Seattle Sounders forward Will Bruin has yet to find his name in the goal column to start the 2021 Major League Soccer season, but he’s a vital component to the club’s strong start.
Playing alongside Raúl Ruidíaz in Head Coach Brian Schmetzer’s new 3-5-2 formation, Bruin and the Sounders have scored five goals in their opening two games, games from which the Sounders have four points. Only three other teams in MLS have scored more than Seattle through the league’s first two matchdays, and a large part of that is due to the work Bruin is putting in up front.
“Will was massive for us,” Sounders midfielder Cristian Roldan said following Seattle’s 1-1 draw at LAFC last weekend. “He was a workhorse…It’s really unfortunate that he didn’t contribute in the stat sheet, but his work ethic and his attributes that we saw today really helped us.
“His characteristics really show in this formation playing with two [forwards] and being able to stretch the lines.”
Left wingback Brad Smith scored the second-half equalizer for the Sounders when he headed in a rebound that LAFC goalkeeper Pablo Sisniega spilled. But it was Bruin’s off-the-ball movement that helped set that up.
“On Brad’s goal…Will is actually drawing two center backs,” said Schmetzer. “That’s exactly what Will is supposed to do. He draws attention. Maybe if it’s a near-post ball, he scores himself. I like that.”
Scoring is something the now 31-year-old is used to, having tallied 71 times across 10-plus seasons as a professional in MLS. He’s among the active leaders in career MLS goals for a reason, but in Year 11, he has the opportunity to showcase a different skill set.
Bruin hadn’t played in a two-forward formation since the early stages of his career with the Houston Dynamo, and he’s almost exclusively been the lone forward since. Adjusting to new positions on the field is a process, but one he’s enjoying.
“Having some more freedom and being able to pop up in some soft spots and different places on the field is good for me,” Bruin said last week. “It gets me thinking again, it gets me seeing the game from a different perspective.
“I like to consider myself as a hybrid forward,” he continued. “People look at me and just think I’m a prototypical big No. 9: kick it up to him, let him hold it, drop it off to him in the box. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy doing that, but I also like to drop in, get on the ball, get involved in the buildup.”
Bruin did just that against Minnesota United in the season opener. He dropped in to receive a pass at the edge of the 18-yard-box, spun his defender and then dropped a simple square pass to Ruidíaz, who deposited a one-timed finish to double the Sounders’ lead.
And while Ruidíaz was the beneficiary that time, this formation allows for many more opportunities for Bruin to find himself on the end of it.
“Every forward, every goalscorer wants to score the goal, but when you have multiple goalscorers on the field, you want to be able to combine and have chemistry with your strike partner,” Bruin said. “Sometimes you make the extra pass and let the other guy score, and vice versa.”
Bruin and Sounders FC return to action on Sunday as they welcome the LA Galaxy (6:00 p.m. PT; FS1, 950 KJR AM, El Rey 1360 AM | TICKETS) at Lumen Field in a battle between the top two sides in the Western Conference.
