Ferreira Finally Finds Net

Late May in Seattle means that the sun begins to win out over the bland gray skies, destined for a brief winning streak before October rolls around and the gray skies resume dominance.

But when it comes to the Sounders, the change in weather brought no change in their early-season home no-loss streak today. It is as if the season has gone through three phases already. First the team started strong, with some early wins in CONCAChampions and a decent start to the MLS season. Then the Rave Green suffered injury after injury, got unceremoniously booted from CONCAChampions by Cruz Azul, and took a downturn in the MLS table. And recently, the Sounders have bounced back, going 5-1-2 between April 12 and May 24. And yet, the team has not lost at home all year – and not since their US Open Cup match against LAFC on August 28, 2024.

Today’s game against San Diego FC was not necessarily Seattle’s best. First, a stat roundup: the visitors had 63% of the possession, 15 shots to Seattle’s 7, 1.08 expected goals to 0.47, 296 passes in the opposing half compared to Seattle’s 115, et cetera et cetera, the stat sheet looked good for SDFC.

San Diego had several good looks on net in the first half and spent about 30 minutes of the second half hanging out around Seattle’s 18 box – and yet came up empty. The main reason was Stef Frei, the second main reason was the back line.

First, the back line. Five-really-six defenders played today – Nouhou, Jon Bell, Kim Kee-hee, Alex Roldan, Stu Hawkins, and Kalani Kossa-Rienzi. Of these, Nouhou stood out the most with a bicycle clearance and some clutch stops, but all of them played tremendously. Kim came out with a leg issue in the 34^th minute and so Stu went on and didn’t take long to adjust into the lineup. Kalani entered for Paul Rothrock and was more of a versatile wing back in this game than a true back, but he still did his part. Overall, the guys did a phenomenal job – especially in the second half – of closing every window shut for SDFC.

But Stef Frei. I mean, Stef Frei. Seven saves on the day, four of which came in the first half. Mind you, despite the attacking stats looking better for SDFC in the second half, they were more of a threat in the first half, with their attacks having an element of speed and chaos that really wasn’t there in their final thirty minutes in front of Frei’s goal.

Schmetz, in a matter of fact, end-of-discussion way, had this to say about Stef.

“Stefan Frei is the best shot-stopping goalkeeper in this league, bar none. I don’t care who you– I don’t care. It’s a fact.”

It’s a bold statement, but games like this back it up. Last game against SDFC on April 5 was a 3-0 beatdown by San Diego in San Diego, but Frei was a big reason why the Sounders exacted revenge today.

Lineup Card

With Yeimar out, Jon Bell got one of the center back spots today, pairing with Kim Kee-hee to start the match. Jesús Ferreira got his second straight start at striker while Paul Rothrock was the starting right wing.

First Half: Anemic Offense, Excellent Frei Showing

The first half was something of a microcosm of much of the past few years. Stef Frei and the back line had a stellar game, with the line stuffing themselves into nearly every open window that SFDC produced and Frei coming up with four strong saves when they didn’t. The visitors came out strong, with some real chances at opening the scoring, but the back of the field really stepped up.

But on the other side of the pitch, the attackers couldn’t produce opportunities. The issues grew as the half wore on, with the defense having to come up with better showings and the offense melting away under any pressure. SDFC pressed well, to be fair, but it was the Sounders who fell into the rut of panicking under pressure, falling back, then trying to start something but immediately losing the ball.

Early in the game, the Sounders had their first and best chance of the half. Alex Roldan caught an attempted clearance from keeper Carlos Dos Santos and forced a corner in the third minute, followed by another one in the fourth. Rothrock got the cross from Rusnak up tip and nearly knocked it in, but a last-second boot from San Diego midfielder Jeppe Tverskov kept the ball out of the net.

In the seventh, Kim sent a long ball for Ferreira to chase into the box. The Sounder striker got to the ball as it landed, but pressure from center back Patrick McNair forced the ball out.

Still, play remained in the San Diego half for a few minutes more until Tverskov intercepted and sent it to left wing Alex Mighten, who charged up the field in the tenth minute before being smothered by the Rave Green back line.

The visitors kept the ball after that and started to put together another attack, quickly stymied by Obed and sent back up the field in the 12^th minute – before play settled down again, the Sounders keeping the ball static around midfield before Kim tried to find an attack but gave the ball to Dos Santos.

Then San Diego had an attack forming. Attacker Anders Dreyer tried to connect up on the right side in the 13^th and then striker Onni Valakari forced a corner in the 15^th, but it was immediately cleared away by Cristian. Mighten tried to send it back but his would-be ball found a brick Sounder wall.

