Defensive lapse leads to Sounders’ second 1-0 loss of season to Nashville SC
SEATTLE – The Sounders were minutes away from a needed halftime break after their back line had been pounded by cross after Nashville SC cross on Wednesday.
Yeimar Gomez Andrade, Nouhou and Abdoulaye Cissoko continuously won their aerial duels. They were physical, sliding to block challenges.
Cristian Roldan cleared a shot off the goal-line which stemmed from a cross.
The Sounders looked like they’d make it to halftime at Geodis Park in Nashville, Tennessee, with a clean sheet.
But in the 44th minute, after Nico Lodeiro lost the ball because he didn’t see Nashville’s Randall Leal sneak up behind him, the Sounders’ back line was caught napping.
A long ball sailed over the Sounders’ heads, creating a 2-on-2 chance in which Nashville’s two were their most dangerous attackers. C.J. Sapong chased down the longball, and Hany Mukhtar buried the chance to lift Nashville to a 1-0 win.
The Sounders, who were in seventh place, missed a chance to leapfrog past sixth-place Nashville.
It’s the third time in MLS play this season that the Sounders (8-9-2, 26 points) have lost back-to-back games. They opened league play in 2022 with losses to Nashville and Real Salt Lake, and to San Jose and Miami in mid-April. Now, they’ve fallen to Nashville (8-6-6, 30 points) for the second time in 2022 after losing to Portland on Saturday.
It’s not the first time a momentary defensive lapse has cost the Sounders.
It happened on the first goal against the Timbers, and with a red card in that game. It happened in a 2-1 loss to Montreal, and the 1-1 tie with LAFC.
It happened again with Nashville’s long ball.
The Sounders’ defense was already thin against Nashville. Center back Jackson Ragen was serving a one-game suspension after receiving two yellow cards against Portland, and center back Xavier Arreaga is still returning from a reported quadriceps injury that he suffered last month (he played the final 15 minutes).
Starting goalie Stef Frei wasn’t available either.
The Sounders were outshot 10-2 during the first 55 minutes. For the final 35 minutes, Seattle outshot Nashville 7-2
.