By Toby Dunkelberg
On Wednesday night the Seattle Sounders welcomed the Kitsap Pumas of the Premier Development League to Starfire for their fourth round US Open Cup matchup. Rather predictably, the Sounders opted to start their B-team. A lineup of eager youngsters was headlined by the venerable Zach Scott and Herculez Gomez, with normal assistant coach Brain Schmetzer filling in for Sigi Schmid.
Kitsap meanwhile refused to make any tactical changes on account of their foe. Suiting up their normal 11 in an odd half 4-2-1-2-1 half 4-2-3-1 formation. Determined to play their style of soccer no matter the opposition. For both sides it was a chance to impress. Sounders depth players were eager to make a statement in order to get more playing time. The Pumas meanwhile were just trying to be noticed, this being their best chance of the year to move up to a higher division.
With both sides so eager to impress it was little wonder that the game started out in a highly watchable form of back and forth attacking soccer. The Sounders used their talent and speed on the wings to skirt around the midfield, where Cristian Roldan, Nathan Sturgis and Zach Mathers were getting handedly beaten by the Pumas midfield engine. For the fourty minutes Seattle was limited to Aaron Kovar and Oniel Fisher combining on the right side. Kovar in particular impressed as he wove his way through and around the Pumas. But for all his dribbling he couldn’t seem to find that final pass amid a very well organized Kitsap defense that was dominant in the air.
The first half ended 0-0 with the game looking very even. Brian Schmetzer, sensing that the Sounders needed help in midfield, elected to sub on Erik Friberg for Sturgis after the halftime break. Friberg had an immediate impact. Up until that point that Sounders midfield band of three acted like an inverted pyramid with Roldan dropping back while Sturgis and Mathers pushed forward. This left Roldan defensively on an island, and although he performed admirably that isolation coupled with other two’s inability to generate going forward left the Pumas dominant in the middle. Friberg’s entrance allowed Roldan to ease up a bit as the two took turns as the deep midfielder. This also allowed the other to push forward where they immediately found more success than Sturgis and Mathers had.
Even still the Pumas maintained their shape well and proved difficult to pick apart. The well disciplined group continued to split possession fairly evenly as they gathered loose passes and bodied Seattle off the ball with their on average larger physiques.
In the 63rd minute Schmetzer made the unconventional choice to sub in Joevin Jones (normally a left back) as a left winger. Jone’s isn’t entirely unused to the role. As Schmetzer pointed out post game, Jones “sometimes plays up on the left for his national team.” Whatever the case was he played fairly well in his short stint there, but ultimately it was Kovar who continued the Sounders. It was his deflected free kick in the 71st minute that ultimately led to the go-ahead goal. The deflection fell to Cristian Roldan who managed to turn and loft the ball over Pumas goalie Matt Grosey for the goal.
Now having to play from behind, the Pumas were forced out of their defensive posture. This allowed Seattle even more space and the game once again became rather fluid. As the match neared the end Kitsap looked to be out of ideas, relying on counters off of high pressure and long balls over the top. They found little success against Zch Scott and Tony Alfaro who both had unremarkable but solid performances. Joevin Jones put the game away for good in the 91st minute when he slotted it by Grosey on the counter.
With the win Seattle moves on to the fifth round of the US Open Cup where they’ll be tasked with defeating a tough Real Salt Lake side at Rio Tinto Stadium on June 28th.
Seattle Sounders FC
