It isn’t a match against Minnesota United without a goal from Sounders forward Jordan Morris.
In Saturday afternoon’s 3-2 victory over the Loons, it was Morris’ goal in the 11th minute that kickstarted what would be a thrilling night for the Rave Green.
“Jordan had a monster game today,” said Head Coach Brian Schmetzer.
The early goal at Allianz Field marked Morris’ 10th of the regular season, after midfielder Obed Vargas slipped the ball past Minnesota’s defense for the Mercer Island native to run onto and clip past goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair.
The forward nearly had another off an identical play in the 78th minute, but St. Clair managed to get his body in front of the shot attempt.
“That's his bread and butter,” said Schmetzer. “You saw his power and pace on a couple other different movements…Tonight was one of his classic performances.”
Morris has scored in all three of the team's head-to-head battles against the Loons this year.
“I think we match up well with a team like this,” said Morris. “They like to put numbers forward and really get a lot of guys into the attack and I think obviously that suits us well in counter attacking situations.”
The long-time Sounder is known for his scoring abilities, surpassing Fredy Montero for second most goals scored across all-competitions in club history with today’s contribution (80).
“Fredy Montero is an icon of our club, one of the best goal scorers we've had at the club,” said Schmetzer. “That's a big milestone.”
Morris has come alive in the final third since switching from the wing to striker, tallying 13 goals and an assist from his last 19 appearances across all competitions.
“I'm definitely feeling more confident at this point in the season, and that helps when you get in front of the goal,” said Morris. “A lot of it comes down to guys playing really good balls, so they're obviously doing a really great job finding me.”
The offensive performance from the Rave Green went beyond Morris on Saturday afternoon as well. Center back Jackson Ragen came up clutch with a redirected header to the far post in the 28th minute while midfielder Albert Rusnák made a strong showing tallying his 12th assist and fifth goal of MLS play after beating St. Clair near post with a shot from distance and scoring the game winner for his team.
“Maybe we have a little bit less possession on the road, but it's about what we do with it when we have it and I think today, we were efficient with the ball, and when we won it, we broke through,” said Rusnák. “It was a great road performance for us.”
Today’s victory over the Loons was a test after suffering a 3-0 defeat in the previous Leagues Cup Quarterfinals match against LAFC. The team passed with flying colors.
“They could have come in here and laid an egg, but they didn't,” said Schmetzer. “I couldn't be prouder of that group of guys because they came back after an emotional loss, and put three goals in on the road, which is very challenging.”
Beginning the last stretch of MLS competition with a positive result is the perfect segue to what is to come on Aug. 28 as the team looks to take down LAFC once and for all in the U.S. Open Cup Semifinals (7:30 p.m. PT; Watch FREE on Apple TV, 950 KJR AM | TICKETS).
“We're going to win against LAFC at some point, and we are ready to make that first victory on Wednesday at Starfire,” said Schmetzer.
