Sounders quietly solved their biggest problem in their last match vs San Diego | OneFootball

Understandably, Jesus Ferreira was relieved to score his first goal for the Rave Green. He only had a couple of chances, but he was successful in his last one, which is often what separates a victory and a tie, or a tie and a loss.

It had been a long time coming, and many critics and fans were starting to lose faith. His preference for being a hold-up player came in handy. He turned his back to the goal and, with one touch, set himself up to put his next touch past the San Diego keeper and into the back of the net.

After about 1,300 minutes played and 19 games with the Sounders without a goal, Jesus Ferreira takes advantage of his trust in his teammates. With a baby expected any day now, a lot of things are falling into place for the goalscorer. He gave credit to his teammates for trusting him to come through and said that he was inspired by Stefan Frei, who had another stellar performance.

Sounders quietly solved their biggest problem in last match vs San Diego

Brian Schmetzer wasn't thrilled with the Sounders play in the first half, but he was happy to defend their home turf and once again praised Stefan Frei by stating that he "Stefan Frei is the best goal keeper in the league, he makes every save that he has to." He also claimed that he was the "best shot stopping goalkeeper in the League bar none."

Frei made several exceptional saves during the match, but 2 stand out. San Diego shot the ball and Frei started to dive for it, only to have it deflected where Frei was able to clear the ball out with his feet. The skill to do that requires an extensive amount of mental and physical focus that causes most goalies to give up goals.

The other mentionable save was when Frei dove for a reaction save and popped the ball in the air that was cleared by a Nouhou bicycle kick. It is inexplicable that Frei has not been recognized (outside of Brian Schmetzer's praises) as the best that the MLS has to offer.

Other than Frei and Ferreira, Stuart Hawkins entered the game to replace Kim Kee-Hee who was injured during the game leaving an already thin defensive line with more questions. Schmetzer described Hawkins play in his Sounders debut as "unexpectedly good" in the gritty effort for the Sounders. He held his ground and fit in with the defensive line in part due to his familiarity with Jon Bell (who also played well) from their play in training as well as with the Defiance.

The Sounders will have the luxury of an additional day off in this 3 game week as their next game isn't until Sunday against Minnesota. Minnesota has tied their last two games and were not in good form against Vancouver but got out of there with a point. They may be looking to do the same in Seattle in an attempt to thwart Seattle from jumping them in the standings.

Jackson Ragan will likely get his first action at some point on Sunday as the roster may require some tinkering due to fatigue and injury issues after playing two 3 game weeks in the last 3 weeks. A win on Sunday would be 9 points earned in a week, and continue their ascension in the standings. Vancouver, the leader in the standings, is currently only 6 points ahead of the Sounders with only one more game before the midpoint of the season.

The game against San Diego repaid them for the Sounders defeat away, and can be used as a sign that they are progressing with their team chemistry and their ability to fill in for injured players over the existence of the franchise is also notable. It was also promising that they could withstand the pressure that was offered by San Diego, make some changes, and come up with a victory.