By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – A scoreless draw in Frisco, Texas last week against an FC Dallas team that pushed the Rave Green to a winner-take-all match in their three-game playoff series last MLS Audi Cup Playoffs isn’t necessarily the most concerning thing in the world, but considering the poor start that the Seattle Sounders FC have had for the 2024 campaign, the frustration is amplified. That frustration bubbled over into anger with tonight’s shutout loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps FC in the first Cascadia Clash that the Sounders have played so far this season. A questionable red card shown to Jackson Ragen upon review for “Serious foul play” put Seattle down to ten men at the 43rd minute, and the match turned from that point on. The Sounders attempted to play defensively, taking Raúl Ruidíaz off for Xavier Arreaga, but two turnovers resulted in two goals for the Whitecaps and frustrated play saw Alex Roldan sent off for a clear red card in the 75th minute.
Vancouver Whitecaps FC goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka goes up for a high claim on a Seattle Sounders FC free kick in the second half. (Photo by Paul Kahl)
Fiery first half sees Seattle go down to ten men
Despite how strong the Whitecaps have been dating to last season and to begin this year, it was the Sounders who had the better start on the attacking end in the first half of this match. That’s not to say that Vancouver didn’t have opportunities on Seattle, as goalkeeper Stefan Frei had to make a sprawling save to his left on a shot by Pedro Vite in just the tenth minute, but the Sounders challenged the Whitecaps more throughout the course of that first 45. Seattle was presenting several different issues in different forms for the Vancouver defense, getting looks on corner kicks, crosses into the box, and just standard run of play as the Sounders tried to create havoc for the Whitecaps three defender backline. There were different dangerous possessions in the attacking end and opposing box for Seattle, but the positive momentum from that attack that they had would come to a screeching halt in the 37th minute when play was stopped due to a foul committed by Jackson Ragen on Vancouver’s Ryan Gauld. It was a bad tackle on Gauld, but perhaps not something that should’ve drawn a red, and it didn’t initially as Ragen was shown a yellow. Upon review, it was determined by referee Ramy Touchan that Ragen had committed a “Serious Foul Play” act with that tackle and was shown a red instead of a yellow to put the Sounders down to ten men for the rest of the night. Even despite that red card to bring them down to ten men, the Sounders had another dangerous opportunity right before the halftime whistle off a free kick, but a Jordan Morris header went just wide, and we went into the break scoreless.
Vancouver Whitecaps FC midfielder Ryan Gauld celebrates his goal in the 58th minute of the match against the Seattle Sounders FC. (Photo by Nate Koppelman)
Burning out
The tough break to go down a player late into the first half didn’t seem to have any sort of immediate negative impact on Seattle, as there was that free kick shortly after it and the Sounders had a chance on a corner right into the beginning of the second half. Seattle couldn’t make the opportunity mean anything despite taking two corners back-to-back, and those chances presented the final time in this match that the Sounders got a shot on goal or a shot at all. Ten minutes later, in the 57th minute, Seattle defender Yeimar was trying to find a way to progress the ball up the field from within his own box. The Sounders were placed in a tough position, as three Whitecaps players were applying heavy pressure to three Seattle players, and eventually that pressure made the home side crack. The ball was intercepted by Andres Cubas, passed down to the end line where Sam Adekugbe could line a cross into the center of a box for a streaking Ryan Gauld who was left all alone in on his run to give Vancouver the lead. Seattle did little to nothing on the attacking end to equalize ahead of the second Whitecaps goal of the match, which also came thanks to a bad decision defensively as Xavier Arreaga attempted to get out of his own box by dribbling through two opposing players. Vancouver’s Brian White was able to pick the pocket of Arreaga and beat Stefan Frei one-on-one, and this match was essentially put to bed.
Seattle Sounders FC goalkeeper Stefan Frei goes up for a punch on a Vancouver Whitecaps FC corner kick in the first half of the match. (Photo by Paul Kahl)
What’s next?
Following tonight’s ugly and disappointing shutout loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps FC in the first Cascadia Clash of the season for Seattle, the Sounders will face a tough test as they’ll have to play two matches over the span of four days when it comes to their next contests. The first of those two matches that the Sounders will have to play comes on Saturday, April 27th as Seattle takes on D.C. United at Audi Field with a kickoff time of 4:30PM PDT while being broadcast on Apple TV – MLS Season Pass. Seattle battles a D.C. club that currently sits eleventh in the Eastern Conference, and then on Tuesday, April 30th they will make up their postponed match against the Philadelphia Union at 4:30PM PDT at Subaru Park. It’ll be a rough contest for Seattle, as they’ll be playing a match with a short turnaround time and it’s against a club that currently sits sixth in the Eastern Conference.
Check out photographer Paul Kahl’s photos from the match here
Check out photographer Nate Koppelman’s photos from the match here
