Michael Azira did well in Alonso’s place

Micheal Azira played well enough in his appearance for Alonso. There weren’t any flashy passes or amazing steals. He did just enough to help out and like Gonzalez, he was error free. He largely let others do the work and focused on defending next to Pineda who was spectacular on both sides of the ball. The defense as a whole was something that we really haven’t seen from Seattle in recent memory. There were only a couple decent chances from New England. They may have had eight total shots but there was only one shot on target. That one shot by Rowe came off of a terrible clearance from Evans, but it also came from 30+ yards out and Frei did enough to push it wide. As a unit the defense was dominant.

The Sounders attacking game plan is to run right at the opponents. They let Martins, Dempsey and Pappa combine at will, all with an eye toward the goal. Seattle doesn’t really do a possession game and prefers the counters and quick attacks where they can fully utilize their vision. That kind of offense relies on getting the ball consistently and quickly.

Without that kind of service Seattle stalls and Martins and Dempsey never get going. That’s the exact area where the defense excelled last night. Azira and the rest didn’t let a man by them and were consistently quick to make a pass to spring players after they won the ball. With a performance like that it’s inevitable that the offense gets going, they simply get so many chances and with the talent Seattle possess up top eventually something will happen. It’s only when the service to Martins, Dempsey, Pappa, and Neagle stops that Seattle really struggles. Last night Seattle excelled at that service and made almost no errors defensively.

What’s really promising for Sounders fans is that this is a back line that is still getting familiar with each other. Give them a couple months and the addition of Osvaldo Alonso and the sky’s the limit. Last year Marshall was the clear standout, but in 2015 he seems to finally have a side where he’s one talent among many.

Having such strong starters can only help the youth in Seattle. Ockford, Lowe and Correa not only get to learn from some of the best, but they also will have the chance to develop at their own pace and make good use of Sounders 2 games. The Sounders now look to finally have a defense that can match their attack, and if they can limit the injuries (which is a big if) there’s no reason why they won’t challenge for the MLS Cup.