The Sounders’ objective was to get all three points through hook or crook in Sunday’s home match with Sporting Kansas City. The match was the first of three consecutive home games with just six games left in the regular season. Credit to Brian Schemtzer and his coaching staff for having the team prepared and aware of how important points are at the business end of the season.
SHUFFLED LINE UP
The insertion of Reed Baker-Whiting for Nouhou at left back, Paul Rothrock at left midfield, and Georgi Minoungou on the right brought youth and speed into the Sounders midblock The midfield pairing of Cristian Roldan and Obed Vargas enhanced the speed in the middle of the park; the only question was how the duo would handle the defensive duties. With centrebacks Jackson Ragen and Yeimar Gomez marshaling the back end and Alex Roldan on the right, there were some reinforcements for Cristian Roldan and Vargas.
SPEED ENHANCES THE ATTACKING THIRD
Jordan Morris played up top with Albert Rusák behind him, adding to Schmetzer’s lineup of fleet-footed attackers. The question was how the players would create space, move the ball with efficiency, and create effective chances. Those questions were quickly answered within twenty minutes of the opening whistle. First there was the matter of Cristian Roldan clearing a certain corner kick goal on the Sounders goal line.
After the wake-up call , the Sounders began their domination of the match. Morris headed a Rusnák corner kick towards the Sporting KC goal which rebounded back to a waiting Ragen who blasted it home for 1-0 Sounders lead.
CONTINUED DOMINANCE
The Sounders continued to pass the ball from left to right with Cristian Roldan pulling the strings and Rusnák creating space for Morris and Rothrock who was making overlapping runs from the left side. The Sounders looked to have doubled their lead three minutes late when an exquisite give-and-go from the Roldan brothers ended with a pass to a wide-open Morris, who slotted the ball home . Morris was deemed offside by the match official and the goal was disallowed.
The Sounders were able to double their lead in the 39th minute when Cristian Roldan lofted the ball to Rusnák, who headed to a streaking Rothrock who scored his third goal of the season. The Sounders looked home and dry when a penalty was awarded in their favor minutes later. A subpar penalty kick by Rusnák was saved by Sporting KC keeper Tim Melia. The half ended with the Sounders holding a 2-0 win.
NO THIRD GOAL
Schmetzer’s team continued its exquisite passing and running without the ball in the second half, creating multiple chances. Lacking was that clinical finish to deliver the third goal. The Sounders did play excellent defense , providing clear sightline for Stefan Frei and keeping the Sporting KC forwards in check. As a result of the clinical the defending Stefan Frei earned his 113 regular season shutout, putting him in second place in MLS history.
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POSTGAME NOTES
MATCH NOTES
- After defeating Columbus 4-0 last weekend and earning another three points today at Lumen Field, Seattle has won back-to-back matches and is firmly entrenched in the battle for postseason positioning. Brian Schmetzer’s side currently occupies fifth place in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference, just one point behind fourth-place Real Salt Lake and third-place Colorado. The top nine teams in the West qualify for postseason play, with the top four earning homefield advantage.
- In the race for the 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs, Sounders FC has five matches remaining in the regular season, with three of those contests at Lumen Field. All remaining games are against Western Conference opposition. Sounders FC continues its current three-match homestand on Wednesday, September 18 vs. San Jose at Lumen Field (7:30 p.m. PT).
- Today’s victory moves Sounders FC’s all-time record against Sporting Kansas City to 13-12-4 in regular-season play.
- Seattle is now 7-2-5 at Lumen Field in 2024.
- Jackson Ragen’s match-opening goal in the 19th minute of play was his fourth strike across all competitions in 2024 (three in the MLS regular-season, one in Leagues Cup play). Before this season, the Seattle native had not previously scored for the Rave Green.
- Paul Rothrock’s goal in the 40th minute gives him six tallies on the season across competitions, three of which have been scored in MLS (one goal in U.S. Open Cup play, two in Leagues Cup).
- Jordan Morris was credited with the primary assist on Rothrock’s goal, good for his third of 2024 and the 28th assist of his career in regular-season play.
- Albert Rusnák earned his 13th assist of the 2024 regular season on Rothrock’s goal, also good for his 16th helper across all competitions. The Slovakian continues to lead the team in assists this season, and he’s now just three shy of Nico Lodeiro’s MLS single-season club record (16 assists in 2018).
- Rusnák is now just one assist shy of his single-season record. He amassed 14 assists in 2017 while playing for Real Salt Lake. This season marks the third time in his career that he’s reached double-digit assists in a single campaign.
- Stefan Frei made his return to Sounders FC’s goal following a head injury suffered against Portland on August 31, good for his 24th start of 2024.
- Frei’s clean-sheet was historic on Sunday afternoon, giving him 113 regular-season shutouts, good for sole possession of second place all-time in MLS history. Previously, Frei was tied with longtime MLS stalwart Kevin Hartman for second on the list with 112 shutouts. Longtime RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando leads the pack with 154 all-time shutouts.
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 2 – Sporting Kansas City 0
Sunday, September 15, 2024
Venue: Lumen Field
Referee: Drew Fischer
Assistants: Felisha Mariscal, Eduardo Jeff
Fourth Official: Elton Garcia
VAR: Edvin Jurisevic
Attendance: 31,898
Weather: 64 degrees and partly cloudy
SCORING SUMMARY
SEA – Jackson Ragen 19’
SEA – Paul Rothrock (Jordan Morris, Albert Rusnák) 40’
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
SEA – Reed Baker-Whiting (caution) 29’
SKC – Dániel Sallói (caution) 37’
SKC – Zorhan Bassong (caution) 46’
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC – Stefan Frei – Captain; Alex Roldan, Yeimar Gómez Andrade, Jackson Ragen, Reed Baker-Whiting (Jonathan Bell 66’); Cristian Roldan, Obed Vargas (Josh Atencio 77’); Paul Rothrock, Albert Rusnák (Danny Leyva 85’), Georgi Minoungou (Pedro de la Vega 66’); Jordan Morris
Substitutes not used: Andrew Thomas, Nathan, Dylan Teves, Léo Chú, Raúl Ruidíaz
Total shots: 17
Shots on goal: 4
Fouls: 9
Offside: 2
Corner-kicks: 9
Saves: 1
Sporting Kansas City – Tim Melia; Tim Leibold, Robert Voloder, Dany Rosero, Khiry Shelton; Zorhan Bassong (Memo Rodríguez 58’), Rémi Walter; Dániel Sallói (Alenis Vargas 80’), Erik Thommy, Johnny Russell (Stephen Afrifa 58’); Alan Pulido (William Agada 58’)
Substitutes not used: John Pulskamp, Andreu Fontàs, Danny Flores, Robert Castellanos
Total shots: 13
Shots on goal: 2
Fouls: 10
Offside: 2
Corner-kicks: 11
Saves: 2
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