Psst. There’s a soccer team surging in this town right now; playing on the championship level fans have come to expect.
It hasn’t lost a game since June 8, winning six of seven since that date with one draw four weeks ago. In fact, if you include three U.S. Open Cup games, it has fallen just twice in its last 18 contests.
At one point, the Sounders looked as though they might be destined for a second missed postseason in three years, winning just once in their first seven tries in 2024. But they weren’t clearing a path for the rest of MLS to steamroll them, they were clearing their throats for the blaring declaration that they may just be the team to beat out west.
A casual fan wouldn’t know this by simply glancing at the standings. Seattle’s 2-0 win over St. Louis City FC launched it into sixth place in the Western Conference, where the club is still perilously close to that 8 vs. 9 play-in game. But based on the way the Sounders have been playing for the last two and a half months, they may be one of the most feared teams in the league once those elimination games begin.
Is it the most entertaining brand of soccer? Maybe not in the traditional sense. Seattle’s 32 goals, after all, are tied for 18th in the 29-team league. The Sounders have climbed up the table via defense, allowing fewer goals (26) than all but two other squads.
But the fun factor has been on the rise in recent weeks. This club has shown it can find the back of the net as well as it can defend it.
The reason? Well, if we’re gonna start with a “psst,” we’ll add one more: Psst — the Sounders might have the most underrated duo in MLS.
On Wednesday, midfielder Albert Rusnák lobbed a picturesque cross to Jonathan Bell, who headed it past goalkeeper Roman Bürki in the 49th minute to put Seattle up two. Rusnák has logged three goals and six assists in his last eight games. His 11 assists are tied for sixth in MLS. And though Bell has dunk-contest athleticism, he hasn’t been the second half of the tandem that has been so integral to Seattle’s success.
That name is much more familiar. That name is Jordan Morris, the former World Cup representative who has been with the organization since 2016. On the season, the 29-year-old attacker has nine goals — and they have all come over his last 12 games.
Morris didn’t slip one past the goalie Wednesday. He was, however, the closest player to St. Louis defender Tim Parker when he scored an own-goal in the 27th minute.
Amazingly, St. Louis has scored an own-goal in all four of its games against the Sounders, all of which have resulted in Seattle victories.
But this column isn’t about own-goals. It’s about the Sounders owning its foes for nearly three months now.
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