RENTON — Pedro de la Vega’s debut matched the hype.
The midfielder was a burst of energy when he subbed on in the 64th minute for the Sounders during the season opener against Los Angeles FC in February. De la Vega’s feathery brown hair accentuated his quickness during runs on the left flank and creative turns on the ball.
The movements didn’t result in goals, but the skills indicated why Seattle spent $7.5 million in transfer fees to sign the 23-year-old Argentine to the club’s first young designated player contract.
“What I remember about that game is when we tried to get ourselves back into it, there was a penalty kick and he stepped up right away,” Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer said of the shot in the 73rd minute against LAFC keeper Hugo Lloris at a rowdy BMO Stadium in downtown L.A. All new experiences for de la Vega.
“Pedro was saying, I’m going to take this, I’m going to bury this, I’m going to help my team,” Schmetzer continued of de la Vega taking the shot over forward Jordan Morris, who earned the penalty. “I like that attitude.”
De la Vega’s goal in the eventual 2-1 loss remains the only one Seattle has scored against LAFC in two years.
Fast forward nine months and the Sounders’ season could end against the Black & Gold. The sides will play each other in L.A. on Saturday night (7:30 p.m.) in a Western Conference semifinal. LAFC is 4-0 against Seattle this season, knocking the Sounders out of Leagues Cup and the U.S. Open Cup in August.
De la Vega’s personal campaign has been similarly frustrating. He suffered multiple hamstring injuries and a groin injury that limited him to 652 minutes during 16 MLS regular-season matches and nine starts.
But like the Sounders’ turnaround, de la Vega is returning to the player he was in February. He’s started his past four matches through all competitions and played 89 minutes in a Game 2 playoff win against Houston earlier this month — de la Vega’s longest shift of the season.
“Yes, lately I’ve gotten more rhythm,” he said, as translated from Spanish. “I know that there’s probably more that I can give but I’m just trying to focus on doing my job and what the coaches and teammates are asking of me. … This is always, but even more important right now, this is the time to think collectively and not (as) an individual.”
De la Vega could be called on to start Saturday. Sounders winger Paul Rothrock (quad) hasn’t trained this month and is a gameday decision on whether he can play. Brazilian winger Léo Chú is another option.
Schmetzer said he appreciates how de la Vega has adapted to MLS’s style of play and applied instruction after film sessions. The coach believes there’s one piece that could really make a difference.
“Once he gets that first goal in the run of play, it’s going to break the ice,” Schmetzer said.
If that score happened Saturday, it could also be a breakthrough for the Sounders. LAFC has outscored Seattle 9-1 this season.
But de la Vega is uninterested in isolated stats. He’s played in three of the matches against LAFC this season and started once — the 3-0 regular-season loss at Lumen Field in July. He simply wants a win.
“The fact that we’ve faced them several times this year, that can be a positive thing for us,” de la Vega said. “They know our strengths and we know theirs. That’s good. In the end, in every match, we need to be aware of little details. We have to be checking in and confident on the field.”
Confident like his debut otherwise Saturday could be a season finale.
Rothrock, Nouhou questionable
Sounders defender Nouhou hasn’t returned from international duty due to illness, according to Schmetzer. The Cameroonian is meeting the team in L.A. and is expected to be available for the match. Backup options are Cody Baker or Reed Baker-Whiting, the latter playing for the U.S. U-20 team during the international break.
Rothrock worked with trainers during Thursday’s session. He will travel with the team.
“We’ll have to get him down there and see if he can strike the ball cleanly and make sure he can do all of the things he needs to do to be ready to play in such a big game,” Schmetzer said. “He has a quad issue that’s being more stubborn than it should be.”
Flip the record
Schmetzer didn’t want to talk about LAFC’s record when the Black & Gold score first.
“I’ve seen it, I’ve seen it,” Schmetzer said of LAFC being 18-2-1 when scoring first this season.
The stat weighs heavy on the matchup when considering Seattle’s offensive struggles against LAFC.
Sounders keeper Stefan Frei is sticking to the positives. The Sounders are on a nine-match unbeaten streak headed into the semifinals.
LAFC ended Seattle’s eight-match unbeaten run, through all competitions, in July.
“We try to focus on the positives without fooling ourselves,” Frei said. “The reality is they’ve had our number, we know that. We’ve seen plenty of what makes them tick and makes them work [but] if we do believe in our ability, if we can perform to the best of our abilities, we’ll have a good chance of getting a decent result down there.”
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