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Seattle Sounders 2019 offseason recap

/ John Marshall / Leave a comment

Seattle Sounders FC officially opened their preseason on Tuesday with famously overcast Seattle weather and the songs and cheers of the Emerald City Supporters. Contrary to the precedent set in previous seasons, there was a noticeable lack of veteran trialists but instead a large number of academy players joining the first team training session as Seattle’s focus seems to point towards developing up-and-coming talent.

Sounders spent Tuesday and Wednesday in Seattle before heading to Orange County, California from Jan. 24th to Feb. 2nd and will then return to Tucson, Arizona from Feb. 6th through 16th.

While new signings have been scarce this offseason, there were plenty of talking points over the winter holiday to discuss.

Jordan Morris signs new TAM level contract

While the nature of MLS contracts means we still don’t know the exact terms of the contract, Paul Tenorio of The Athletic reported that the Homegrown Player signed a contract that guarantees him to be under contract with Sounders for the next three years and two option years after that. Should he stay for all five of those years he’ll make around $1 million a year playing for his hometown club.

Morris missed the entire regular season in 2018 after tearing his ACL against Santa Tecla in the opening match of the CONCACAF Champions League. Morris was seen working with the team in training late last year and plans to be a full participant this preseason.

Cristian Roldan called into USMNT winter camp

New United States Men’s Team head coach Gregg Berhalter’s first training camp saw MLS players exclusively called in, allowing the international players in the middle of their season to focus on their clubs.

The sole representative for Sounders, Roldan will have two matches to prove his worth to the new coach after a camp that began on Jan. 7th. The USMNT is scheduled to face Panama in Glendale, Arizona on Jan. 27th followed by Costa Rica in San Jose, California on Feb. 2nd.

Reports of a new contract for Roldan were also confirmed by Garth Lagerwey on Tuesday as he told reporters that the midfielder signed a multi-year contract with the club and that he as well as Morris plan to figure heavily into the club’s future plans.

Sigi Schmid passes away

The first head coach in the club’s MLS era tragically passed away on Christmas Day at the age of 65. Schmid had been admitted to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center weeks before according to Q13 Fox where he was awaiting a heart transplant.

Schmid is the all-time winningest coach in MLS history having also coached the Los Angeles Galaxy for two stints as well as the Columbus Crew. Schmidt won two MLS Cup titles, three Supporters’ Shields, five Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cups and three NCAA National Championships while at UCLA.

Schmid’s tenure with Seattle saw the expansion franchise become an instant success as Sounders still have yet to miss the playoffs in their 10 years in the league and have the league’s best combined record since joining for the 2009 season.

Former captain Osvaldo Alonso signed by Minnesota United in free agency

After 10 years with Sounders, the club leader in appearances, starts and minutes signed with the Loons this offseason after his contract expired. Alonso was the last member of the original MLS roster to leave the team or retire and his 339 appearances across all competitions for Seattle leave him second in club history dating back to 1974 just 13 behind Zach Scott.

“We have seen many great players that have played for our club, but none have had as much influence as Osvaldo Alonso” said coach Brian Schmetzer. “His drive and determination to win was evident from the first day of training, his first game, and continued throughout all of the successful years he had with Sounders FC. I feel fortunate to have been able to coach such a tremendous player. We watched his game evolve, his influence grow to where he eventually led us as captain to our first MLS Cup. I want to personally thank him for his play for the last 10 years. We will miss ‘El Corazon.'”

Nico Lodeiro to Boca Juniors rumors prove false

Reports had been swirling all offseason of a possible return to Boca Juniors for Lodeiro who had previously played for the Argentinian club before his transfer to Seattle. While Lodeiro has on several occasions expressed his love for Boca and stated his willingness to return, the Uruguayan playmaker is committed to Seattle and will remain with the club this season.

Lodeiro has been with Seattle since the summer of 2016 when he helped turn the Sounders’ season around and led the club to their first MLS Cup triumph.

