Further frustration for Seattle: 10-man Sounders give up late equalizer to Rapids, remain winless 

Circling Seattle Sports
Written By Charles Hamaker

By Charles Hamaker 

Seattle, WA – Will the Seattle Sounders FC find a way to collect a win or open play goal in the 2024 season? We’re yet to find out three matches in, would’ve been four had their last match against Philadelphia not been rained out, as the Rave Green split points with the Colorado Rapids thanks to a 1-1 result at Lumen Field on Saturday, March 16th, 2024. Questions will remain about Seattle and their roster, even if that’s a tough concern to raise considering the notable injuries that the Sounders continue to deal with, but this group of players that the club has been rolling out has generated the statistics to have won at very least a single match so far.  

Raul’s Panenka puts Seattle ahead 

The first half didn’t particularly start well on the Sounders front, as it was the Rapids who had the respective possessions on the attack, but Colorado couldn’t do enough to challenge Seattle keeper Andrew Thomas too much outside of a few opportunities where it was the home side making mistakes and the road squad trying to take advantage of them. A giveaway and a breakdown each resulted in those chances for Colorado, but a block by Nouhou right in the box and Andrew Thomas continuing to show that he’s ready for this sort of stage saw this match remain scoreless. The first and only goal of the match for the Sounders came in just the eleventh minute, as Peruvian forward Raúl Ruidíaz drew a penalty on a handball by Rapids defender Keegan Rosenberry. It was a nice score that got Seattle ahead and one that looked as though it was going to be positive momentum for the Sounders to push forward to multiple goals in a match for the first time this season and potentially their first win. Alas, that wasn’t how things shook out. 

Ruidíaz and Léo Chú had connected for some quality combination play at the top of the Colorado box, which led to Raúl attempting to chip the ball and thus the Rosenberry handball came to be. Ruidíaz took the penalty and pulled off a beautiful Panenka just over the diving Zack Steffen, giving Seattle the lead and tying Raúl with Fredy Montero for the most goals as a Sounder all-time across all competitions. With a strong crowd at Lumen Field, great Seattle weather, and the first goal of the match, the Rave Green seemed more than prepared to add another goal and march forward with a victory. Both sides closed out the first half with respective chances as mentioned, but we’d go into the halfway mark with that Seattle lead.  

 

A momentum shift, and another draw 

While there seemed to be a mountain of positive momentum pushing for the Sounders going into half, early into the second 45 minutes we saw that things were going to change quickly. The 48th minute saw Seattle midfielder Josh Atencio pick up his first yellow card of the day as he was attempting to slow down a Rapids attack. Just nine minutes later, following a Sounders set piece that didn’t result in much, Colorado was roaring through the Seattle midfield while the Sounders were putting on a strong pursuit, making the counterattack not as dangerous as it could be. The 57th minute saw Atencio make a tackle that would result in his second yellow card on that counterattack, giving him a red card and leaving Seattle with ten men. Things were going downhill quickly, and the Sounders were going to have to play at least half an hour with a man down. The 67th minute saw things get worse, as Seattle defender Jackson Ragen tripped Rapids striker Rafael Navarro in the box to award Colorado with a penalty kick, putting even more pressure on Andrew Thomas.  

Rapids midfielder Djordje Mihailovic stepped up to take the penalty, hitting it to his left and Thomas’ right, as the legend of the Sounders newest goalkeeper (even if he’s been around for a bit) grew larger. Thomas dove in perfect alignment with the shot and saved it cleanly, an area of time in the match that very well should have been a rallying point for Seattle but only felt like a thumb blocking the hole in their boat. The Rapids pushed forward in their attack, looking to find the hole in the Sounders play with the man down, and they’d find it late into the match. Substitute midfielder Danny Leyva committed a foul around the top of the Seattle box in the 88th minute, allowing for a Colorado free kick. The initial free kick, going near post and high, was saved by Thomas and bounced off the post to land right in front of the goal line. Laying there waiting for either team to play it, Rapids attacker Kevin Cabral was the first to it and had to just tap the ball in to equalize. The only real excitement the rest of the way saw Raúl Ruidíaz be shown a yellow, and nearly a red card that appeared to be a mistake as head referee Trevor Wiseman looked like he believed Ruidíaz already had a yellow. 

