CHARLESTON — The gang is back together.
Clint Dempsey has been medically cleared to play, Jordan Morris returned from United States national team camp and Nicolas Lodeiro is still doing … well, Nicolas Lodeiro magic.
With Morris’ arrival, the trio started in the Seattle Sounders’ 1-1 draw with the USL’s Charleston Battery on Saturday in their first match of the Carolina Challenge Cup. The attacking formation, with Dempsey and Lodeiro in the midfield and Morris up top, only happened four times last season before Dempsey was sidelined due to an irregular heartbeat.
In those four matches, the Sounders went 3-0-1, their best four-game streak of a regular season that never really got on track. Seattle scored nine goals in that stretch, of which Dempsey bagged five.
The Sounders have slowly been ramping up Dempsey’s workload in the preseason — he’s played 30, 45 and 60 minutes in his three matches so far — and on Saturday, he showed multiple flashes of his old self.
“We had him at 60 [minutes] locked in, ready to come off, but I know he wanted to play more,” said Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer.
Morris, who's heading into his second season with the Sounders, echoed Schmetzer's sentiment. “[Dempsey] is such an asset to the team and we’re really happy to have him back," said Morris. "For the few games that he and [Lodeiro] were there together last season, I thought it was really, really good. It’ll be fun to get the chemistry back with those two and keep moving forward.”
That chemistry is the biggest thing the three of them are working on this preseason. The talent is there - that much is evident - but reacquainting with each other’s tendencies and movements takes time.
“They’re just feeling each other out again and trying to get on the same page,” Schmetzer said. “There are some tactical adjustments that we’ll make as far as the positioning is concerned. It’ll be a work in progress, I’m not expecting miracles overnight.”
Morris is happy to have the extra few preseason matches to better jell with Lodeiro and Dempsey. The reigning MLS Rookie of the Year scored 12 goals last season, but he was the beneficiary of multiple assists from Lodeiro and Dempsey. Morris knows his individual success, and on a macro level the offensive and overall success of the team, relies upon the three of them meshing seamlessly.
“Schmetzer said the last thing to come is those final movements,” Morris said. “Things are going to be a little tough at first, but I thought there were some good moments [on Saturday]. I love playing with those guys, they find you no matter what.”
