Sounders did everything right vs Rapids en route to 1st MLS Cup final

I’m starting to run out of superlatives (and on the flip side, things to criticize) about the 2016 Seattle Sounders.

They’ve defied all expectations, predictions, and criticism – even from yours truly. I’ll admit that, before every single playoff match this season, I was pretty pessimistic about the Sounders’ chances. Even when they’d pulled off so many miracles in the regular season, I just constantly had this gut feeling that each match would be their last. And every time, they’ve proven my gut wrong.

Even on Sunday, when the Sounders went to Colorado with a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference finals aggregate series, I just knew that Colorado would pull a Colorado and eke out a 1-0 win to progress to the final. But Seattle held strong in every single area of the match, reaching yet another milestone in heading to its first MLS Cup final.

In my preview of Sunday’s match, one of the things I focused on was how much each team’s recovering forward would affect the match. Jordan Morris and Shkelzen Gashi had both recently returned from minor injuries that may have still been aggravating them, but in both matches of the series, one of those forwards was clearly better than the other. Morris, who was the Sounders’ leading scorer in 2016 and the MLS Rookie of the Year, showed yet again why the club begged for his services in the offseason. Gashi was also one of the best strikers in the league in 2016, but in the Western Conference finals, the Albanian was nigh on invisible. Morris had also been quite sick leading up to the game, making his game-winning goal that much more impressive.

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He wasn’t injured or sick, but Sounders forward Nelson Valdez also deserves a bit of praise for his performance. Much maligned (in this space and beyond) in 2016, Valdez simply exploded onto the scene in the playoffs with his goals against Sporting KC and FC Dallas. He hasn’t scored again in the playoffs, but he’s been a vital piece of the Sounders’ puzzle in their run to the final. His assist on Morris’ goal Sunday was an exquisite through ball that ripped the vaunted Rapids defense to shreds, something I never really thought I’d be saying.

The other key area that I noted could be important in Sunday’s match was the midfield battles. Cristian Roldan played extremely well in the first leg, and he repeated that performance on Sunday. He and Alonso bossed Jermaine Jones, Michael Azira and company around for most of the night, forcing Colorado to shoot from distance because it couldn’t get good positions in the box. Roldan led the entire pitch with four interceptions, and his passing was second best on the team with 29 of 38 completed passes.

Perhaps the most important part of the Sounders’ second leg win was something that was more or less expected: their solid defensive showing. Colorado wasn’t exactly known for its attack this season, but the Rapids have solid forwards and attacking midfielders like Gashi and Kevin Doyle. The Rapids absolutely had to throw everything they had at Seattle, but players like Chad Marshall and Roman Torres were more than up for the challenge. It’s a cliche, but the Sounders’ run down the stretch of the regular season and into playoffs showed why it’s such an overused phrase.

There is a lot to think about for the next two weeks for the Sounders, like who they’re going to play, where it will be, etc. But their play on the field doesn’t need much tailoring, no matter what the final ends up looking like. If the forwards arrive with their shooting boots, the midfielders ready for a battle, and the defenders prepared to build a fortress in front of goalkeeper Stefan Frei, their hunt for an MLS Cup trophy could finally come to an end.

Spenser Davis also covers the Sounders for Sounder at Heart.