The Seattle Sounders went to Canada on a weekend trip and won 2-0 for me Toronto FC. After a painful 1-2 home loss to CF Montreal, the win – with a roster that was heavily rotated – was a life-or-death victory. Stefan Frei, Jordan Morris, Cristian Roldan and Albert Rusnák were all left at home and given the chance to rest while Stefan Cleveland, Léo Chu, Dylan Teves and Danny Leyva began to take their places. Kellyn Rowe came on from the bench, and Jimmy Medranda played at left-back as the Sounders opted for a 5-4-1 formation with a boxy midfielder.
The Sounders opened the scoring late in the first half thanks to Dylan Teves’ first career goal – scored in his first MLS debut. The game started with a long pass from Stefan Cleveland to the left of Medranda’s half. Medranda passed the ball forward to let Léo Chu cross, at which point he intercepted Toronto’s Carlos Salcedo and fired a diagonal shot to put Teves’ first finish.
Toronto really started to press after the opening goal, they were looking to get back into the game. Nine of Toronto’s 13 shots came after Teves scored, but for all their efforts, the Sounders created better chances and finished the best of them in stoppage time. Jackson Ragen kicked the ball out to Alex Roldan, who jumped in and found Fredy Montero. Montero left the ball to Nico Lodeiro on his first touch and started his journey through the back line. Lodeiro returned the ball and Montero shot home only Quentin Westberg beat. The Sounders have a chance to add to the tally, but will happily settle for a clean sheet and a two-goal win. This victory put the team in 4th place in the Western Conference. Seattle returns home to organize Portland Wood on Saturday, July 9 at 1:30 pm.
ten ‘- Leo Chu grabbed the ball in Toronto’s defense and ran towards goal. He cut the ball back to Danny Leyva, who found Nico Lodeiro, but Lodeiro’s shot went high and far.
22′- Dylan Teves made a cross for Fredy Montero at close range after Seattle’s pressure produced another dangerous turn late in Toronto’s game, but it was taken for a corner.
39′- Dylan Teves! Léo Chu beat Carlos Salcedo on the wing and delivered a low cross that sent Teves straight into the net in his first MLS start! 1-0 Sounders
52′- Alex Roldan makes a great cross into the box, but Salcedo makes a brilliant save.
54′- Stefan Cleveland made a brilliant save to deny a dangerous Toronto situation, then made a neat tackle after Nouhou’s lucky clearance.
60′- Montero doubled the lead after he and Lodeiro made a clever pass through the Toronto defence! Just the goalkeeper beat, Montero calmly finished. 2-0 Sounders
83′- Ralph Priso made a cut to the post, but Cleveland moved to the right and caught the ball from close range to deny any counter-attacking opportunities.
90′- Reed Baker-Whiting almost opened the scoring after a strong run to receive a pass into the middle from Nouhou, but the keeper made a brilliant save.
Nico Lodeiro does everything: The Seattle Sounders’ almighty No 10 Nico Lodeiro played back a chunk from where we usually see him alongside Danny Leyva against Toronto. Not for the first time this season, Lodeiro has taken a spot right in front of central defenders and instead of becoming less dangerous or impactful up front, he has made his mark in all that the team does. did. During his brief break, Lodeiro spent the full 90 minutes covering every inch of grass, leading the team in touchdowns and leading both teams with 14 rebounds while also getting involved in the defensive work. additional. Oh, and he had the assist on the second goal. Lodeiro is a gift, and it’s easy to forget how good he is.
This is what a sane development system looks like: Sounders match a matchday roster where 10 out of 18 players are available through Sounders Academy or Tacoma Defiance. Six of those players are HomeGrown Players, and Jackson Ragen is not only by definition a squad mechanic, but he’s as homegrown as the rest. This team is seasoned with experience at the USL Championship and MLS Next Pro, and they’ve done more than just fill in and hope that one of the regular starters shows up. Danny Leyva holds the center of midfield while Lodeiro replaces Lodeiro. Dylan Teves opened the scoring with his first MLS goal, and Josh Atencio, Ethan Dobbelaere and Reed Baker-Whiting came on to close the game and narrowly helped score the third. This is the form of a healthy development system, and this is how you build a top club.
Fredy Montero is still unfinished: Honestly, I’m not always excited to see Fredy Montero start this season. Sometimes I think what Will Bruin has to offer is more in line with how the team and the players around him want to play, and I think there have been a few games where Montero has been a bit off. That is not the case tonight. Fredy Montero has shown what his quality is through his clean passing, smart moves and good scoring ability. But he also offered commitment and defensive work that wasn’t exactly his calling card during his first stint in Seattle. Montero’s pressure and defensive work from the front made life a lot harder for Toronto, and while his game-leading 26 duels were rarely successful – he is said to have won. 32% in duels – that pressure allows the players behind him to compete and win second more balls. I didn’t expect to get all that from Montero in what appeared to be his final hurdle, but it’s clear how much it still means to him.
Dylan Teves opens his account.
“These performances don’t come from nothing, we prepare them for the week. I would feel comfortable playing with anyone on the roster, and anyone on the Defiance roster.” Cleveland continued on the culture surrounding the club and shared the preparation that led to this victory.
– Defense and Boostice (@timostlundfoss) July 3, 2022
1,666 – It’s been 1,666 days since Toronto FC last beat the Seattle Sounders. This is Seattle’s fourth win over TFC since then.