Making the clubās return to MLS play following its Concacaf Champions League Semifinals victory over New York City FC, Seattle Sounders FC took a 1-0 defeat to Inter Miami CF at Lumen Field on Saturday.
Robbie Robinson scored the lone goal of the match for either side in the 41st minute, as Seattle grew into the game in a rain-soaked second half, but couldnāt quite manage an equalizing goal.
The sides were locked in a scoreless deadlock until Robinsonās first-time strike just before the halftime whistle, which came off an assist from former Sounders great DeAndre Yedlin, whoās in his first year back in MLS with the South Florida side.
Seattle will return to MLS play with a road matchup against the San Jose Earthquakes (7:00 p.m. PT; FOX 13, UniMĆ”s, TUDN, Prime Video, El Rey 1360AM) next Saturday before kicking off the clubās Concacaf Champions League Final series against Liga MX side Pumas UNAM (7:30 p.m. PT)on April 27.
THREE TAKEAWAYS
Rotated squad hangs tough
Juggling MLS play and CCL obligations is always a challenge, with heavy fixture congestion necessitating lineup rotation for all MLS participants. That was the case for Seattle on Saturday amid their CCL Final run, with virtually the squadās entire XI rotated save for center back Xavier Arreaga. The lack of game-time together was evident at times from the group in the first half, but the cohesion improved greatly as the game went on, and Seattle very nearly managed to scrape out the draw late with a handful of chances that went just begging.Ā
Hungry Homegrowns
Three of Seattle's highly-touted Homegrown midfielders started the match in Josh Atencio, Danny Leyva and Obed Vargas, giving fans one of the first glimpses at that trio on the field at the same time. All three are still just starting their journeys as professionals but all have shown flashes of their potential, and all three had moments on Saturday. The more MLS minutes the club's crop of Academy products accumulate, the more game experience they'll have to lean on as they progress in their careers.
Yedlin homecoming
It was probably an odd sight for the fans in attendance at Lumen Field to see DeAndre Yedlin in a visiting uniform, considering how beloved the former Sounders star is around these parts. This is where it all started for Yedlin, who is from Federal Way, Washington and first broke through with Seattle as a standout homegrown in 2013. Since then, heās gone to accomplish great things, embarking on a successful professional career in Europe and becoming a regular with the U.S. Men's National Team before joining Inter Miami for the 2022 MLS season.
