Nine games and 27 points. That’s Seattle Sounders since late July.
The last win was a 2-1 victory over Vancouver Whitecaps that marked Raul Ruidiaz’s coming out party, as if the big signing needed one. Ruidiaz now has five goals since joining from LigaMX, and he has jumpstarted what had been a fully dormant Sounders attack.
Ruidiaz rolling
The Sounders’ first goal was the result of getting into a dangerous area down the right and cutting the ball back to their star striker. With such an undustrious midfield, Seattle can create overloads in the channels against a team like Vancouver that does not keep a very compact defensive shape. Cristian Roldan snuck into the zone above the box on the right and played Kevin Leerdam in behind. The fullback played a low cross into the six yard box where Kendall Waston seemed most likely to win it.
Nope.
Ruidiaz read the play from the start and made a hard, confident cut in front of Vancouver’s captain, dinking the ball home.
Ruidiaz then poached a second when he ran onto a head scratcher of a pass from Brett Levis, founded Stefan Marinovic, and slotted in his brace. The fault largely falls on Levis’ shoulders, though Ruidiaz’s positioning — preparing to press the center back and staying high to lock play on the wing — should not be overlooked. He will be a thorn in the side of the Union’s defense all night on Wednesday.
Shots on shots on shots
The Whitecaps only allowed seven shots on Saturday night and fired 21 at Stefan Frei. The Seattle goalie has been in excellent form this season, but he didn’t have to do much on the six shots in the box that were blocked away. Indeed, Vancouver penetrated the Sounders’ box with ease, but then they found conversion difficult.
The Union should be encouraged that the ‘Caps took 16 of their 21 shots from inside the box, though Philly will also need to figure out how to create enough space to get their shots past the big bodies in the Sounders’ back line. Chad Marshall and Kim Kee-Hee have formed a strong partnership, though their Expected Goals Against numbers suggest they will give up chances.
Vancouver, for instance, created a wonderful early opportunity for Nicolas Mezquida by paying through Kei Kamara’s head, but the winger somehow missed the frame with no pressure.
Vancouver goal
The Whitecaps scored off a corner kick. This should be encouraging.
However the catch is that it was Kei Kamara who scored off the set piece and the big striker is one of the best aerial threats MLS has ever seen. Can Philly use its collection of big bodies, including Cory Burke, CJ Sapong, Auston Trusty, and Jack Elliott, to inflict similar damage on Seattle?
Philly will look to keep the Sounders’ win streak in single digits when they take on the hottest team in the league Wednesday night.
