quietly having another excellent season.

Defense

Nouhou – 6 | Community – 6.5

Nouhou had a rather boring match against Austin, first pairing with Léo Chú and then Reed Baker-Whiting on the left, but not having many notable plays — a good thing for a defense-first left back. He had 90 percent passing, four clearances, two interceptions, and five recoveries.

What I liked: Nouhou clearly connects better with Reed, finding him upfield almost immediately after the young winger subbed in. A beautiful curling pass in the 73rd minute is now a common occurrence between the two. 

What I didn’t like: It was surprising to see Nouhou beaten in behind in the 40th minute, a rarity. He didn’t close the 49th minute crosser down, leading to a big chance that Frei erased. 

Outlook: Until someone else plays better defense at the left back position, it’s hard to justify anyone but Nouhou playing there. 

Jackson Ragen – 6 | Community – 6.3

Ragen also had a nondescript match, failing to impress in any big moments, but doing enough to help see the shutout through. He was extremely clean with the ball (94 percent passing) but failed to have many aggressive passes, favoring safe and low-risk distribution.

What I liked: Defenses that don’t have many moments are often quietly doing their job, and that’s how Jackson played for most of the match. Controlled, calm, finding secure possession; keeping a clean sheet was the goal and it was fulfilled. He was an excellent 9/11 on long passes.

What I didn’t like: A bad central pass in the 45th minute shoved the ball into the middle of the field towards João Paulo, forcing a foul. He was badly beaten on the back post in the 90th minute as Austin nearly dove their way to a penalty call. 

Outlook: The lack of Cristian Roldan in possession seemed to have a knock-on effect to Ragen, who excels when he can find clean passes but wasn’t looking aggressively in this match. 

Yeimar – 7 | Community – 6.9

Yet again the stalwart center back defensive job was managed by Yeimar, who excelled. He had the best passing in the back, a sparkling 96 percent, keeping possession time and again for his team. His eight clearances and 15 defensive actions led the team as well. 

What I liked: Constantly a roving force across the middle, Yeimar’s ability to win defensive headers and cover the central and even left sides when necessary is massive. A beautiful 51st minute step forward denied any chance of an Austin counter. 

What I didn’t like: An out of bounds pass in the 17th missed a good chance at transition, and his connection with Alex was just okay. A high arm in the 35th minute earned him a yellow. 

Outlook: The Sounders defense remains excellent and Yeimar remains an essential piece of it. 

Alex Roldan – 6 | Community – 5.9

Alex Roldan returned to the right back spot and looked improved over his frequent earlier struggles. Although not the integral part of possession and attack he once was, Roldan fit well into the defensive shape and helped control the match from a defensive perspective. His ability to connect and defend behind Chú in the second half helped open up the field offensively.

What I liked: Nice inside defensive positioning in the 19th minute allowed Alex to comfortably deny an Austin attempt to drive into the middle of the Seattle attack, and this mirrored the sort of tactics that Seattle had been using with his brother. Roldan nearly scored a thundering back post volley in the 52nd minute. 

What I didn’t like: In the 69th minute, Alex whiffed twice on the same play on defense. He brought little to the offensive end of the field. 

Outlook: Unfortunately, Alex was slightly worse at the stuff that Cristian does, and without showing more of what separates him, he likely remains behind his brother at right back. 

Defensive Midfield 

Obed Vargas – 7 | Community – 7.4

Vargas is finding ways to be an impactful player with more consistency, and it’s fun to watch. He had an assist, three interceptions, won eight duels and finished with 81 percent passing. Obed had a sneaky stat-filling match that showed his continued positive growth.

What I liked: After managing the match for much of the first half, Obed grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck and shook it, via a silky smooth goal-creating dribble in the 63rd minute. His ability to open his hips to the middle of the field before surging through the defense on a vertical dribble was magical, gliding past multiple defenders to rip a hole in the opponent’s shape before laying off the ball into the box. This kind of play is becoming more consistent. 

What I didn’t like: A 10th minute turnover was symbolic of a struggle to match up with Pedro de la Vega in the middle. Rather than playing a dual-8 role like he does with Rusnák, Obed tried to offset the sporadic movement of Pedro and it wasn’t great. 

Outlook: While he can still play frustratingly passive, these moments of brilliance are happening more frequently. 

João Paulo – 7 | Community – 7.1 (off 93’ for Leyva)

JP didn’t astound from the eye test but did all those little things you must have from a defensive midfielder. His defensive intensity was excellent late, and he organized the central control that Seattle used to exert the most influence for much of the middle of the match. 

