Waters run dry: Sounders and Whitecaps split points in scoreless draw
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – In a match that could’ve played a big role in helping to secure their seeding in the top four spots of the MLS’ Western Conference, the Seattle Sounders couldn’t do enough on the attack to take all three points against visiting Cascadia Rival, the Vancouver Whitecaps. Seattle had a ferocious attacking push towards the end of the match, but a combination of near misses and incredible saves by Vancouver keeper Yohei Takaoka resulted in the two clubs splitting points as decision day draws nearer. While the first half was largely a wash with equal statistics on both sides, the second half was largely in favor of Seattle, but those sheer numbers alone couldn’t ultimately result in a goal. There’s still plenty to play for (seeding wise) if you’re the Sounders, but all three points tonight would’ve made their path to the highest seed possible much easier.
Pre-match sights and scenes from Lumen Field as the Seattle Sounders FC split points with the Vancouver Whitecaps and celebrated Fan Appreciation night (Photos by Mathew Bermudez)
Late push proves too little and too late for Sounders
Following last matches heroics by Cristian Roldan with a winner at the death to beat the LA Galaxy and punch their playoff ticket, the Sounders were looking to keep that momentum rolling over with their attack into this match against the Whitecaps. Seattle really wasn’t able to keep any sort of that same attacking energy into the first half of this match, as their main push came in the second half of this contest. With the lack of a definite, killer striker at the top of their offense, the Sounders have especially struggled at finishing their chances and haven’t had the same sort of bite that they’ve had in years prior.
The real period of attack for Seattle came in the final 15 (20, if you include the five minutes or so of extra time allotted by referee Nima Saghafi) minutes of the match, as the Sounders had numerous near-miss chances that either careened just feet away from the goal or were turned away by Whitecaps goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka. It was encouraging to see this sort of push from Seattle and the group that they had on the field at the time, but it needed to have been earlier in the match. If the Sounders were able to get more time to keep this push going, they would likely find a way around Takaoka to score, but that wasn’t the case, and the whistle was blown.
The Seattle Sounders FC attack sent 17 total shots against the Vancouver Whitecaps and goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka, but none of them were able to find the back of the net (Photos by Mathew Bermudez)
Defensive dominance rings true one last time at Lumen
While the attack has struggled for most of the season with Seattle, the Sounders have been a very strong club defensively. Lumen Field has somewhat returned to the sort of “fortress” that it has been for the club previously, at least in the regard of keeping their opponents off the scoreboard. The draw tonight was the 13th clean sheet of the season for the Sounders, and the tenth at home. The overall clean sheets is tied for the most in the league at this current moment with the Houston Dynamo, while the ten at home is the outright most in the league. While at times Seattle has had some defensive lapses that have resulted in them splitting points with clubs, the Sounders have done a great job defensively for the most part this season. With the attack drying up since May, the club's defensive effort has been critical towards Seattle keeping their spot near the top of the table.
The Vancouver attack has been a challenging one for the MLS this season, really guiding their push up the standings this season, and the Sounders backline was really able to mitigate that completely in this contest. Seattle won the expected goals battle, dabbling Vancouver’s number, and held them to a disappointing four shots on the match. None of those four shots were on target, and the Sounders dominated the shot battle as well, quadrupling the Whitecaps total. It was a clinic by the Seattle backline, and even goalkeeper Stefan Frei noted that he couldn’t quite get into a sort of rhythm in goal because he wasn’t getting any sort of action against him. Defensive effort such as that will make the Sounders a hard out in the playoffs, it just all depends on if their attack can properly generate enough to make the play of their defenders matter.
The Seattle Sounders FC backline didn’t allow a single shot on target from the Vancouver Whitecaps in this match (Photos by Mathew Bermudez)
Where they sit now
With tonight’s scoreless draw, the Sounders stay firm in the third seed of the MLS’ Western Conference. LAFC dominated Austin FC prior to Seattle kicking off, resulting in them taking over the second seed in the West by one standings point. In terms of clubs behind them, the Houston Dynamo sit two points behind while this same Whitecaps team is three points behind. The Sounders still have the possibility of moving up and securing a top three seed in the conference, as mentioned two and three are in play, but they will need to handle their business on the road against a St. Louis side that largely has nothing to play for while getting outside help in order to truly feel safe at two and even three. With a defensive effort like the one that we saw, again, it’s easy to feel very strongly that the Sounders can be a formidable opponent as they enter the playoffs challenging for their third ever MLS Cup. But, given the lack of consistent attack all season long, it’s hard to feel totally confident in their abilities to find the back of the net. The generation of chances isn’t the problem for Seattle, it’s been that lack of finishing.
Quick notes
Following tonight’s draw at Lumen Field and LAFC’s victory over Austin, Sounders FC moves back into third place in the MLS Western Conference with one match remaining in the regular season. With 50 points, Seattle sits one point behind second-place LAFC and two points in front of fourth-place Houston. St. Louis continues to lead the West with 56 points, with the Rave Green facing the Missouri club on Decision Day on October 21.
Earlier this week after a 2-1 over the LA Galaxy, Seattle clinched a berth in the MLS Cup Playoffs, returning the club to the postseason after missing last year’s tournament for the first time in club history. Previously the Rave Green qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs from the team’s inaugural MLS season in 2009 through the 2021 campaign, winning MLS Cup titles in 2016 and 2019.
After tonight’s draw, Seattle becomes just the third team in MLS history to reach the 50-point mark for the 10th different time. Sounders FC joins the LA Galaxy and New York Red Bulls in this category, with both of those clubs being MLS originals dating back to 1996. Seattle is the only expansion-era club to reach this milestone.
Tonight’s match at Lumen Field marked the 151st all-time contest between Seattle Sounders FC and Vancouver Whitecaps FC in a rivalry that dates back to 1974 in the original North American Soccer League. Seattle leads the series 73-52-26, including a 19-9-11 record across all competitions since joining MLS.
The season series between the two clubs finishes even at 1-1-1. Prior to Saturday’s matchup, Seattle defeated Whitecaps FC 3-2 at BC Place on July 8, while Vancouver picked-up a 2-0 win north of the border on May 20.
Seattle has not lost at home to Vancouver dating back to the 2016 season, with the Rave Green going 8-0-2 in the Emerald City in that span, while also outscoring Whitecaps FC 22-4 over the same period.
With his league-leading 13 cleansheet of 2023, goalkeeper Stefan Frei tied his single-season record for shutouts in a campaign (2017). Frei now has 104 overall shutouts in his career, good for third in MLS history.
Since Leagues Cup play concluded in late July, Seattle has lost just one match out of nine contests (August 20 vs. Atlanta United). In its last eight games, Sounders FC is unbeaten (3-0-5).
What’s next?
Following tonight’s scoreless draw against the Vancouver Whitecaps, the final regular season match at home for Seattle, the Sounders head out on the road to battle St. Louis City SC on Saturday, October 21st with a kickoff time of 6PM PST. It’ll be the first time that the Sounders play St. Louis in their home, after beating them by a three-goal margin at Lumen Field back in April. Since that time, St. Louis has secured the top spot in the Western Conference and essentially have nothing to play for, considering what was just mentioned. The Sounders are still playing for something, as seeding is still in play for them when they play on decision day. With help, Seattle can move as high as the second seed. The third seed is more likely, but that would at minimum require them to win in this match. The bottom line is that the Sounders still need to be aiming for a victory in their regular season finale.