Seven matches. Four different positions. In the first part of the 2010 season, utility man Brad Evans has been called on to play everywhere for Sounders FC.
The way things are going, he may want to dust off his goalkeeper gloves.
Seven games into the season, Evans has played right back, right midfield, center midfield, and filled in as an emergency target forward against Toronto. In the past three matches, he’s played three different positions as the Sounders have continually juggled their starting lineup.
The same starting XI hasn’t taken the field in back-to-back games this season for Seattle, who debuted a new 4-3-3 formation against Columbus last weekend.
While Seattle has made in-game formation changes, Saturday’s match marked the first time Sigi Schmid’s team came out in anything except a 4-4-2. In that match, Evans played on the right side of the three-forward formation.
No matter the game plan, the versatile Evans has found the starting lineup week in and week out. While he prefers playing centrally, the 25 year-old said he’s happy to fill in anywhere he’s needed.
“When I’m playing good at center midfielder, things are fine,” Evans said. “When you’re not playing up to your own standards, you get plugged in somewhere else and you start to play a little bit better and get some more confidence.
“Right now I think I’m playing well on the right, so I can’t complain.”
The club has showed flashes of excellence with Evans on the field, especially in the past few games. Peter Vagenas, who supplanted Evans in the center, appreciates his teammate’s willingness to contribute.
“I told him he was the new Sasha Victorine. I played with a player who—sort of—like Brad, was able to fill in and play where needed,” Vagenas said of the retired Kansas City star. “In the Toronto game he was playing center striker, and we were all giving him a hard time.”
“He was telling us he scored 31 goals in college. My reply was: ‘We all scored 31 goals in college.’”
Evans played a similar position in the 4-3-3. As he explained, the formation forces the weak side forward to join Fredy Montero, so the team will always play with at least two high strikers.
His counterpart Steve Zakuani, who normally plays left midfield, was in the right third of the field when he scored his goal against Columbus, emphasizing the fluidity of the formation.
The energy Evans provided was welcome on the right side of that formation. After the game, Schmid complimented Evans, who is nursing a sore hamstring, on his hard runs and his desire to get on the end of crosses.
“His movement up front created a lot for us. And it was contagious,” Vagenas said. “I think that’s the most important thing. When you have guys working, you have to work. It’s contagious and it gets other guys doing the same.”
Evans has not shaved in weeks and jokes that his wife “is not too happy” about his new facial hair. While he explains it as utter laziness, the nature of the unkempt beard gives a look of a person on a vision quest. With Evans’ variable roles this season, one will have to wait for Saturday’s starting lineup to see where his journey takes him next.