What I liked: Eight recoveries, seven passes into the attacking third, and 96 percent passing were all great, but more facilitative in support of those around him. More than anything, his decision-making, such as helpful defense in the 69th minute, remains almost perfect. 

What I didn’t like: JP struggled to connect at all with the roaming movement of PDLV, and these highly technical players need to be more on the same page. 

Outlook: Seattle’s best success continues to be when JP plays as a central defensive mid with Obed and Albert in front of him. 

Attacking Midfield

Léo Chú – 4 | Community – 5.8 (off 66’ for Baker-Whiting )

Chú started on the left wing but switched to right a few times as he roamed around looking for ways to get involved in the match. Especially when the center was run by PDLV, that wasn’t much. He was completely disconnected from the team, resulting in single-digit touches in the first half. This improved slightly after halftime when Chú was mostly on the right, and he connected better, racing into counter-attack moments alongside Jordan Morris. 

What I liked: In transition in the second half, Chú was able to quickly move from defense to offense a number of times. This included a near-goal in the 61st minute off a steal that he created and found Morris to kick-start a massive opportunity.

What I didn’t like: His defense in the 20th minute was bad, allowing Austin a free kick. After some unimpressive 48th minute action, Chú just casually walked back. An open shot in the 61st minute from Rusnák was sent gently and passively right to the keeper. Léo has to do much better with his limited opportunities. Chú wasn’t active and wasn’t effective; seeing him stand around and watch his teammates move promotes indigestion.

Outlook: Although the second half was improved, Chú has to show more of a complete performance.

Pedro de la Vega – 5 | Community – 6.5 (off 46’ for Rusnák)

It was exciting to see PDLV get a start, and he brought a lot of controlled chaos and work rate, although without much connection to teammates. He found the ball 21 times in his half of play and managed a shot on goal from an excellent set piece. 

What I liked: His touch and skill level are clearly very high, as he has the ability to make difficult control seem easy. Pedro’s ability to keep possession in a crowd is fantastic, and he moves constantly to open areas reminiscent of other DPs we have been blessed with in Seattle. A great run in the 16th minute faked far post then stepped near to get a nice Paul Rothrock pass before being fouled for what should have been a penalty. 

What I didn’t like: The connection with teammates was mostly missing, and de la Vega struggled to find and combine with just about anyone on his own team. At times he was forced to come all the way to stand near Ragen to get possession. He had only 21 touches as Seattle struggled to utilize their shiny DP. 

Outlook: This wasn’t a great outing, but the flashes are there and the hope is that with more quality around him he’ll be able to unlock his clear potential. 

Paul Rothrock – 7 | Community – 6.5 (off 86’ for Teves)

Rothrock fit well into the Sounders’ tactics, pressing all over the field, popping up in areas to support teammates, and putting on a masterclass of hustle play. His effort was fantastic, continually forcing Austin to adjust as he single-handedly pressed on his wing. He had a shot, two key passes including the game-winning assist, and multiple tackles. 

What I liked: Usually in the right spot, that’s exactly where Paul was in the 63rd minute to drop a pass to Morris, who eventually scored after some maneuvering in the box. Perhaps even more impressive was a 77th minute long ball touch immediately onto the onrushing Morris who forced a red card on the defense. His understanding of the off-ball movement of teammates and the necessary execution were spectacular. 

What I didn’t like: Paul wasn’t particularly clean with the ball (73 percent passing) and he had a number of poor passes, but hustled back immediately to support when he made mistakes. 

Outlook: Rothrock brings both hard work and execution, which is a great combination with some of the more finesse pieces around him. 

Forward

Danny Musovski – 4 | Community – 4.8 (off 46’ for Morris)

Musovski played striker in two minds. His runs looked like he wanted to stay high and get service into the box, which was nonexistent. His defensive positioning was so deep and passive for long stretches that he was effectively marking PDLV, which … wasn’t great. The biggest issue was he wasn’t able to connect with teammates, and he ended his half-match shift with only nine touches. 

What I liked: Moose was a willing runner in the few times there were chances to run. His work rate was high, moving from side to side, attempting to get involved in the play. 

What I didn’t like: There were moments for Danny to do things, none bigger than in the 33rd when he made a nice play to get possession on the right with a streaking PDLV in behind on goal, but the combination of too slow reaction time, good defense, and Moose misjudging the ball meant Austin cleared this massive chance. 

Outlook: Musovski got another start up front and was underwhelming.

