Realio’s Ratings: What are we doing?

After two dominant wins in a row, and up against the San Jose Earthquakes, literally the worst team in the league, Seattle could have vaulted to third in the West with a win. Instead, they came out flat, and playing against a team with nothing to play for, looked the lesser of the two teams. After ridiculously conceding an early goal in the run of play, Seattle started to control the match. Riding the hot boots of their in-form striker, the Sounders casually imposed their will on the match and took a lead going into the half. Although there were numerous opportunities, the second half was a mundane and plodding affair that didn’t see the Sounders add to their lead, which became problematic when the scrappy San Jose substitutions found an equalizer in the 89th minute. The game ended as a 2-2 tie, and Seattle will again rue chances missed and inadequate results against teams they should dominate. 

What are we doing? Every time this team gains some momentum, they seem to fall on their face. 

Goalkeeper

Stefan Frei – 4 | Community – 5.3

Coming off a shutout and riding high, Frei and Co. immediately crashed. This game was already a mess when Stefan fumbled a shross in the 10th minute and was forced into a 13th minute save on an over-the-top ball. Instead of calming down, Seattle continued to struggle until San Jose scored the opener. Avoiding any one of the following: charging out blindly, jumping up in the air randomly, keeping his hands at his sides, letting the ball fall past him, or standing and watching the opponent score, would probably have saved a goal. Instead, Stefan did all the above and San Jose had an early lead. 

What are we doing? Both goals were preventable had the defense, and Frei, been even a fraction better. To lose concentration in that fashion is demoralizing. 

Defense

Nouhou – 6 | Community – 6.0 (off 86’ for Bell)

Nouhou returned to the starting lineup and was fine on the left, although he didn’t have a lot of action. His 68 touches and a few defensive actions (four recoveries) was part of a boring left back performance, although he did limit Cristian Espinoza. Nouhou was remarkably tame going forward, choosing instead to recycle possession around the back, except for a few fruitful runs forward, such as a 6th minute corner-earning run and a central dribble in the 17th minute that earned a free kick.

What are we doing? Subbing defensive players late didn’t make the goal happen, but removing Nouhou who wasn’t being aggressive was an interesting choice. 

Jackson Ragen – 6 | Community – 6.1

Jackson started off rough, dribbling and losing the ball in the 2nd minute as Seattle struggled in the first 20 minutes against San Jose. Eventually conceding, Ragen and the defense then held for the next 60-plus minutes, limiting the Earthquakes to nothing substantial as they scored multiple times themselves. This match seemed to be under control, but again the defense fell asleep late and that is frustrating. 

What are we doing? Ragen led the team with four shots but managed zero on target. 

Yeimar – 7 | Community – 5.7

Defensively, Yeimar was immense. His five aerials won cleared danger time and again, and he had a ridiculous eight clearances as part of strong positional defense. For long stretches of the match, Yeimar and Ragen shut down the middle, funneling attacks wide and back. Yeimar was credited with 12 defensive actions. Many of the transition opportunities the Sounders had after finally warming into the match were due to him cutting passing lanes. 

What are we doing? A terrible clearance to the other team was followed by a header that was less than stellar on the San Jose opening goal. Neither should have been penalized as hard as they were. 

Alex Roldan – 4 | Community – 4.5

Roldan has started to play much more defensively as Seattle relies on more direct winger play and inside out creation. This has turned the attention to his defensive abilities, which were victimized on both goals. In possession, Alex had a few opportunities, the best a 45th minute chance to shoot where he took too long in the box and then shot wide. For someone who used to be so integrated into the possession, he didn’t do a lot. 

What are we doing? LATE AND NOT GOAL SIDE on the first goal meant Amahl Pellegrino walked into the box and scored with the Roldans hanging on him. Somehow, LATE AND NOT GOAL SIDE in the 88th minute meant San Jose earned a draw as Paul Marie got inside Alex and scored an equalizer. 

Defensive Midfield

Obed Vargas – 5 | Community – 5.4 (off 82’ for Atencio)

Vargas hasn’t impressed since returning from his Mexican national team outing, and against San Jose he struggled to close central gaps, putting stress on Cristian Roldan to cover the middle. Multiple missed passes, lost possessions, and lack of impact (only three passes into the final third, zero tackles won); Obed wasn’t in sync with what his team needed. That rough play made moments like his 51st minute attacking dribble that earned a free kick and yellow card against San Jose so glaring in their rarity. 

What are we doing? Obed chasing simulator in the defensive midfield means more work for his partners, which likely impacts late game defending. 

Cristian Roldan – 6 | Community – 5.7

Cristian led the team with 69 touches and controlled much of the middle of the match. His ability to switch the ball through the midfield is game-changing, and many of the chances Seattle creates are from him. Finding Paul Rothrock wide in the 13th minute opened up the entire field, and these kinds of passes got the wingers involved earlier in the buildup with more space to work. Unfortunately, both goals against had Cristian recovering into deep areas behind the defense, and both times he was unable to prevent the scores. 

What are we doing? After dominating the match a few days prior, Roldan looked less dynamic against San Jose. This has been a slight trend for Cristian on short rest. 

Attacking Midfield

Paul Rothrock – 6 | Community – 6.2 (off 63’ for Baker-Whiting)

Paul was active in the first half, but didn’t do much. His best moments were off ball runs, as he continues to torment defenses with intelligent movement. A 38th minute run and cross were nice, and he earned an important free kick right before half. The Sounders’ second goal was influenced by Rothrock, who got into a wide position and put in a cross that, while not very accurate, did bounce off a defender and into the path of Jordan Morris. With only 19 touches, Paul had few offensive moments. 

