First there was a win over Liga MX’s Querétaro in the Leagues Cup on Aug. 9. Then there was the run of five consecutive draws that followed a club-record eight consecutive MLS losses. And finally, on Wednesday at Lumen Field, the Sounders took a collective sigh of relief with a convincing 2-0 win over Real Salt Lake, Seattle’s first victory in league play since May 13.
Devastated by injuries nearly all season long, the Sounders finally had some of their regular contributors available in the Starting XI with the likes of Cristian Roldan and Jackson Ragen, as well as on the bench in Jordan Morris and Yeimar. The result was a crucial three points as the final push for the MLS Cup Playoffs nears.
“We’ve been building some momentum, but this really gives them a lot of belief,” said Sounders Head Coach Brian Schmetzer. “That’s what we discussed before the game, about believing we could win.”
Seattle opened the scoring with the second goal of the season for Danny Musovski, who got the nod up front with Dejan Joveljić on international duty with the Serbian national team. Musovski ripped a shot from outside the box to give the Sounders a 1-0 lead shortly after the halftime whistle and they never looked back.
“It was a result that we needed to have today,” said Musovski. “We have to take care of business at home…It’s been a minute. It feels so good to win. That’s what this club is used to. We’re used to winning, and going through what we were going through, that was so unknown to us.
“We’re obviously very happy but know that it’s just one win from a long stretch of games,” he continued. “We’re still hungry. We want to keep winning, and it’s definitely a step in the right direction.”
In a league with as much parity as MLS, seasons can change with one or two favorable results. Seattle entered the evening 14th in the Western Conference table and ended in 10th, tied on points for the West’s final postseason position with a match in hand. Two more wins in the next week could see Seattle jump as high as seventh.
Sounders winger Paul Arriola, who assisted on both goals, mentioned how important it was to get over the hump. He said the team couldn’t buy draws during their losing streak and couldn’t buy wins during their run of five straight draws. Wednesday’s result is something he hopes they can build upon as they look to continue grinding out victories.
“No one is going to care if we play pretty, if we build out of the back, if we score a goal after 20 passes,” said Arriola. “It’s just going to matter the three points.”
The Sounders know there is a massive opportunity ahead of them. The win over RSL was the first of three giant home games, all against the bottom three teams in the Western Conference. Seattle will next welcome Minnesota United to the Pacific Northwest on Saturday (5:30 p.m. PT; Apple TV | TICKETS) before hosting Sporting Kansas City on Thursday, Oct. 1 (6:30 p.m. PT; Apple TV | TICKETS).
While excited about the win and enjoying the moment, the Sounders are veteran and savvy enough to know that it will be moot if they aren’t able to finish the job and get nine points from nine on this homestand.
“We know what we are, what we’re about and each guy is able to take responsibility for the actions on the field, which has made our locker room really strong,” said Arriola. “Postgame, we all feel really good, but the reality is that we kind of have to turn it around, get in tomorrow, start to watch film and get ready for the weekend.”
