Five things we saw from the Sounders’ win in the heart of Texas
The Seattle Sounders traveled to Texas and took home the three points after a late win over Austin FC. After Sunday’s performance against Minnesota United, coming back to Seattle with four points from two tough games on the road is a good score. Here are five things we saw from Wednesday night’s win.
Atensio takes the lead
Have you ever seen one of your favorite bands get old and kinda weak? Maybe they’re a rock band that just can’t play as hard as they once did. Or maybe it’s a jazz band out of sync with each other.
Well, this is our Saunders this summer. It’s the same band we know and love, but it was old and lame? They were playing the same songs out of tune and worse. Central midfielders can be deployed to do a lot of things, and we often see the Sounders midfielders acting as a kind of metronome to set the tempo. That’s been very annoying lately, as the Sounders have been only too happy to play at the same slow pace this summer. Until tonight. Josh Atensio, enter the stage on the right.
Atensio played guitar last night. He was active all night. Here are the numbers for those who like to read the sheet music: 62 touches, 10 passes in the final third, six tackles (one win), four tackles, five recoveries, and 16/10 duels won. It was everywhere from the word go. Not only did he set the tempo from the start, he also told everyone that he was going to play fast and loud. Within the first two minutes of the game, he made a tackle, started a counter-attack and created an opportunity. Every time he had possession of the ball he tried to play the game at that pace.
It remains baffling why Atensio was effectively left out of the squad for months on end. I know he had an injury in May, but since he came back from that, he has had no interest in the starting lineup. Hopefully last night’s performance is an indication that he is in contention for the most games over the remainder of the season.
Nico Lodero hits the high notes like he used to do
If you follow me on Twitter or have read my previous writing, you know how critical I am of the Sounders spell. My position is that he hasn’t played well at all this year and Seattle need to find a way to play without Neko because his days at the club are numbered.
Well, Wednesday night, it was amazing. Ludero’s classic performances are still out there somewhere and we saw that against Austin. His free kick for Jordan Morris’ goal is one of his best assists ever as a safer and puts him in the record books: he’s now one of only five players in MLS history to have six seasons with at least 10 assists. . The others are legitimate legends, which is appropriate.
The key to the remaining schedule is finding balance and choosing where Lodeiro plays to get the best out of it.
Bad judgment is still bad judgment, even if you win
It’s important to talk about these things when your team wins, that way you don’t sound like a whiner. Drew Fisher’s performance last night was really bad. There was no consistency between calls. Jackson Ragin was booked to break up a counterattack with a tactical foul? yellow card. Matt Hedges or any other Austin player doing the same thing? No card.
And that’s before you get to potential game-changing decisions, like a Morris goal or an Austin goal that wasn’t allowed. I am not an expert in arbitration, so I will always turn to people who have more experience in this field. VAR reviewed both cases and was happy with field calls in both cases.
The main complaint last night was the consistency in the central umpire’s calls. At the end of the first half, Nick Lima went down easily to win a free kick to effectively end the pressure of the Sounders as they chased for a goal. In the second half, an Austin player ran across Ethan Dobbelaer’s back and rolled the ball for the goal kick. Austin’s ensuing piece of possession sealed their victory with a corner that led to their goal. There was no way for the players to know what was wrong and what wouldn’t be wrong all night.
Multiple goals in the game change the game
It may sound really silly and simple, but the more goals you score in a match, the higher your chance of winning. Last night, the Sounders scored twice in a regular season MLS game for the first time since July 8th, and coincidentally that was the last time they won a game.
Over the past two seasons, the Sounders have been 17-2-3 in games in which they have scored multiple goals. Both losses came last season and they have only failed to win a single game this season, scoring two or more goals.
I think scoring at least two goals in a match is a great way to win matches.
He gives us the fight we asked for
Brian Schmitzer: “Even with a wave of poor results, you have to understand that this team is not going to fold. It’s not in the Sounders DNA to let go of games. … I’m not surprised we’re going to win some of these games because we never give up.”
– Jeremiah Oshan (@JeremiahOshan) August 31, 2023
A few weeks ago I appeared on Nos Audetis to discuss the implications of Sounders’ exit from the League Cup. The core of my request was to see the Sounders fight for something. Give us hope for the future and let’s enjoy watching the games again, it’s been months without either of them.
Last night was a glimpse of exactly that. The tactical performance wasn’t perfect or anything like that, but they fought hard for the first time in months. They cared and gave us reason to care.
This is the building block. You’re only as good as your last win, and if the Sounders don’t show up on Saturday against Portland, not only will we be back at square one, we’ll be right behind the eight-ball. You fight for us, we sing for you.
