The Seattle Sounders couldn’t find the net but didn’t concede either, eventually battling the New England Revolution to a 0-0 draw at Gillette Stadium in the cross-conference matchup between the sides on Saturday.
Neither Seattle nor New England managed to build much sustained pressure in the first half, which ended in a scoreless deadlock with few chances to speak of.
The second half didn’t feature many more fireworks, as the first shot on target for either team came from an ambitious midfield attempt from Seattle’s Nicolás Lodeiro in the 74th minute that was easily saved. The defensive battle would persist through the full 90 minutes, and the match ended scoreless.
THREE TAKEAWAYS
DEFENSE RULES
Road points in MLS don’t have to be pretty, especially with the tenuous ground the Sounders currently find themselves on as it relates to the Western Conference table. Saturday’s match was almost historically futile from an attacking standpoint, with Lodeiro’s lone shot on target for Seattle not coming until late in the second half, and not coming especially close to finding the net. At this point, though, points are at a premium, so it’s doubtful Sounders Head Coach Brian Schmetzer is asking many questions about a positive result against an East Coast opponent that has been having a good season in New England.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
It’s going to be a travel-heavy month of July for Seattle, which made it even more important to start it off by adding points regardless of the optics. Coming off their away fixture against Atlanta United next Sunday, July 15, the Sounders do have a home match against the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday, July 21 before a West Coast date with the San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium on Wednesday, July 25.
RUIDÍAZ INBOUND?
Next weekend’s match doesn’t figure to be a replica of this game considering Atlanta boasts one of the most dynamic attacks in all of MLS, so the Sounders will have to find some fireworks of their own. The hope is that will come in the form of newly signed Peruvian striker Raúl Ruidíaz, who will ostensibly be eligible for MLS play for the first time. Atlanta is currently in some of the best form of the league and they boast a state-of-the-art venue in Mercedez-Benz Stadium, where they’ve been known to draw 70,000-plus fans. Factor in that with a potential debut of Ruidíaz, and the excitement for the fixture should be palpable.
SCORING SUMMARY
NONE
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
NE - Diego Fagundez (Unsporting Behavior) 41'
SEA - Nicolás Lodeiro (Unsporting Behavior) 42'
NE - Kelyn Rowe (Unsporting Behavior) 81'
SEA - Jordy Delem (Unsporting Behavior) 90'+3'
SEA - Nouhou Tolo (Unsporting Behavior) 90'+4'
