Leagues Cup letdown: Sounders got off to hot start, but fire quickly stomped out as Monterrey wins, 4-2
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – Just 25 seconds into this match, Monterrey’s Hector Moreno was shown a yellow card just outside of his own box, immediately giving the Seattle Sounders a chance on goal in a match where they needed to win by a four-goal margin. Seattle midfielder Nico Lodeiro defied how poorly his club had been on set pieces the past few years, tucking a ball into the top right corner as Monterrey keeper Esteban Andrada didn’t even move. A Jordan Morris header four minutes leader had the Sounders fans at Lumen Field thinking that Seattle was going to have a magical run to advance. Then, reality hit like a freight train, as Monterrey scored the next four goals and march on in this year's Leagues Cup.
The Seattle Sounders FC scored two goals within the first six minutes of the match, getting things kicked off in the perfect way (Photos by Bryan Saldana)
Coming out swinging
With some solid training sessions at Starfire in the days leading into this match, and the Sounders success against Liga MX opponents in competitive matches (7-3-1 all time, 5-0-0 under Brian Schmetzer), there was some tiny light of hope coming into this match after the embarrassment of the 3-0 loss at Real Salt Lake in the first Leagues Cup match that Seattle played this year. That hope quickly grew from a flame of that from a match into a bonfire (No Cascadia jokes intended), as the Lodeiro and Morris goals had the Sounders kicked into high gear. Both goals seemed to represent means of offensive production that had died out at some point: a goal off a set piece and the Leo Chu to Jordan Morris connection that dominated the beginning of this MLS season. Seattle looked to have found the juice that vaulted them to the top of the Western Conference.
Lodeiro’s strike in the second minute of the match was the first goal off a set piece in, if memory serves, a few years and looked as though Nico had gone into the time machine. Dating back to midseason last year, Lodeiro hasn’t looked effective for the Sounders and thus has drawn the requests of fans to be sold in the next transfer window. Another “former” mean of offensive attack for the Sounders returned, as previously mentioned, as left-wing Leo Chu jumped all over a lazy pass from the Monterrey back line, putting a ball in far post. Jordan Morris was left all alone in his run to the back post, redirecting the cross with his head downwards to beat Andrada, who had jumped in anticipation for a higher headed ball. With energy, pace, and a real sense of urgency on display, the Sounders looked like the juggernaut that MLS had grown to loathe and appeared ready to make a major comeback to keep their Leagues Cup campaign alive.
After the red hot start, frustrations mounted for the Sounders as Monterrey scored the next four goals unanswered (Photos by Bryan Saldana)
No hero story here
The raging fire that was the Seattle squad raged on, dulling a bit as Monterrey snapped a bit out of the slumber that they had been in to begin the match. Even despite the two-goal lead that had them looking dominant to begin, the Sounders had to ward off a few early dangerous possessions from Monterrery before one finally broke through in the 31st minute. Sebastian Vegas sent a cross into the Seattle box for teammate German Berterame, who had his initial shot blocked before a rebound off the save from Sounders keeper Stefan Cleveland came right back for an easy tap in. Off a somewhat frustrating few minutes where Seattle had failed to clear the ball and really gave Monterrey too much space, resulting in all the time and open grass necessary for that first goal. The sort of sloppy breakdown set the tone for the rest of this match.
The second goal for Monterrey came on a penalty, where all sorts of chaos was taking place. VAR got involved, but the penalty was still given as Sounders midfielder Albert Rusnak was run into from behind but did have some contact in his own box, setting up Berterame’s second goal of the night. At the 30-minute mark of the match, Seattle looked like they’d be heading into halftime with a lead halfway to where they needed to be when the final whistle sounded. Instead, fortunes changed, and they went into the half tied after Berterame’s second goal came in the 45+2 mark.
Just as hope had been stepped on going into the halftime locker room, it was equally trampled upon once Monterrey and Seattle began the second half of play. The visiting Liga MX side wasted no time in taking the lead once the whistle blew, scoring just three minutes in as once again the Sounders backline had left plenty of room for combination play. Any sign of the strong, vicious attacking team that we saw in Seattle from those first few minutes to begin the match was gone, and Monterrey’s superior play and quality burned through their opposition like a ray gun. The Liga MX side celebrated their way to victory, bouncing the Sounders from this year's iteration of the Leagues Cup and leaving the Seattle side continuing to search for answers that they just can’t seem to find.
