SEATTLE – Jordan Morris scored for his hometown club in front of a sold out crowd on Saturday night, his long-awaited first professional goal in Rave Green since joining the club in January.
“It’s great to score in front of the fans and my family,” Morris told reporters after the Sounders’ 2-1 win over the visiting Philadelphia Union. “I think (the offense) is definitely gelling now and each game has gotten better and better, so yeah, it’s exciting.”
The goal came in the 71st minute, when midfielder Andreas Ivanschitz played a picture-perfect long ball to a Morris galloping in open space. Morris took a brilliant touch off his thigh and stabbed it passed Union goalkeeper Andre Blake for the Sounders’ second and decisive goal of the evening.
After a whirlwind offseason of hype and speculation, the weight was mounting on the youngster’s shoulders, and he was undoubtedly relieved to see his name on the scoresheet.
“Right from the start, when we signed him, it was a lot of pressure on him,” Ivanschitz said. “It’s very important that he scored his first goal, and I’m very happy about that. I was young too, and I know how hard it is.”
Ivanschitz is no stranger being young and under pressure. He made his professional debut in Austria when he was just 16 years old.
“At times you get all these questions, ‘When are you going to score your first goal?’” Ivanschitz said. “You just have to stay focused and that’s what he did. He’s a good boy and he’s training every day very hard...It was a well-deserved goal for him tonight.”
Said head coach Sigi Schmid: “You can’t score your second one until you get your first one ... It was a big weight off his shoulder.”
Morris was subbed off in the 81st minute and left the field to a massive ovation from the Seattle faithful, but was even more special for him, was to see his father waiting for him on the sideline.
Dr. Michael Morris is the Chief Medical Director for the Sounders and was there to meet his son at the end of the bench when he came off.
“It’s cool to have my dad there,” Morris said. “It was a special moment I think for him too … he just gave me a high five and a smile. I’m sure we’ll talk about it more later.”
Said center back Brad Evans: " Right after the goal I said, ‘That’s it, the flood gates are now open.' And he said, ‘Finally,’ and kind of looked up to the sky, so you hope that’s the one that breaks the bank and they keep flowing from here on out.”
