The Seattle Sounders played like one of the league's premier offensive juggernauts over their first three matches, notching 10 goals as the club started with a perfect 3-0-0 record.
With the Sounders headed for BC Place on Saturday, the Vancouver Whitecaps knew they would need to be defensively strong to take a result. In the first Cascadia Cup clash of the season, the Whitecaps blanked Seattle en route to a 0-0 draw, their first point of the season.
Much consideration to the Sounders' offensive output went into the 'Caps gameplan, head coach Marc Dos Santos admitted.
"[Seattle are a] team that scored 10 goals in the first three games and dominated fully their first three opponents," Dos Santos said after the match. "So there was a strategic part of our game to keep them a lot in front of us, so their possession was a lot in front of us, and a lot side to side, so we did a good job and that was very strategic on our part.”
On the other side of the Whitecaps' game plan was the Sounders' frustration.
The Sounders' vaunted front four of Raul Ruidiaz, Jordan Morris, Victor Rodriguez and Nico Lodeiro didn't create the same chances they have over their first three matches of the season.
“There was a little bit of excitement at the end but for 80 minutes of the game there wasn’t much excitement," Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer said. "So it was hard to break a team down that was playing defensive, but I thought there were some things that we certainly could have done better trying to unlock the game and score a goal, and that would have made them come out.”
“I think it was a frustrating game on our part," Sounders midfielder Cristian Roldan added. "I thought that we created quite a few chances, a Vancouver player was just in the right spot for a block. In the end it felt like we lost two points. But back to the drawing board and refocus for next week’s game.”
The Whitecaps' shutout didn't happen without merit, of course, spearheaded by center back pairing Doneil Henry and Erik Godoy.
“Normal," Dos Santos said of their performance. "I work with them every day. I believe in them. Doneil has shown signs all year of great defensive plays. He’s grown. If you see Erik training sometimes, you think it’s too easy for him. I think what’s happening is they’re getting an understanding of one another. I think everybody was a monster on the defensive side."
Henry, in particular, earned plaudits with three last-ditch blocks and seven clearances, good enough for a spot on the MLS Team of the Week presented by Audi.
"He was fantastic," goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau said after his first MLS clean sheet. "Two blocks on shots on goal, so many interceptions on crosses, so merci, thank you, Doneil.”
It was the Whitecaps' first point of the season, ending a three-game losing streak to start 2019. Additionally, it marked Dos Santos' first positive result as an MLS head coach.
“It’s always a relief to break the ice because you don’t want pressure to accumulate too much," Dos Santos admitted.
