Seattle gives up late winner in opening weekend loss to Nashville

 

Seattle, WA – The Seattle Sounders still seem to be in a funk. If you disregard the five-goal win against Motagua to advance in the Concacaf Champions League, the Sounders have not won a match in their last seven attempts dating back to last season. That win was a 4-1 result against the Vancouver Whitecaps, which clinched a playoff berth for Seattle. Is this a sticking issue for Seattle, or is it too early to tell?  

 

Not going as planned

Going into this matchup, it was to be expected that we’d see a low scoring affair. Nashville is a great defensive unit, and the Sounders are as well. A tough game where Seattle needed to flex its deep talented attack is what ideally results in a Seattle win. Instead, the midfield continued to lack cohesion and the Sounders are still not able to finish chances in the final third of the field. For the majority of the match, Seattle did not have a shot on target. The Sounders would finish with two shots on goal, but that number is boggling when you look at their ten total shots and eight corners taken. Midfielder Cristian Roldan spoke on Nashville in the post-game press conference. 

 

“They’re very cohesive in the way they place, they have three workhorses that shift side to side, and their back four cover a lot of distance. Their a cohesive unit that plays well in the low block… I feel like we didn’t play well, I feel like we were lacking today,” Roldan would remark. 

 

 

Nashville finds the back of the net

The defensive unit played solidly, in exception to the goal in the 80th minute. Nashville’s Randall Leal would whip a pass across the front of the goal that would pass all the Sounders defenders. Seattle seemed to believe that nobody would receive it, or that the nearest player (Alex Roldan) would be able to clear the ball. That would not be the case, as Roldan watched the ball pass him, where it found Nashville’s Anibal Godoy who was able to simply tap the ball in. Nashville had the lead, and Seattle had to look for an answer quickly in order to try to avoid a loss. 

 

 

Late push falls short

Following the late goal, the Sounders would have three real opportunities to get a draw. Seattle would get a corner, a shot on net, and a header on net. All of them would be caught by Nashville goalkeeper Joe Willis. Seattle failed to find a late equalizer, and would suffer a loss to open their 2022 MLS Campaign.  Seattle would only put a few shots on goal, and didn’t force any dangerous opportunities that could make Nashville goalkeeper Joe Willis sweat until it was too late.

 

Trouble brewing?

There may be something wrong with the Seattle Sounders. Not recording a winning result in the last seven MLS matches is somewhat cause for concern. While it is a new season, the same vibe hung over the Sounders in this game that was present down the stretch of the 2021 season. Seattle needs to regroup and adjust if they want to return to contention form.  The pieces for Seattle are in place, as well as the talent. The Sounders have an internal issue that needs to be addressed from within. Perhaps a hard look in the mirror is necessary for Seattle to return to the juggernaut form that the MLS is used to. 

 

 

The Sounders next game is on Saturday, February 5th in Real Salt Lake with a 3PM PST start time. Seattle looks to get revenge against the club that bounced them from the playoffs.  

 

Credit to Melissa Levin for the great photos used in this article. Thank you Melissa!