No matter the competition, no matter the opponent, no matter the country, Fredy Montero just keeps scoring.
The Seattle Sounders forward scored again on Thursday, this time in a 3-1 win over Caledonia AIA in CONCACAF Champions League Group Stage play in Couva, Trinidad. Montero now has scored in five straight games and has nine goals and three assists in his past nine games across all competitions. The Colombian has scored 15 goals over all competitions this year, a number he’ll look to build on Sunday against FC Dallas (7 pm ET, watch LIVE online).
“His form is very good,” Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid during a Friday teleconference. “Like we always say, forwards are a little streaky. But he’s very confident right now. His movement off the ball is good, as well. [Alex] Caskey supplied him with a good pass last night. There have been some good balls played in.”
Even for the notoriously streaky Montero, this is a run of form even new for him. The closest he’s come to replicating it was from June 5-Sept. 1, 2010, when he scored nine goals and had seven assists over the course of 15 all-competition games.
Montero’s goal against Caledonia came like so many of his others have recently, on a nice run into the penalty area. Taking a pass from Caskey, Montero hit it first-time to beat the Caledonia goalkeeper to the far post. The goal restored the Sounders’ two goal lead and came just three minutes after Caledonia had scored.
Each of the last nine goals Montero has have come from inside the penalty area. The last four of them have all come on similar runs into the box, with either Caskey or Mauro Rosales feeding him.
“I think he’s trying to get into the box, but it’s also the running, he and the other forward,” Schmid explained. “Last night it was [Sammy] Ochoa. It’s been him and Eddie [Johnson], like the one in the Chivas game where he didn’t score but he got ran into by Dan Kennedy at the near post.
“When you look at that play, it was great running. Fredy came to the near post, Eddie went to the far post. they opened it up. A lot of it is that criss-cross running that they’re doing in the box. That’s what’s opening things up and that’s what’s getting him free in the box.”
Jeremiah Oshan covers the Seattle Sounders for MLSsoccer.com and SB Nation.
