By Mazvita Maraire Posted on

Studs and Duds from Sounders’ 2-0 win over Colorado Rapids

The Seattle Sounders started their MLS season with a solid 2-0 win over the Colorado Rapids Sunday Night at Lumen Field.  The win was the good news; the bad news was injuries to forward Jordan Morris and midfielder Hassani Dotson.  Morris suffered a thigh injury eight minutes into the game and will undergo testing. Dotson left the game with a concussion after a collision as a precautionary measure in the 14th minute of stoppage time in the half. The first half lasted 60 minutes—player rankings from the game.

STUDS

WINGER PAUL ROTHROCK

Paultime shone on primetime.  After subbing in for Morris, Rothrock had an immediate impact in the game. Playing wide left, Rothrock’s speed put pressure on Colorado’s Nick Cannon with his attacking speed.  In the 14th minute, Rothrock tracked down an errant pass by Jesus Ferreria on the left side and lofted a perfect pass to an on-rushing Albert Rusnack, who headed the ball into the back of the net for the 1-0 lead.  Rothrock’s brightest moment came in the 62nd minute when he headed home the game-winner

In his  82 minutes played, Rothrock had 47  touches,  eight in the Rockies’ goal box, created four chances, and scored on one of two shots.  His willingness to take on the Rockies’ backline with the ball and to run with intricate runs created space for the Sounders’ attack.

CENTER BACK JACKSON RAGEN

Ragen had a flawless game on defense, reading the game, reacting, and keeping the Rockies’ attackers in front. His marshalling of the middle with  Yeimar was a big reason Andrew Thomas recorded the shutout. In his 90 minutes played, Ragen won all four of his aerial duels, had three critical blocks, had nine clearances (six headers), and four defensive recoveries. Most impressive was the zero fouls committed.

  CENTER BACK YEIMAR GOMEZ

It would be disingenuous to leave  Yeimar out of the studs list.   The Colombian contributed like Ragen to the Sounders, earning a shutout.  In his 90 minutes played, Yeimar had 74 touches, four tackles, two blocks, and ten clearances, four of which were headers and four defensive interceptions. Similar to Ragen Yeimar, who committed zero fouls.

 RIGHT WING JESUS  FERREIRA

While he did not get his name on the score sheet, Ferreira had an impact in the match with his spatial awareness.  Playing a tucked-in right wing, Ferreira helped the Sounders overload the Rockies in the goal box and keep the visitors pinned in. In his 69 minutes played, Ferreira had 47  touches, connected on 23 of 28 passes, had five passes in the final third, and made two defensive contributions.

DUDS

 A tall task to find some duds in a home opening 2-0 win.  In fairness, there are areas the Sounders could improve on.

 FORWARD JORDAN MORRIS

The dud here is not so much the player as what happened to him. Morris’s thigh injury in the eighth minute is without a doubt the biggest disappointment. After playing just 17 games last season due to a hamstring injury, Morris was looking to leave the injury woes in the past. That was not the case in the match against the Rockies.

FORWARD OSAZE De ROSARIO

 A red-hot preseason in which he scored five goals earned Rosario the start. The Guyanese had his best chance to score in the first-half stoppage time when he picked up a loose ball in the center of the attacking third, slalomed right through two defenders, and rifled a right-footed shot that sent Rockies keeper Zach Steffan to his right.

 In his 60 minutes played, De Rosario had a 0.06 expected goals percentage, 31 touches, three of which were in the Rockies’ goal box.  He was disposed twice and committed three fouls. The disjointedness of the game was a hindrance to De Rosario, who is more of a smooth attacking striker who can carry the ball into the opposition’s goal box in a fluid game.  

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