SEATTLE — Qwest Field is supposed to be Seattle Sounders FC’s fortress. The lair of 35,000-plus screaming, chanting, scarf-raising fans who create the best home atmosphere in MLS.
It should be a recipe for the greatest home-field advantage in the league. However, it doesn’t seem to be much of an advantage anymore.
Sounders FC suffered yet another disappointing result at home Saturday afternoon, flailing to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of the San Jose Earthquakes.
It was another toothless effort from Seattle, which is having all kinds of difficulty putting the ball in the net. Sounders FC dominated territorially Saturday, outshooting San Jose 18-3. But just three of those 18 shots were on target as Seattle struggled to find the final touch.
Sounders FC has now been shut out at home for 266 consecutive minutes, and it’s closing in on a month since the home fans last had the opportunity to celebrate a goal.
“We’ve lost too many at home already,” Seattle winger Steve Zakuani said. “To be successful in any league in the world, I don’t care where you watch it, the best teams are the ones that dominate at home. We did that last year. We can’t leave it to the case where we’re going away depending to get points. We have to change that somehow.”
Chris Wondolowski took advantage of Seattle’s lackluster start, firing the Earthquakes into an 11th-minute lead. San Jose then went into a defensive shell the remainder of the game, and although Sounders FC controlled play and created chances, that shell never cracked.
That continued the pattern of home futility for Sounders FC. Last season Seattle suffered just two home defeats in 15 contest, but Saturday’s result gave Sounders FC three losses in six home games this season. That includes Seattle’s last home game, the May 8 massacre when Sounders FC was throttled 4-0 by Los Angeles, prompting management to offer fans a refund.
“I think every team comes in here and is excited about playing here,” Seattle coach Sigi Schmid theorized. “It’s different for them, this is not the atmosphere they have at home. For them it’s a thrilling, exciting experience and that sometimes works against us. But on the same token the fans have been supportive and have been behind us. It is what it is. We have to overcome that and turn it into a difficult situation for the opposing teams coming in.”
To add injury to insult for Seattle, key central defender Jhon Kennedy Hurtado was forced to crawl from the field in the dying seconds with a leg injury. The extent of the injury was unknown.
Now frustration is beginning to set in. Seattle’s growing restlessness was evident from the players’ body language, with star midfielder Freddie Ljungberg particularly demonstrative with his protestations toward the referee.
And Schmid has had just about enough.
“I think we all need to look inside ourselves, ask ourselves why it takes us 10, 15 minutes before we start playing,” Schmid said. “I think we have to look at ourselves as to why we spend game time to argue insistently with referees. We have to ask ourselves why if a guy hits a bad pass we sometimes throw up our hands and stop playing for a second. I think we have to ask ourselves why sometimes if we lose a ball we don’t react right away and make a second and third effort. It’s all of us, it includes staff and players. We have to ask ourselves why we can’t do it better.”
A big source of the frustration is the lack of goals. Seattle has scored just twice its past five games, and Sounders FC is desperately searching for answers on offense. Those answers were nowhere to be found Saturday.
“Only three shots on goal is disappointing,” Schmid said. “(The Earthquakes) did a good job of packing the middle. We told the players they had to get around on the outside. Sometimes I think we tried to force it down the middle when we needed to go wide. That’s what we talked about all week. But you have to put shots on frame. The ball that bends into the upper corner counts just as much as the ball that goes through the goalkeeper’s hands. We have to make sure we force goalkeepers to make saves.”
San Jose opened the scoring in the 11th minute on its only threat of the first half. A cross from the right was flicked on twice by headers — the first by Brandon McDonald and the second by Bobby Burling — before falling at the feet of Wondolowski at the far post. Wondolowski slotted it past goalkeeper Kasey Keller to give the Earthquakes a 1-0 lead.
Seattle dominated play the remainder of the half, with the Sounders FC forwards unlocking the San Jose defense repeatedly. However, the final ball was lacking. James Riley had a free shot which he put into the defense, Zakuani was denied by a challenging Earthquakes keeper Joe Cannon, and Sanna Nyassi fired wide after being played in by Zakuani.
The game turned into a siege on the San Jose goal in the second half. Seattle had several half chances that were left wanting. Sounders FC had one last-ditch effort in the 86th minute, when substitute Miguel Montano was presented with a loose ball at the edge of the goal box. But Montano somehow managed to squib his shot just wide.
Spot kicks
Seattle’s leading scorer, forward Fredy Montero, was restored to the starting lineup. Montero was benched in Seattle’s previous game, though he scored the winner as a substitute in last weekend’s 1-0 victory at New York. … Sounders FC midfielders Brad Evans (knee), Osvaldo Alonso (quadriceps) and Peter Vagenas (quadriceps), who were all listed as questionable because of injury, did not play Saturday. Only Alonso was healthy enough to make the bench. That forced a makeshift midfield, with defender Patrick Ianni playing a central role alongside Nathan Sturgis, who made just his second start of the season.
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