Goalkeeper Trey Muse signed to Homegrown Player contract

The most notable signing to date this offseason for Seattle, Indiana University ‘keeper Trey Muse became the 11th Homegrown Player signing in club history. In two seasons with the Hoosiers, Muse started all 49 of his appearances as Indiana finished runner-up to national champions Stanford in 2017 and were knocked out of the semifinals in 2018. Muse was also named First Team All-America by the United Soccer Coaches, Top Drawer Soccer and College Soccer News in 2018 as a Sophomore with a 20-3-1 record.

As a Seattle Homegrown Player Muse joins the likes of first team players Jordan Morris, Handwalla Bwana, and Henry Wingo as well as Newcastle United defender and original Homegrown Player signing DeAndre Yedlin.

Tucker Bone, Joel Rydstrand and Aleks Berkolds selected in MLS SuperDraft

With three picks in the 2019 SuperDraft, Seattle selected Air Force Academy midfielder Tucker Bone with the 20th pick, Creighton defender Joel Rydstrand with the 44th pick, and San Diego State defender Aleks Berkolds with the 68th pick.

All three players have yet to sign contracts with the club and according to Lagerwey, Bone will graduate from Air Force Academy before joining the team full-time although he was a participant in the club’s first training on Tuesday. Once he does graduate the club will also seek a deferment of service to allow Bone to play with the club before becoming an Air Force officer, a process the club is currently working on.

Zulily announced as new jersey sponsor

With the club’s original sponsor, Xbox, ending their jersey and pitch sponsorship after the 2018 season, Sounders announced that online retailer Zulily will become the new kit sponsor in a partnership with National Women’s Soccer League club Seattle Reign that will see the brand on the front of both clubs’ jerseys going forward.

While the exact terms of the sponsorship have not been released, owner Adrian Hanauer said during the press conference that it is “a long-term partnership” and that “the resources are more resources than we were previously generating.” Unlike the sponsorship from Xbox that included pitch naming rights, Zulily is only sponsoring the club’s jerseys and training apparel as Sounders have yet to announce a pitch sponsor or a sleeve sponsor which should bring even more investment to the club.

Zulily was founded in 2010 and is a local company headquartered in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood. Started as a small online retailer with a focus on products for moms with children, Zulily has since expanded to $2 billion retailer with products for both men and women. Their investment in both the Reign and Sounders marks the first time both Seattle clubs have shared a presenting sponsor and is also an investment into the local community with Zulily and Sounders matching $26,000 in funds raised towards Strong Against Cancer.

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In Pictures: Timbers, SKC play out goalless draw in first leg of Western Conference Championship

/ Louis East / Leave a comment

Portland Timbers and Sporting Kansas City are as they were coming into Sunday’s Western Conference Championship series. They battled to a 0-0 draw in the first-leg at Providence Park, meaning there’s all to play for in what should be a thrilling second-leg on Thursday.

Portland had the best chances on the night, hitting the post and seeing a goal ruled out for offside following a VAR decision. They were also denied by Tim Melia time and time again, with the SKC goalkeeper making six saves on the night.

Sporting KC had a couple of chances of their own, mostly breaking on the counter wherever possible. Johnny Russell had a good sight of goal just after half-time. While Daniel Salloi had a great chance to win it in stoppage time, only for Liam Ridgewell to put his body on the line to block.

Check out exclusive photos from Sunday’s first leg below, courtesy of MLSGB photographer, Denise McCooey.

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In Pictures: Timbers inflict MLS Playoff penalty pain to eliminate Sounders

/ Louis East / Leave a comment

The Portland Timbers are heading to the Western Conference Final. They edged past the Seattle Sounders over two legs , managing to survive a spirited Seattle comeback, getting the better of the Sounders in the MLS Cup Playoffs for just the second time in history.

The Sounders won 3-2 on the night at CenturyLink Field in the second leg but fell on penalties 4-2 in the shootout. Seattle’s season is over. Portland are moving on to face either Real Salt Lake or Sporting Kansas City.

