Sounder Strategy: Cascadia Climax

Decision day is here and the Portland Timbers are in town. The Seattle Sounders' biggest audience in 2024 will be watching as their team looks to upend more than one narrative toward the end of the season.

The Sounders, who haven't beaten the Timbers at home since 2017, can prove that the frustrating Gio Savarese era of underperformance against their rivals is over and done with. They can lift the Cascadia Cup in front of their fans. While they advance into the playoffs, they can send Portland tumbling in the opposite direction. Additionally, they can solidify a new storyline for the 2024 season that is less about injuries and poor starts and more about resilience and success. Let's look at what worked for Seattle's offense and how they can finally turn the tide against the Timbers.

Explore Seattle

The most momentous turning point of the 2024 season came in June, when Paul Rothrock entered Seattle's attack, leaving Raúl Ruidíaz on the bench. Perhaps the second most important moment came in Seattle's last meeting with Portland, when Cristian Roldan was pushed back a line to replace the injured João Paulo. In the six games since, Cristian has made the position his own, and Seattle's more direct wing options playing in his place have transformed the team.

Seattle's top three players since August in American Soccer Analysis's Goals Added (g+) metric are Jordan Morris, Cristian and Paul Rothrock. Morris' elite ability to receive progressive passes is well documented, but the connection between Cristian and Rothrock has helped the Sounders create danger from wide areas:

On the other hand, Pedro de la Vega still hasn't established himself as a DP-level player, but his game against Colorado showed undeniable improvement. Over the past few weeks, Pedro has clearly been trying to do too much. He opted for poorly timed shots and dribbles as if to make up for lost time. This match was different. Instead of trying to be a hero, Pedro was a teammate. He stayed in position, received passes and focused on beating defenders. It was sequences like this that showed how Pedro can be an asset in the remaining games of 2024:

This is the Sounders' ideal build-up sequence in 2024. Lightning-quick moves from back to front cause the defense to sprint toward their own goal. Ragen breaks through the lines, Morris receives the ball falling from the back line and Rusnák is in the right place to distribute it straight to the wing.

Too often this season the wing has been the place where such attacking moves have failed. Without the speed and dribbling ability to beat defenders, the game stalled and the Sounders often switched possession as the defense organized. Things change between Rothrock, de la Vega and Georgi Minoungou. When de la Vega turns the corner with a touch of the ball and leaves his defender in the dust, four goals end up in the penalty area and Colorado struggles to chase them all down. That sequence didn't end with a goal, but the blueprint for success is in place if Seattle can achieve a similar level of production on the left that they enjoy from Rothrock on the right.

Exploring Portland

Evander was a minor MVP candidate for months before the Timbers' late-season collapse all but ended those discussions. Still, there's no debate about who's leading Portland's attack or who opposing defenders fear most. In this sequence, Evander's movement toward the ball attracts a defender and creates a hole in Dallas' midfield. Evander then changes course and sends a one-touch pass to the wing to continue the attacking movement: