Seattle, LAFC to meet for the first time since last fall’s chippy MLS Western Conference final
The Seattle Sounders and LAFC have a budding rivalry — anybody who has been in and around MLS for the last year can see that.
The two teams, which will play in the round of 16 of the MLS is Back Tournament on Monday at 8 p.m., played three games in 2019 that had the same intensity but carried different results. After a 4-1 LAFC blowout in the first matchup in April in Los Angeles, the two teams played to an intense 1-1 draw in Seattle that saw two red cards from Seattle (one later rescinded).
The third game, and the moment that might have raised the rivalry to another level an stoked some temporary bad blood, was the 2019 Western Conference Final.
What seemed like a prelude to an LAFC coronation quickly turned into a Seattle stunner. The Sounders took control after allowing the opening goal of the game with three straight goals from Raul Ruidiaz and Nico Lodeiro, sealing Seattle’s spot in the MLS Cup Final. Following Seattle’s 3-1 victory, Seattle coach Brian Schmetzer and LAFC coach Bob Bradley exchanged words, leading Schmetzer to later say, “I feel a lot better than Bob”.
Will there be bad blood on the pitch in Orlando, Florida, on Monday? Schmentzer says he and Bradley are past that moment.
“We settled that back in January,” Schmetzer said. “There is no animosity. That was just words between two competitive guys after a game. That’s not as big of a deal as some media members took it. Bob’s an extremely talented, good coach. He doesn’t need me as motivation to win games. He’s had that within him. LAFC and the organization has done a good job of being motivated to win games on their own.”
Entering the knockout stages, the Sounders saw a little bit of everything in their return to play. Their first game since early March was played to a slow 0-0 draw, followed by a somewhat stunning loss to the Chicago Fire early on July 14.
Facing a win-and-in situation, the Sounders showed the form many expected from them to start the season by trouncing the Vancouver Whitecaps in the group stage finale. Seattle played some of its best soccer since March and looked like a team in proper game shape.
The prep time for this tournament under the cloud of a pandemic has been an adjustment, as has going from playing no games in four months to three in the span of nine days.
During Saturday’s virtual press conference, Sounders midfielder Cristian Roldan compared how he felt from the start of the tournament up to the knockout stage.
“I felt like the first game was tough,” Roldan said. “We were cramping all over the place, and we were just trying to manage through. I think as the tournament progressed guys were starting to feel better, and our running stats improved. I can see the same thing happening versus LAFC. When you play later in the night and the weather is much cooler, it doesn’t play that huge of a factor compared to other times we’ve played. I feel better and I feel much more fit.”
Seattle, like many other teams, has faced obstacles during the tournament. From battling strange playing times and hot weather to playing at a high level after a four-month break. The injury bug has bitten the Sounders, with notable players like Joao Paulo not having seen the field at all this tournament.
Paulo, Joevin Jones and Yeimar Gomez-Andrade have been notable absences in the lineup. Seattle should get some help on the back line with Xavier Arreaga possibly seeing some playing time as he returns from concussion protocol.
The Sounders will be tested by one of the league’s best attacking units, but Seattle’s Shane O’Neill is confident the back line will be ready for the challenge.
“Leading into the tournament, we had a lot of inter-squad matches, and the defense was doing very, very well —wasn’t conceding many goals,” O’Neill said.
“I think coming into this tournament, that was a big key for us. I think (Arreaga) has done well for himself, so hopefully this next game we can keep that communication going. I think the Vancouver clean sheet gave us a good amount of confidence to get the clean sheet and add the win as opposed to the San Jose game.”
Seattle and LAFC kick off Monday from Orlando at 8 p.m. on ESPN.
This story was originally published July 26, 2020 at 8:00 AM.
