The Seattle Sounders left Lumen Field Saturday night in frustration after finishing their Decision Day match against the Portland Timbers in a 1-1 draw.
“It felt like a loss,” said midfielder Albert Rusnák.
The circumstances of how the match played out in the second half were not ideal for the home side, with the Timbers equalizing in the 68th minute and midfielder Obed Vargas getting sent off moments later. Still, the Sounders created enough opportunities to where they could have secured three points.
“We could have been up 3-0 before the red card,” said Rusnák. “And we didn't let them do much in terms of creating goal scoring chances, until that very first one.”
The Sounders closed out the 90 minutes with 16 shots, including six on target, versus Portland’s two of their seven total shots on frame.
“We needed to put this game away early in the second half, find a second goal, reward ourselves, and put this thing to bed,” said goalkeeper Stefan Frei. “And then anything else doesn't really matter.”
It was not the way the Rave Green wanted to close out the regular season. But, the squad recognizes some positives that came from the match regardless of the disappointing result.
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“We won the first half,” said Frei. “I thought we did really well and had a good mix in terms of possession, in terms of how we played direct.”
Yeimar’s goal in particular was something that stood out for Head Coach Brian Schmetzer.
“His ability to just go after a ball that Albert puts in a good spot…The delivery was good but in this case, I thought Yeimar had really exceptional technique on that header down, far corner,” said Schmetzer.
While the last 20 minutes were difficult on the players given Vargas’ expulsion from the match, their “Sounders Never Quit” mantra remained constant.
“We go down a man and still are pushing and I think we were playing better or wanted it more than the opponent who was up one man,” said Frei.
With these positives, the team understands what needs to be improved before they face a hard-nosed Houston side in the first round of the Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs (6 p.m. PT; Watch on FREE on Apple TV, FS1, 950 KJR AM, El Rey 1360AM, SiriusXM FC 157 | TICKETS).
“We need to learn from that,” said Yeimar. “We didn't take this opportunity, but we're going to be going after the next one.”
