TUKWILA, Wash. – Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins have been up to their usual tricks so far this season for the Seattle Sounders, combining for six goals and three assists in the team’s first five games. But after Seattle’s 1-0 loss to the LA Galaxy on Saturday, the Sounders still have yet to see a player outside of their dynamic duo crack the scoresheet in 2015.
In fact, dating back to last year's playoffs, it has been more than 500 minutes since someone not named Clint or Oba has tallied a goal for the Rave Green.
Seattle head coach Sigi Schmid at first dismissed any concerns over his team becoming one-dimensional offensively when he was asked at his club’s practice last Tuesday, saying that as long as his team consistently generate chances and score goals, whoever is getting the stats is ultimately irrelevant.
“If some other guys scored, that’d be great,” Schmid said. “It’d take the pressure off, certainly. But if the other guys were getting goals and [Martins and Dempsey] weren’t scoring, you’d be asking me, ‘Why are your forwards not scoring?’ As long as we’re scoring as a team more goals than our opponents are scoring, I’m happy. I don’t care who scores the goals.”
But Schmid did admit later in the week that more production from outside sources will be necessary as the season moves forward, specifically from midfielders Lamar Neagle and Marco Pappa, who were each key contributors to Seattle’s attack last year but have yet to get going so far this season.
“Being frank, we need to get more from our wingers,” Schmid said. “We need to get more production from Neagle. He hasn’t had a good start to the season, but he’s a competent player. We need to get the same from Marco. We need him to get on the scoresheet with goals and assists.”
Neagle, for his part, seemed to respond to the challenge against LA. Starting at forward in place of Dempsey, who was held out with a hamstring injury, the 28-year-old put five shots on frame against the Galaxy and could have easily bagged at least two goals if not for some heroic goalkeeping from LA ‘keeper Jaime Penedo, who was named MLS Player of the Week for his showing.
Speaking with reporters after Seattle’s practice on Tuesday, Neagle said that getting a start at forward – a position that feels more natural to him than the midfield – may have been what he needed to jumpstart his year.
“I think it was even obvious to myself that I haven’t been playing up to standards,” Neagle said. “You’re just looking for a game to get you out of the funk. …The mentality [as a forward] is a little different for me. I think I’m more of a natural forward than outside mid, so it comes a little bit easier. … Hopefully I can convert that to the outside once Clint’s back.”
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Schmid also gave Neagle a positive evaluation from the LA game, saying that he was pleased with the activity level, even if Neagle did not manage to finish a chance against the Galaxy.
“I thought he played better,” Schmid said of Neagle. “Sometimes it’s easier to get in a rhythm when you’re playing up front, and he was able to get into that rhythm. I thought our team played well, I thought we created a number of chances. … [Neagle had] a good active game, and he got himself into some good positions.”
With Dempsey working his way back for Seattle’s next game against the Colorado Rapids on Saturday (9pm ET, MLS LIVE), Neagle will likely be shifted back to the midfield, where he will try to find the form that led to the nine-goal, nine-assist season he put together a year ago.
But no matter the source, the pursuit of more goalscoring diversity figures to be a theme for Seattle in the coming weeks.
