TUKWILA — There was a fluidity to the Sounders in their final scrimmage before opening the MLS season next week.
But conceding a goal to USL Championship side Louisville City FC kept the team from being satisfied with experiencing its first outright win since September 2022.
“It was a good run out physically,” Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer said of the 2-1 result. “Did we slip a little bit in the second half, or could there be some room for improvement in that second half? For sure.”
Sounders striker Raul Ruidiaz was unavailable because of hamstring tightness. As he ran drills on the sideline at Starfire Sports, new addition Heber filled in at forward and scored the opening goal in the sixth minute.
The play was designed from a corner kick taken by midfielder Nico Lodeiro with defender Yeimar Gomez Andrade getting the assist.
The Sounders’ second goal, in the 21st minute, was off a rebound from midfielder Albert Rusnak’s miss. The ball entered space near Cristian Roldan, with the midfielder firing a shot that deflected off the post and into goal.
“In the first half, I thought we were sharp,” Roldan said. “There were times we ended up with a chance from a goal kick. That’s what we want to see — in front of goal, be lethal. That’s always the hardest thing in football. To score and have chances is certainly a positive.”
Sounders keeper Stefan Frei saw more activity after the break. He prevented chances from back-to-back corner kicks by Louisville early in the second half. But midfielder Dylan Mares’ shot from distance off an assist from forward Brain Ownby found the back of the net in the 71st minute.
City, which reached its league’s title match last fall, had one late opportunity for the equalizer but it was handled by the Sounders’ defense.
“That’s a decent team,” Schmetzer said. “(City coach Danny Cruz) has some good players, so it was a good test.”
The Sounders will host the Colorado Rapids at Lumen Field on Feb. 26 to begin MLS play.
Joao Paulo gets the start
Sounders midfielder Joao Paulo made his first start since tearing his ACL in May 2022. He was able to clock 79 minutes in Saturday’s scrimmage and had one shot attempt rocket high of goal.
“This is just the beginning for him,” Roldan said. “To see him play out there for 80 minutes and be pretty sharp is something we like to see. It’s important for our club to see a healthy Joao.”
The forward rotation
Ruidiaz not playing was precautionary, according to Schmetzer. The striker’s absence allowed Heber to have a longer run with the first-choice starters and show his skill for 86 minutes. The Brazilian was subbed off for Eythor Bjorgolfsson, who was selected in the second round by the Sounders in the MLS SuperDraft in December.
Bjorgolfsson seeing minutes was partly because the Sounders played secondary scrimmages against Louisville that included players from MLS Next side Tacoma Defiance. Bjorgolfsson will likely play more with Defiance this year.
“We have high hopes for him,” Schmetzer said. “We’ll develop him, but he certainly has some good starting points.”
Restricted movement
The Sounders’ fluidity came from Roldan and his brother Alex, a fullback, overlapping each other often on the right side. Lodeiro had a similar flow on the left side in working with forward Jordan Morris and fullback Nouhou, who also worked his way higher up the field at times against Louisville.
“We’re very similar players in the way we see the game.” Cristian said of his younger brother. “Sometimes our strengths are very similar. I’m a player that likes to make runs in behind, likes to hang out in the pocket and he’s the same.
“There are times where the game is going to be too fast and he can’t get high enough and wide enough, so I’ll be that player. That combination is going to be good because we need guys basically running up and down the field on that side and Alex and I have that fitness in us.”
In the past, Lodeiro is the player who covers the most ground, including lateral movements. Part of the offensive previews Schmetzer has shown in his matches against Louisville and Al Ahly in the FIFA men’s Club World Cup is a confined Lodeiro, which has resulted in more scoring chances.
“We’re trying to play with a little bit more discipline within certain areas of the field and he’s buying into it,” Schmetzer said. “We still give Nico the freedom, sometimes, to come central but we just don’t want him to go from the right wing to the left wing and back to the right. That’s what we’re trying to manage a little bit.”
Welcome back Ray
Saturday was a closed-door scrimmage, but City midfielder Ray Serrano had family and friends in attendance. Serrano helped the Sounders Academy U-17s win the 2019 Generation Adidas Champions Division and made 53 appearances in four seasons for Defiance. He’s in his second season with Louisville.
“He had a tough time with Nouhou, but everybody has a tough time with Nouhou,” Schmetzer said. “It was good to see Ray and love that his family was out here.”