Last November, Sports Illustrated reported that MLS was taking a June 2016 break for the Copa America Centenario. The U.S. Men’s National Team was involved in the tournament, of course, but the league didn’t want to compete for players and viewing attention with unarguably the biggest soccer event in the United States in 22 years.
At the time, the Sounders couldn’t possibly have known how beneficial that break could ultimately be.
Flash forward six months and Seattle is limping toward that June break in desperate need of some time to reorganize and hit the summer with fresh legs. On Wednesday, the Sounders face D.C. United down at RFK Stadium, the final hurdle before Seattle hangs up its match jerseys for an 18-day break period in league play encompassing the Copa America group stage.
This is particularly good news now, of all times. Seattle is in need of some good news after losing each of its last three matches by razor-thin margins. FC Dallas, the Colorado Rapids and New England Revolution were all arguably out-classed by Seattle in the run of play over 90 minutes - Seattle out-shot all three - but the Sounders weren’t lethal enough in the final third and lost all three matches.
The Revolution loss clearly affected the team’s core of veteran leadership. Zach Scott, who had another outstanding spell at center back while Chad Marshall works back from injury, said it all after the match.
“I don’t know what to say,” Scott deadpanned. “It’s getting old.”
And so D.C. United awaits. And then comes the silent, important work of a nearly three-week break in league play.
At this stage in D.C. United coach Ben Olsen’s tenure, there are no real surprises in the way United approaches matches. They will come at you head on and with fury, and the onus is on you to sweep away the over-the-top chances their capable fleet of attackers finish. This season, D.C. United is dead last in MLS in pass completion rate (70%), 17th in possession and yet seventh in shots per game.
If you’re looking for a word, opportunistic about covers it.
But there’s a different element about this D.C. United team, something perhaps a bit out of the ordinary. And his name is Luciano Acosta.
In the offseason, Acosta was the Biggest MLS Loanee You Never Heard About. Captured from the revered Boca Juniors system, Acosta clocks in at a Joao Plata-like 5-foot-3 and 130 pounds and hardly the Nick Deleon-type bruiser Olsen tends to be linked with. Acosta started the season as a super-sub before scoring his first MLS goal against New England on April 23. He’s started every D.C. United game since, racking up highlight reel-worthy moments on ball and opening up the midfield with his vision and mosquito quicks.
Good thing Osvaldo Alonso is having one of his best ever seasons in Seattle. He’s already had quite a few tricky attacking midfielder assignments this year.
As far as the Sounders are concerned, the tired legs created by the short week are mitigated somewhat by the fact that there are no games on the other side. That’s good news for explosive players like Jordan Morris, Erik Friberg and Aaron Kovar, who scored his first career goal against New England screaming off the right flank as a notably dangerous threat. Plus, Brad Evanscleared concussion protocols this week and could be back in the lineup after stepping out for Tony Alfaro’s debut last weekend.
But the team will be without Clint Dempsey again, one of two Sounders players away on Copa America duty. And filling the void between Morris and the rest of the team should probably be a pretty high priority.
Look at this Seattle average positioning map from the Revolution match, which pinpoints the area of the field each player was found in most often.
The yawning chasm between Morris and the rest of his midfield isn’t so much the elephant in the room as it is the barnstorming T-Rex. Nothing subtle about that disconnect.
The simple answer to that issue in the interim is to insert Dempsey, who’s naturally filled a second striker role lately that bridges the gap between Morris and Friberg, who’s typically the next man up in the midfield. And if the Sounders are indeed looking at bringing in a central attacking midfielder to fill the hole, there’s your long term solution as well.
But neither of those solutions account for D.C. United, making Wednesday a tricky matchup.
You can be sure of a couple things on Wednesday: Seattle will have more of the ball, will probably put up more shots and will mostly limit Olsen’s men to over-the-top balls and counters. If they can steal three points from D.C. and come back home with them to take some momentum into the break, the Copa America layoff will be that much more palatable.
