SEATTLE – The Seattle Sounders had to rely on their depth in a big way Wednesday against the Colorado Rapids. But you wouldn’t have known it from watching them play.
Playing without reigning MLS Defender of the Year Chad Marshall (rest) and starting midfielder Gonzalo Pineda (ankle), the Sounders turned to veteran defender Zach Scott and rookie Cristian Roldan to fill the void. Left back Leo Gonzalez also made his first start in eight games for Seattle after conceding the starting role to Dylan Remick for much of the first part of the season.
In the end, the new mix of players got Seattle the full three points as the Sounders rode Marco Pappa’s 16th-minute goal to a 1-0 victory over the Rapids, vaulting them into the top spot in MLS with 23 points.
“We talked before the game about the fact that if we win this game today we go to the top of the table,” Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid said after the game. “We have the most points per game, we’ll be one of the top scoring teams in the league. If we get a shutout, we’ll be the top defensive team in the league -- 12 games in, those are pretty good benchmarks.”
The Sounders kept to the blueprint that has allowed them to achieve much of their early-season success: Score early, then don’t let the other team have the ball.
It worked against the Rapids, who struggled to generate dangerous scoring chances against a Seattle squad that held 69 percent of the possession for the game, including a commanding 76 percent in the first half. For the game, Seattle completed 667 passes, while Colorado could only manage 242.
“It felt like we were in control,” center back Brad Evans said. “From that end, as long as we kept the ball, we kept them at bay, I think. For us on the field, we were comfortable. They had a few chances, but they were pretty routine for [goalkeeper Stefan Frei].”
Roldan, for his part, flashed some of the skills that led to the Sounders drafting him 16th overall in last year’s MLS SuperDraft out of the University of Washington. He won the ball and launched in the cross that led to Pappa’s goal and also had a couple of good looks on goal of his own that he couldn’t quite manage to put away.
The solid performance was especially well-timed, considering the Sounders are in the midst of a marathon three-game-in-nine-day stretch that continues on Sunday against the New York Red Bulls at CenturyLink (5 pm ET on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes).
“It’s not just veterans that are coming in,” Frei said of his team’s depth. “It’s young guys that are coming in and doing well right away. …This is another game where we proved we have that depth. In this industry you don’t get too many opportunities, so you have to prove yourself when you do get your chance. I’m stoked for everybody that got to see the pitch today and how they performed.”
Ari Liljenwall covers the Seattle Sounders for MLSsoccer.com.
