Just one minute into their Sunday afternoon matchup with the LA Galaxy, it appeared as though the slumping Seattle Sounders finally found a spark after forward Chad Barrett abruptly ended the team's 363-minute scoreless drought with a finish of an Erik Friberg cross.
However, in a turn of events resembling the recent trajectory of Seattle’s 2015 season, things went downhill almost immediately.
Barrett pulled his hamstring running back to midfield after the goal and had to be subbed out before Seattle (10-12-2) conceded a Gyasi Zardes equalizer just 11 minutes later. When it was all said and done, the Sounders found themselves unable to keep up with the star-studded Galaxy, which dominated the second half and cruised to a 3-1 victory, sending Seattle to their eighth loss in nine games.
“We score a goal early on, then we lose the guy with a hamstring pull,” Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid said after the game. “It’s like, ‘When it rains it pours’. It continues to do that.”
Once again, the Sounders found themselves exceedingly shorthanded, as forward Clint Dempsey did not travel with the squad after tweaking his hamstring in practice on Friday. Obafemi Martins and Osvaldo Alonso were also held out with leg injuries of their own, making the task of taking on the high-powered Galaxy all the more daunting.
Even so, both Schmid and captain Brad Evans said they were pleased with the first half effort for their team, even if things fell apart on them in the second.
“First half, I thought the team did really well,” Evans said. “Guys were fighting for each other, playing in balls behind, winning second balls, getting corner kicks, getting fouls. That was the gameplan and we stuck to it and it worked to our advantage in the first half.
“Second half, things just kind of snowballed. Tired legs, it’s hot and once a team gets up a goal or two, they can just knock the ball. But credit to them, they’re a good team.”
Seattle center back Zach Scott said his team has no other recourse other than to simply try and push through what has evolved into one of the roughest stretches of results in Sounders history.
“That’s the one thing we’re trying to hang our hats on at this point,” Scott said. “Play these games through a full 90 with max effort. It’s tough, the group is thin, we’ve got guys going down left and right after scoring goals for crying out loud. What can you do other than just play it out?”
The Sounders' focus now turns to next weekend’s return home to take on Orlando City FC, where they will hope to bring back some starters in an effort to get back on track.
