Fans in Seattle are finally seeing the first signs of something they have been waiting for since the Seattle Sounders first announced that they had signed Jordan Morris; a cohesive, exciting partnership with Clint Dempsey.
After losing Obafemi Martins just before the season began, the Sounders were hoping that Morris and Dempsey would strike up the same sort of partnership that Martins and Dempsey had done in previous years but it did not start out well. The arrival of Nicolás Lodeiro has given both U.S. internationals the platform needed to perform at their very best. The front office in Seattle will certainly be hoping that there will be more to come like what they witnessed in Orlando last weekend.
Morris' pace is paying off for the Sounders
Due to Dempsey's absence for international duty and the misfiring of Nelson Valdez, Jordan Morris was who the Sounders looked at to give them attacking impetus. For the most part, Morris showed signs of why he was so highly rated coming out of Stanford University but his season consisted of near misses. Morris was being found here and there by his teammates but his passes that could lead to assists or his efforts on goal were usually narrowly missed. However, Morris did manage to score seven goals in 22 appearances with one assist so far this season.
That all changed this weekend as he helped Dempsey score a hat-trick in Orlando to give Seattle a 3-1 win over Orlando City. Morris' runs into space were found time and time again by his midfield and he used those opportunities to set up his teammates. He would have had more assists on the night but bar Dempsey, no one else for the Sounders could find the back of the net. The more the Sounders find Morris in space and the better his runs become, the higher the ceiling could be for a player who is already touted as a future star in Major League Soccer and for his country.
Dempsey coming back to his best
Clint Dempsey, up until this weekend, had struggled in a Sounders jersey. Dempsey had made 14 appearances for the team and only managed three goals and one assist, an output that was decidedly below his high standard. After this weekend, the Seattle coaching staff will be hoping that Dempsey has found his rhythm again with the help of Morris and Lodeiro. Against Orlando, Dempsey was able to find the space and time needed to match Morris' quick runs forward into space and also combine well with Lodeiro in midfield. His growing understanding with those two, in particular, was the main reason why he was able to score three goals and continually receive the ball in the box for him to capitalize one.
Interim coach Brian Schmetzer noted Dempsey's efforts to match Morris up front and stated that that was the decision behind him substituting the forward out in the 55th minute. Schmetzer, talking with the media after the game, said that "[Morris] kept getting in behind their defense" and that "Clint was catching up with him, having to sprint 60, 70 yards at a time" which led to Dempsey feeling some fatigue at that point in the match.
Schmetzer has not given up on the playoffs
Schmetzer also noted that his mantra of teamwork was being heeded by his players. He felt that in the previous match, the team was "getting chances", chances that they created against Los Angeles Galaxy and failed to finish but managed to do so against Orlando.
With so many chances created in each match so far, Schmetzer did not want to give up on making the playoffs yet. He noted that people should "just look at the history of the Sounders franchise” which always reflected a good road team. Schmetzer wanted to "instill that confidence back in the group" as they are "going to need to be a good road team to have a chance of making the playoffs.”
Should the Sounders continue to find the best out of their team but in particular, Morris, Dempsey, and Lodeiro, and with most of their remaining matches being against teams above them, Seattle cannot be ruled out yet.