Seattle, Washington — Jordan Morris remembers how his MLS season started two years ago. It was 2018, and during the Concacaf Champions League, the forward tore his ACL. Last year, he came back from that injury, set the league on fire and won the MLS Comeback Player of the Year award.
Morris opened up his 2020 regular-season account with two goals on Sunday. The Seattle Sounders started their match slower than usual, as the incumbent Chicago Fire tallied the opening goal. After a scoreless first half, Robert Beric scored in the 46th minute for the Fire.
However, Morris was able to pull the score even in the 62nd minute. Cristian Roldan found his teammate in the box with a skipping ball through plenty of Fire defenders. Morris narrowly made contact with his toe, poking it over Fire goalkeeper Kenneth Kronholm.
Roldan assisted Morris’ second goal of the match in stoppage time. Seattle swiped three points when Morris — unmarked on the back post — headed the ball into the lower corner.
After the match, Morris said he respected head coach Brian Schmetzer’s decision to use him as a substitute.
“My job coming in the game was just to try and use my pace to get behind and create some chances,” Morris said. “I got chills during the start, watching the banner unveiling and all that. It’s a testament to last year. It’s something we’ll always remember. To give our fans a good first game was really important.”
On defense, Stefan Frei recorded two saves against Przemyslaw Frankowski and Elliot Collier. Meanwhile, Yeimar Gómez started on the bench, despite having his visa issues worked out, as Shane O’Neill started alongside Xavier Arreaga.
🗣 @JmoSmooth13 on the first W of the season for @SoundersFC. pic.twitter.com/O4rQLp6jVN
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 1, 2020
Three Takeaways
- Nouhou will be fine: I have my doubts, at times, about Nouhou being the starting left back. However, he’ll be fine. He’s been with the Sounders organization since 2016 and joined the senior team in 2017. It’s clear that Brian Schmetzer has a lot of trust in him. Nouhou performed admirably on the left on Sunday when he entered for Joevin Jones.
- Morris keeps his form: According to Matt Doyle, Morris has compiled 17 goals and 14 assists for club and country in all competitions since June 23. He’s on a roll right now, and the Morris train isn’t slowing down. This type of production will force Gregg Berhalter to make him a starter on the U.S. men’s national team. Meanwhile, for Seattle, he must remain consistent.
- The Jordy Delem question: Jordy Delem has been an outstanding player for the Sounders in the last 18 months. Seattle has relied on him heavily with Gustav Svensson missing some time last year and early this season. However, what’s his role when Svensson does return? Delem’s production has forced Schmetzer to tinker with his lineup. A guy with that much potential shouldn’t be on the bench.
That BFF connection 🤝@CristianRoldan finds @JmoSmooth13 for our first goal of the @MLS season!#SoundersMatchday | #SEAvCHI pic.twitter.com/eFW5a3L9s6
— Seattle Sounders FC (@SoundersFC) March 1, 2020
What’s next for the Sounders?
There’s no more Concacaf Champions League action, so the Sounders will have some rest this week before their next MLS competition. The Sounders host the Columbus Crew SC on Saturday at 7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. EST. The Crew also won their MLS opener this weekend, with a 1-0 victory over New York City FC.
🗣 LET'S GOOO!!
Jordan Morris and Cristian Roldan link up for another goal!#SEAvCHI pic.twitter.com/QC4WNirtp3
— Seattle Sounders FC (@SoundersFC) March 1, 2020
