Danny Musovski deserves all the flowers for his impeccable consistency on the pitch.
In the Sounders 3-1 victory over the Houston Dynamo on Saturday night at Shell Energy Stadium, the 29-year-old tallied his fifth goal in five straight matches.
With the help of midfielder Paul Rothrock’s lofted cross toward the center of the six-yard box, Musovski was able to head the ball past Houston goalkeeper Jonathan Bond to collect the Sounders opening goal of the night.
“Every day in training, I just try to put myself in dangerous spots and then I feel like it makes games a whole lot easier,” said Musovski. “It’s [also] definitely an element of going into the game calm, [and] going into the game believing that you're going to score.”
Given his struggle with injuries and having only one goal to show for last season, a lot of people wrote Musovski off — including Head Coach Brian Schmetzer. But with his recent stretch of performances, Schmetzer acknowledged that his initial judgment may have been premature.
“I have to tip my hat,” said Schmetzer. “That kid has done a great job for this club. [He’s] a great example of what happens when you work hard and you're prepared, and when you get your opportunity, you're prepared for your opportunity. So kudos to Danny Musovski, starting us off on a good note tonight.”
With his current streak of goals, the Nevada native has etched his name into the Sounders record book alongside some of the greatest names who have ever played for the club. He is currently tied with former legends Obefemi Martins and Fredy Montero for the amount of goals in consecutive matches during a single season.
His movement inside the box has been a significant factor in the way he’s been able to hit the back of the net game-after-game.
“All of his goals have come from making sure he gets inside the six-yard box, either at the near post or like the cross today, middle of the goal,” said Schmetzer. “When a center forward puts himself inside the six, good things can happen. And that was something that we as coaches were telling Jordan, we were telling Moose, we were telling Jesús earlier in the year, and Moose actually went out and did it, and now, he's been rewarded.”
Following Musovski’s 22nd minute goal on Saturday, Seattle found their stride, eventually scoring two more to close out the road match with three points. Midfielder Albert Rusnák credits Musovski for being able to get the team on the frontfoot over these last stretch of matches, including tonight’s win over the Texas side.
“It's nice when the first chance that we created in the last few games goes in,” said Rusnák. “It settles the teams down and everybody's feeling better. We've been speaking a lot about how, especially on the road, when we get that first chance, it's important to put it away. And then he did that once again today.”
Musovski’s hope is to continue this run of form as the team resumes their three-match-week on Wednesday against LAFC, before traveling to Providence Park to take on the Portland Timbers next Saturday.
“I'm really happy, and I'm also really happy that we're getting the wins as well,” said Musovksi. “I just [want to] keep the momentum going.”
