No T-Ravs for the Sounders

After recovering from crashing out of the CCL on Wednesday, the Sounders ventured east on Saturday to the BBQ capital to take on St. Louis FC, a side that has yet to concede a goal all year and to whom the Sounders have never lost.

There’s always a first time for everything, though…

St. Louis CITY got their first-ever victory against the Sounders after a beautiful free kick from Edward Löwen in the 15th minute. For 75 minutes, the Sounders received more yellow cards than shots on goal, so that tells you exactly how the night went.

The Sounders had a couple of good scoring chances in the first half, including in the 43rd minute when Georgi Minoungou worked his way through the St. Louis defense before opting to take a hit instead of passing to an open Jesus Ferreira. Georgi’s shot outside the box sailed wide right, not even close to being on target.

The Sounders were attacking most of the second half, but despite controlling the ball on St. Louis’ half of the field, they did not create any goal-scoring chances thanks to St. Louis’s sturdy back line and effective low-block. The Sounders seemingly were going to get a chance at an equalizer when they were awarded a penalty after Henry Kessler fouled Obed Vargas in the third minute of extra time. However, almost as quickly as he called it, VAR got into Bazakos's ear and correctly(very controversial if you listen to the internet) overturned the initial call. That was the last notable chance the Sounders had to earn a point on the road.

“There were a lot of challenges this week.” “We’ll get better as games progress. I have no doubt the results will start coming. We just move on to the next one.”

We had control of the game; we just can’t finish

While the attacking play left a lot to be desired and reminded me of the toothless offensive performances from last season, I wasn’t overly upset by the end of the match. The passing from Seattle in the first half was crisp, and they controlled the game well. The movement after the pass was quite good, and the players got into space well. The Sounders accomplished an impressive 65% possession, 89% passing accuracy, seven corners, and over 500 passes, with 147 being in the final third. Stat-wise, everything would suggest a rousing Sounders win. However, facing backup goalkeeper Ben Lundt, they could only put one single shot on frame. Despite having 29 touches in the box, they only mustered eight shots, none on target, and three were blocked. With no clear striker option and a strong defensive presence from Kessler for St Louis, it made all that possession moot, and it was tough to mount any significant offensive threat.

A reliable backup striker would be kind of cool

The whole point of bringing in a player of Jesús Ferreira’s quality was to possibly play alongside or in place of Jordan Morris in case he gets injured or is out of form— as well as as a winger or one of the 10s in Seattle’s various setups. Against St. Louis, it was painfully clear why the Sounders preferred to use him in a more creative role than as an out-and-out 9. Ferreira wasn’t stretching the back line the way Morris does, forcing Georgi Minoungou to try and cut in, make inward runs, and get bodied in the process, leaving Paul Rothrock as the lone option to try to play in behind. The overall attacking play improved slightly once the Moose was loose, but nothing clicked without Jordan on the field. The system has been built with Jordan Morris in mind for years, and when you try to put anyone not named Jordan in it, it will be hard to find success.

The Sounders have plenty of GAM to use, and I think it would be wise to use that or get a U22 striker who can grow and adapt to the system. Either way, if they actually get off their asses and do something, whoever they get will probably be an instant improvement over whatever Musovski offers.

No Schmetz, No Party

Not only were we missing two DPs to injury, but we were also missing arguably the team's most influential piece, Brian Schmetzer. I don’t have much faith in Freddy Juarez since he’s failed in every head coaching stint he’s been in. He’s been a good assistant to Schmetz, but when the team was down 0-1 going into the break, I had no faith he’d be able to get this team firing. I honestly believe that if Schmetz had not been sick (hoping for a speedy recovery), we would have walked away with at least a point. The man is the perfect man manager, and even when the team is underperforming, you know he will get the best out of every person on the pitch.

All photos are via Sounders FC Communication

Coffee and Football

If you read my stuff last season, you might remember a segment I wrote with every home game where I’d try to review different coffee shops in Seattle! I will bring my Coffee and Football section back this season, but I’ll also review different coffee shops in Portland on away days! And yes, I will be comparing most of the places to Starbucks, and I will be shitting on the Siren whenever I deem necessary.

Before yesterday's match, my wife and I went to a local shop called Hypnos Coffee! It’s a cute little shop in the North Williams neighborhood of Portland. It's LGBTQ+-owned and Parisian-inspired. The vibes are immaculate, and the coffee is nearly the same. My wife got their featured drink, the Bramble Latte, which has both blackberry and strawberry, and I got a hazelnut cortado, which was perfectly smooth and something that Starbucks could never do.

All their sauces are also made in-house and are dairy-free!

I honestly have no complaints. Hypnos Coffee is easily my third favorite coffee shop in Portland. Their menu is simple, the staff is super friendly, and the atmosphere is excellent. A loud family that came in kind of ruined the vibe, but it didn’t stop us from enjoying our drinks and treats. The North Williams neighborhood is also super cute, with lots of other shops and good-looking restaurants.