Going into their MLS is Back Tournament Group B showdown with the Vancouver Whitecaps on Sunday (10:30 pm ET | FS1, TUDN in US; TSN in Canada), the Seattle Sounders have their backs against the wall after taking just one point from their first two matches.
A 0-0 draw against the San Jose Earthquakes and a 2-1 defeat to Chicago Fire FC puts Seattle in a win-or-go-home scenario — an unexpected turn of events for last year's MLS Cup title winners.
But it's also a situation that's not altogether foreign to the Sounders. Perhaps more than anyone else in MLS over the last several years, Seattle are a team that always seem to find ways to pull out the results when they need them, even after many have written off their chances. Asked on a Friday conference call with reporters whether that history and mentality can work to his team's benefit come Sunday, Seattle coach Brian Schmetzer had a simple answer.
The Seattle Sounders have their backs against the wall in the MLS is Back Tournament after a draw against the San Jose Earthquakes and a loss to Chicago Fire FC | USA Today Sports
"It better," he said. "I said that at the beginning of the tournament, so I don't want to sit here and have egg on my face, but one of the best things about the Seattle Sounders is that we always have found ways to win games in critical moments. It's been a little bit of a stigma with us that we start slow and end fast. I thought we tried to erase some of that narrative last year with the fast start, then we had some midseason doldrums.
"I'm very proud of the group that I have," he continued. "I think the locker room, starting with Stef [Frei], Gustav [Svensson], Nico [Lodeiro] — Raul [Ruidiaz] is mentally stronger than some people think. He has a good mindset. Cristian [Roldan], Jordan [Morris], some of the young guys. I mean, we've always had a pretty strong mental group. So these are these moments that you have to deal with. Are we always going to be successful? No. But we give ourselves a fighting chance by making sure we don't shy away from responsibility, we don't shy away from making sure the players understand the situation that they're in. We've laid it out there for them, they know [the situation]."
Added defender Kelvin Leerdam: "It's time to show our true colors. I guess this would be when we're at our best. Looking back at last year, where everybody was doubting us, especially at the end of the season, we showed our true colors and we won a title. So we're at the same phase right now. This will be one, as professional players, to show what you can do under the most pressure."
With all that in mind, it's worth taking a quick look back at some of the other instances in Sounders history when they've found themselves on the ropes, only to pull a rabbit out of the hat. Here are three of them.
The 2016 title run
The Sounders had yet to win an MLS Cup coming into the 2016 season, and halfway through it, there was no indication it would the year that changed. Plagued by injuries and inconsistent play, Seattle found themselves at 6-12-2 through 20 matches — a stretch that culminated with the mutual departure of longtime head coach Sigi Schmid. Schmetzer took over on an interim basis, famously told by general manager Garth Lagerwey he could ensure he kept the permanent job should he lead a second-half surge and a playoff run. It had all the looks of a lost season, and no one would have been surprised if it remained as such.
Seattle had different ideas, though. Fueled by the midseason arrival of Lodeiro, the Sounders embarked on arguably the greatest midseason turnaround in league history, ratting off an 8-2-4 stretch over their last 14 matches to improbably salvage a playoff spot. The red-hot form continued into the postseason, where Seattle topped Sporting Kansas City, FC Dallas and the Colorado Rapids to clinch its first-ever MLS Cup appearance. Even then, though, few were picking them to win in a matchup with a juggernaut Toronto FC side in the frigid elements of BMO Field.
But 120 minutes, an iconic save from Frei, and a penalty kick shootout victory later, the Sounders hoisted their first Anschutz Trophy. When it comes to beating the odds over the course of a prolonged stretch, Seattle's 2016 title remains a marvel even four years later.
The LAFC game
Seattle's 3-1 victory over Toronto in MLS Cup last year was a comfortable one, relatively speaking, but it's the match that took place just before that saw them send shock waves through the entire league. | USA Today Sports
After topping Real Salt Lake in the Western Conference Semifinals, Seattle traveled to Banc of California Stadium to take on an LAFC side that was the universal pick to take home that year's title. And rightfully so. The Black & Gold took a sledgehammer to pretty much every record there was in 2019, racking up 72 points and a ridiculous +48 goal-differential. Superstar forward Carlos Vela won the Landon Donovan MLS MVP award after the best statistical individual season in league history with 34 goals and 15 assists, and they were virtually unbeatable at home, with a 13-1-3 record at the Banc. Up until kickoff, most felt like the match was going to be a formality on LAFC's run to the Cup. After LAFC's Eduard Atuesta curled home a gorgeous free-kick golazo in the first half to put Seattle in a 1-0 hole, that felt even more inevitable.
Once again, though, Seattle found a way. After Ruidiaz equalized shortly after Atuesta's goal and Lodeiro put Seattle on top before the first half ended, Ruidiaz would add another goal late and Seattle would put on a defensive clinic to see out the match and pull out the shocking 3-1 victory. There's little case to be made it wasn't the greatest single-game performance in club history, and it led to the Sounders' second MLS Cup title in four years.
The D.C. United comeback
The stakes may not have been as high as the LAFC game, but when the Sounders took on D.C. United at CenturyLink Field on July 17, 2017, they did something no MLS team had ever done before in league history.
The match got off to about as poor a start as possible, as the Sounders gave up goals to Deshorn Brown, Ian Harkes and Lloyd Sam to fall behind 3-0 after 50 minutes. When Seattle's Will Bruin pulled one back just one minute after Sam's tally, it's unlikely many in attendance at CenturyLink that night thought all three points were still in the cards.
But in a wild turn of events, Brad Evans and Svensson each found successive tallies, with Svensson's drawing Seattle level in the 74th minute. With the atmosphere turning from as dreary as you'll ever see at the CLink to raucous as ever, Cristian Roldan sent the crowd into full on bedlam with what turned out to be the game-winning finish in the 78th minute. And with that, Seattle became first team in MLS history to overcome a three-goal deficit to win a regular season match in regulation play.
If Seattle are to advance in the MLS is Back Tournament, they'll need to conjure up some of that magic one more time.
