SEATTLE — The Seattle Sounders took down the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-0 at home Saturday on the back of an early penalty and a world-class curled effort. Nicolas Lodeiro provided both goals as Seattle beat its Cascadia Cup rivals in front of an announced home crowd of 41,849.
“I think the psychological gain was just winning,” Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer said of the result. “The score-line yes, it’s great. Stef deserves it. The back line played well, but I think getting the three points today was the intention and that’s the positive. You’ve got two wins and two draws in the last four games and you start to build some momentum, so that’s what was important.”
Seattle jumped to an early lead when referee Chris Penso gave a penalty four minutes in when a Nicolas Lodeiro corner kick struck the oustretched hand of Vancouver centerback Doneil Henry. Lodeiro buried his penalty at the left post to give the hosts an early lead.
Lodeiro doubled down when he swerved in a ball from long range in the 32nd minute. The Uruguayan curled a ball past two defenders, while Whitecaps keeper Stefan Marinovic dove the wrong way. Marinovic managed to get a trailing hand to the ball, but the ball slowly crept over the line as the crowd erupted.
“(Lodeiro has) been good ever since he’s been here at this club,” Schmetzer said. “He’s always put his heart and soul into the games, that’s always been his strength. Today he was rewarded with two goals. He does a lot of the other things that might not end up on the score sheet. He covers the most distance consistently in our group. He never gives up, never quits. Those are all attributes that we’re happy to have here at the Sounders.”
The Whitecaps nearly opened an avenue back into the match late in stoppage time, when a shot appeared to be blocked by Seattle centerback Chad Marshall’s arm. Penso initially signaled for a penalty but overturned his call when consultation with Video Assistant Referee Allen Chapman showed the ball had been stopped by Marshall’s shoulder.
In the second half, Seattle seemed to move the ball at will, completing 90.1 percent of its passes as they zig-zagged the ball all around the pitch with Vancouver chasing them around the pitch.
Vancouver’s Efrain Juarez was sent off in the 78th minute. Seconds after being booked for a foul, the midfielder rushed forward and bumped into Penso, who went straight to his back pocket to show Juarez the red card.
“I’m sick and tired of saying to you, ‘It’s OK, it’s OK,’” Whitecaps manager Carl Robinson said after the match. “It’s not OK. I’m sick and tired of playing with 10 men. The 10 guys did not give in, that’s a credit to them, but we need to be better across the board.
“I’m sick of it. I told them I’m sick of it. I told them they’re letting themselves down, they’re letting the club down, they’re letting me down. I don’t condone it. I’ll protect them as much as I can. I don’t know what has actually happened there, whether (Juarez has) run in. Efe comes from Mexican football, so it’s a little bit different. The referees are a little bit different, but we don’t condone that.”
The Sounders finished with a 14-8 advantage in shots, but only put three shots on target against Vancouver’s two. The Sounders completed 79 percent of its passes in the attacking third, stretching out a Whitecaps back line that struggled to deal with Seattle’s crosses.
Schmetzer was pleased that his club had stretched its unbeaten run to four matches, but pointed out that there was more work to do as Seattle looks to move back into playoff contention.
“I think we put ourselves in such a hole that every point is critical,” Schmetzer said. Every point that we can collect is vital for us to make the playoffs. What it does over the course of four games, starting in Colorado, it gives you some momentum, and it gives the guys some belief that they can persevere under what has been a challenging season. It hasn’t been easy so far. They’ve overcome many obstacles to put themselves in a position where if they win a couple more games than maybe we really have a legitimate chance of catching teams and making the playoffs again.”