Coming into Saturday’s road match with Columbus Crew SC, much of the recent narrative surrounding the defensive play of the Seattle Sounders had been positive, highlighting the evolving chemistry of their new-look backline.
However, after Seattle’s 3-2 loss vs. Crew SC at MAPFRE Stadium on Saturday night, it’s safe to say that there is still work to be done.
Seattle was on its heels throughout much of Saturday night’s contest and could have easily given up more than the three goals if not for some great saves by goalkeeper Stefan Frei, who played much better than Crew SC's final goal total would indicate. The disappointing result offset yet another standout performance from forward Clint Dempsey, who tallied two more goals for the Sounders to bring his league-leading total up to seven on the season.
After the game, Seattle head coach Sigi Schmid said he felt his team was a step slow defensively, victimized by the combination of a rigorous travel schedule and running into a hard-charging Columbus squad that has developed into one of the most aggressive attacking sides in MLS.
“We gave them too much space,” Schmid said. “We might have got the tactics wrong a little bit and that’s on me. So that’s something I’ve already thought about. If we run into them again I would play them a little bit differently. By the same token, sometimes we were in position but we were just a step slow.”
Seattle center back Chad Marshall, playing in his first game back in Columbus since being traded from Columbus to Seattle prior to the start of last season, said that the versatility of the Crew’s attacking quartet of Kei Kamara, Federico Higuain, Justin Meram and Ethan Finlay was the toughest part of the defensive assignment.
“They’re good players and they interchange really well,” Marshall said. “That’s what makes it difficult to mark them. Every one of those guys can play all four of those positions. They pop up in different spots and that’s what makes them dangerous. They come off the backline and make it difficult for defenders. You don’t know whether to go with them or stay.”
As the Sounders shift their focus to next weekend’s Cascadia Cup road matchup with the Vancouver Whitecaps (7 pm ET, TSN2), Schmid says his squad is looking forward to returning to the West Coast where they can recuperate, watch film, and regain their defensive bearings.
“We’ve just got to get our legs back about us, get some good re-gen [regeneration work], get some good training in,” Schmid said. “At least we’re staying on the West Coast for the next trip even though it’s an away game, so that helps us. We don’t have to get on airplane.
“We’ll be okay. We’ll survive. We’ll fight another day.”
Ari Liljenwall covers Seattle Sounders FC for MLSsoccer.com.