Following Portland’s 2-1 comeback win in the first-leg of the series, the pressure was always going to be on the Sounders to get a result in front of their home fans. But the opening hour of the second leg was an ill-tempered battle.

Raul Ruidiaz sparked the game into life with the opening goal on 68 minutes, putting the Sounders ahead in the tie on away goals. But Sebastian Blanco put the Timbers back into the driving seat ten minutes later.

It was Ruidiaz who saved the Sounders from exiting after 90 minutes as he fired in a dramatic 93rd minute goal to make the game 2-1 on the night and 3-3 on aggregate. Extra-time then begun perfectly for Portland, as Dairon Asprilla scored just three minutes into ET.

But Seattle fought back yet again, with Nicolas Lodeiro firing in from the spot in the 7th minute of extra-time to once again level the tie on aggregate. No more goals would be scored, sending the game into penalties.

Seattle’s Will Bruin hit the post, while Osvaldo Alonso saw his shot saved by Portland goalkeeper Jeff Attinella. Stefan Frei saved Liam Ridgewell’s penalty, to briefly keep Sounders hopes alive, but Asprilla was the man who ended Seattle’s season. He tucked his penalty away, claiming a series win for Portland.

Check out exclusive photos from Thursday’s game below, courtesy of MLSGB photographers Denise McCooey and Paul Kahl.

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In Pictures: Portland Timbers come back to take first-leg advantage from Seattle Sounders

/ Louis East / Leave a comment

Portland Timbers came back to beat Cascadia Rivals Seattle Sounders 2-1 in the first leg of their Western Conference Semifinal playoff clash at Providence Park. It means the first playoff series between the two rivals in five years is finely poised ahead of the second-leg meeting at CenturyLink Field.

The Sounders took an early lead as Raul Ruidiaz converted Cristian Roldan’s cut back inside the first 10 minutes, netting what could still prove to be a crucial away goal. But Portland battled back.

The hosts leveled the tie as Jeremy Ebobisse ran on to Diego Valeri’s perfect pass on 17 minutes and they took the lead just 12 minutes later. Sebastian Blanco turned what looked like a half-chance into a fine goal, sending Portland fans crazy.

Neither team was able to breakthrough again, despite the frantic start to the game and the two rivals now head into the second leg with the score at 2-1. You can guarantee there will be drama in Seattle on Thursday night.

Check out exclusive photos from Sunday’s game below, courtesy of MLSGB photographer Denise McCooey.

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In Pictures: NYCFC stroll past Philadelphia Union in Eastern Conference Knockout Round

/ Louis East / Leave a comment

Maxi Moralez scored and picked up two assists as New York City FC strolled past Philadelphia Union 3-1 in Wednesday’s Eastern Conference Knockout Round. The result sees NYCFC through to the Conference Semifinals for the third-straight year. But it means Philadelphia are left searching for their first ever playoff win. A search they’ll have to wait another year to continue.

The game saw a repeat scoreline from Sunday’s Regular Season clash, which was also at Yankee Stadium. Ismael Tajouri-Shradi and David Villa added NYCFC’s other goals on the night. While Corey Burke scored a late goal for the Union, which was little more than a consolation after a tough night for the East’s sixth-seed.

NYCFC will now face Atlanta United over two legs in the Eastern Conference Semifinal, with the first leg on Sunday at Yankee Stadium.

Check out exclusive photos from Wednesday’s Playoff game, courtesy of MLSGB photographer Ashley Marshall.

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In Pictures: Seattle Sounders leave it late to lock in Knockout Round bye for 2018 MLS Playoffs

/ Louis East / Leave a comment

The Seattle Sounders kept momentum going as they left it late to beat San Jose Earthquakes 2-1 at CenturyLink Field on MLS Decision Day. A Raul Ruidiaz brace was enough to earn three more points, securing a Knockout Round bye in the Western Conference.

Seattle’s incredible end-of-season run has seen them lock in yet another playoff campaign. And they’ll head into their Western Conference semifinal in full confidence, given the way they stuck together to beat the Quakes on Sunday.

