Sounders grind out three points with 1-0 victory over Red Bulls
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – Following a stretch that saw them lose four matches in their past five outings, the Seattle Sounders were able to grind out a physical and tight victory over the New York Red Bulls at Lumen Field. Seattle had to play the final 15 minutes and extra time without midfielder Joao Paulo, who was called for a somewhat soft second yellow card, but were still able to secure the three points that push them back up to the top of the MLS’ Western Conference, at least for tonight. The result may be bittersweet for the Sounders, however, as immediately after scoring the lone goal of the match, forward Jordan Morris was visibly wincing and had to come out of the game immediately after.
“Nobody at the end of the year is going to care how we won, why we won… but it’s three points at home... The team gutted it out tonight.”
Pre-match scenes prior to the Seattle Sounders FC win over the New York Red Bulls (Photos by Bryan Saldana)
The Chu to Morris connection reemerges
This match saw the Sounders win many of the attack statistics throughout the entirety of the 90 minutes and stoppage time, but Seattle struggled to put away chance after chance. That included a first half that was clearly in favor of the Sounders, but only resulted in one goal. That score came on the connection of Leo Chu to Jordan Morris, the duo that had paired up for Morris’ monster four-goal performance in Kansas City and that jettisoned Chu to the top of the assist list and Morris to the top of the goals scored list in MLS at the time. The pair had cooled down a bit since their solid run of a few matches, but they were able to rekindle a spark of that with the goal they combined for in the 22nd minute.
A ton of credit should be given to midfielder Albert Rusnak who’s through ball created the opportunity for Chu to connect with Morris in the first place. Initially, Chu had tried to keep the Seattle buildup going but was thwarted by New York defender Cameron Harper. The deflected ball went straight to Rusnak, who carried it up field before sending it through to Chu up the side of the field and into prime crossing territory. Morris had been lurking around the top of the box with the Red Bulls line as that sequence occurred, and was ready to jump into the action once Chu got into position. The bouncing cross was in front of Morris just enough for a quick and efficient motion to score, giving Seattle the lead and getting Morris on the board for the first time in his past eight matches.
Seattle Sounders FC forward Jordan Morris scored his first goal in his past eight matches (Photos by Bryan Saldana)
Holding down the Fort(ress) with ten men
For the most part of the match Seattle, particularly Stefan Frei in goal, was able to ward off the chances and attacks that New York was trying to build. At the half, the Red Bulls only had one shot in total and no big chances created. Coming out of the break, that changed at New York challenged Seattle throughout the second half. The Red Bulls were ready and on the attack from kickoff, testing the mettle of the Sounders backline that included young Cody Baker, who continues to prove that he earned the first team contract he received this month. Things got even more dicey once Sounders midfielder Joao Paulo was given a second yellow card, and Seattle adjusted to this by dropping five players back while subbing on defenders and taking off attackers in the dying stages of the match to secure the victory.
“In a time where things were frustrating for us, to have to really pull together and be very supportive of one another to try to coax the last amount of energy out of each other is a good feeling now that we were able to do so successfully, but gotta build on it.”
The Seattle Sounders FC backline helped the club rack up another clean sheet on the season (Photos by Bryan Saldana)
Stefan saves the game, numerous times
Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei, at the spry age of 37, continues to come through in big moments for the club that he’s in his tenth season with. Seattle has had a potential replacement in the wings in Stefan Cleveland to backup Frei, but year in and year out and the Swiss keeper hasn’t lost a step just yet. Frei’s placement help him make two huge saves in the second half that kept New York off the board and the clean sheet, his league leading eighth on the year, intact. The first of the two came in the 49th minute, as Elias Manoel had a header come perfectly off a cross he had received, but Frei was in position and ready for it. The second, in the 65th minute, as Manoel got behind the Seattle defense and had a breakaway-like chance, but Frei was on the mark to make the save and force a corner kick.
“High ball, just trying to see if guys are actually gonna get a piece to it and if not, if I can go and claim it, but they challenged. I tried to retreat in and just kind of get center and as balanced. We’ve been working hard on trying to get more balanced so that you can react and at least get something out of it. Fortunately, he left it somewhat close to me. I was able to, to react to get a hand to it. So we’re happy with that. ”
The rest of photographer Bryan Saldana’s album from the Sounders win over the Red Bulls
Getting back on track?
