SEATTLE – The Seattle Sounders’ home showdown against Minnesota United at CenturyLink Field on Sunday evening had all the makings of a classic trap game.
Thanks to Clint Dempsey, the Sounders didn’t quite fall into it.
Seattle’s star forward hit a late game-winner from the penalty spot after Minnesota were whistled for a handball in their own box in the last minute of second-half stoppage time, allowing the Sounders to narrowly escape with a 2-1 victory over the same side they blew out 4-0 at TCF Bank Stadium just two weeks ago.
“That was one of the hallmarks of our team last year, we found different ways to win different games,” Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer said after the match. “That mindset hasn’t been lost on this group. There are enough guys that took part in what happened last year, there’s enough senior leadership on that team.”
Sunday’s performance was far from ideal for Seattle. Ethan Finlay’s 21st-minute opener highlighted a lackluster first half that saw the Sounders unable to convert any of their chances from open play against Minnesota’s league-worst defense.
Chad Marshall equalized with a 31st-minute header off a free kick from Nicolas Lodeiro. But it looked like Seattle would have to settle for what would have been a disappointing home draw – until Dempsey’s last-second penalty.
“We made it very difficult for ourselves,” Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei said. “Going down a goal is never easy, but overall I think we were casual at times, mentally casual. I won’t knock us for our effort because we worked our butts off, which is great, but I think we just have to be more sharp.”
In the end Seattle extended their unbeaten streak to nine matches with the result, and moved back into a tie with Sporting Kansas City atop the Western Conference table. It’s momentum that Frei said is especially valuable as they look ahead to two of their biggest games of the season.
The Sounders will first take on the Vancouver Whitecaps in a midweek fixture at BC Place on Wednesday (10 pm ET | TSN1/3/4/5 in Canada, MLS LIVE in US), before they host the Portland Timbers at CenturyLink next Sunday (9:30 pm ET | FS1, FOX Deportes in US, MLS LIVE in Canada), a pair of massive Cascadia Cup clashes.
“It was important to keep the momentum going as we go into these rivalry matches. These are huge, huge games,” Frei said. “Emotions are going to be even higher and we’re on a bit of a break after that. So, it’s really nothing to hold back. In-conference games are huge and we’re finding ourselves in a really good position on the table but, as we know, things can change quickly.
“We like where we are and we’d like to stay where we are, so we have to make sure we put in some good performances against Vancouver and Portland.”
