Continue reading this article by signing up for three free articles per month.
By entering your email address, you agree to receive Soccer America Today newsletter and other email messages from Soccer America.
You've reached your free article limit.
Become a Soccer America Pro member today to get complete website access to all articles and all discussions and receive all of Soccer America’s newsletters for just 50¢.
This premium subscription level includes Soccer America Daily, Soccer on TV, Soccer Talk, the Game Report and Soccer America Confidential. Soccer America Pro members may read, share and comment on all articles from these paid premium newsletters.
If it's August, it must be time for the Seattle Sounders to get on a roll.
For the third straight year, the Sounders have begun August with three straight wins.
In 2016, the
three wins started a turnaround under new coach Brian Schmetzer that ended up with the Sounders, ninth in the Western Conference at the beginning of the month, winning their first MLS Cup.
In 2017, the three wins came in the middle of a 13-game unbeaten streak that pushed the Sounders to near the top of the Western Conference. After finishing second in the regular season, they
won the conference postseason title but fell in MLS Cup to Toronto FC.
Saturday's 5-0 win over the LA Galaxy gave Seattle six straight wins and extended its unbeaten streak to nine games,
putting it above the .500 mark for the first time in 2018.
The
victory also moved the Sounders ahead of Vancouver into seventh place and to within two points of the Galaxy and slumping Portland, both tied for fifth place.
With the depleted Galaxy
missing Zlatan Ibrahimovic and all its Designated Players, the game had the makings of a mismatch, and Sounders needed only three minutes to go ahead on a goal by Chad Marshall.
The Sounders also got goals from Harry Shipp, Cristian Roldan and Peruvian newcomer Raul Ruidiaz and an own goal from Galaxy midfielder Servando Carrasco en route to
the biggest win in their MLS history.
The key to the Sounders' run has been Nicolas Lodeiro, who assisted on the goals by Marshall and Roldan and played the ball that Carrasco hit
into the Galaxy goal. Lodeiro, who missed out of returning to the World Cup with Uruguay for a third time, has six goals and seven assists in the last two months.
“Nico’s
engine in that No. 10 position is actually not just good in the attacking side of things," said Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer, "but also good defensively because he covers so much ground he
can close guys down. He makes it challenging for teams to create any sort of extended possession.”