Seattle had a potential opportunity briefly come together in the 19^th as Rusnak pushed on the opposing line near the 18 box, but the ball soon fell away to the visitors. San Diego came back with another chance, as a shot from Mighten became a corner in the 21^st minute. After some headers for position, SDFC midfielder Alejandro Alvarado took a shot on net, but Frei dove and saved it. The game was still tied at zero.

The game slowed down for a few minutes, with both sides getting decently far up the pitch but failing to find any good looks on goal. Seattle had a brief chance in the 26^th on a long ball – but it went too far into the hands of Dos Santos. Rothrock got shown a yellow for a foul on the transition and Dreyer had a free kick in the 27^th, but this went nowhere.

Nouhou stole a 29^th minute ball but then promptly lost it. SDFC passed it around for the first 20 seconds of the 30^th minute before Dreyer found a look and fired – and it was Frei’s second diving save.

The ball came back the other way in the 31^st for a brief Seattle look. Kim sent it to Rothrock on the right side, who whipped it back to Ferreira up top, but McNair again smothered the play and prevented any good shot from coming off Jesus’ boot.

In the 34^th, Kim came off with injury and Stu Hawkins came on in replacement. Soon after, a miscommunication between Hawkins and Frei resulted a corner, which Dreyer sent off in the 36^th. Bell headed it upwards, though it soon found McNair just a few meters from the goal. McNair’s shot went straight into Frei’s arms to keep the game scoreless.

As Dreyer sent a pass up to Mighten in the box during a transition in the 37^th, Nouhou had a moment of sunshine, smothering the play dead. Seattle then got possession but were unable to do anything with it, letting their opponents pressure them all the way back to the goal. Immediately after, a potentially promising run of play in the opposing half immediately fell to an SDFC possession.

The best look of the half – and the best save for Stef – for the visitors came in the 44^th minute as Valakari charged down the pitch and then sent it to Mighten, who worked past Alex and fired a bullet on the net. Frei dove and reached out his arm just enough to tip the ball upwards and Nouhou bicycle cleared it away. Mighten had another potential chance a minute later that was snuffed out by the Seattle back line.

Ferreira’s First Wins Game

By and large, the Sounders were on even more of a defensive footing during the second half as they were during the first. San Diego had possession for 65% of the back 45, much of it in the final quarter of the field. But footy is a funny thing. The Sounders managed to put together some solid attacks on net, and it was a little over ten minutes into the second half when Jesús Ferreira got his first goal of the season and the only goal of the match. The visitors attacked and attacked but were kept from having a really strong chance by the Sounders’ stalwart backs, and so Seattle is still undefeated at home.

Nouhou began the half with a 47^th minute steal and then Frei smothered a long ball attempt in the next minute. In the 49^th, Valakari sent a through ball to Dreyer in the box, but it went a little too far and Frei again smothered it.

The Sounders’ first chance of the half came as Rusnak found Ryan Kent up on the left side in the 51^st. Kent was fouled, and so Rusnak had a free kick in the 52^nd. Tverskov cleared it away and then SDFC had a quick transition on the second clearance, but the ball soon found Stef and the threat ended as soon as it began.

San Diego got the ball soon after and took advantage of a low Sounders press to create a window, with de la Torre sending in a ball for Dreyer in the box. Dreyer could only get a tap, however, and Frei grabbed the ball without much difficulty.

In the 56^th, the Sounders finally produced a good look, with Ferreira getting the ball up top and giving it to Rusnak, who sent it to Kent on the side. Kent tried to send in a short cross to Rothrock but overshot his winger counterpart and the ball once again went the other way.

Then the home side’s offensive struggles and Ferreira’s slump at striker were forgotten in a moment of glory. In the 58^th, Rusnak sent it to the left side for Alex Roldan, who found Rothrock ahead of him, who tapped the ball to Ferreira. JF got a toe to the ball to slow it down and then twisted back and sent a left-booted shot for the outside corner. It flew past Dos Santos’ arm and into the net. 1-0 Seattle.

Rusnak nearly doubled up in the next minute, sending the ball to Ferreira who gave it back to Rusnak, who launched the ball from outside the 18. Dos Santos barely got his hand on the ball and ceded a corner. The first corner became another one that Rusnak delivered in the 61^st, but the pressure finally relented and SDFC regained their footing.

After the moment of euphoria, the team came back down to earth, soon fighting to keep the lead. Seattle visitors pressed for an equalizer soon after, finding a couple good looks of their own before a 63^rd minute clearance from Nouhou – who else – sent play back to midfield. SDFC brought it back towards the Sounders’ box and McNair tried to run through in the 65^th the home back line neutralized him. Still, Seattle did not maintain possession, and attacker Milan Iloski launched a shot that Frei kicked away as he lost balance.

Schmetzer then went to his subs, bringing in Pepo and Moose for Ferreira and Kent. San Diego maintained control of the flow of game with a corner and then some passes inside the 18, though the Sounders held their own and kept all potential windows shut.

