Marco Pappa: taking the Sounders’ attack from good to unplayable

By Steven Agen

The Seattle Sounders steamrolled New England 3-0 on opening weekend, while San Jose recorded their 16th consecutive match without a victory. All signs seem to indicate three points for the home side this weekend. Here’s what they’ll need to do to grab the vict0ry:

1. Play defense exactly as they did against New England.

In 2014, defense wasn’t a strong suit for the eventual Supports’ Shield winners. However, with a commanding shutout against the MLS Cup runners-up from a year ago, it may be that the Sounders have a more reliable defense than they have in recent memory.

This comes with, arguably, only one major roster addition to the back four- Tyrone Mears. The veteran stepped in for Yedlin and looks to be a better fit for the side than the beloved homegrown player was. Mears takes the best elements of Yedlin’s game (getting forward, being an offensive threat) and applies them in more pragmatic but equally effective way. He picks his spots to get forward, and it’s effective. This was never more apparent than on his 41st minute cross to Obafemi Martins, which the striker headed home for a 2-0 lead. Defensively, Mears looks better one on one and more positionally sound than Yedlin ever did. Well done, Sounders FO.

In addition, Brad Evans looks like an upgrade on Zach Scott. Starting next to Chad Marshall at center back for the first time, Evans made several errors on clearances but looked superb in his ability to defend. This weekend, he faces a greater challenge. Dealing with Chris Wondolowski is no small task, and there’s no guarantee that he’ll be Marshall’s responsibility the whole match. Evans will need to be wary of Wondo’s ghost-like runs in behind the defense.

The result of last Sunday’s performance was just one shot on goal for the Revs. Another outing like that will garner another clean sheet, and a great chance at a victory.

2. Keep Pappa popping, and get Dempsey & Martins the ball.

Sigi Schmid emphasized the need for Marco Pappa to cut into the center from his station on the right wing. More specifically, he emphasized the need to do so selectively and at key moments. In essence, Pappa’s gotta pop in and pop out. When Pappa cut into the center on the move leading to Seattle’s final goal on opening day, one could easily see what Schmid meant. With Pappa aiding (and not crowding) Seattle’s front two, the three players combined all look like superstars. Pappa’s exceptional passing ability makes him the only player on the squad who can interplay with Dempsey and Martins on their level.

Stopping Dempsey and Martins is hard enough. Get Pappa involved and looking sharp, and it might just be impossible for an Earthquakes center midfield that doesn’t have many minutes together yet. For Seattle to fire on all cylinders, Pappa needs to continue the trend he started last week.

The inevitable result of this is more touches for Dempsey and Martins, and in dangerous spots. Anyone who watched the 2o14 season knows that’s a good thing.

Keep Pappa popping, in order to create those triangles in the middle of the park with Dempsey and Martins. If the Sounders do this, they’ll put a suspect Earthquakes back 7 (center midfielders, back four, and goalkeeper) to task.

3. Sounders must keep the physicality from getting to them.

With Dom Kinnear taking over for Mark Watson, it’s a new era for the Earthquakes. The team is looking to move away from their long-ball-and-bash-people strategy. Both Yallop and Watson employed this tactic, and the sheer physicality of it has gotten to the Sounders a number of times over the years.

Kinnear wants the team to keep the ball on the ground, and maintain more possession. However, in visiting a side like Seattle so early in the season, don’t be surprised to see San Jose revert to muggings of years past. Fouls in the midfield, shoves in the box, and ten men behind the ball have greeted Seattle every time they’ve played San Jose at home in the last six years. Kinnear would be a tad naive to think he can go toe to toe with the Sounders at this stage, trying to out-possess and outscore them. To be honest, their best chance at a result is to shun the new philosophy this weekend and stick to what they know.

For the Sounders, this means staying out of the referee’s ear, and not letting Dempsey and Martins get discouraged. It means punishing free kicks conceded inside 30 yards. Seattle is capable of all three. They need to meet the aggression of  San Jose with precision on set pieces and a focus on taking the points, not getting riled up by missed yellow cards and late challenges. Basically, they can’t let San Jose’s tactics derail them from showing their superiority.