Jordan Morris’s ninth MLS goal and 11th overall difference maker .
With the proverbial fixture congestion, Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer rolled out a shuffled lineup for his club’s Saturday night matchup with Austin FC.
The match with Austin was the second of three games in eight days. A Strong lineup in game one saw the Sounders dispatch the Sacramento Republic 2-1 on Tuesday, July 9th, and move into the U.S. Open Semifinal Round. With game three scheduled for Wednesday against Sacramento, Schmetzer bet on his bench to deliver.
DELA VEGA GETS HIS SECOND START
Argentinian Pedro de la Vega was given his second season start on March 2nd. His play was crisp and showed why the club treats his recovery from a hamstring injury with kid gloves. His most notable play came in the 15 minute when he received a pass from Paul Rothrock while moving towards the goal and was taken down in the box. Sounders FC wanted a penalty, but a quick lighting VAR call saw no harm in the tackle. The play was just three minutes after a De la Vega free kick floated over the goal post.
NON THREATENING FIRST HALF
With both sides stacking the middle block of the field, neither team could find the time and space to produce a shot worthy of beating either goalkeeper. Sounders Stefan Frei was credited with two saves. Austin FC netminder Brad Stuver was credited with one save on Joao Paulo’s left-footed shot.
A TACTICAL AND PERSONAL CHANGE
With De la Vega reaching his minute restriction without complications, Schmetzer inserted Albert Rusnák and Jordan Morris for Danny Musovski and went to a high press.
“ We had different lines of confrontation in the second half; we wanted to press higher up like normal because we do not like to give up territory,” Schmetzer said after the game.
The high press forced Austin into careless turnovers, which the Sounders took full advantage of. Joao Paulo and Obed Vargas picked off the errand passes. In the 63rd minute, Vargas shook two Austin defenders with a shake and shimmy dribble, then deftly passed the ball to Rothrock, who laid it off for Morris, who rifled home the game-winner.
The Rothrock to Morris combination forced Austin defender Brendan Hines- Ike to make his second reckless challenge on Morris and receive a second yellow. The Sounders nearly double their lead on the ensuing set piece. Albert Rusnák’s exquisite free-kick beat Stuver but not the goal bar.
A RESILIENT BUNCH TO THE END
Despite playing with ten men, Austin nearly equalized in extra time due to some shaky defense by the Sounders. Frei came up big in the 91st and 92 minutes of extra time. Swatting back-to-back corner kick headers from Austin’s C.J. Fodrey and Leo Vásänen.
“ You can call it shaky or, more positively, a bend but don’t break mentality. It’s hard when teams are throwing everything at you,” Frei said after the game. “ Bend but don’t break is the mentality we have been focusing on all season, and it helped us win another game .”
BIG TAKE
The Sounders finally click as a team because the players clearly understand the coach’s tactical expectations. That was not the case early in the season. Credit Schmetzer and his coaching staff for finding a way to deliver the message and have the player’s buy in. The Sounders ( 9-7-7, 34pts) have now won four consecutive matches and are unbeaten in five overall contests.
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