While it was a tight and grinding game for Seattle, getting a victory like this while they await the full returns of Raul Ruidiaz and Cristian Roldan is nice. It’s going to be tough to miss Jordan Morris for two weeks, if Morris’ own prediction is correct, and if Joao Paulo must serve his red card suspension dependent on if it’s appealed. It’s become apparent over the course of the season so far that the Sounders have players on their bench and on the Tacoma Defiance roster that can fill in when necessary. We’ve already seen examples of it in the cases of Cody Baker and Paul Rothrock, and you could go as far as to mention the performances of Ethan Dobbelaere and Reed Baker-Whiting in the clubs short US Open Cup run this year. There are certainly tradeoffs from this match, but the win at very minimum makes this a good night for the Sounders.
“Just total team effort, right? We we’ve been able to get a decent amount of clean sheets already this year. Whenever we do so, we put ourselves in good positions to get three points, or at the very least one. That’s been good, but it takes a whole team. A lot of energy expended by everybody to be able to do so. I think today was kind of a little show of that again, which was great. We had a little bit of class. On our goal, we also had some chances to I think get a second one, maybe a little more clinical to give us a bit more breathing room. But sometimes it doesn’t happen. You have to find ways to just get the three points, and today we did.”
Quick notes
With tonight’s victory, Sounders FC snaps a two-match losing skid and vaults back atop the MLS Western Conference. The Rave Green currently have 26 points, one more point than both LAFC and St. Louis. Next up for Seattle: a two-match week, beginning with a home clash against San Jose on Wednesday, May 31, followed by a Cascadia Cup showdown with archrival Portland on Saturday, June 3 at Lumen Field.
Due to unbalanced interconference scheduling, tonight’s match was Seattle’s first against the New York Red Bulls since 2019, moving the Rave Green to 7-5-3 all-time against the New Jersey-based club.
At Lumen Field against the Red Bulls, Sounders FC moves to 6-1-1 all-time with a 18-8 goal difference. Seattle’s first-ever win in MLS came against the Red Bulls during a 3-0 win on March 19, 2009.
The last six meetings between Seattle and New York have been won by the home team, with neither club winning on the road since 2010. The last point given away by either side against the other was a 1-1 draw in Seattle in September of 2013.
Jordan Morris netted his ninth goal of the 2023 season with the match’s opening strike in the 22nd minute of play. The Mercer Island native is currently in sole possession of second place in the MLS Golden Boot race, one strike behind LAFC’s Dénis Bouanga. Morris departed the match moments after scoring due to a groin injury.
Léo Chú earned the primary assist on Morris’ goal, good for his team-leading sixth helper of 2023. The Brazilian winger is now tied for third in MLS in overall assists, two behind Atlanta United’s Thiago Almada for the league lead.
Midfielder Albert Rusnák unlocked the Red Bull defense during Morris’ goal sequence, earning a secondary assist on the play. For the Slovakian, the assist was his second of the year and his 43rd career overall.
Recording the shutout tonight, goalkeeper Stefan Frei recorded his league-leading eighth clean sheet of 2023. For the veteran goalkeeper, the shutout is his 99th regular-season shutout. Should Frei reach the century mark, he would become just the third goalkeeper in MLS history to achieve the feat.
Entering the match in the 86th minute of play as a substitute, Nouhou made his 150th MLS regular-season appearance for the club.
What’s next?
Following tonight’s victory, Seattle is looking towards two Western Conference battles in the next week including their doubleheader match against the Portland Timbers at Lumen Field on June 3rd. Before we get to that battle, though, the Sounders will host the San Jose Earthquakes on Wednesday, May 31st with a kickoff time of 7:30PM PST. It’s the first time since the 2022 regular season finale that Seattle will battle against San Jose, and it won’t be an easy feat by any means as the Earthquakes are currently seated as the fifth seed in the Western Conference. It will be interesting to note how the Sounders lineup for the match with Morris out for the near future and Raul Ruidiaz repeatedly nearing return.