At age 27 and sporting a scruffy beard and mustache that away fans love to hate, Roger Levesque has emerged as a regular contributor for Seattle Sounders FC.
Although he's usually deployed late to provide pressure while Seattle protects a lead, Levesque came in against Real Salt Lake in the 69th minute in search of the equalizer. With Seattle down 1-0, Levesque provided an immediate impact. His first touches in midfield led to a Seattle counterattack that ended in a corner kick. On the ensuing corner, Levesque shed Nat Borchers and headed just over the crossbar.
The coaching staff has come to expect that type of effort from the Stanford graduate.
"He provides good energy, is decent in the air," assistant coach Brian Schmetzer said. "He got up on that corner and just got it over the bar."
Generally used as a substitute, Levesque hasn't yet found the net in MLS league play. But then again, neither has anyone else. In 20 league games, no Sounders FC player has come off the bench to find the net. Like a baseball team with no pinch-hitters, this handcuffs Seattle coach Sigi Schmid in his late-game strategy. Besides Levesque, there aren't many other attacking options.
Sebastien Le Toux has scored only once, an empty-netter against the Los Angeles Galaxy. Sanna Nyassi and Stephen King are the next closest options, but both are attack-minded midfielders as opposed to goal-dangerous strikers. New Zealand international Jarrod Smith was meant in to fill that role, but surgery to repair a torn right hamstring tendon ended his injury-plagued season in early July.
That leaves Levesque, who has come on in the second half of five of the last seven MLS contests. While he has yet to notch his first MLS goal for Sounders FC, Levesque's contributions early in the team's run to the U.S. Open Cup final cannot be underestimated. The striker was involved in all four goals in Seattle's 4-1 play-in victory over Real Salt Lake. In the next play-in match against Colorado, Levesque provided the assist as Seattle advanced 1-0 in a hard-nosed game.
In the Open Cup match against the Portland Timbers, he scored the first goal before most of the crowd had taken its seats as Seattle went on to win that game, 2-1.
The attacking player is one of the holdovers from the successful USL Sounders teams assembled by Adrian Hanauer and coached by Schmetzer. In addition to his on-field contributions, the affable Levesque matches the template of the type of player Hanauer and Schmetzer targeted for the USL team.
"We obviously want to have good soccer players, but we don't want to make ourselves like mercenaries," Schmetzer said. "We want to make sure the clubhouse is a good unit as well and he definitely brings that."
Never was that more evident than after his goal in Portland. The jocular Levesque provided one of the most memorable moments of the 2009 season to date -- a choreographed goal celebration in which teammate Nate Jaqua wielded a pretend axe and "chopped" him down. After the match, a smiling Levesque regretted only that the celebration didn't occur in front of Portland's "Timber Army."
However, Schmetzer also acknowledges that Levesque's easygoing nature can be a hindrance. Schmetzer believes that Levesque's USL experience, which includes difficult Friday-Sunday doubleheaders in faraway places like Miami and Puerto Rico, needs to show in training.
"I think you have to have the good balance, because there are days where I want Roger to be more angry," Schmetzer said, adding that Levesque's energy can raise the level of training for the younger members of the team.
As his USL compatriots struggle to contribute, Levesque has emerged as the one steady contributor for the MLS side. Even fan favorite Le Toux, who is currently on the mend from an abdominal strain, has seen his playing time diminish. Defender Zach Scott, goalkeeper Chris Eylander and defender Taylor Graham have also struggled with injuries.
"I feel like at this point in our careers, everybody has those years," Levesque said. "I was out most of last year with an ankle injury -- we all go through those times. I'm sure when they're healthy they will be right back in the mix."
Andrew Winner is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
