The Seattle Sounders’ successful start to the season continued this past weekend following the team’s 3-0 victory against St. Louis CITY SC. With the win, the Rave Green leapfrogged CITY into first place in the Western Conference and second overall in the Supporters’ Shield race.
“It feels great,” said forward Jordan Morris. “Obviously it was a really good result against a team that's been flying, doing really well…So that gives us confidence.”
The first half of Saturday’s match was a back-and-forth battle between both teams, but once the last 45 minutes came around, the Sounders were lights out, with goals from midfielder Josh Atencio, forward Raúl Ruídíaz and a forced St. Louis own goal.
The team hopes to bring that second-half energy into rivalry weekend against the Portland Timbers (7:30 p.m. PT; MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app) at Providence Park on Saturday.
“I thought in the second half we came out and dominated the game…[We] played a lot better and rewarded ourselves for it,” said Morris. “We just want to come out and try to play similar.”
While four straight clean sheets at home this season demonstrates the Sounders’ dominant demeanor at Lumen Field, the team is just as assertive when they take on opponents on the road.
The message remains the same ahead of Saturday’s match in Portland.
“We’ll keep playing the way we are [playing],” said Head Coach Brian Schmetzer. “Our last game was at home, we had two road games that were pretty good before that, so just keep doing what we're doing.”
Seattle’s last three matches against the Timbers haven’t ended in the team’s favor, but Schmetzer is optimistic about the upcoming battle with the amount of depth his 2023 roster has to offer.
“I think the whole group is super talented, we've got plenty of options,” said Schmetzer. “If we play up to our potential, we'll win most of our games, or we'll give ourselves a chance to win most of our games.”
The Timbers are off to a rocky start this season with only one win from seven matches, but that doesn’t take away from the difficulty that awaits the Sounders at Providence Park.
“Three weeks in a row we faced desperate teams, desperate for a win, so it's no different,” said Schmetzer. “They're going to be fired up, they're at home, they're going to want to jump start their season.”
But the Rave Green are determined to prevent that from happening.
“I think it's important for us to carry on that momentum,” said Morris. “We're in a good stretch right now and we just have to have to carry that into this weekend.”
Every Match. Every Screen.
Watch PORvSEA at 7:30 p.m. PT on April 15 on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app.