SDFC attacker Chucky Lozano – whose first MLS goal came in SDFC’s 3-0 romp against Seattle earlier in the year –had a potential look as the visitors lulled Seattle with a feigned low press and charged on a ball going into Seattle territory with no green jerseys nearby, but Frei launched the ball out of the way. The ref seemed to miss Dos Santos picking the ball up outside the 18 and the visitors came back to continue their long spell in front of the Seattle net.

Seattle finally sent the ball the other way in the 75^th, with Rusnak going to Obed, who found Pedro with a through ball – but Pedro misread it and turned back, losing vital time that ended the transition and gave the visitors back their footing.

Then San Diego brought it back in front of the Seattle net, the Sounders still on a defensive footing. Left back Luca Bombino got off a weak shot that Frei easily snagged and then another black jersey sent the ball over the net to give the home side a brief reprieve.

In the 77^th, Schmetzer tapped two more subs – Kalani and JP for Rothrock and Obed. But the visitors kept control and kept their long spell of attack going, winning an 81^st minute free kick about ten meters from the box. Dreyer sent it to the crowd but it immediately went the other way by means of JP, who charged out up the left side. Center back Christopher McVey ate up a yellow card to stop the threat, but the Rave Green kept play in the attacking half for a brief moment.

Then the ball came back once again, with Kalani getting shown the yellow in the 84^th. JP had a steal but his pass went too far up, so San Diego was back where they had grown accustomed to being in the second half. Kalani tried to send a bullet from midfield but Dos Santos easily caught up to it and sent it back another time.

SDFC won another attacking free kick in the 86^th. Nouhou got the initial clearance, but the visitors kept the possession going. Bombino sent it up top, where Frei collided with a man as he came down with the ball.

Seattle had a chance going the other way, but Albert and Pedro failed to press their advantage on transition and got trapped by San Diego’s back line as it reconstituted.

SDFC brought it back up into the Seattle box as stoppage time began, but once again, they were unable to find a good window to tie the game up.

Kalani once again got a brief attack going, sending a beautiful ball in transition to Cristian in the third minute of stoppage. Cristian raced up the field and fired a shot on net, but Dos Santos slid into the shot and deflected it to keep the game within San Diego’s reach.

As the final minutes of play wound down, San Diego put together another attack, racing to find the equalizer. Lozano forced a corner in the fifth minute of stoppage, but the cross was deflected and Jasper Löffelsend’s desperate shot flew over the goal.

The final whistle blew over a 1-0 Sounders victory.

Jesus Ferreira Finally Notches One

It was match number 20 for the big offseason acquisition and it was his first goal as a Sounder.

The goal itself had a cathartic beauty to it, not just because it was JF’s first with Seattle but because, until then, it seemed like a clean sheet might be needed just to come out of the game with a point. And it was left-footed. Goals like that have a gritty character that perfectly set-up goals don’t.

“There are so many emotions, and I don’t believe there are words to describe the emotions. I think part of my body left,” Ferreira said after the game.

With Morris still out for the foreseeable future and the Moose seemingly back to pre-5 game streak form, having a good number 9 is one of the most obvious issues on the team right now. I’ve often said that the Sounders could benefit from having a great number 9 as opposed to a good number 9, but the gap between a good and great striker is far smaller than the gap between a good and bad striker. Ferreira performed well today in that role – may he continue to do so!

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Under Pressure?

The Sounders struggled quite a bit under pressure today. SDFC was able to keep a high press basically the whole game, and the Rave Green kept losing the ball seconds after getting it. Compounding this, the Sounders mostly couldn’t punish them when they had the opportunities. Too often, the team would start to get a transition, but a player would do a double take halfway up the pitch that gave San Diego three or four seconds to catch up.

The team seemed to get stuck in a rut for much of the game (especially the first half) where they would play more reserved, fall back in the face of pressure, go back upfield, try to start something, immediately lose the ball, and then start playing reservedly again. Rinse and repeat. There wasn’t as much connection through the midfield as we are used to seeing, so every chance had to come from transition.

Of course, one strike from Ferreira and none of that ended up mattering. As Schmetzer said, no one in two months will remember how this game was won, just that it is three points on the table.

Minnesota!

The homestand will be rounded out by a match against Minnesota United this Sunday at 3:00 PM. There are a few players than can contest Schmetzer’s claim that Frei is the best shot-stopper in MLS, and Dayne St. Clair is one of them, with his eight clean sheets currently leading the league.

The Sounders, despite not looking their best, have the chance at a clean nine-point sweep on Sunday. They just took down team number two in the West, and now they take on team number three. Seattle, with today’s win, jumped to fourth, with 26 points and a 7-4-5 (W-L-D) record.