SEATTLE ā The Seattle Sounders got their first victory in almost a month with Saturdayās 1-0 triumph over Real Salt Lake at CenturyLink Field. The defending MLS Cup champions still have some issues, though.
Thirteen games into the season, the Sounders find themselves with a 3-5-4 record and their star-studded attack has yet to consistently score goals, with Harry Shippās Saturday game-winner representing one of two goals the team has tallied in their past four games.
The start bears a striking similarity to last yearās early-season struggles. And even though his team famously embarked on a historic turnaround to ultimately win MLS Cup after stumbling out of the gate last season, Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer said heās not interested in having to replicate that feat.
āWe donāt ever talk about that,ā Schmetzer said after the victory over RSL. āLightning in a bottle rarely strikes twice. We avoid that. What we try and message the team is that theyāre a good team. They need to believe theyāre a good team.
āThe 1-0 victory might not seem like a massive step, but I think deep down inside, theyāre going to say āWeāve got this, now letās build on this.āā
Seattleās depleted backline depth is one logical explanation for the rough start, but the anemic production from the attack has also become its own storyline. As the Sounders try to remedy those woes, getting second-year forward Jordan Morris going figures to be priority No. 1.
ā[Morris playing well] changes everything,ā Sounders right back Brad Evans said. āIt allows us to drop balls in behind and turn everybody around. That means theyāre running at their goal and so are we. Itās an advantageous position for everybody on our team.
āItās just, put the ball into space and let him do his thing.ā
Now that Morris is ostensibly healthy after sustaining an early-season ankle sprain, Schmetzer said he feels as though the 22-year-old might slowly be getting back to the form that saw him take home 2016 MLS Rookie of the Year honors.
āThat was the first time [Morris] hadnāt felt his ankle, against Sporting KC [on Wednesday],ā Schmetzer said. āI think what you saw today was a kid that was full of confidence because he could just play free. He put in a good effort because making all those runs is difficult.ā
The dynamic attacking trio of Morris, Clint Dempsey and Nicolas Lodeiro canāt be expected to shoulder the load all on their own, of course. Going forward, Schmetzer hopes to see production from outside sources to ease the pressure and give his trident more room to work. Shippās Saturday goal represents a step in the right direction.
āI need to get some production from other people to free up Jordan, Clint and Nico a little bit,ā Schmetzer said. āIf some other guys start scoring, then it makes the big threeās job a little easier.ā