On an emotional night for Clint Dempsey, one in which he publicly said goodbye to Nathan Beatty, a young boy from Texas and fan of Dempsey’s who passed away from cancer on Tuesday, he had his best game of the season.
Dempsey recorded a brace, his first multi-goal game since last August, and helped the Seattle Sounders to a massive 3-1 road win at the Colorado Rapids. He opened the scoring in the sixth minute with a deft strike inside the box off a nice feed from Joevin Jones before truly showing his class in the 85th minute with a left-footed volley that sailed past his United States international teammate Tim Howard.
“[We had] confidence in possession,” Dempsey said of the team’s performance. “We got into good areas. Being able to stay calm and collected and look for the right pass and not get too far ahead of ourselves.”
Added Will Bruin, who was the beneficiary of a Dempsey assist in the 30th minute before returning the favor for Dempsey’s second: “Clint was in a great spot and great finish and that sets the tone for the game.”
The Sounders began the match with only five players on the bench because of international duty, injuries and suspension, and matters only got worse when Osvaldo Alonso (knee) and Chad Marshall (foot) each exited in the first 22 minutes. Head coach Brian Schmetzer did not delve into too many details, saying they were “dinged up” but “tough kids.”
Substitutes Aaron Kovar and Tony Alfaro each came on and did an excellent job picking up where Alonso and Marshall left off. It was another example of a next-man-up mentality that has been in the Sounders’ camp all season.
Even when the Rapids struck back and cut Seattle’s lead in half with 12 minutes to go, the Sounders never wavered, and it was ultimately Dempsey’s strike that finished the job and killed off the game.
“They came through with some quality,” said Schmetzer. “The quality was very, very good. Overall, it was a gutty performance.
“More than the three points, it’s the emotion, the attitude in [the locker room],” he continued. “The feeling I get in the locker room is that this is a win that can help us in the future.”
