Here’s three takeaways from Seattle Sounders FC’s 1-0 victory over the Chicago Fire on Wednesday night:
1) Don’t look now, but the Sounders are in playoff position.
Who could have predicted this two months ago?
Seattle spent much of this season seemingly destined to end its streak of making the playoffs in every season of franchise existence. The Sounders reached the postseason every year since entering MLS in 2009, but they spent much of this season languishing toward the bottom of the Western Conference standings.
But Seattle is 6-1-3 in its last 10 games, and the 21 of a possible 30 points have pulled the Sounders even with the Portland Timbers for the conference’s sixth-and-final playoff spot — and Seattle holds the tiebreaker by virtue of having one more win. The Sounders also have a game in hand, so with four games remaining in the regular season Seattle is in great position to make its eighth straight trip to the playoffs.
2) A (coaching) change can do you good.
Seattle’s nadir came on July 24, when the Sounders lost 3-0 at Kansas City in a game in which the listless Sounders were outshot 19-1. It was just two days later that Sigi Schmid, the only coach in Seattle’s history, was dismissed. At the time the Sounders seemed in complete disarray with no way back.
However, the elevation of Brian Schmetzer from assistant coach to interim head coach seems to have done the trick. As successful as Schmid has been throughout his career, both in Seattle and before, it seemed that his voice was no longer being heard in the Sounders’ locker room. Schmetzer, who was an assistant throughout Schmid’s tenure, may not be a completely new voice. But he’s been described as a players’ coach, and his softer approach has his players giving him their best.
3) Nicolas Lodeiro is the real deal.
The coaching change isn’t the only thing that happened 10 games ago. It coincided with the signing of Nicolas Lodeiro as a designated player, and it’s clear Lodeiro’s arrival has made a tremendous difference.
Lodeiro, a midfield playmaker and Uruguayan international, has been everything the Sounders could have hoped. He went without a goal or an assist in Wednesday’s game, ending an eight-game streak of having at least one of those. But Lodeiro oozed class Wednesday. He was full of running, both on and off the ball, and he showed great passing vision, particularly when he set up a scoring chance in the second half by releasing Joevin Jones down the left. Lodeiro has three goals and eight assists in 10 games since joining the Sounders.
So even though the Sounders will be without star forward Clint Dempsey for the rest of the season because of his irregular heartbeat, Seattle has a more-than-adequate replacement as the offensive focal point, and given Lodeiro’s role as a pure mifdield playmaker his presence may actually be a better fit for this Sounders team.
The bad news for the Sounders and Lodeiro is that Lodeiro picked up a yellow card Wedensday, his fifth since joining the team. That means he’ll be suspended for Sunday’s game at Vancouver, and his presence will be missed.
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