Chad Marshall’s own goal had dampened the mood around CenturyLink Field but Seattle stuck together and kept the pressure on San Jose’s goal. It paid off. Ruidiaz equalised in the 79th minute and then secured the win in dramatic style in the third minute of stoppage time.

Check out exclusive photos from Sunday’s game below, courtesy of MLSGB photographers Denise McCooey and Paul Kahl.

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Sounders looking like a complete package ahead of 2018 MLS Playoffs

/ John Marshall / Leave a comment

The Seattle Sounders had a dominant performance at home against Houston Dynamo, winning by a final score of 4-1. It was one of their most complete performances of the year and put Seattle on the cusp of their 10th-straight playoff appearance while also eliminating Houston at the same time. Of all of the Sounders’ goals, it was the fourth that stood out the most. A Seattle throw-in started a 13-pass sequence that ended in a simple finish for Victor Rodriguez’s second goal of the match.

The goal sequence begins with a throw in on the right side of the pitch for Seattle after Handwalla Bwana subs on for Kelvin Leerdam. As the ball goes back for Kim Kee-Hee a pocket of space opens up for Bwana and Nico Lodeiro to operate in.

As the ball goes to Cristian Roldan, Bwana and Lodeiro check to the ball, pulling defenders with them before making a break upfield. Roldan elects not to play the ball up the sideline and instead begins to switch the field by passing the ball to Ozzie Alonso who uses his first touch to leave the ball for Jordy Delem.

With the off-ball movement of Bwana and Lodeiro drawing defenders to the right side, the left side of the field is now wide open for Seattle. Seeing this, Delem passes the ball to Nouhou on the wing and while his pass isn’t far enough in front of Nouhou, it’s accurate enough for Nouhou to move up the field into the empty space.At the same time Lodeiro is moving to the opposite side of the field to support Nouhou and Rodriguez.

At this point Lodeiro’s movement has drawn a centre-back towards him making the Houston back four defend one-on-one with Seattle. The passing triangle created by Nouhou, Rodriguez and Lodeiro is crucial to the Sounders breaking open the Dynamo defense and the positioning of Alonso gives his teammates an extra outlet while simultaneously drawing Boniek Garcia towards him and away from Lodeiro.

 

While this is developing, Will Bruin is threatening a run off the back of Leonardo, forcing the Dynamo defender to stick with the Sounders forward and leaving DaMarcus Beasley alone to mark Bwana who has continued his run up the right sideline.

From this position, Nouhou leaves the ball for Rodriguez who then runs a give-and-go with Lodeiro to beat one defender and then force Garcia to choose between stepping towards Rodriguez to stop the ball or to stay with Alonso. Garcia decides to step to the ball allowing Rodriguez a free passing lane to Alonso. Meanwhile, Bruin is being dragged down by Leonardo while drawing the other centre-back’s attention as well. This allows Rodriguez to continue his run into open space after the pass.

 

Once the ball gets to Alonso, both of the Dynamo centre-backs are too close together, forcing them to scramble to Rodriguez and leaving Beasley with no choice but to leave Bwana to try and stop the pass onto the oncoming Rodriguez. Bwana at this point has probably pinched too far into the centre of the field but does well to get wide again as the pass from Alonso comes to Rodriguez.

 

As Rodriguez receives the ball he recognizes that with Beasley sliding over to defend him, Bwana is now open and uses his first touch to pass the ball off.  

 

Bwana does well to let the ball come across his body, pulling both Beasley and Leonardo towards him while Rodriguez is patient enough to let the defenders pass by him before making his run to goal. Bwana could take the shot for himself but instead cuts the ball back inside.

Bwana makes the final pass perfectly between Beasley and Leonardo as Rodriguez slips behind the pair off Beasley’s back shoulder. At this point Rodriguez is one-on-one with goalkeeper Joe Willis and his first touch puts the ball into the side netting for Seattle’s fourth goal of the match and Rodriguez’s brace.

