SEATTLE — A disappointing spell to the 2018 MLS regular season for the Seattle Sounders continued on Saturday night with a 1-0 home loss to the Montreal Impact. For the third straight match, the Sounders were reduced to 10 men and did not record a goal.
“The game really changed when we made the mistake on the red card,” captain Nicolás Lodeiro said referencing the 40th minute ejection of Kelvin Leerdam for hands to the face of Daniel Lovitz. “That gave them the upper hand the rest of the game.
“We know what we need to do,” Lodeiro continued. “We need to train harder, we need to practice better. We’ve been in situations like this before, and we know what we need to actually do to get out of this. We’re going to do it.”
Lodeiro is no stranger to frustrating situations in Seattle. When he arrived in the summer of 2016, the Sounders were struggling at the bottom of the Western Conference before he helped spark-plug a run to the club’s first MLS Cup.
“We even had fewer games [to turn it around when I first got here], Lodeiro said. “We don’t have to feel desperate. There are still a lot of games ahead of us that we can correct and fix these mistakes.”
In trying times, the Sounders know how important it is to stay together as a group and to continue to fight for each other. They understand the only way to get back on track is to do so as a group.
“We have to stay even more united as a team,” said midfielder Cristian Roldan. “It hurts to lose and it hurts to lose even more at home, but at the same time, it’s ourselves. It’s not like we’re getting outplayed.
“It’s not like we’re getting dominated,” he continued. “Even at 10 men, I felt like we had our chances. No panic at all. At the end of the day, I think we have a really good team and I think we’ll be just fine.”
Despite still sporting several absences — Ozzie Alonso, Víctor Rodríguez, Kim Kee-hee and Henry Wingo all missed Saturday’s match with injuries and Clint Dempsey served a one-game suspension — the Sounders remain confident and steadfast that they have the power to turn things around.
“I’m very confident that the entire group, not just the guys who are coming back, will change the outcome of games for the future of this club,” said Head Coach Brian Schmetzer. “It’s not like we’re giving up. The team is a good team. The team has a lot of character. They never gave up, which is a hallmark of championship teams.”