Substitutes

Jordan Morris – 7 | Community – 8.1 (MOTM) (on 46’ for Musovski)

In came Morris at halftime and the offensive woes from the first half were quickly forgotten. Direct, forceful, and effective, Morris turned eight touches into multiple big chances, a game-winning goal, and forced error after error upon Austin, including a red card. 

What I liked: Morris running past the defense forced two yellow cards, resulting in Austin playing with 10 men after the 77th. When he wasn’t terrorizing the back line, Jordan drifted into the middle, getting a pass around the penalty area, taking a quick touch to the side to elude the defense, and striking home cleanly with his left foot.

What I didn’t like: Jordan wasn’t rewarded for either of his breakaways that forced yellows, and it was a shame that Austin nearly got a massive advantage from fouling Morris before he scored.

Outlook: Morris has nine goals in 11 games or something crazy like that, and he’s not only creating multiple big chances a match, but scoring them.

Albert Rusnák – 6 | Community – 6.8 (on 46’ for PDLV)

Replacing Pedro central, Albert brought the calm and control that Seattle needed, pulling the team shape into a more manageable formation and tying the room together like a nice rug. He had 23 touches and, importantly, a 100 percent pass completion rate, constantly finding the right person with the right pass. 

What I liked: Bringing Rusnák in fixed many of the structural issues that Seattle dealt with in the first half, including pulling Obed forward into aggressive areas (which paid off) and cleaning up the wing play with adjusted movement and connection.

What I didn’t like: A 79th minute rocket free kick nearly scored, banging off the crossbar but unfortunately out. 

Outlook: Rusnák brought Seattle role players into their roles. 

Reed Baker-Whiting – 6 | Community – 6.0 (on 66’ for Chú) 

Reed came into the match and was again a spark as a wide attacker. He found the ball in good positions, created for others, and connected well with Nouhou on the left. He had 10 touches and 75 percent passing.

What I liked: Baker-Whiting was an improvement on the wing, and his positioning invited stronger connection down the left with Nouhou. His 73rd minute run was rewarded with an excellent pass from Nouhou up the line. 

What I didn’t like: In the 84th minute, Reed went one versus everyone and won the battle, however there was no one to help him when he navigated the defense and looked far post for an option.

Outlook: RBW is showing that he has starter level talent on the wing. 

Dylan Teves – 5 | Community – 5.2 (on 86’ for Rothrock)

Teves, who hasn’t featured much lately, came in for a tiring Rothrock and was given the task of helping hold on as a Seattle squad playing up a man was somehow outworked late. 

What I liked: Teves had five touches and completed all his passes. His 93rd minute defense and hustle was an essential effort to help see out the win.

What I didn’t like: There were a few minutes when Teves attempted to support Roldan on the wing and he struggled to connect defensively, allowing Austin angles.

Outlook: Raise your hand if you forgot Teves was on the team. 

Danny Leyva – 5 | Community – 5.3 (on 93’ for JP)

Leyva sighting! He got a few seconds on the field in a time-wasting effort by the Seattle coaches.

What I liked: It was nice to see Leyva get some time, albeit not much. 

What I didn’t like: Seattle didn’t earn a free kick, so we couldn’t watch Danny cook. 

Outlook: Leyva is taking advantage of his minutes on Tacoma Defiance to advocate for more looks on the MLS side.

Referee

Jair Marrufo – 4 | Community – 5.4

Marrufo is a known quantity at this point, but knowing what’s coming doesn’t make it any easier to swallow. As expected, he allowed a lot of physical play, and then made up for it with calls that were only whistles instead of cards. Austin had more than twice as many fouls as the Sounders (15 to six), but the only two cards given to the home team were to the same guy for tactical fouls. 

What I liked: Never afraid to give a red card, Marrufo correctly sent off Brendan Hines-Ike for two mirror image fouls clutching at the RRBH Morris. 

What I didn’t like: The PDLV penalty shout wasn’t even looked at, which seems absurd but also par for the Marrufo course. Conversely, of course he took two minutes to discuss the potential game-tying penalty late in which Austin attempted to dive their way to a point in the match.

Outlook: After some good refereeing jobs, this was unnecessarily stressful. 

Austin FC MOTM

Danger man Driussi was involved in the best Austin FC had to offer throughout the match. For a guy who is only listed at 5’-10”, he got his head to a number of crosses into the box. And when he wasn’t getting on the end of things, he turned provider, either from set pieces or the run of play. His best effort came in the 49th, when a late dart into the box found him free to head towards Frei’s lower left corner. He finished with a whopping six shots to go with three shot creating actions.

Upcoming: Midweek game at home, against a team Seattle should absolutely be expected to beat.