Sounders bring down New England, continuing a revolution of their own

After the past four wins, Brian Schmetzer has been saying that nobody wants to go against the Sounders in the playoffs. They have a tradition of making the playoffs and making deep runs. Winning on the road hasn’t been as tough for them. They have reached 100 road wins in the shortest amount of time in MLS history. They have experience and skill. They seem to be a unified team, and the components that they have added have made them a huge threat.

Home wins are so prevalent in the MLS, that statistically it is like starting the game up a goal. Apparently, no team has handled the odds better than the Sounders. This is what you would expect from the gold standard of the league.

The Sounders have only missed the playoffs once. They have two titles and have been runner-up to the title. They have a history of winning big games, which is why they are the only MLS team to win all possible titles. This is also what you would expect from the gold standard team.

There have been numerous injuries to key players this season, and they have had two glaring deficits. They needed players who could inject energy into the team, and they needed a more consistent goal scorer. There have been numerous young players who were afforded an opportunity due to the injuries they have incurred.

These young players have had a steep learning curve and have gained valuable experience. Now that the key players are getting healthy again, some of the younger players have used their opportunities to bring in their youthful energy. The acquisition of Dejan Joveljić has given them a consistent goal scorer up front. He has scored four goals in four games with the Sounders.

With six games to go in the regular season, the Sounders are building momentum at just the right time. There are no holes on the team and with the exception of a couple of players, they are getting healthy at the right time too. In other words, they are returning to their gold standard form and other teams should be nervous. Over the next 6 games, teams will be putting in a push to attempt to secure home-field advantage, or a playoff spot in general.

Beating the second best team in the Eastern Division is a good indicator that the Sounders are catching fire. Their next match is against Dallas, which is the number three ranked team in the Western Conference.

While the Sounders were floundering with their 8 game losing streak, which was a franchise worst, it is also important to keep in mind that outside of that 8 game stretch, they have only lost once this season.

That stretch of losses, mostly due to injuries, has provided the Sounders with two major factors moving forward. Their young players have gained experience so if called upon, they are more likely to positively impact a game. The injuries have allowed their main players to get rest and work their way up to match fitness. They don’t have to carry the knocks that come with playing every game, and some of them are reporting that they are feeling the best they have in a long time, like attacker Jordan Morris who has had a string of injuries and Christian Roldan who has logged in major minutes in the last few seasons.

More experience, better health, better options on offense must make Albert Rusnák happy since he has been the most reliable player this season and he can now share the load of the offense with a renewed sense of purpose. With six games to go the Sounders are looking like the Sounders again, MLS watch out!

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