Orlando, Seattle take series leads
Orlando City outlasted Nashville in a 1-0 win thanks to Wilder Cartagena’s Goal of the Postseason contender. Seattle cruised against Dallas in a 2-0 win. Both teams need one more win to advance to the conference semifinals.
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Wilder Cartagena thumped a ball off the bottom of the crossbar and Jordan Morris sent home a wicked cross from Nouhou as two favorites took control.
Let’s talk it out.
What happened?: It went exactly how you’d expect. Orlando piled on chances. Nashville held strong anyway. And, in the end, despite numerous chances to send this one to penalties, Nashville couldn’t find the net. The most likely timeline became the actual timeline. The only difference between the two teams came via Wilder Cartagena when he made a ball regret ever daring to become a ball and slammed a long-distance shot off the underside of the crossbar at speed.
So, did we learn anything?: We really, really didn’t and that’s terrible news for Nashville. Full credit to Orlando for piling on chances. Full credit to Nashville for holding on for dear life. But this one went exactly how you might have expected if you were paying attention to both teams’ form heading into the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs.
The Lions were better. Nashville can’t buy a goal, literally or figuratively. We probably know exactly how the rest of this will go, too.
Nashville even started to open a window of opportunity at one point. Orlando missed chances to finish off the game, then missed a few more until it began to feel like they missed too many. We’ve all seen enough Concacaf to know that at some point those misses tend to come back and bite you. But Nashville wasted a couple of huge opportunities to swipe a goal and maybe steal the game.
They’ve now been shut out in seven of their last 11 games. Hany Mukhtar hasn’t scored in the last seven games. Something has to change for Nashville to make this interesting, and it’s hard to see how it’s going to happen.
What’s next?: Game 2 is set for Tuesday, Nov. 7 at 9 pm ET in Nashville. It’s win or go home for the Coyotes.
What happened?: FC Dallas had opportunities. Jesús Ferreira had two huge chances in front of goal that would have put Dallas up 1-0 in the first half. Neither went on frame. And, well, folks, if you come at Playoff Seattle, you best not miss. Moments later, Albert Rusnák squeezed a penalty past Maarten Paes before the first half closed. In the 74th minute, Jordan Morris skied for a thundering header to put this one on ice.
Meanwhile, Dallas potentially took a huge blow. Alan Velasco left the game with an apparent leg injury in the 18th minute.
So, did we learn anything?: Yeah, y’all, it might be as many of you feared. We might be about to get that version of Seattle. The one that has it all come together at the right time. They looked outstanding for most of this match. Excluding a couple of missteps defensively that nearly let Ferreira do some early damage, they were in control.
Maybe we need to elaborate on that a bit. Sometimes control for Seattle feels like they’re dictating the terms of a low-scoring stalemate. This felt more like the version of Seattle that repeatedly takes a sledgehammer to teams’ ankles until they can’t walk anymore. The Sounders were consistently creating from wide areas, getting to the end line, getting into the Prime Assist Zones on the edge of the box to play cutbacks and challenging Dallas’ defense over and over. Dallas held on for a moment, but they weren’t ever going to be able to hold on for the whole game.
Don’t forget, Seattle have been the best defensive team in the West all season. If they’re putting together attacking performances like last night’s, then they’re an MLS Cup candidate. Maybe even a favorite in the West. The only team that really feels like it can compete with them on that level is LAFC. If they do face Dénis Bouanga and company in the next round, it will be in Seattle.
The Sounders have been characterized by inconsistency this year, though. It’s not a given that they’ll put together a similar performance in Game 2. They might not need to. But that will only get them through this series. They’ll need to look a lot like last night’s Sounders to make it to MLS Cup presented by Audi on Dec. 9.
C’mon though. How surprised would you really be?
What’s next?: This series heads to Dallas. Kickoff is set for Saturday, Nov. 4 at 9 pm ET.
- Orlando City showed their playoff mettle in their win over Nashville.
- Atlanta United are grappling with Thiago Almada’s absence for their playoff opener.
- FC Dallas fell to Seattle and may have lost their star playmaker
- Voting for AT&T 5G Goal of the Year and Save of the Year presented by Allstate is now open.
- Here’s how to watch Columbus vs. Atlanta
Good luck out there. Hit it where they ain’t.
