Seattle enjoying remarkable resurgence under Schmetzer

Essentially everything that could have gone against the Seattle Sounders this season has gone against the Seattle Sounders this season. Not only did they lose their figurehead coach, with Sigi Schmid leaving the club in July, but they are without their captain Clint Dempsey until next season at the very least. Yet the Sounders have rallied, and then some. 

Not so long ago the outlook was decidedly bleak at CenturyLink Field, but after four straight wins, and seven wins in their last 10 MLS outings, Seattle stand on the brink of completing an unlikely resurgence. Now the task at hand is rather simple - a win over the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday will secure them a place in the play-offs. 

So how have they done it? How has interim manager Brian Schmetzer, who will now surely get the job on a permanent basis, galvanised a club that was just a few months ago falling apart and on the verge of an existential crisis? How has he turned everything around? 

Seattle’s resurgence has been focused around two players - Jordan Morris and Nicolas Lodeiro. The former has scored 12 times in just 29 starts in his first MLS season, but it’s in the big games when the scoreline is tight that the young striker excels. His tally of five match-winning goals is a record for any rookie in MLS history. Morris is undoubtedly a difference-maker, even if he is still an extremely raw and unpolished talent.  

Morris is often criticised for passing up too many chances in front of goal, but on the basis of statistics the 21-year-old is more clinical in the final third than he is generally given credit for. He averages only 2.2 shots on goal per game, less than both Dempsey (3.8) and Lodeiro (3), yet Morris is Seattle’s top scorer for the season so far with 12 goals to his name.  

Long earmarked as one of the brightest young talents in North American football, Morris was expected to make an impact at the Seattle Sounders this season. Some still insist that he should have delivered more under Schmid and that his flaws still outweighs his quality, as harsh a criticism as that may seem. But it’s true that Morris hasn’t quite been the player so many expected him to be. 

His crucial match-winner against the Vancouver Whitecaps last month illustrated this. The goal kept the Sounders’ play-off chances alive, turning home a Lodeiro cross to clinch three points for his team with just minutes left to play. Morris was expected to thrive in the channels, stretching the pitch and creating chances through his inherent movement. More often than not, though, he has been a frontman and a target man, like he was against the Whitecaps. 

Then there’s Lodeiro. The Uruguayan has been the catalyst for the Sounders’ dramatic upturn in form in the latter third of the regular season, notching five assists and three goals in his last eight MLS appearances. Lodeiro has become Seattle’s primary playmaker in a very short space of time, averaging 2.5 key passes per game. To provide some context, Dempsey only averaged 1.5 key passes per game before he was sidelined with an irregular heartbeat. 

Of course, Osvaldo Alonso is still central to the whole operation. The Cuban-born midfielder is Seattle’s most prolific tackler, averaging 3.7 tackles per game this season, while also making 2.2 interceptions per match from his position in the centre of the pitch. Alonso gives the likes of Lodeiro and Morris the freedom they need to attack without much of a defensive burden heaped on their shoulders.  

In fact, the form and quality of Alonso has allowed Schmetzer to place more tactical importance on attacking, with the Sounders, using a 4-1-4-1 shape over the past few weeks. That means the likes of Cristian Roldan and Herculez Gomez have been afforded a place in the lineup, making Seattle even more potent as an outfit.  

The fielding of Roldan in particular has given the Sounders more of an attacking identity. With him in the side, Seattle can establish their passing platform closer to the opposition goal, with the 21-year-old averaging 47.2 passes per game. In a way, the Sounders are a better-balanced side without Dempsey. 

Schmetzer has had a lot to deal with in his stint as Seattle interim manager, but with incremental changes and tactical tweaks he has found a way to revive a club that looked to be on the brink of a crisis. Victory over Houston on Wednesday night would be the culmination of an astonishing resurgence.

Can Seattle secure their play-off spot with a win on Wednesday night? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below