Postgame Pontifications: Mile-High vibes

Heading into a pivotal stretch against three potential playoff opponents, the Seattle Sounders knew they had their work cut out for them. Coming off a frustrating home tie with the San Jose Earthquakes, the season felt like it could go either way.

Pick up five points or more, and they'd keep themselves in contention for top 4 seed in the playoffs. But if they only got three points or less, they’d potentially be flirting with the play-in round.

Instead, they did even better.

Their commanding — if not dominant — 1-0 win over the Colorado Rapids on Saturday not only completed their first nine-points-in-eight-days run since 2021, but also clinched home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs. It also pushed the Sounders’ record to 12-2-2 since June 15, the best record in MLS over that time.

They are now on 56 points — already tied for the fifth highest total in team history — and are currently occupying the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference. This all comes after the Sounders started the season 1-5-3 and seemed to be on the verge of coming apart.

“I do sense a confidence in the squad and it stems from the difficulties we’ve dealt with this year,” Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei said, fresh off recording his 11th shutout of the season. “At the start of the year, everyone was negative and we weren’t happy, but we believed we had a good team. We put our heads down and worked and now I think we’re reaping the rewards of that. Everyone is feeling confident and it allows difference-makers to shine.”

No one is shining brighter right now than Albert Rusnák. The Designated Player scored his 10th goal of the season in the win over the Rapids, putting away a rebound off a Jordan Morris shot. Combined with his 15 assists, he’s now just the fifth player in Sounders history to register at least 10 goals and 10 assists in a regular season, a feat not even accomplished by Nicolás Lodeiro. He had two goals and two assists in the Sounders’ two road wins last week and now has nine goals and 10 assists during this stretch of 16 regular-season games.

Rusnák’s game is significantly different than Lodeiro’s — he touches the ball about half as often and doesn’t cover nearly as much ground — but his production is impossible to ignore, even if he doesn’t seem to enjoy talking about the numbers.

“The better the team started playing, the better I was playing,” Rusnák said. “It wasn’t easy at start of the season. I got hurt and then took a few games to get into rhythm. I remember what everyone was saying at the start of the season, they didn’t believe in me and were writing me off. Most of American sports are based on stats and when the stats are good everyone is happy. I’m just trying to train well, be a good teammate and do the little things right.”

That seems to be the perspective of much of the team, a group of players who seem destined to be overlooked in the end-of-season award voting but whose collective performance is inching toward undeniably elite.

Take Paul Rothrock, a 25-year-old who only got his first MLS start on June 19. Rather than seeing his chances diminish as opponents get more film on him, he seems to be developing new wrinkles to his game. Against the Rapids, he was repeatedly running in behind on the left wing, sending in dangerous crosses and popping up for opportunistic shots.

His best moment came in the 74th minute when Morris played him a relatively simple ball in the middle of the field. Rothrock’s first touch was past Rapids centerback Lalas Abubukar and into the open field. Not necessarily one known for his speed, Rothrock continued to gain separation before cutting a ball across goal to Morris, who had an open look but hit his sliding shot just wide.

That would have given the Sounders an insurance goal that would have at least made the final 15 minutes a bit less stressful.

But they didn’t need it. After blowing a late one-goal lead against the Earthquakes just before the previous international break, the Sounders were able to close out a second 1-0 victory in about a week and have now recorded shutouts in three straight games. They now head into another international break with momentum firmly at their back.

Over the past few months, the Sounders have shown they are the league’s hottest team and during the last eight days they shown they can handle playoff-caliber opponents. Next, they’ll have an opportunity to finally get over one of their biggest persistent annoyances when they host the Portland Timbers on Decision Day.

That won’t guarantee any future success, but it’s hard to imagine a way to get the vibes any higher as they head into the postseason.