What are we doing? Sometimes Paul is the only one making dynamic runs, and watching his central 35th minute third man movement only to see it missed was depressing. 

Albert Rusnák – 6 | Community – 6.2 (off 82’ for Leyva)

Albert played okay, combining with teammates in an effort that could have easily been masterful had others combined better with him. Leading the team with an excellent five key passes, Rusnák created for teammates who failed to finish. One frustrating thing is Albert’s determination to play the way he is facing, often forcing the ball back into his defenders when holding the ball up. A turn and dribble would eviscerate defenses instead of expecting his own defense to be as good in possession as he is.

What are we doing? Good free kicks are great, but assists from the run of play must be more consistent, especially against teams as bad as San Jose. 

Pedro de la Vega – 6 | Community – 5.2 (off 63’ for Minoungou)

Pedro still struggles to be a part of this team and it showed. He consistently got into decent areas and shot from distance, dribbled too much, or turned the ball over while being on another page from teammates. Throughout the struggles, he also created multiple chances for teammates and you can envision what that would look like with a bit more polish. Two key passes and 92 percent completion rate showed an improvement to his play, which included four recoveries and an assist.

What are we doing? In the 58th minute he shrugged off an open pass to take and miss a long, pointless shot, in a clear indication of pressing too much. 

Forward

Jordan Morris – 8 (MOTM) | Community – 7.6 (MOTM)

Once again it was Morris who carried the scoring load, earning both Sounders tallies. These were “strikers” goals, both coming in the box in scrambles, as he fired each home first time and through traffic. His first volley was an excellently powered shot, and the second an even better finish, this time swiveling his hips immediately to get over the ball and punch it home. Outside of both goals, he was active in the buildup and had numerous other near scores. The only downside was low (70 percent) passing as Jordan missed a few opportunities to combine with PDLV or Rothrock. 

What are we doing? His third shot (all on target) nearly won the match in the 87th minute, forcing a quality save. 

Substitutes

Georgi Minoungou – 5 | Community – 5.7 (on 63’ for PDLV)

Georgi returned to a bench role and came in early in the second half to spell PDLV. Although only having 15 touches, he earned two key passes and was active when he had the opportunity. Immediately showing his power in the 65th minute, he pinballed off numerous tackles and drove into the box. His 87th minute pass to Morris should have been an assist. 

What are we doing? In the 83rd minute he did everything but provide the end product. He is young, but this has consistently been his issue. 

Reed Baker-Whiting – 5 | Community – 5.3 (on 63’ for Rothrock)

Reed came in and wasn’t much of an improvement to a tired Rothrock. His most notable moments came in the 78th where he made a great move (yay) and then turned the ball over (boo). In the 81st, he was a casual bystander instead of attacking the ball. 

What are we doing? He won one of five duels and isn’t making enough happen on either end of the field.

Danny Leyva – 5 | Community – 5.1 (on 82’ for Rusnák) 

Leyva got a few minutes at an intriguing position, as the central attacking midfielder. He did almost everything right, including going 3/3 passing, being successful in his lone dribble attempt, winning his duel opportunity, and even tracking back in the 85th minute to defend, something not normally expected from that position. 

What are we doing? Once again, the coaches got a little success with one thing and immediately ran to the well. In this instance, subbing Rusnák removed much of the control Seattle was exerting, irrespective of what Danny did as his replacement. 

Josh Atencio – 5 | Community – 5.7 (on 82’ for Vargas) 

Josh did fine in his short time on the ball, even showing an 84th minute aggressive dribble 50 yards up the field and a shot that had been missing from other teammates. A won 89th minute header nearly dialed up good things. His trailing defense may have been an issue on the game-winner, but San Jose took the other open option. 

What are we doing? In a short rest match, there were about 82 previous minutes when Atencio could have been involved. 

Jonathan Bell – 5 | Community – 4.9 (on 86’ for Nouhou)

Bell earned a cameo late, perhaps to waste time, and it backfired as he was on the field to witness San Jose exit with two of the Sounders’ points. 

What are we doing? It's not that Nouhou would have defended better than Bell did in this instance, it's that changing defensive cohesiveness with moments left in the game was an unnecessary risk. 

Referee

Victor Rivas – 7 | Community – 4.9

The ref wasn’t the story in this match, which was refreshing. There were a number of poor calls, such as Reed being hammered with everyone on the field confused at the no-call. Some late calls were frustrating as well, but this was a function of a referee willing to use advantage, and he did it frequently. A 20th minute yellow was outdone by both 38th and 51st minute cards which were handed out only after allowing the play to develop in case of advantage, a refreshing change. 

What are we doing? Complimenting a ref? That's how frustrating that ending was. 

San Jose Earthquakes MOTM

Other than creating the match-tying goal, Jeremy Ebobisse didn’t do a whole lot. In his thirty-ish minutes he had 12 touches, and went 8 of 10 passing. It’s just that one of those ten passes was an absolute killer — a blind cutback across the six where he knew and/or hoped a teammate would be. And lucky for him and for San Jose, Paul Marie was there.

What are we doing? Against this consistent Sounders killer? Not much.

Upcoming: Bye week was nice. Now an in-form Houston team.

What are we doing? I don’t know.