It was a lovely Saturday, a perfect day for soccer and a poor day for the Seattle Sounders. The top coats and parkas of spring were gone, parking lots from the Pike Market to Pioneer Square were all full. The news was still lousy —- the Stock Market had nearly lost a leg, the volcano was still closing airports, a young Pakistan father of two, who had settled for a year in Connecticut, tried to blow up Times Square.
It was blue skies for Mother's Day weekend. The LA Galaxy had played and won on Wednesday, they were undefeated, Seattle the home team, Qwest Field was full up with the pale green. But, like their neighbors the Mariners, there was little joy to be had and the Sounders lost very badly to the Galaxy, 4-0.
They were up against the iPad, and they were armed only with some old-model Kindles. LA was taller and better and they played with a very concise determination throughout the game, even as it became no contest. It began a fair fight. The Sounders are changing their offense, moving toward ball control and possession, loading and reloading, moving upfield with order and pace. It is not their instinct, they are long ball hitters by nature; but they are getting better at it, and if they want to be truly outstanding, they have no choice but to learn.
By the 14th minute, Seattle had committed three fouls and four offsides. Some of it was bravado, some foolishness, one was a terrible miscall by the linesman, and some of it was simply dumb. By halftime, Seattle had eight offside calls, LA had one. That is eight times you have lost chance, possession, and momentum.
Seattle had its first very good shot at the 18th minute, Montero just missing. And still it seemed a fair fight. But LA never loses when they score first and three minutes later, they scored first. It was not a good goal. It was a long drive that Kasey Keller will catch or push aside 100 times in a row but this time he did not move quick enough and it skipped off his hands for a score.
The new Sounder offense will work but it takes copious patience and confidence, and that first goal cut deeply into its rigor. The Galaxy had the first, so their team could now stand tall as it wanted (their all-star defender Omar Gonzalez is 6-5). The Sounders tried to come back and keep their form but patience is a tricky matter and it did not help that their keeper had leaked, if only for a moment.
The Sounders went back to their old ways, driving the ball deep and over the tops. But the Galaxy have very tall tops and never once did the long lobs gain Seattle any offense. At halftime, the score was stuck at 1-0 LA.
If this were a jazz concert, then Montano was an 18-year-old Miles Davis and no one could take their eyes off him: He is a wonderful future.Coach Sigi famously tinkers at half with details and there was plenty of time to get this game into a Sounder shape. But seven minutes into the second half, the Galaxy scored again. And this time, it was not a cheap shot: Donovan, who would finish with three assists and a goal, sent a corner kick right on Gonzalez and the header was done. And the game, as well.
The Galaxy would score twice again; they loved the day and the field and the crowd. Sigi would later put his newest Sounder, 18 year-old Miguel Montano in. If this were a jazz concert, then Montano was an 18-year-old Miles Davis and no one could take their eyes off him: He is a wonderful future.
But for the moment, these are your clunky Sounders. Not quite patient or confident enough to run their offense incessantly, not quite team enough to count on each other. Had Keller made the save on the first goal, had Seattle converted one of their shots first, had the Galaxy needed to think about tired legs, who knows.
For now, LA is better, but the Sounders are missing some important pieces — the sternness of Noonan, the youth of Fucito, and the upcoming threat of the upcoming striker Blaise Nkufo, when he is finished with the World Cup and moves to Seattle. It is a very long haul, this MLS season, and you have five months left to tinker and hope.
