The Seattle Sounders didn’t need a win on Sunday to keep their once-astronomical playoff hopes alive. They got one anyway, and in the process they got one of the strangest Cascadia Cup results in recent history.
For the first time in four weeks, the captain came on. And then the captain scored the game-winner. And then the captain left with a red card at his back.
It was one of those sorts of games for the Sounders, who secured a massive three points in Vancouver in a 2-1 win decided on a Brad Evans penalty kick with less than 10 minutes to go. Evans was the game’s last sub, an addition on the right for the first time since Evans tweaked his back four weeks ago. Osvaldo Alonso symbolically handed Evans his captain’s armband as Evans trotted on, and not long after Evans took the penalty that won the game.
It was an important three points, although one the suddenly points-flush Sounders didn’t absolutely have to have. We’ll get into why later, but needless to say this weekend was very, very good to Seattle. Here’s three things we learned to lay out exactly what that was.
The Flanks Decided The Match
Pretty much everything of consequence that happened with the Sounders on Sunday night flowed down the right flank. And that was for better and most certainly for worse.
There was some question of how interim coach Brian Schmetzer would array his front four with creative man Nicolas Lodeiro on the bench with yellow card accumulation. Schmetzer had never had to cope without Lodeiro since taking over two months ago, and as a result the Sounders had lost just once in 10 games. Coping without the primary attacking threat made a match on the road even more uncertain.
At least tactically, this wasn’t a match for the Sounders’ highlight reel. The midfield stepped all over itself without Lodeiro to direct traffic, as Erik Friberg subbed in alongside Herculez Gomez for late scratch Andreas Ivanschitz to create something of a blender in the middle third. And that got even more convoluted when left winger Alvaro Fernandez came off with an injury less than 10 minutes into the game.
Without Lodeiro, the Sounders were always going to turn this into a wider game, but the introduction of Oniel Fisher for Fernandez and then Evans for Fisher more or less showed Schmetzer’s hand. Win width and win the game.
And the Sounders did.
The purple box in what’s called Zone 18 - the most dangerous creative area on the field - shows the space Lodeiro prefers to occupy. The combination of Cristian Roldan, Alonso, Friberg and Gomez even attempted all of five passes there in 90 minutes, none of which were actually directed toward the box. So then it should come as no surprise that the Sounders’ two goals came off a perfectly directed Jones cross to Alonso and a cross that clanked off an arm in the box that led to Evans’ penalty.
The width was the thing without Lodeiro. And it worked.
Brad Evans’ Strange Day
As we’ve mentioned, Evans made his return from an extended injury layoff on Sunday evening, and it might’ve been his strangest stint in Sounders colors.
He was only on the field long enough after subbing on for Fisher to go 3-for-4 passing, make a single clearance, be whistled for a foul and hit a penalty. Oh, right, and be called for a straight red for a reputed head butt that didn’t land. Did I mention Evans was ceremonially given the captain’s armband by Alonso after coming on to more or less cement his status among his teammates as the emotional heartbeat of a team he’s captained for a few years now? I did? Right. Good.
Evans hasn’t played in a month, a period of time that’s witnessed his replacement at center back in Roman Torres assert his place in the starting XI. That left Evans ostensibly without a home, leading to speculation about where he’ll slot into the lineup when he returned from injury. We might’ve gotten our answer on Sunday, when Evans was subbed on for a left back and went to right mid. Schmetzer more or less telegraphed his hand there.
Considering the right midfield is probably the Sounders’ biggest position of need, that isn’t all that big of a surprise. The broader question is whether that serves Evans’ skill set best. We didn’t get a big enough sample size on Sunday to know whether or not we have a definitive answer on that front yet, but if it means he hits penalties like the ones he hit on Sunday, the Sounders can probably take it.
Still, Evans only lasted 19 minutes on the field due to his red card after hitting the penalty. The Whitecaps were already on 10 men - Pedro Morales swung an elbow at Roldan earlier in the half - so it ultimately didn’t matter, and Evans’ penalty was the difference-maker. But it’s safe to say Evans has never had a stranger 19 minutes on the field in his career.
The Sounders Are In The Playoffs, Right?
The subtext of Evans’ penalty knock - perfectly weighted high and to David Ousted’s right - wasn’t the game but broader things. The Sounders’ last 11 games have been miraculous, probably the greatest turnaround in MLS history, and Evans’ penalty fittingly added a gleaming cap. It’s unlikely now that the Sounders won’t make the playoffs, an incredible statement if you watched them play through the middle of July.
Here’s what the top seven of the Western Conference standings look like after the weekend’s action.
This is a remarkably rosy turn of events for the Sounders. Not only did the Timbers lose to Colorado on the road on Saturday night, but the win made the Sounders’ Oct. 12 home matchup against last-place Houston more of a knockout punch than a parry. A win there would give the Sounders a seemingly insurmountable six-point lead over the seventh-place Timbers with only two games left - six available points. That’d put more pressure on Sporting Kansas City to make the postseason than the Sounders.
Incredibly enough, it’s entirely possible the Sounders end up with the No. 4 seed.
Consider this: Nine weeks ago, the Sounders were ninth in the 10-team Western Conference and 10 points out of the final postseason slot. Now, they’re contending for homefield advantage in the knockout round. Almost inconceivable.
The Sounders have done themselves a lot of good over the past few months. If Sunday proved anything, it’s that the train will continue to roll through whether Lodeiro is on the field or not. And that was an encouraging message if ever there was one.