 

Another frustrating result, no matter the circumstances 

While we remain just three matches into the season, the Sounders need to find the back of the net sooner rather than later, plain and simple. Seattle has the talent to be scoring more than they are right now, even with players like Joao Paulo, Pedro de La Vega, and Albert Rusnak (even though he returned today) out of the lineup. They’ve largely played well defensively, with a few mistakes occuring throughout the first few matches here, and even then, we can acknowledge the injury aspect considering that Yeimar hasn’t seen action until this match, Alex Roldan hasn’t been fully healthy to begin the year, and Stefan Frei hasn’t made his season debut just yet. While I normally don’t like to make injury excuses, and I also said I don’t like to acknowledge poor officiating but here we are, there is further context to Seattle and their season so far. Even then, I’ve already said to kick this paragraph off that I believe full well that the Sounders should have more than just the two standings points right now through these three matches.  

 

The immediate near future won’t necessarily bring all the relief that they need, as while Albert Rusnak and Stefan Frei will likely be good to go next week the club will be without Josh Atencio due to his red card today. The tactics will likely change a bit with the potential of Rusnak going back into the lineup and maybe if the Sounders are feeling as though they want to keep messing with things, but with them playing a 4-4-2 and some success being seen on the attack, I’d bet that Seattle remains in that two forward front as they try to get the most out of both Raul and Jordan Morris. With Xavier Arreaga picking up a knock in the second half it shall be interesting to find out how the backline will look, but with Yeimar getting his first minutes of the season in today I wouldn’t be surprised if he slots in next week in San Jose.  

Quick notes 

  • Attendance at Lumen Field for today’s Colorado Rapids vs Seattle Sounders FC match was 30,036 

    • That’s 43% of Lumen Field’s capacity (68,740). 

  • Sounders FC now has two points through three matches this season (0-1-2), tied for 11th in the Western Conference. 

  • Seattle is now 25-8-5 all-time in MLS regular season and postseason play against Colorado. The 25 wins are the most by the Rave Green against any team. 

  • Ruidíaz’s first-half penalty kick was his first goal of the season and 79th across all competitions since joining Sounders FC in 2018, tying Fredy Montero for the most in club history. 

  • Making his third start of the season for the injured Stefan Frei, Andrew Thomas made seven saves, including a stop on a penalty kick in the second half. It marked the first save on a penalty kick by a Sounders FC goalkeeper in regular-season play since August 31, 2022. 

  • Alex Roldan made his 100th career start in MLS regular-season play since being drafted by Sounders FC in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft. 

  • Albert Rusnák made his first appearance of 2024 as a second-half substitute after suffering an ankle injury prior to the first match of the season. 

  • Yeimar Gómez Andrade made his first appearance of 2024 as a second-half substitute after joining preseason training camp late. 

 

What’s next? 

Following today’s draw with the Colorado Rapids, the Seattle Sounders FC will head out on the road for two straight games in the state of California. Their next matchup is on Saturday, March 23rd when they take on the San Jose Earthquakes with a kickoff time of 7:30PM PST while being broadcast on APPLE TV – MLS Season Pass. At the time of this recap going out, the Earthquakes have gone 0-0-3 to begin this year's MLS campaign and are slated to play Sporting KC on the road. Although the Earthquakes have largely struggled in recent years, that hasn’t stopped them from playing well against the Sounders as Seattle hasn’t beaten San Jose since all the way back in 2021. With hopefully a better health situation by then, the Sounders will still be seeking their first win of the season. 

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Charles Hamaker
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