All eyes were on goalkeeper Andrew Thomas Wednesday night in the Sounders’ Round of 32 Open Cup win over Louisville City FC.
An undeniable force in goal throughout the duration of the match, Thomas racked up four saves under the lights at Starfire Sports Complex.
But it was after the 120 minutes of match play when the Seattle side transitioned into a penalty-kick shootout, where Thomas truly shined.
“He's really good at penalties, if you guys don't know that by now,” said Head Coach Brian Schmetzer.
Not only did the London native stop three of Louisville City’s eight penalty shot attempts, he also volunteered to take the final penalty kick for the Rave Green.
“[Goalkeeper Coach] Tommy Dutra was telling me that if it goes into the extra five, Andrew should take one,” said Schmetzer. “And he banged it.”
Thomas’ confidence overpowered his opposition; with the momentum carrying over from his performance at the goal line, Thomas rocketed the penalty near post of the goal, solidifying the victory for the Sounders and a position in the Open Cup Round of 16.
“I kind of knew where I wanted to go on the penalty,” said Thomas. “We practiced them [on Tuesday], practiced them during various points during the year, you prepare for every eventuality, and I was glad I could step up and finish it off there.”
While Wednesday night’s victory over the USL Championship side was a collaborative team effort, it was Thomas who ultimately booked the Rave Green’s ticket to the next round of the tournament.
“The kind of lineup we had at the end, there were a lot of debutantes, a lot of guys that were making their first minutes, guys pulled up from Tacoma [Defiance],” said Thomas. “And so, the handful of guys that have had MLS experience, even though it's only been five games or so, for me, I felt like I needed to be a bit more of a calming presence, and hopefully the guys would attest to that being the case.”
“That's partially why I wanted the last [penalty] at the end.”
The Stanford Alum’s efforts on the pitch served as a reminder of the Sounders’ reasoning behind offering him a new three-year contract.
“We know he's talented,” said Schmetzer. “Good job on Craig [Waibel] for locking him up because he's an asset.”
Thomas and the Seattle Sounders are one step closer in securing the club’s fifth Open Cup title in franchise history as they continue their tournament run on May 22 and take on Phoenix Rising at Starfire Stadium.
