SAN JOSE, Calif. -- If the Seattle Sounders fail to make the 2016 MLS Cup playoffs, it won’t be from a lack of trying on the part of Uruguayan maestro Nicolas Lodeiro.
Lodeiro’s third goal since coming to Seattle this summer salvaged another point for the Sounders, giving them a 1-1 draw Saturday night against the San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium.
Lodeiro’s 30-yard free kick in the 80th minute, a menacing inswinger from the right side, floated over a cluster of players from both teams before bouncing past pinned Quakes goalkeeper David Bingham for another critical late-game performance. Lodeiro’s previous goal, August 24 against Houston, forged a tie in the 94th minute to similarly help keep Seattle’s playoff hopes alive.
“The goal was important because we were able to rescue at least one point,” Lodeiro told reporters through an interpreter. “The most important thing today was to win. We have to continue working. We’re not going to have any more chances. We cannot continue to lose points.”
That Lodeiro’s new club is still below the red line -- Seattle was passed by victorious Vancouver on Saturday, although the Sounders have two matches in hand on the Whitecaps and sixth-place Portland -- speaks to how deep in the doldrums they sat before his arrival.
Seattle has scored 13 goals in seven matches with Lodeiro, and he’s had a direct hand in nine of those (three goals, six assists) to help the Sounders go 3-1-3 in that stretch.
“I came with one objective: To make it to the playoffs,” Lodeiro said. “In South America, there is a lot of pressure and we’re always accustomed to these types of final games.”
The Sounders and Lodeiro have not managed to win since Clint Dempsey was sidelined with an irregular heartbeat last month. Perhaps that’s why Seattle interim head coach Brian Schmetzer lauded Lodeiro but took pains to point out that no single player can be counted on to win games by himself.
“Nico has been very, very good for us since he’s come,” Schmetzer said. “He’s a tremendous player. He’s helped us create things, generate chances, all of those things. What we all have to remember, though, including the press and myself and the staff, is that one man doesn’t make a team. So I can talk all day long about Nico Lodeiro, but I can also talk about Roman Torres, Chad Marshall, my captain tonight Ozzie Alonso … Nico, yes, is a big part of our team, but the team is still the team.”
A team that needs to find several more victories if they are to avoid missing the postseason for the first time in their MLS history.
“It wasn’t a loss, but it wasn’t a win, either,” Schmetzer said. “Draws are like vanilla. It’s better than a loss, but it’s certainly not what we were looking for.”
