A promising start to Saturday’s match against the Vancouver Whitecaps turned on a dime and left the Sounders coaching staff with questions that must be answered and rectified with quickness. Long forgotten in the Sounders demoralizing 2-0 loss to the Whitecaps was a strong start. Inside the first 23 minutes, the Sounders had three decent looks at the Vancouver goal all of which amounted to nothing. Which in all honesty is nothing new. The two teams took turns with ball possession with no clear-cut chances that tested Stefan Frei or Whitecaps goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka.
GAME-CHANGING MOMENT
Jackson Ragen’s straight red card at the 43-minute changed the game but the full impact was not felt until the second half. Despite the being down a man the Sounders were able to reach halftime without conceding a goal. The team looked in synch and played with a purpose. That determination and playing with a purpose evaporated 13 minutes into the second half. The Whitecap’s well-executed full-pitch press forced Yemeir into a turnover that saw the visitors take a 1-0 lead on Ryan Gauld left left-footed blast. The Whitecaps doubled their lead 13th minutes later on an unforgivable giveaway by Xavier Arreaga who tried to dibble between two Vancouver players. Vancouver striker Brian White stole the ball from Arreaga and sealed the game with a right-footed blast in the 58th minute past whizzed by a helpless Frei.
LACK OF PURPOSE
It is mind-boggling that the team’s discipline and purpose would evaporate in a matter of minutes. The Sounders played with a lack of discipline and purpose when it mattered most. The Ragen red card some might argue was soft. I disagree Ragen went in with studs showing when he tried to tackle Gauld. A case of bad judgment, a rush of blood to the head, and a lack of discipline. Gauld was nowhere close to the Sounders goal so there was no need for the reckless challenge. The back-to-back giveaways by Yeimar and Arreaga are unexplainable. When being pressured backline players are taught to play the ball to a teammate quickly. The center backs were slow to play the ball and more disturbing is that no one in the midfield came back quick enough to help on the press.
BOILING POINT
Alex Roldan’s red card foul on the Whitecaps Ali Ahmed was a classless challenge that will surely come with at least one game suspension. In truth, it was a dirty play. The question is has Brian Schmetzer lost the locker room? My quick answer is no. You don’t lose a locker room overnight or eight games into the season. In truth, the Sounders have a divided locker room and it’s showing on the field. All coaches face a point in every season where they have to make some tough decisions. If players feel it is the right decision they will step into line. If they feel it is not they will tune out and check out. While it’s not the players who get to decide if it’s the right decision it is up to the coach to have the players see why he is making the tactical and personnel decisions and how the team will benefit.
EAST COAST SWING
We will learn much about this Sounders team and coaching staff after next week. The Sounders play DC United on Saturday, April 27th, and Philadelphia on Tuesday, April 30th. DC United is a struggling team with a 2-3-4 record and is 11th in the Eastern Conference while Philadelphia (3-0-4 ) is sixth. Losing both games would put Schmetzer under the hot seat. How the team plays will give insight into whether the locker room is divided or going through a growing phase.
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POST GAME NOTES
MATCH NOTES
- Seattle sits 12th in the Western Conference with six points (1-4-3). This is the first time in club history that Sounders FC has won just once in its first eight games to start a campaign.
- Sounders FC is now 17-10-9 against Vancouver in MLS regular-season play dating back to 2011, when Whitecaps FC entered the league as an expansion team. Saturday marked Sounders FC’s first home loss to Vancouver since 2016.
- Head Coach Brian Schmetzer is now 13-4-6 against Whitecaps FC (including postseason play) since taking over as Sounders FC Head Coach in 2016.
- Seattle and Vancouver have faced off 152 times dating back to 1974 when both teams played in the North American Soccer League. Seattle leads the all-time series 73-53-26. This season marks both clubs’ 50th anniversaries.
- Saturday marked Seattle’s first Cascadia Cup fixture of the 2024 campaign. Vancouver leads the current Cascadia Cup standings with six points (Whitecaps FC defeated Portland 3-2 on March 30), with Seattle and Portland trailing with zero.
- The Rave Green finished the match with nine players following red cards to Jackson Ragen and Alex Roldan, the first time the club has been issued two red cards in the same match since April 28, 2019 against LAFC.
- Dr. Michael Morris, Chief Medical Officer and Team Orthopedic Surgeon, announced his retirement earlier this week and was honored during this evening’s pre-match ceremonies. Dr. Morris has been with the team since its USL days, serving as the team physician for three years prior to its move to MLS. The father of Sounders FC forward Jordan Morris, he is a graduate of the University of Washington Orthopedic residency program and the Kerlan Jobe Sports Medicine Program. Dr. Morris also served as an orthopedic surgeon and Section Head of the Virginia Mason Sports Medicine Department.
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 0 – Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2
Saturday, April 20, 2024
Venue: Emerald Queen Casino Pitch at Lumen Field
Referee: Ramy Touchan
Assistants: Chris Elliott, Brooke Mayo
Fourth Official: Elton Garcia
VAR: Jorge Gonzalez
Attendance: 30,550
Weather: 52 degrees and clear
SCORING SUMMARY
VAN – Ryan Gauld (Sam Adekugbe, Andrew Cubas)
VAN – Brian White (Tristan Blackmon)
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
SEA – Jackson Ragen (ejection) 43’
VAN – Ranko Veselinovic (caution) 45’+6’
SEA – Danny Musovski (caution) 70’
SEA – Alex Roldan (ejection) 75’
VAN – Brian White (caution) 79’
VAN – Andrew Cubas (caution) 86’
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC – Stefan Frei; Alex Roldan, Yeimar, Jackson Ragen, Nouhou; João Paulo (Josh Atencio 63’), Obed Vargas, Cristian Roldan, Albert Rusnák (Danny Musovski 63’), Jordan Morris (Cody Baker 82’); Raúl Ruidíaz (Xavier Arreaga 45’+1’)
Substitutes not used: Andrew Thomas, Jonathan Bell, Danny Leyva, Dylan Teves, Léo Chú
Total shots: 9
Shots on goal: 2
Fouls: 8
Offside: 2
Corner-Kicks: 6
Saves: 2
Vancouver Whitecaps FC – Yohei Takaoka; Ranko Veselinovic, Tristan Blackmon, Bjorn Utvik; Alessandro Schopf (Sebastian Berhalter 73’), Andrew Cubas, Ali Ahmed (Javain Brown 81’), Pedro Vite (Ryan Raposo 74’); Sam Adekugbe (Damir Kreilach 63’), Brian White, Ryan Gauld (Jay Herdman 81’)
Substitutes not used: Isaac Boehmer, Mathias Laborda, Ralph Priso, Levonte Johnson
Total shots: 9
Shots on goal: 4
Fouls: 12
Offside: 2
Corner-kicks: 3
Saves: 2
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