Sounders vs. St. Louis, recap: St. Louis is in misery

The Sounders held off the first half of the storm before crushing St. Louis 3-0.

• by
  
  Tim Voss
  

• on April 8, 2023, at 11:18 p.m

SEATTLE – The Sounders hosted St. Louis City FC for the first time on Saturday night. The visitors made the game tough, but in the end High Life Soccer in Seattle proved too much as the goals came in the second half and Seattle won 3-0. The victory moves the Sounders to first place in the West with 16 points and a goal difference of +12 through 7 matches.

The first half was a knockout affair with plenty of physical play and a handful of good chances for both sides. The best chance of the half was probably for the visitors as Nicolas Giochini reached the line and found Joao Klaus on the doorstep, but the striker’s shot hit the outside at the near post and deflected off Stefan Frey’s goal kick.

The second half was much the same for the first 20 minutes. The game was back and forth with both teams creating chances. Then, in the 65th minute, Josh Atensio changed everything. After taking several shots earlier to find his range, Attensio caught a pass from Nico Lodero just outside the box and unleashed a slam dunk to beat St. Louis goalkeeper Roman Burki.

A few minutes later, it was Raul Ruidiaz who added to the score by scoring his first goal of the season. Ruidias took advantage of a mistake by Bourque when the goalkeeper allowed Alex Roldan’s cross through his hands, and Ruidiaz finished it off from inside the 6-yard box. Seattle got another goal in the 89th minute when a dangerous corner kick from Lodeiro led to an own goal by STL.

5′- A moment of excitement for everyone as Nico Lodeiro sends in a cross from the left that Romain Burki seemed to have misjudged as it hit the post, but nothing came of it.

14′- Josh Attensio works his way through the St. Louis defense before hitting a shot from inside the penalty area, but it hits the keeper just right.

16′- St. Louis almost found its way to the plate as Klaus made clean connection from a low cross to the near post, but his shot hit the woodwork and out.

24′- Cristian Roldan met Ludero’s corner at the near post and headed in well, but Burki made the save again.

25′- Liu Zhu finds Jordan Morris with a good ball down the right wing, Morris plays a center ball for Lodero, but Burkie steps in and Lodero puts it in for a goal kick.

44′- Liu Zhu runs behind a cannon and runs away with Morris for the company on the right. Zhou took a look himself, but the shot was saved.

53 ‘- Atencio takes another look, takes an open firing lane and jumps from the depths, but his shot runs wide.

58′- Roldans hits the ball on the right side and Cristian Roldan sends in a dangerous cross, which the defender clears from a corner kick.

65 ‘- Josh Atensio!!! Take a bow, kid. Atensio scored his first MLS goal with a shot into the net from 20 yards. The Sounders take a 1-0 lead!

70 ‘- Raul Ruidíaz is back, baby! Alex Roldan’s cross slips into Burque’s hands and Ruidíaz is on the doorstep to put it wide and double the lead! 2-0 Sounders

88 ‘- Nico Lodero almost finds Ruidiaz to score another goal, but the defender’s outstretched leg denies the striker and the ball goes off a corner kick.

89 ‘- That’s three! Nico Lodero sent in a dangerous corner kick, which Jordan Morris headed towards Jake Nerwinski, who put it into his own net. 3-0 Sounders

Hot hand ride: After a week of speculation as to whether another productive game from Liu Zhou and Jordan Morris would keep Raul Ruidiaz on the bench, Brian Schmitzer changed just one player from the starting line-up last week as Nuhu returned to the lineup and missed Joao Paulo through injury. . The high-flying duo struggled to find the same success they’ve had in the past two weeks as St. Louis made life miserable with pressure and “physical” play, even though they did create some serious chances. With Ruidíaz on the score sheet, I would have expected him to win back the starting spot, but Josh Atencio’s performance could give Schmetzer another hot hand to ride.

Josh Atensio, People: Josh Attensio first came to prominence in early 2021 with the Sounders senior team, but has since struggled to reach the same heights. This is all in the past tense after tonight. Atencio was dynamic at every stage of the game, helping break St. Louis’ pressure with dribbling and passing. He made interceptions and recoveries, was clean in his tackles, and after a few dangerous shots, scored his first MLS goal when he slotted the ball into the back of the net to beat Bourque from distance. Out of competition for spots in the Sounders midfield, Atencio has thrived.

Fort Lumen: The Seattle Sounders took a hard hit at home as their stated goal of the season as part of their effort to put the 2022 and season’s failures behind them. They have been undeniably successful in this endeavor, going zero-goal at Lumen Field over four games, with three wins and a scoreless draw against them. LAFC. Those four shutouts mean the team has already tied the total number of home shutouts from last season.

Do you have a hit boy!

3 – The Sounders won three straight MLS games for the first time since four consecutive games ended with a 4-1 victory over the MLS Vancouver Whitecaps On October 9, 2021.

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