With 10 games left, can the Sounders make a successful playoff push? | OneFootball

The Sounders were able to score off a header by Christian Roldan to tie the score in the first half. They dominated play, but gave up a couple of goals off of set pieces to start the second half and appeared to be dead in the water.

Brian Schmetzer pointed to their lack of possession and defending on set pieces were the things that caused their deficit. Additionally, their new player, Dejan Joveljić, will miss the next three games having been called up to play for the Serbian national team. All-time Sounder leading scorer, Jordan Morris also took a knock to the knee and will be evaluated by the medical team in Seattle.

Perhaps that was the low point of a season that has been filled with injuries, uncharacteristically poor defending at times and more injuries. Leading scorer for this season, Paul Rothrock will miss a majority of the end of the season due to another injury. While the cornerstone of the Sounders’ success has been their defense, their willingness to fight has always been there, even while they set club records in losing and winless streaks.

Then the new additions rose to the call. The Sounders have acquired two players to bolster their lack of scoring threat. Joveljić scored from a shot from 25 yards out in the 79th minute, and Caden Clark scored from 30 yards out in stoppage time to tie the game at three. Clark scored for the first time as a Sounder in his debut with the club and it was his first goal in a couple of years in the MLS. Albert Rusnák assisted on two of the goals as he continues to be the anchor on offense. While the Sounders did miss out on a scoring opportunity just moments before the final whistle, they did earn a point on the road.

Having tied the last five games, the Sounders have moved up a spot in the standings, but they are still not in a playoff position. They are only three points behind the Timbers, who occupy the last spot. While there is still time left, they are running out of games, and points will be at a premium for every team down the stretch.

Albert Rusnák: Even when the Sounders were not scoring, his ball distribution made other players better.

Dejan Joveljić: He has scored 3 goals in 3 games with the Sounders. Even as he misses the next 3 games, having a scoring threat changes the look of defenses the Sounders will need to beat.

Caden Clark: Having scored in his debut, he is an unknown quantity that has shown he has some quality to his play.

Jackson Ragen and Yéimar: Their return from injuries and getting back to being match fit should go a long way to solidifying their back line. With Nouhou and Alex Roldan, they are getting the band back together and their struggles with defensive transitions and set pieces will hopefully be a thing of the past.

Recap:

The Sounders started the season with a flourish while playing on the road.

Then for the second third of the season, player after player succumbed to injuries as they went on their longest losing and winless streaks in their MLS history.

For the final third of the season, they will need to patch up their defense, and capitalize on scoring opportunities and winning games. They are facing the possibility of failing to make the playoffs for the second time in their MLS play. They do appear ready for the challenge and have enough talent to see them make the post season, but none of that will matter if they continue to make critical mistakes on defense and fail to capitalize on scoring opportunities which has put them in the bottom three teams in the Western Conference.