Seattle Sounders FC forwards Leo Chu and Heber leave the pitch after the loss to Monterrey (Photo by Bryan Saldana)
Cup cruelty
What was somewhat viewed as a necessary change of pace for the Sounders, given their mediocre run of form in regular season play, quickly turned into more frustration and disappointment for Seattle’s MLS club. While some had the opinion that the Sounders have taken some tournaments off in recent years, failing to add to the clubs four US Open Cups and only really being victorious in the big Concacaf Champions League victory. The Sounders went into this tournament with the stated verbal intent that they were going to try and add to their trophy case, and the result on the field we saw was as if they sent out fans from the stands to play the two matches they participated in.
Where do the Sounders go from here? It isn’t an easy question to answer, whether that be if you’re looking at it in the short or long term. In the short term, some days off away from soccer and the team could be good for this Seattle roster considering that they haven’t been able to solve their issues through the last few months of training and matches together. Since this tournament wasn’t the breath of fresh air they needed, maybe an actual breath of fresh air is needed, on vacation that is. In the long term? The Sounders are going to have to make some critical decisions in the offseason, as their roster is largely aging, and the upcoming prospect pool doesn’t necessarily have clear answers for future spots. That’s for general manager Craig Waibel to answer in the long term, and there’s still regular season matches, and the potential MLS playoff run to take place.
Quick notes
Sounders FC concludes its run in the 2023 Leagues Cup in the Group Stage, following tonight’s loss and last Saturday’s defeat at Real Salt Lake (0 points in West 2 Group). Leagues Cup is a month-long, World Cup-style tournament featuring every team from Major League Soccer and Liga MX, Mexico's topflight men's soccer league. Seattle previously advanced to the 2021 Leagues Cup Final in a previous iteration of the tournament.
In Leagues Cup 2023, the top two teams from each group advance to compete in the single-match elimination Knockout Rounds, beginning with the Round of 32 on August 2-4, followed by the Round of 16 on August 6-8, the Quarterfinals on August 11-12 and the two Semifinal matches on August 15. The Leagues Cup 2023 Final and Third Place match are being held on Saturday, August 19, determining the three clubs that qualify for the 2024 Concacaf Champions League.
Nicolás Lodeiro bagged his second goal of 2023 across all competitions with a free-kick strike in the second minute of play to open Sunday’s scoring.
Lodeiro’s opening strike was his 58th goal in all competitions for the Rave Green dating back to mid-2016, enabling the Uruguayan to pass former teammate Clint Dempsey for sole possession of fourth place on the all-time scoring list for Sounders FC.
Jordan Morris notched his first goal since returning from international duty with the United States Men’s National Team, converting a Léo Chú pass in the sixth minute of play for his team-leading 10th goal in all competitions.
Léo Chú’s hot streak in 2023 continues, with the Brazilian winger earning his first League Cup assist of the season on Morris’ goal. Through 23 MLS matches this season, Chú has three goals and eight assists.
Goalkeeper Stefan Cleveland returned to the starting lineup for Brian Schmetzer tonight, replacing the injured Stefan Frei, who had minor finger surgery earlier this week. Cleveland has regularly deputized for Frei since his arrival in Seattle in 2020, making seven starts in goal during MLS play in 2022, preceded by 15 starts in 2021. Cleveland previously started four games for the Rave Green in earlier this season (two in MLS, two in U.S. Open Cup play).
What’s next?
Following tonight’s loss and departure from this year's Leagues Cup, the Sounders will have a bit of a break from team play as their next match isn’t until August 20th. Considering the sort of slump/scuttle that Seattle has been experiencing since about early May, this sort of time off for the Sounders may be a good thing to have the club reset and get back to what made them so successful in the beginning of the season. Seattle has plenty of talent and veteran experience to get things turned around, but the change needs to come within if the Sounders are going to make any sort of noise in the MLS Playoffs. Their next match is on Sunday, August 20th, as Seattle hosts Atlanta United for a 7:30PM PST kickoff.