Under Brian Schmetzer, Sounders are finding new ways to win

Sometimes writers have to dig deep to find a narrative or connective thread to a season, and other times those threads are presented on a silver platter. For the Sounders in 2016, that narrative is all about finding a way to win. I wrote early in the season about how they simply couldn’t find ways to win, even when they played relatively well. After a few matches with Brian Schmetzer in charge of the club, this Sounders squad has simply pulled results out of thin air and found ways to win.

The Sounders did just that on Sunday in Vancouver. Depleted and tired going into their third match in a week, the Sounders started the match slowly and it looked as if a draw would have been a gift. They lost a key player in Andreas Ivanschitz an hour before kickoff and Flaco Fernandez came off with an injury in the opening 10 minutes. The Whitecaps opened the scoring and the Sounders had to push hard for an equalizer. But even with no Nico Lodeiro, no Clint Dempsey and no Ivanschitz, the Sounders were able to find one with Joevin Jones playing out of his best position and Osvaldo Alonso being forced to attack and defend in equal measure.

The first red card changed the match, that’s for sure. But it didn’t automatically gift the Sounders a winner. It was only after Schmetzer brought on captain Brad Evans to play in midfield, where he hasn’t really played in over a year, that the Sounders were able to create something out of nothing. Evans’ push forward and cross into the box gave them the penalty that he then scored. Earlier in the season the Sounders didn’t find such openings, especially late in matches.

Perhaps more impressive for Seattle than finding a goal late in a game on the road against a rival was its ability to kill the game off, especially after going down a man. Sure, it was 10 on 10, but earlier in the season the Sounders probably didn’t have the fortitude for that kind of defensive finish.

So what is it that made that happen? What is it about Schmetzer’s coaching that pushes a team to such heights? Honestly, there’s no easy answer to these questions. The team that he fielded in Vancouver on Sunday was not ideal; multiple positions were filled by second- or third-choice players. This was a team that probably shouldn’t have won. The only possible answer, for me, is that the team believed that it could win.

Sigi Schmid’s last game in charge, a 3-0 loss to Sporting KC, showed a Sounders team absolutely devoid of belief. This was probably close to the best lineup the team had at the time, too. Quite a bit has been made about the impact of Lodeiro’s arrival, which has been ridiculously huge and important, but it’s results like the one in Vancouver that shows there’s something more – belief. In Kansas City, a good Sounders team didn’t believe it could win against a team it was fully capable of beating. But against the Whitecaps, even a depleted and banged-up Seattle squad believed it could win against a team that probably should have beaten it.

I’m always hesitant to ascribe emotions and mentalities to athletic performances like this, but there’s really no other way to look at the Sounders’ turnaround under Schmetzer. Multiple players – Evans, Stefan Frei and Cristian Roldan, just to name a few – have said that they see Schmetzer as a “player’s coach.” Many have also noted that Schmetzer, from day one, impressed upon his players that this was their team, and that their performances and the team’s results rest solely on their shoulders.
This isn’t a shifting of the blame – Schmetzer is also an excellent tactician and technical coach. It’s a way to push the players to rely solely on each other and themselves to get results. But when the players believe in their own abilities, trust their teammates and stick to the coach’s plans, things happen.

The Sounders are 7-1-3 since Schmetzer took over the helm, and their path the playoffs is looking clearer than it has all season. Many, including myself, wrote their playoff chances off in July. Few things can turn a team’s chances around in such dramatic fashion. Until I see evidence on the contrary, I think that the belief Schmetzer has instilled in the players has been that catalyst.

Spenser Davis also covers the Sounders for Sounder at Heart.