By Mazvita Maraire Posted on

STUDS and DUDS From Sounders 5-2 win over Sporting Kansas City

Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer shuffled the deck for his team’s contest against Sporting Kansas City.

 Stefan Frei was in goal, Cody Baker was on the right,  Jon Bell and Yeimar were the center backs, with Reed Baker -Whiting on the right midfield, and Synder  Brunell and Cristian Roldan were in the middle.  George Minougou was on the right wing with Danny Leyva in the middle and  Kolan Kosa-Reinzi on the right with Danny Musovski up top.

A SMASHING RESULT

The result was a smashing 5-2 victory by the Sounders. Danny Musvoski scored the team’s first hat trick since Albert Rusnák’s three-goal performance against the Columbus Crew on September 7, 2024.  On that occasion, the Sounders pitched a shutout in the 4-0 thumping of the Crew.  Sunday’s result showed the depth and talent of the Sounders.  The 5-2 was impressive, but not without some transgressions.

WINNERS

GEORGI MINOUNGOU

Minoungou started at left wing back and was a handful for Sporting  KC’s Daniel Salloi and Khiry Shelton.  His speed down the left flank kept both players on their heels. He had an assist on Synder Brunnell’s goal, which set the early tone for how the Sounders would play.   Minoungo played all 90 minutes, had 62 touches overall, and 11 that were in the Sporting KC goal box.

KOLANI  KOSSA –RIENZI

He scored the Sounders’ first goal after his initial shot was saved. In his 90-minute Kossa-Reinzi  completed 24 of 33 pass attempts for  73% percentage. His movement on the right flank was fluid, and he showed that he can read and react to the game.  His reading of the game allowed him to cut inside and create overlapping room for  Reed Baker-Whiting.  Kossa- Reinzi had 53 touches, five of which were in the Sporting KC  goal box.

DANNY LEYVA

Leyva’s performance gives hope to Schmetzer when answering the question of who can play the ten when besides Jesus Frerreria. Well the answer is Leyva. His ability to read and react allowed him to shift from left mid to right mid with the flow of the game. In his full ninety, Leyva had three officials assist and a fourth, according to Schmetzer. It was Leyva who drew the penalty, which was taken by Musovski in the 75th minute.  In his team’s high 93 touches, Leyva was fouled a game-high five times and had 11 passes into the final third, showing his attacking prowess.

DANNY MUSOVSKI

Musovski’s night started bad and ended in electric fashion .Six minutes into the game, Musovski had a chance to give the Sounders the early lead when he intercepted a loose ball in the Sporting KC goal box,sped past Sporting KC keeper  John Pulskamp, but was unable to get the shot on frame.

Two minutes into the first half stoppage time, Musovski atoned for his mistake when he scored his first of three goals on an exquisite header. His second goal came five minutes into the second half, and like the first, it was a slicing header.  A converted penalty at the 75th minute completed the hat-trick. Credit Musovski for  showing patience during the game when he was being fouled and  not receiving the ball when he was making runs into the box.  In his 84 minutes, Musoviski had 17 touches, five of which were in the Sporting KC goal box.

Credit FRANCINE SCOTT

DUDS

REED BAKER-WHITING


Struggled defensively early and finally found his footing when Schmetzer switched him from  left wingback to right wing back. Much is expected of Baker-Whiting, who  has all the talent in the world. The next step for Baker-Whiting is to be more clinical in defending, using the sideline as an extra defender, and be quicker to back track when he is in the opponent’s attacking third.

On the Sporting Kansas City goal, he took the wrong angle back and left his man, Tim Leibold, who was allowed to run the left side and slide the ball across the goal to the awaiting Mason Toye for the equalizer.   In his 78th minutes played he was accurate on 93 % of his passes, had 61 touches and was correct on two of the three long balls he attempted. More game minutes will give Baker-Whiting the chance to elevate his game.

YEIMAR GOMEZ

While he only played the first half, Yeimar  seemed a little hesitant when defending early in the game. He was partly to blame for Sporting Kansas City’s first goal. He was caught flatfooted and allowed  Sporting KC striker to run pass him,  and tap the pass from Tim  Leibold for the equalizer. In the 45 minutes played, Gomez had five clearances, three of which were headers, and four defensive recoveries.

Leave a Reply