#seavclb

Oh Trixie, Trixie, Trixie,

We have two games to review and two games coming down the pike this week.

First game was away at LAFC.  It was the new expansion club’s first home game in their new stadium and so there was lot of hoopla surrounding the game.  There’s honestly not a lot to say about the buk of the game.  It was not a terribly exciting game, Sounders didn’t finish a lot of chances to score, and defended like gangbusters for over 90 minutes.  Then a dive, the ref blew the whistle, and Laurent Ciman hit a solid, kind of knuckling free kick that Stefan Frei let slip through his hands.  In the 94th minute.  Is there a worse way to lose a game?  If there is, I can’t think of what it is right now.

I’ll be honest, Trix.  I took this one on the chin.  I want the expansion sides to be successful.  I want the league to succeed.  I want soccer in the US to be successful.  This is why I was cheering on Toronto in CCL.  This is why I’m happy to see homegrown players come into their own and aspire to the national team.  This is why I keep telling myself over and over and over that a second club in LA is a good thing, that a rising tide lifts all boats, that a solid result in their first home opener is good for LAFC if this brings dedicated fans to MLS.  And I keep telling myself this.  Over.  And over.  And over.  And over.  And over.

The second game was not an improvement.  At home versus Columbus could’ve been a real turn around for us.  As you might’ve guessed from that sentence, it wasn’t.  Despite all odds.  Pedro Santos was rightly sent off in the 15th minute after trying to put his cleats through Alex Roldan’s face.  This left us 75 minutes and a one man advantage.  How did we respond?  With 17 shots (3 blocked, 1 on target) and 43 crosses.  The game ended scoreless.

Credit to the Crew, they switched their formation and either put 9 or all 10 men behind the ball at all times to defend.  And they held on.  Lodeiro didn’t start and wasn’t in the 18 man roster.  In the post-game interview Coach Schmetzer said that he was dealing with a significant injury, that they were hoping he could play, that Nico wasn’t able to play, and also the decision was left up to him.

… I’m sorry, what?  Was the injury significant or did the coaching staff believe he could play?  If the injury was significant, why was the decision left up to Nico Lodeiro?  If the injury wasn’t significant why would Nico decide not to play?  The mind reels.

Regardless, the attack looked beyond ineffectual.  We looked so flat and uncreative; it wasn’t a fun game to watch.

It’s time for some wake up calls and some real talk.  Trix, most teams are nearly a third of the way into the season.  We’re unusually lucky because we took a handful of byes early, so we’ve only played 7 matches.  But 5 points in 7 games and -4 goal differential is nothing to be proud of.  We have 103 shots and only 5 goals (lowest in the league) and all 5 of those goals were scored in two games.

I think we’ve talked previously about the importance of patience.  Or, we’ve talked about concepts tangential to patience.  This and constant and brutal crush of consecutive defeats are some of the worst aspects of sports.  Worse, not much can change in the immediate future.  In June/July, we’ll all take a break for World Cup and then the summer transfer window will open.  (They actually overlap slightly.  The World Cup final is July 15th and the summer transfer window is July 10th - August 8th.)  This is when our front office will make their move.  Our GM has said in no uncertain terms that we’ll be making an 8-figure signing as well as making another influential acquisition.

But we’re talking about a sea change that is at least 2 months (or 10 games) away.  At that point Sounders will be halfway through the season and then the question becomes, is it too late?  Optimists will point to 2016, when Seattle mounted one of the greatest comebacks in MLS history.  We went from bottom of the table to fourth in the Western Conference (7th overall), which was an unprecedented leap.  We then went on to win the cup.  But that summer was a dark one.  I remember the final press conferences with Coach Sigi Schmid with an excruciating pain, not unlike my memories of middle school fashion and chatting with girls.  It’s not fun, Trix.

Pessimists have already made their peace with the season.  And the only way they’ll return is when Sounders climb the standings and have a shot at the playoffs.

So what do we do?  Optimism is one thing but being a realist is critical during stretches like this.  I dunno, Trix.  I said, it was time for real talk and here it is: I don’t know.  I don’t like watching the team like this.  But I’m a dedicated fan.  I enjoy watching soccer and I love supporting the Sounders.  So… I guess we just keep doing that.  Tonight we face Toronto on their home turf.  Of course, folks are holding it up as the rematch after the fall from grace (as both teams are near the bottom of the table).  And on Sunday is a rivalry game against Portland.

I’m not optimistic about either.  But I will be wearing rave green.  That’s what eternal blue, forever green means.

EBFGingly Yours,