By Steven Agen
Ratings from Seattle’s 1-0 win at CenturyLink Field over DC United on Friday night:
Stefan Frei (Subbed off 45’) – (6)
Frei’s opening half hour was extremely quiet before spraining his shoulder during a collision with Steve Birnbaum. He stays at the baseline score, as he wasn’t forced into any acrobatics before making way for Perkins. Losing Frei for any significant chunk of time could be a major blow for Seattle; the goalkeeper leads the league in nearly every shot stopping metric and has arguably been team MVP so far this season. Here’s to hoping for a quick recovery for the man who has already bailed Sounders out more than once this year.
Tyrone Mears – 7.5 (MotM)
More like “Try-One” Mears, after that audacious hit from the right corner of the penalty area on 88 minutes. The game winning goal was a perfect end to an excellent night for the Englishman, who excelled in every facet of the game. Defensively, he helped keep 10-man DC off the board. In the attack, he combined tremendously with the center midfielders and put in a variety of dangerous crosses. Mears was the X-factor on the night, providing the creativity and applying the finishing touch necessary to down the Eastern Conference leaders.
Chad Marshall – (7)
A simple night for the reigning Defender of the Year. Marshall compensated well for the absence of Brad Evans, several times intervening when Zach Scott erred. Won virtually everything in the air, like always. He had to be vigilant on set pieces and service from wide areas, particularly due to the red card. Cross-heavy DC resorted to aerial service more and more as the night wore on, forcing Marshall’s headed clearances to be solid ones. They all were and Seattle kept the clean sheet.
Zach Scott – (5.5)
His most influential moment came when he fouled Fabian Espindola and earned a yellow, barely ten minutes into the match. Apparently some bad blood from that challenge carried over, and Espindola would be sent off just minutes later for fouking the veteran center back. Beyond helping put his team up a man, Scott was less than stellar. Several times he stepped up to put a foot in and win the ball without successfully doing so. This put Marshall in some tough spots, and most of DC’s best chances came from Scott’s mistakes.
Dylan Remick – (6)
Whereas Mears was used to fashion the final ball on the right side, Remick’s role on the left was to supply Thomas. The left back came forward frequently, and overlapped as well. However, most of the time these were dummies to create space for Seattle’s new Brazilian winger. His ball in eventually led to Mears’ winner. Defended well, but with a very limited amount of work to do.
Cristian Roldan – (6)
A few sloppy turnovers and a couple of missed opportunities in the final third cost Roldan on a night where Sigi Schmid finally found his best position. The UW product has bounced around as a winger, box-to-box midfielder and defensive midfielder this year without really looking comfortable at any of them. Playing in an advanced role beyond Pineda and Alonso, Roldan looked at home. His interplay with Alonso and Pineda was adequate. Without well defined defensive responsibilities, his work rate shined as he pressured the weary visitors into mistakes.
Osvaldo Alonso – (7)
Alonso was every bit himself in his return from injury, terrorizing the DC midfield for 90 minutes. Sigi Schmid commented after the game that Alonso’s ability to turn out of tight spaces wins extra possessions for Seattle- he’s right, and the Sounders have sorely missed it during the DP’s absence. Hit outrageous diagonals for Neagle, Thomas, and Mears. Swallowed up every DC started down the middle. It’s all been said before, but Seattle fans will rest easier with Alonso back in the squad. He brings creativity, vision, guile, and tenacity all at once. He contributed in so many ways the hosts needed that it’s tough to name them all. A vintage performance from Alonso.
Gonzalo Pineda – (6.5)
Pineda accepted Alonso back into the lineup right away, and it showed. Following crosses, deflections, and turnovers, Pineda found Alonso time and time again. The Cuban has the ability to recycle possession, in addition to his gifts listed above. Whereas Pineda was forced to take responsibility for both picking up loose balls and recycling them back into meaningful possession, Alonso’s reintroduction means all Pineda has to worry about is finding his partner’s feet when the loose balls come his way. Alonso will do the rest from there. Pineda has always fit in better as the pass before the final pass, and that’s what he did well on Friday.
Thomas (Subbed off 78’) – (7)
Thomas brings a dynamism to the winger position that no other Sounder has so far. It hasn’t translated to goals yet, but the Brazilian put in a number of dangerous low crosses that perhaps a starting-caliber forward would finish. His first touch is unreal, and he looks more comfortable going on mazy runs with the ball at his feet than most MLS players. He fell off after the hour mark again but once the 23 year old gets his fitness, there’ll be goals.
Chad Barrett (Subbed off 85’) – (6.5)
His skill set doesn’t really fit in with Seattle’s possession style. This leaves him isolated except for the few moments the match naturally finds him, and thus less involved than the rest of the front six. That’s not really new information, but it was reaffirmed on Friday. His snap header nearly beat Dykstra near the start of the second half, and his chip over the top for Neagle took a lot of touch. Beyond that, a hard-working but ineffective outing for Barrett.
Lamar Neagle – (7)
Neagle hit the post inside of five minutes, nearly curled in a golazo before halftime, and drew what might have been a red card and penalty. There’s an alternate reality not too far from ours where Connor Doyle gets sent off as Neagle steps up to complete his hat trick. As it was, Petrescu whistled Doyle’s 58th minute infraction just outside the box, issued a yellow, and Neagle finished the night goalless. Still, he was more active than normal, and looked more goal dangerous than he has all year. He’ll need a couple of goals in his next performance like that if Seattle are to survive missing Dempsey and Martins.
SUBS
Troy Perkins (Subbed on 45’) – (6)
Odd that both his appearances this year have been against former clubs. He gets a half point for dealing with DC’s relentless volley of crosses into the area, but loses it back for flapping at the service Nick DeLeon trapped and fired off the bar in stoppage time.
Andy Craven (Subbed on 78’) – (6)
Barely enough time to get a grade. He still looks fast against MLS competition, which is a bright sign for Seattle, and even had a shot blocked in his short shift. Apparently, he’s already put himself above Jones and Mansaray on the depth chart. Is Barrett’s spot next?
Darwin Jones (Subbed on 85’) – N/A
Not enough time.
