Damming the Rapids: Sounders clinch home-field

The Seattle Sounders closed out a busy week before the international break with a 1-0 win on the road against the Colorado Rapids. The win marked the third win and third shutout in the stretch of eight days. Albert Rusnák provided the winner early in the second half, his 10th goal of the season to go along with his 15 assists.

The Sounders immediately got on top of the Rapids, creating a dangerous counter attack through Cristian Roldan and Paul Rothrock in the 2nd minute. Rothrock’s attempt to cut the ball back to the penalty spot from the end line is cleared and no real danger comes from it in the end, but the intention was made clear. Seattle continued to threaten throughout the half with everyone in the front four and midfield getting in on the fun, but no breakthrough was coming.

The Rapids had their chances, perhaps most notably a look from Oliver Larraz in the 27th minute after the Sounders couldn’t clear their lines. His effort from outside the area never troubled Stefan Frei in what proved something of a theme for Colorado. Despite seven first-half shots, Frei was only forced to make one save.

Seattle found their opener, and what proved to be the winner, shortly after the start of the second half. As Colorado attempted to play through Seattle’s press, Oliver Larraz stretched to get on the end of a loose pass from Keegan Rosenberry but couldn’t quite get there and ended up poking the ball backwards. Jordan Morris jumped on the loose ball, took a touch to round Lalas Aboubakar on his way into the box, and only a kick save from Zack Steffen denied him a goal. The rebound fell kindly to Rusnák who came running into the box and hit his shot first time. Andreas Maxsø got a touch to the ball, but all he could do was change where in the back of the net the ball went as the Sounders took a 1-0 lead in the 48th minute.

The Rapids looked for an equalizer, but despite a slight edge in shots (6-4) following the goal they weren’t creating particularly dangerous chances. The best actual look at goal belonged to the Sounders when Paul Rothrock and Morris combined for a great opportunity in the 76th minute, but Morris couldn’t quite get around the ball enough to finish at the far post to put the game away. Seattle ceded the ball to Colorado for much of the second half, opting to look for chances in behind, and ultimately came away with yet another clean sheet and three points against one of the league’s top attacking sides.

This win secures home-field advantage for Seattle for at least the first round of the playoffs, as they can now drop no lower than 4th in the West. They’re also currently in position to get a Concacaf Champions Cup spot, but will need to finis ahead of at least one of FC Cincinnati or Real Salt Lake to stay there. They’ll have two weeks to rest and prepare for their final regular season game, a home meeting with the Portland Timbers on October 19 to decide the Cascadia Cup and potentially head into the playoffs with some serious momentum.

Key moments

2 - Counter! Seattle win the ball back near their own area and quickly transition as Cristian Roldan hits a through ball for Paul Rothrock. Rothrock gets to the end line, but his cutback to the penalty spot is cleared away.

9 - Shot! The Sounders get into a half-court situation after a turnover and Rothrock gets a ball out left from Morris. Rothrock finds Albert Rusnák who cuts back for a shot, but his effort is blocked.

25 - Chance! Pedro de la Vega rounds Sam Vines with a great touch after a slick pass from Alex Roldan. De la Vega plays a good ball to the near post, but it ends up going out off of Obed Vargas for a goal kick.

27 - Shot! The Sounders are unable to clear as Colorado get some sustained possession around the area, eventually leading to a shot from Oliver Larraz that never troubles Stefan Frei.

30 - Shot! Rothrock cuts in from the left, but his shot from the elbow of the area sails high and wide.

43 - Cross! Alex Roldan spreads the ball out to de la Vega who creates some space and whips in a ball that Andreas Maxsø nearly sends into the net for an own goal but it’s out for a corner instead.

48 - GOAL! Jordan Morris jumps on a back pass in a bad spot and rounds Lalas Aboubakar, but Zack Steffen saves the shot. The rebound falls to Rusnák who puts it in the back of the net despite a deflection! 1-0 Sounders

76 - Shot! Rothrock gets out on a break with Morris for company. They drive in on goal and Rothrock plays the ball across for Morris and Morris just can’t get his foot around the ball enough to put it in the back of the net.

83 - Defused! Seattle’s defense gets caught sleeping a little bit as Rafael Navarro ends up on the ball in the penalty area and nearly finds Kimani Stewart-Baynes for an open look, but Alex Roldan comes in at the last second and pokes the ball away for Frei to clean up.

90+4 - Reggie Cannon gets a late look for Colorado as a ball comes through traffic in the box to him, but his first time effort flies over the goal.

Quick thoughts

The MVP of our hearts: Albert Rusnák isn’t going to get any sort of MVP juice, and that’s not totally unreasonable. He’s having an incredible season, but unless he goes actually Super Saiyan against Portland he’s not really in the same statistical conversation as the guys in the running this year. But that shouldn’t mean he doesn’t get into the conversation. His 25 goal contributions in MLS play are nothing to sneeze at – and are tied for 10th most in the league – but more than that his candidacy hinges on how important he’s been to a Sounders team whose resurgence has come with him being given the keys to the car. Although he won’t get that level of league-wide recognition, this season will still go down as one of the all-time best individual performances for a Sounder. His goal tonight makes him only the fourth player to put up a double-double in MLS regular season play for Seattle, allowing him to ascend to heights only previously reached by Fredy Montero (2010, 10g, 10a), Clint Dempsey (2014, 15g, 10a; 2015, 10g, 10a), and Obafemi Martins (2014, 17g, 13a).

Obed Vargas is ready for his El Trí debut: In the final league game before he joins Mexico for his first senior call-up, Obed Vargas quietly put together one of the best games of his career. He had an almost unimpeachable performance with the ball at his feet, completing 46 of 52 passes while going 4 for 5 on long balls. He completed both dribbles he attempted, created a pair of chances, had a blocked shot, and in 73 touches he was only dispossessed twice. On the other side of the ball he went 4 for 4 on tackles, had 5 interceptions and 11 recoveries, while also winning 8 of 14 ground duels. In an important game in a tough place to play, he showed that he’s ready for what’s next as he gets a chance at his first Mexico senior team cap.

Let’s talk about that defense: The Sounders just pitched their third shutout in just about a week, their fifth in their last six games. In the span of eight days they played 270 minutes plus stoppage time, try as they might their opponents couldn’t find even a small morsel to satisfy themselves. That two of those three (and three of the five) shutouts came on the road against playoff teams is even more encouraging. The Sounders needed to prove themselves against quality opposition, and as much as it would have been more fun and a little more encouraging if they’d piled on goals in a couple of those outings, it’s hard to say they did anything other than prove that they have what it takes to be a problem in the postseason. They have the best defense in the league by Goals Allowed per game, having only conceded 34 in 33 – only two more than their incredible 32 goals allowed last season. They weren’t perfect in this game, but teams very rarely are and they did very well to clean up the messes that they did make. If defense win championships, then Seattle have just about a good a chance to lift the MLS Cup as anyone. Relatedly, Stefan Frei is one clean sheet away from his career best of 14, which he set last season.

Notable quote

Player spotlight

Paul Rothrock – Paul Rothrock was, once again, a problem. He had 3 shots, 2 chances created, and a 100% dribble success rate on 3 attempts. 9 of his 51 total touches came in the opposition box, while also winning 3 of 4 tackles and 7 of 8 ground duels.