FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS (July 7, 2018) — If the season ended today, the New England Revolution would be heading to the playoffs.
However, the Seattle Sounders would not, for the first time in two seasons. Despite the Sounders sinking to 10th place in the Western Conference and the Revolution in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, Seattle held their own at Gillette Stadium.
Seattle Sounders Hold Their Own in 0-0 Stalemate in New England
On Saturday night, the two teams battled to a scoreless draw.
Seattle picked up a crucial road point. On Wednesday, the club faced the Colorado Rapids and scooped up three points. So far, the Sounders have four points in two road matches — and there’s still a trip down the East Coast to face Atlanta United.
Stefan Frei was only forced to make one save against midfielder Luis Caicedo. Seattle’s centerback pair of Kim Kee-Hee and Chad Marshall kept Teal Bunbury and Kelyn Rowe quiet throughout the night.
Bunbury, New England’s top scorer, didn’t even take a single shot.
On the other end, Revolution goalkeeper Matt Turner was only forced to make one save against Nicolás Lodeiro.
“[But] it’s a point on the road,” Schmetzer said. “A lot of people didn’t think we’d get anything out of this game. That’s another testament to the group in that locker room. They don’t quit. A lot of things have gone against them this year. We’ve done pretty well away from home.”
“Gutting performance form the guys.”
Schmetzer said that while he tends to talk about Frei coming up big, he wanted to add to the list.
“Jordy Delem and Cristian [Roldan] did a really nice job in the middle of the field,” Schmetzer said. “I think Jordan McCrary played all three games as good. Kim Kee-Hee, Chad Marshall — and Nouhou came on and was solid. Then, you start up front with Will [Bruin] and Clint [Dempsey]. The whole team was committed to keeping that clean sheet. So, that’s impressive.”
Chad, congratulations on 11 consecutive seasons with 15+ @MLS starts! #NEvSEA
Chad: pic.twitter.com/v5EzVrgPCt
— Seattle Sounders FC (@SoundersFC) July 8, 2018
Three Takeaways
- “The Wolff” starts for Dempsey: Magnus Wolff Eikrem has been primarily used as a super substitute this season. However, against New England, Schmetzer started Eikrem in place of Clint Dempsey. After the match, Schmetzer said that Eikrem was overall good. “You can tell he didn’t have a sense and feel for all the guys he was playing with; there were a couple of missed passes. But, he’s committed to the group and that’s what we’re asking for.”
- Defenders taking shots: Throughout the season, Kim Kee-Hee has primarily stayed in his defensive role. However, in recent matches, he’s gone up the pitch more to help offensively. In this match, he took one shot. While it wasn’t on goal, it was still a shot. His fellow defender, Nouhou, took two shots.
- Yellow cards galore: Nouhou recently came back from a one-match suspension due to yellow card accumulation. So, how does he celebrate? With another yellow card in second-half stoppage time. In addition to Nouhou, Nicolás Lodeiro and Jordy Delem received yellow cards. For New England, Diego Fagundez and Kelyn Rowe were yellow card recipients.
What’s Next?
Seattle has one more match on the East Coast to wrap up their road trip. The team will travel down to Atlanta, Georgia, to face Atlanta United on Sunday.
The match will begin at 11 a.m. PT/2 p.m. ET at the Mercedes Benz Stadium.
“We need every point we can get,” Schmetzer said. “Hopefully this one point helps us down the road.”
HIGHLIGHTS: A valuable road point to end the road trip. #NEvSEA pic.twitter.com/MeevorYxjW
— Seattle Sounders FC (@SoundersFC) July 8, 2018
