This player holds the Sounders' key to a successful offense | OneFootball

Jordan Morris was once a bright homegrown prospect for the Sounders. He went to play in Europe, but returned after an injury. He has made multiple appearances for the USMNT.

He was promoted to a designated player and now has more goals than any other player while wearing the Sounders' kit. It should be no surprise that he is the key to their attack, but his most recent return has demonstrated the significance of his impact.

While Albert Rusnak and Christian Roldan have been the most consistent players for the Rave Green this season, it was the absence of Morris due to multiple hamstring injuries that made the Sounders attack look like it was stuck in the mud.

Jordan Morris has immediately improved the Seattle Sounders offence

Upon his return, the offense is sparking back to life. Instead of missing a steady stream of chances, Jesus Ferreira has been able to slide to the side and focus on his passing, which has opened up some scoring opportunities for him. What has yet to be developed is the familiarity of Ryan Kent and Jordan Morris, who were starting to catch fire when Morris was sidelined.

The first half of the game gave a glimpse into how dominant the Sounders can be, they can attack in multiple ways, emphasize possession, be quick to counter-attack and can use their technical ability to finish clinically in the box. That is what the Seattle fans want to see on a consistent basis, and it has been largely missing since the absence of Morris.

It was a tale of 2 halves against Sporting Kansas City with a relatively inexperienced official. The Sounders, with Morris, used possession and counter-attacks to gain a 3-0 cushion at half-time. Since Morris is working his way back to full health, he was replaced at half-time. With him, the Sounders' attack and their discipline apparently left the game as well.

They did earn 3 points on the road, but it was another game in a string where a Sounders' player was sent off after seeing a red card. For the second time, it was Nouhou, who apparently reacted to a fan giving him the middle finger by throwing a ball at them.

This was off camera, so even the commentators were unaware of what transpired. There is no word regarding the fan after the incident, so it is unknown if the fan was injured or ejected.

Nouhou reacted poorly, but is it unreasonable to expect no reaction to a person shouting, inching closer to the player and displaying obscene gestures? While it is easy to say that professional athletes shouldn't behave in such a manner, but there have been no statements by Sporting Kansas City at Children's Mercy Park about fan behavior.

If it happened in Seattle, I would be embarrassed that a fellow fan was being obscene. It is also possible that Sporting KC and the Sounders are waiting for the League to weigh in on the incident, but is that the proactive approach that can improve things, or are they passing off tough decisions regardless of what they feel is the right thing to do?

A proactive approach, such as security intervening so that the player doesn't feel threatened and react poorly, leading to a possible injury to a fan. It is a bad look all the way around.

A stand out moment in the second half was when Alex Roldan channeled his inner-keeper and denied a goal that ended up being the difference in the game. Andrew Thomas did well in his first start in over a month only allowed goals from penalty kicks, which eventually let Sporting Kansas CIty back into the game. Both Roldans and Obed Vargas did well on the top of the defense.

The take away from the season so far seems to be to have Jordan Morris on the pitch as much as possible, avoid injuries in general but specifically to him, and to use better judgement when interacting with players, fans, and officials.