This year has not exactly gone how Cristian Roldan envisioned. With the concussion concerns that cost him virtually half of 2023 in the rear-view mirror, Roldan was ready to re-establish himself as a right-sided midfielder.
From the very start of the season, though, injuries to other starters and a collective slow start eventually forced Roldan into a familiar utility role as he bounced from winger to right back to central midfield. When the dust finally settled during the summer, Roldan found himself playing primarily as a defensive midfielder.
It wasn’t an entirely unfamiliar position, but when Roldan has played in the double-pivot, he’s usually been the one with more license to get forward. This time, he was tasked to mostly do the dirty work while Obed Vargas ranged forward.
Roldan has mostly thrived in that position. Although his offensive numbers are down pretty much across the board, that’s been counter-balanced by improved defensive numbers.
Interestingly enough, Roldan’s performance in the Seattle Sounders’ penalty shootout win over the Houston Dynamo on Sunday was a sort of microcosm of his season. Injuries forced him to move up a line and start as a No. 10. After a somewhat ineffective first half, he slid back into the defensive midfield. He then scored just his second goal of the season in the 87th minute — seemingly giving the Sounders a late game-winner — only to be charged with an own-goal about five minutes later.
Undeterred by that setback, Roldan confidently roofed his penalty on the first shot of the shootout, setting the tone for the Sounders’ win and pushing them into the Western Conference semfinals.
“We talk about needing to be a professional and not getting too low or or too high,” Roldan told reporters after the match. “It’s much like our season where you’re on a winning streak and can’t get too high. When you step up for a PK after that you have to believe in yourself. I went up there with confidence and to give the team belief we were going to win this.”
Over the two games, the Sounders have hardly looked like world-beaters. Facing an opponent whose stout defense is built around a midfield that leads the league in possession, the Sounders struggled to create scoring chances in both matches despite playing with a man advantage for a significant chunk of each.
With their two most productive offensive players unavailable for the second game due to injury, the Sounders struggled to create any sort of consistent pressure going the other way. At the same time, they never seemed to go into full scramble mode and were content to wait for their opening.
It came in the 87th minute when Danny Leyva and Nouhou worked a nice 1-2. Nouhou then picked out Roldan’s late-arriving run at the top of the penalty area. Roldan calmly slotted his shot inside the post.
Elimination looking them squarely in the face, the Dynamo ramped up their pressure and almost immediately started creating chances. Their own breakthrough came at 90+3’ when Griffin Dorsey was able to send a dangerous cross through the box that ricochetted off Roldan’s foot and into the net.
Rather than hang their heads, the Sounders went into the shootout quietly confident. Following Roldan’s opening strike, the Sounders then converted their next six before Stefan Frei made a kick save to seal the victory.
“Good teams find ways to win when you’re not at your best,” Roldan said. “We talk about having your best ‘C’ game. We struggled, defended deep and were able to cap off the series and not give Houston a chance to come back to Seattle. We had our best ‘C’ game and can now rest up for our next match.”
It’s basically been like that for much of the season, with numerous points where the Sounders could have basically packed it in. But that didn’t happen after their worst-ever start. It didn’t happen when a couple of players made a public display of dissatisfaction at mid-season. It didn’t happen when they got eliminated from two competitions by the same team in the span of a couple of weeks. It didn’t happen when there were more reports that a club legend fumed over a perceived lack of communication.
Through it all, the Sounders have persevered and maybe even come out stronger on the other end.
“We had some challenges this year with certain people and some articles,” Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer said. “Even though there are disagreements it’s still a family. I argue with my brothers but does that mean I don’t love them? No. That’s a tight-knit group.”
To Roldan’s point, the Sounders’ offensive play has hardly been inspiring. In their last four games they’ve scored just three goals, but they’ve also allowed just two in that time and haven’t lost in two months. During their nine-game unbeaten streak, the Sounders have allowed just four goals.
It has not necessarily been pretty — and it seems a bit obvious that they’ll need to improve to get much farther — but for the 14th time in 16 MLS seasons, the Sounders are one of the last eight teams standing. They aren’t the favorites to lift a third MLS Cup, but they’ve put themselves in position to compete.
“One thing about this team is you can see that on the field that guys buy in a little more,” Roldan said. “That’s a credit to our entire group, front office, staff and players. Our culture is the best it’s ever been. We didn’t have our best game but we still got a result. While our team might not be the most talented, we believe in the way we play.”
