In a matchup between two of the top contenders in MLS on Saturday, the Seattle Sounders battled LAFC to a hard-fought scoreless draw at Lumen Field. On paper, it’s a solid result. But for a team with the lofty ambitions and expectations of the Sounders, it left the squad feeling unsatisfied.
“I think obviously, we know we're capable of winning this game and capable of winning against this team,” said defender Alex Roldan. “Not getting the result is definitely not something that we intended to do, we were coming out here to win three points.”
After dominating proceedings for the first 80 minutes in front of their home supporters, the final score felt a little disappointing. While the Sounders went up against arguably one of the best teams in the MLS, the standard that Head Coach Brian Schmetzer holds for his team is high.
“We needed to do better at home,” said Schmetzer. “We needed to take some of the half chances, the buildup that was almost there, and create more full chances, and then, perhaps we would have scored the goal that would have given us all three points.”
And his players feel the same way.
“It's still a lack of clear opportunities in goal,” said Roldan. “The first two games were pretty precise in terms of the opportunities that we had, and I think the takeaway from those two games could be that these past two games, we didn't find the back of the net and we didn't find the best opportunities to get back in there.”
According to goalkeeper Stefan Frei, the team is solely focused on regrouping and using this match as a learning experience. With more tests against top teams on the horizon, the squad can use this is a building block to achieve their title ambitions this season.
“I always try to focus on the positive things so it's good to keep another clean sheet against an opponent that has been very good offensively in the few games they've had this year,” added Frei. “On the flip side, when there is such a decent, defensive performance, we need to somehow capitalize on points, but three home games with zero goals against is a good thing and it's something to build on.”
With a point added to the team’s record, the Rave Green currently sit third in the Western Conference standings as they prepare for another tough fight on the road this coming weekend against Sporting Kansas City (5:30 p.m. PT; MLS Season Pass on Apple TV app, 950 KJR, El Rey 1360AM).
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