Sounders begin playoffs on front foot

The Seattle Sounders flew to a 2-0 win over FC Dallas in the first game of the first round, surviving a few minutes of turbulence on their way to the victory. Rusnák and Morris both scored a goal, while Frei racked up four saves and a clean sheet.

The Sounders began the game on the attack, pressing Dallas near the box for the first ten or so minutes, but found themselves unable to punch through. For the next ten, neither team pressed hard, as the ball stayed around the middle of the field.

Over the next ten, however, Seattle’s game started fraying, and Dallas was kept off the board half by Stef’s skill and half by the luck of the draw. In the 23^rd, the Sounders defense buckled, letting enemy striker Jesús Ferreira into the box with only Frei between him and the back of the net, but Stef slid into the shot, knocking it away. In the 27^th, the defense again slipped up, again letting Ferreira in front of the goal with a clean shot, but this time he booted it high, and Seattle got away from their mistakes scot-free.

It was smooth sailing for Seattle for the rest of the half. Dallas was unable to press deep into Sounders territory, while Seattle put more and more pressure upfield. Dallas was playing rough in their territory, but they got favorable calls from the refs until the 42^nd, when Cristian was tripped in the box, giving Seattle a penalty kick that Rusnák sunk into the net. 1-0 Sounders.

The second half ended up being a breeze. Seattle’s back line effectively neutralized Dallas’ press. Schmetzer took Chú out in the 66^th for Nico, rejuvenating the midfield and allowing Nouhou to play further up. This paid off less than ten minutes later, with a beautiful tailor-made Nouhou cross to Morris that Morris knocked in. 2-0 Sounders.

And the score remained so until the final whistle. The Sounders won, 2-0.

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This win continues a 9-game unbeaten streak that finished the regular season, something that Stef noted in his postgame interview.

“We’re clicking at the right time. We’re 10 out of 10 undefeated now,” Frei said. “We’re collective. We’re a unit, I feel. We’re strong together, and I think you saw it.”

He did, however, make sure to note Seattle’s luck in escaping from their first-half defensive errors.

“We played really well today, but those are the things that we’re going to look at a little bit and see if we can clean it up, because the room for error is nonexistent in the playoffs,” Frei noted. “If you feel like you’re in control of the game, you cannot get comfortable, because there’s one tiny little instance and then boom! Now you’re down a goal.”

The second goal of the game found its origin in the late-game formation with Nouhou higher up the wing. Schmetzer lauded Nouhou’s performance.

“I thought that was one of his better games that I’ve seen since he’s been at the club. Lock-down defensively in the first half. Obrian’s a talented player, didn’t get anything past him. His offensive contributions, those were a bonus,” Schmetzer stated. “When Nico and Albert and JP were connecting passes, Nouhou had to get up and down the line. He understood those moments, he created good opportunities for himself.”

Jordan echoed Schmetzer, also praising Nouhou’s standout match.

“He had a great game. He’s really fun to watch, obviously an incredible defender, but he can get forward really well too. You can see, he whips in good balls. I was happy for him,” Morris said.

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Elsewhere in the Western Conference, the Houston Dynamo, LAFC, and Sporting Kansas City proved victorious over Real Salt Lake, the Vancouver Whitecaps, and ST Louis CITY FC, respectively. ST Louis especially have an uphill battle, facing elimination on the road in Game 2.

This is the first MLS playoff with a best-of-three round, a development that has garnered controversy. Schmetzer weighed in with his viewpoint on the matter.

“There’s a lot of talk about the new format. It has pluses and minuses, I guess. It’s kind of an ‘Americanized’ best-of-three series. Some teams were criticized after they went down, they brought a bunch of young kids on, rested starters,” Schmetzer observed. “It’s still a mixed bag for me. Let’s just see how the rest of this plays out. Look, there were some interesting games, I’ll say that. But maybe that’s just the playoffs, because I remember last year, there were a lot of interesting one-and-done playoff games in our sport as well.”

Game 2 will be played in Dallas on Saturday, November 4. If Dallas wins, a rubber match would be held in Seattle on Friday, November 10.