TUKWILA, Wash. -- Seattle Sounders 2 didn’t get the result they wanted in their season-opening 2-1 defeat to Sacramento Republic FC at Starfire Sports on Sunday. But for defender Brian Nana-Sinkam, the match still marked something of a special occasion.
Nana-Sinkam scored S2’s lone goal in the 5th minute of Sunday’s contest, the first goal for the 2017 first-round MLS SuperDraft pick of the Seattle Sounders since his sophomore year at Stanford University.
Irvin Parra @Wasaaa_B= @SoundersFC2 take a 1-0 lead vs @SacRepublicFC#SEAvSAC#USLKickoffpic.twitter.com/AGogys1cB3
— USL (@USL) March 26, 2017
“That was my one goal so I had to remember it,” Nana-Sinkam said after the game. “It was against Cal in one of the Pac-12 championship games and we ended up winning that game and winning the championship. It was our first in like eight years. That was a meaningful goal.”
Nana-Sinkam wasn’t drafted for his offensive prowess.
The 22-year-old is a defender by trade, able to play centrally or out wide. Starting at fullback on Sunday, however, he made his mark early after cashing home a feed off a free kick from midfielder Irvin Parra
“Maybe a goal from an unlikely source,” he said. “But I pride myself on being able to play center back and outside back.
“Left back, I’m fine playing there and you get to get forward and score goals. Amazing feeling. Something I don’t experience quite a lot so even more special for me. Today, unfortunately, we didn’t get the result but it still felt good to put one in for the team.”
For S2 head coach Ezra Hendrickson, Nana-Sinkam’s tally was a positive takeaway on a day that saw his squad relinquish the early lead following second-half goals from Sacramento’s Sammy Ochoa and Emrah Klimenta.
Nana-Sinkam might not be the one tasked with shouldering much of S2’s offensive load this season, but after a preseason that saw his team struggle to finish chances, Hendrickson says he won’t question the source.
“It doesn’t matter to us where the goals come from, we just want goals,” Hendrickson said. “Something that plagued us in the preseason was not capitalizing. We were creating chances but not putting the ball away. So, wherever they came from, we’re happy”
Nana-Sinkam also said that he feels as though Sunday’s match can act as a stepping stone for S2 as they try and establish cohesion and chemistry going forward. They’ll get their next opportunity to do so next Sunday, when they take on Portland Timbers 2 at Starfire.
“There were some really good takeaways from today in terms of how we jelled and how we moved the ball,” Nana-Sinkam said. “Definitely a lot of things we need to work on I think, organizationally but I think it’s only going to get better.
“We’ve got Portland in a week so that’s obviously another big game and hopefully during this next week we’re going to be working to get that chemistry, that synergy moving a little bit more. Hopefully that’ll show next week.”