If Seattle is able to continue playing to the same level they did against Houston they will be in a fantastic position to make a deep playoff run and possibly return to MLS Cup for the third straight year.

In Pictures: Sounders down Dynamo 4-1 with impressive team performance

/ John Marshall / Leave a comment

Any fears of Seattle Sounders FC regressing to their early season scoring woes with Raul Ruidiaz off with the Peruvian National Team were quickly erased by his replacement Will Bruin in the 18th minute as Seattle opened the scoring against visitors Houston Dynamo en route to a 4-1 victory.

With the Dynamo needing to win to keep their playoff hopes alive, Houston played aggressively and allowed the game to be an open and end-to-end affair. Unfortunately for the Dynamo, it was the Sounders who took advantage of the extra space and dominated much of the match despite losing the overall possession battle.

What stood out the most in the match was the incisive, accurate passing of Seattle especially in Houston’s end of the field as they were able to pass circles around the defense at times and set up some of the most stunning goals of Seattle’s season.

“When the players are engaged and the coaching is at a high level you get moments like this where the team really kinda comes together and they play well,” said coach Brian Schmetzer after the match. “I think the last two games I think we’ve played well, we’ve had some good moments and we’ll try and continue those.”

While Bruin’s opener was a beautiful finish with his weaker left foot, the second goal on a counter-attack was even more impressive as Nico Lodeiro made a near end-to-end run with the ball, drawing five defenders before finding Cristian Roldan wide open inside the box for the finish.

The second half was punctuated by a Victor Rodriguez brace as Seattle continued press the defense and create chances with their passing. Bruin made a very clever dummy on Kelvin Leerdam’s low cross into the box allowing Rodriguez to get a shot away that took a fortunate deflection for his first goal.

The second was the result of Sounders taking advantage of the Houston defense over committing men to the ball, allowing Seattle to make quick passes between defenders into open space. Handwalla Bwana, moments after coming into the match, would ultimately get the assist on the goal as he split two defenders with his short pass to Rodriguez who was then one-on-one with the keeper from about eight yards out.

With the convincing lead, Schmetzer elected to use his substitutions to bring Henry Wingo and Alex Roldan into the match in an attempt to get the young players some extra minutes knowing that Seattle will need to rotate the lineup some with a short turnaround between matches in Orlando and then Houston.

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The changes seemed to unsettle the Seattle defense and allowed Houston to pull back one goal in the 87th minute but by then the match was well out of reach and while the team was disappointed to give up the clean sheet, it was still an impressive performance that puts Seattle on the cusp of their 10th consecutive postseason appearance, which would tie the MLS record.

Perhaps just as important for Seattle is that the win also eliminates Houston from playoff contention and could provide the Sounders with a confidence boost knowing that all of the three teams they will face the rest of the regular season are already out of the playoffs.

Still don’t expect Seattle to overlook those opponents as Bruin said after the match, “midweek game, cross-country in Orlando, a team that you know guys are going to be playing for jobs so that’s always a tough environment to go play in… so we’re going to need to up our game to be able to get a good result.”

Seattle Sounders staying calm ahead of crunch clash with Houston Dynamo

/ John Marshall / Leave a comment

When attending Seattle Sounders FC training sessions during the week at Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, Washington the majority of the 12 outdoor fields are vacant and there is an overarching sense of calm mixed in with Brian Schmetzer’s practices. Save for the occasional passing train, there is little to hear other than players and coaches preparing for the upcoming match.

On Saturdays the complex comes to life as youth teams take over fields overlooked by the Sounders’ offices; the future of Seattle soccer on display in the shadow of it’s present.

The atmosphere for players during Saturday training is wildly different from the mostly unwatched weekday training sessions as fans get a chance to watch practice as well as get photos and autographs.

Jordan Morris signing autographs for Seattle Sounders fans. (Photo: John Marshall)

 

While it’s still business as usual for the team as they prepare for a Monday night game against Houston Dynamo, the increased fan presence is something defender Kelvin Leerdam welcomes.

