Building bonfires is fun, especially as the sky darkens with clouds and that light drizzle that foretells the MLS playoffs.
Saturday night’s match has a few things on the line – the Cascadia Cup, entry into the Concacaf Champions Cup, and possibly most importantly hope for success in the playoffs.
With only one major and one minor trophy left to win the Seattle Sounders need to be at peak performance over the next seven weeks. They can’t just be good. They have to be great. They have to be capable of beating great teams.
No. The Portland Timbers aren’t great. They probably aren’t even good.
But they are a great test for the Sounders. Because the Timbers, just like Seattle classic bugaboo LA Galaxy and current bugaboo LAFC, dominate the Sounders at Lumen and have a multi-prong potent offense.
- Portland’s offense is No. 4 by Goals Scored and No. 8 by xG. LAFC is 4th and 3rd while Galaxy are 2nd and 1st.
For Schmetzer & Co. to look like they're capable of going head-to-head with the LAs, Miami and Columbus, a win over Portland will help.
Slowing Evander
If the Timbers were any good, Evander would be an MVP leader. That dude can do anything in the attack. With 15 goals and 14 primary assists he’s the best CAM on this side of the Mississippi.
Slowing him down is just as important as slowing Puig or Bouanga. Each is the type of player who can dominate a match. They also don't need many touches to change a match. Yes, he works centrally more than the threats that the LaLas do.
This will be a lesson in structure and discipline. Seattle must trust the man assigned to that space to control the situation. Because swarming Evander is a mistake.
A tree with many branches
Seattle has 2.75 good attacking players.
Portland has five players at Paul Rothrock’s production or better. That should be a familiar worry for those that despise the LaLas. Galaxy have four with double-digit goals and three with double digit assists (including secondary). LAFC have five at Rothrock’s level or better, plus Giroud.
Collapsing on a single threat Saturday night will expose Seattle to Jonathon Rodriguez, Santi Moreno, Felipe Mora and Antony.
Yes, the Sounders have the best defense in the league. One that’s hard to question. They make errors, because that’s true of all great defenses in MLS. An error against a team with offenses this strong is a goal.
Mythology
The Timbers control the pace and tenor of matches at Lumen, and have done so for too long.
Psychologically this is a barrier, just like the LAFC three-goal-victory barrier and the Galaxy trouncing the Sigi Sounders too frequently. Busting through the Galaxy is part of what freed Seattle to glory in the past.
Freeing themselves from the mental weight that they earned themselves against Portland is something Seattle players can hopefully carry forward into the playoffs when they face other teams that have owned their psyche.
Cascadia Cup 2024 isn’t Seattle’s Decision Day. Oct. 19 is instead their test, their trial, their moment to scream that they are betting on themselves.
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Catching up on Sounder at Heart
Here's what you missed on the site this week.
Sounders
Next match: Saturday night at 6 pm PT the Sounders host Portland Timbers on MLS Season Pass.
- In order to stop talking about winless streak against Timbers, Sounders must end it
- Nos Audietis: Beating Timbers is an absolute must
- Understanding the stakes for Sounders’ regular-season finale
- Georgi Minoungou: ‘I feel like I’m home. I feel myself here.’
- Paul Rothrock’s road back home
- Lobbing Scorchers: Leaking our Major League Soccer Awards Ballot
- Realio’s Ratings: Picking up the pieces
Club World Cup
- FIFA president raves about the ‘soul’ of Lumen Field
- Seattle will host six matches at 2025 Club World Cup
Reign
Next match: Friday night at 7 pm PT Seattle hosts Houston Dash on Prime Video. This is the season finale.
- Seattle Reign vs. Houston Dash: Preview and Gamethread
- Reign officially eliminated from postseason contention
- The Cooler Guild: Playoffs, gone but not forgotten
- Shae Holmes signs two-year contract extension with Reign
Defiance
Next match: The playoffs start Sunday with Tacoma hosting Ventura County in a 4 v 6 matchup at 7 pm PT on MLS Season Pass.
Spokane
Velocity travel to Northern Colorado Hailstorm Saturday at 6 pm PT on ESPN+. Spokane hasn't won in five matches.
Zephyr are off until October 27.
Looking back at the news
Everything else you need to know
If the Whitecaps make the Wild Card round they won't play at home.
The Guardian puts Seattle at 5th in their latest power rankings.
Don Garber is still bullish on the Apple deal, suggesting that they're getting close to the revenue share level of the partnership.
Early in the season the Sounders weren't effective at set pieces, now Andy Rose is generating offense through dead balls.
Chicago are looking for land to privately fund (yes!) a soccer stadium in the city. It would be their third home.
Desiree Scott and Merritt Mathias are retiring from the NWSL.
Boston NWSL took their branding project to a conclusion. It didn’t work.
Opta suggests that MLS is now a top 10 league. One of the main paths to that result is that Leagues Cup is included, despite it being played without MLS appearing in Mexico.
Indonesia's men's team is leaning into their former colonizer to change their fortune.
La Liga doesn't want the Club World Cup to exist. Counterpoint - come to Seattle. It's fun in the summer.
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