The Seattle Sounders just plunged to their fifth straight loss, tying a franchise record set way back in 2015, and honestly, the alarm bells aren’t just ringing, they’re screaming. This wasn’t some nail-biter against a top-tier squad either, we’re talking a 1-0 defeat to the Philadelphia Union, a team that rolled into this match dead last in the entire Supporters’ Shield standings. Our boys have won just one of their past eight matches, and the free-fall has them sitting all the way at eighth in the Western Conference, only three points ahead of the tenth-place Portland Timbers. Guess who we play next?
We’re Grading on a Seriously Steep Curve
You look at the box score and think, “Okay, 1-0 isn’t terrible, right?” Especially with our guys playing on short rest and tired legs, rocking a makeshift backline. Schmetzer even implied he had to scale back the gameplan just to keep it competitive, saying they needed to “go back to being hard to beat” and that their “goal for this game was to keep a clean sheet.” And yeah, they did keep it competitive enough to hope for a point, but come on. We can’t be giving out participation trophies when the opponent is the Union! They came in with just two shutouts all year, none since May 2, and they’ve scored the second fewest goals in the entire Eastern Conference. Keeping them from scoring more than one shouldn’t feel like a Herculean effort.
Our Attack Is on an Island, Literally
The cost of that “hard to beat” strategy was stark: our attack was non-existent. Schmetzer’s scaled-back approach meant fewer numbers pushing forward, often leaving Osaze De Rosario completely on an island as the sole outlet. He was putting in work with his hold-up play, no doubt, but what’s a striker supposed to do when he’s got no help? His only shot of the entire evening was an 18th-minute attempt that got blocked. That was one of only two shots we managed in the first half! We opened things up a bit in the second half, but only managed five more shots, none of them high value. Paul Rothrock’s back post header was probably the best look, which tells you everything you need to know about the quality.
The moment that just stuck with me, though, was in the 60th minute. Rothrock sends in a cross to Jesús Ferreira, who had just come into the game. Ball gets a slight deflection, Ferreira meets it around the penalty spot, tries a half-volley and scuffs it so badly it didn’t even register as an official shot. Schmetzer himself dramatically understated it when he said, “We just haven’t been able to be as dangerous as we should be on the attacking side of the ball.” Seven shots total and a measly .36 xG? That’s not good enough, Emerald City. Not even close.
This whole slide, losing five straight, winning just one in eight games, it’s brutal. It’s frustrating to watch our Sounders look so ineffective. We know what these boys are capable of, and this isn’t it. Now, we’ve got the Portland Timbers coming up next, and with them only three points behind us, this is a massive game. We need to turn this ship around, and we need to do it now. Let’s go, boys!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Sounder at Heart.
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