Less than 10 minutes into Thursday's Round of 32 victory over the LA Galaxy, the Sounders found themselves up 2-0 at Lumen Field. Seattle's dream start came from an unlikely source, with center back's Yeimar and Jackson Ragen scoring three minutes a part.
“Definitely not expected,” said Ragen. “The fact that we scored so close together at the beginning, made the rest of the game a lot easier on ourselves.”
Yeimar set the tone right away in the fourth minute when a perfectly placed Albert Rusnák corner kick found the center back’s head for him to redirect into the back of the goal. Then, it was Jackson Ragen in the seventh minute, who came up clutch off the rebound of an initial corner kick save from goalkeeper John McCarthy.
“Credit to Yeimar and Jackson for understanding that it is life or death inside the penalty box,” said Head Coach Brian Schmetzer. “Set pieces are critical.”
It was Yeimar and Ragen’s initial goals that sparked the momentum for the Rave Green, giving leverage for another Sounders defender, Alex Roldan to curl a shot into the goal from distance to close out the first half and solidify a 3-1 victory for the home side.
“I think when you have a cushion of two zero in the first half, you start to play a little bit more free and you gain a little bit more confidence,” said Roldan. “And I think all those things attribute to everyone playing a little bit better and being on the front foot, so I think it did ultimately help me.”
The Rave Green boast a potent offense with players like Jordan Morris, Raúl Ruidiaz and Albert Rusnák combining for 23 goals and 14 assists in regular season play. It is even more lethal when the team’s defenders on the pitch can contribute in the attack.
“I think it’s something that we need more of to take some pressure off the attacking players,” said Ragen.
The center back pair made a strong defensive showing for the remainder of the 90 minutes, anchoring a defensive effort that restricted LA’s star-studded attack of Joseph Paintsil, Riqui Puig and Gabriel Pec to just a single shot on target.
Ragen finished the night with six clearances, one block, and a 95-percent passing accuracy. Yeimar posted four interceptions, four recoveries, eight clearances and eight duels won.
“One of the core things of our group has always been defending,” said Roldan. “Last year we led the league in defense in some of the stats and we're hoping to do that again this year.”
Ragen, Yeimar and the Sounders team as a whole will need to continue this same approach when they host Liga MX powerhouse Pumas UNAM on Monday night in the Leagues Cup Round of 16 (7:30 p.m. PT; MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, FS1, UniMás, 950 KJR AM, El Rey 1360AM | TICKETS).
“It's going to be another exciting game,” said Schmetzer. “Pumas is a good team, and I’m looking forward to it.”