“First of all I’m happy that the people are here,” said Leerdam after practice. “They are always supporting us in good and bad times. Now it’s going good so everybody’s happy but they’re also coming when we are on a bad run. So it always gives us a boost. If you see people happy you just want to play more and play harder and hopefully we can keep the stretch going.”

Houston provides a tough test for Sounders with a speedy attacking core coming off a US Open Cup victory over Philadelphia Union and a comeback win over San Jose Earthquakes as well. Mauro Manotas and Alberth Elis lead the team in scoring with 15 and 11 goals respectively and Tomas Martinez serves as a dangerous playmaker in the attacking midfield role.

“They’re very explosive on the counter,” said Stefan Frei. “They have some pace; they’re not afraid to shoot from distance. I think their confidence is quite high up top… They have some guys up there that are very eager to score and don’t really care how its going to happen and that’s very dangerous.”

While Houston is still mathematically in the Western Conference playoff race it seems Dynamo need a miracle as they’ll have to take maximum points from their last four matches to have any hope of catching Real Salt Lake in the sixth and final playoff position. With two of Seattle’s next three matches against Houston, Frei dismissed the idea of treating the first match any different from the norm.

“No it doesn’t matter… We have to take it to [Houston] and we have to get three points at home,” said Frei. “It doesn’t really matter who we’re facing at this point. If we want to be ready for the playoffs, get into the playoffs, and then make a serious push then what you do at home is vital.

“All focus is on this home game and making sure that we take care of business.”

Seattle will play host to Houston this Monday night at 19:30 PT (03:30 GMT) as they look to secure their 10th-straight postseason appearance which would tie the Los Angeles Galaxy for longest streak of consecutive appearances in league history.

In Pictures: Sounders put four past the Rapids in dominant performance

/ John Marshall / Leave a comment

After two-straight losses, Seattle Sounders FC rebounded at home with a dominant 4-0 win over Colorado Rapids on Saturday. Seattle was aggressive from the opening whistle and were rewarded with two goals from Raul Ruidiaz, a penalty kick goal and two assists from Nico Lodeiro, as well as a final goal from Victor Rodriguez to seal the win.

“It was a home game. It was a game we needed to win so we messaged [the team] all week about having a comeback performance from the last two,” said Brian Schmetzer when asked about the aggressive start. “And again I give all credit to those guys in the locker room. That’s a pretty experienced group of players and we had a couple bad results but that team knows how to win.”

Colorado did their best to weather the early attacks from Seattle but after conceding in the 22nd minute there looked to be little hope of a comeback for the visitors. Although taking six shots in the first half, Colorado finished with eight shots total and only Tommy Smith’s header on the 50th minute was kept on target.

Overall it was a strong performance all around from Sounders but the play of Lodeiro stood out amongst the rest. Both of his assists to Ruidiaz were a direct result of Lodeiro giving the extra effort to keep the play alive and find his teammate for the goal while leading all players with a staggering 114 touches.

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No goal was more important though than the goal from Rodriguez who was visibly relieved after scoring. “I needed this goal because I’ve had a hard season…” said Rodriguez. “It’s very important for me, for my daughter, for my family. They are my ‘Super Always’ and this goal is for them.”

There was also high praise from Schmetzer of Ruidiaz’s play and integration with the team as the Peruvian has scored five goals in 11 matches as a Sounder. When asked about the relationship between Lodeiro and Ruidiaz, Schmetzer highlighted that it’s not just Lodeiro who Ruidiaz has partnered well with.

“The relationship between Raul and Nico, Raul and Victor, Raul and Ozzie [Alonso], Raul and Cristian [Roldan]… and there’s been a lot of history in MLS of mid-season signings not really catching on so I think we’ve done a good job, I think the front office has done a really good job in getting us a player who does actually fit in.”

Next up for Sounders is a visit from Houston Dynamo on Monday, October 8th as Seattle now sitting in 4th place in the West looks to solidify a playoff position with just four matches remaining.