MLS Talking Points: Sounders feel the heat
- by Paul Kennedy @pkedit, Jul 25, 2016
Fewest Shots (MLS Game):
1 Seattle (2016 vs. Sporting KC)
1 Chivas USA (2010 vs. Colorado)
1 Miami (1998 vs. Dallas)
"Did they have air conditioners on their backs?" he asked of Sporting Kansas City, which moved from seventh to fourth place in the Western Conference with the win. "I don't think so. It's hot for them, and it's hot for us. Again, like that when you have inclement weather conditions it's a situation of when the game is going well for you, you have the energy to run and when the game is not going well for you then you feel that it is really hot."
The loss came after four days after the Sounders lost, 4-2, at the LA Galaxy in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup. Schmid had rested many key players for the Sporting KC game but it did not make much of a difference.
"It doesn't matter who you save," Schmid said. "We weren't good. We just weren't good as a team."
Asked what was missing -- intensity or organization, Schmid responded, "All the above. Some of the above. Now that is for us to go back and figure out. When a team doesn't play well then there is a lot of things that as a coach, the guy that has to take the responsibility, has to ask oneself: were we technically setup the right way, did we get the stuff out of them or put in the performance that we were expecting?"
Seattle, whose other losses have all been by one or two goals, is now 10 points below the red line in the Western Conference with 14 games to play. It has never had a losing record in seven MLS seasons nor failed to make the playoffs.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
PTS TEAM W-L-T GF/GA
41 FC Dallas 12-6-5 35/31
38 Colorado 10-2-8 23/14
35 LA Galaxy 9-3-8 34/19
31 Sporting KC 9-10-4 27/25
31 Real Salt Lake 8-6-7 30/31
30 Vancouver 8-8-6 33/35
--------------------------------
29 Portland 7-7-8 33/33
26 San Jose 6-6-8 22/23
20 Seattle 6-12-2 20/27
19 Houston 4-9-7 23/26
4 comments about "MLS Talking Points: Sounders feel the heat".
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The lack of effort by the defense on Sporting's last goal was an insult to the entire league, and its supporters.
At least look like you're trying.
As a DC United fan, I love seeing the Sounders going downhill. When times are bad for DC (like they are now) it's nice to have Seattle down at the bottom with us. At least I can look at the 4 stars on our jersey. Stars are awarded for MLS Cups, not the supporter's shields or US Open Cups. (We have those too) Keep trying Seattle, give MLS something besides a "great atmosphere and big crowds," maybe play some football.
All that is wrong with the Sounders is what is wrong with most MLS teams, the USMNT, actually most teams in the world. Intelligent hardworking midfielders who can see the game and complete passes. KC has Bernie, Red Bulls have Dax.
Wow Mark, do you have some baggage you want to unpack about the Sounders? Maybe a little sore about losing the 2009 Open Cup at home to the Sounders when it was rigged to give DC home field advantage? Still, you're sounding like a Dallas Cowboy fan given that DCU hasn't won a championship in 12 years and that three of their championships occurred when the league was only 10 teams large and had team names like Wizards and Metrostars! Or in perspective, the last time DC won the MLS Cup was when the league was only as large as the MLS East is right now, not that DC has won that conference much lately either. Actually, SKC, RSL, and Houston have all won the eastern conference since DC has, and they're all in the Western Conference!! (Finding it kind of hard to win now that your team isn't made up of the US National team with some South American ringers?) Granted, Seattle is having a bad year (vice a bad decade) and we have won the open cup four of the past seven years, beating DCU in the process, so we do know something about playing some football. Cascadia teams are happy to pick up where DC left off 14 years ago and carry the enthusiasm and heart of American Soccer into the next generation with our "great atmosphere and big crowds". But hey, if having four stars on your shirt from over a decade ago helps drown out the silence of RFK stadium on game day, stick with that.