After ‘weathering the storm,’ the Sounders are finally hitting their stride

The Sounders are aiming for their sixth consecutive win across all competitions as they return to Lumen Field to face St. Louis City SC on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

Seattle’s uptick in play is proving to be more than just a hot streak.

Seattle’s recent stretch is a marked improvement from the start to their 2024 campaign when they had six points over their first eight matches, with five draws and three losses — the last of which came against a DC United team on April 27 that was riding a three-game losing streak.

“You can call it shaky or you can call it weathering the storm,” goalkeeper Stefan Frei said. “You have to weather it but not break. That’s been a mentality during seasons when we were successful because you can’t not have your foot on the gas pedal.”

While the Sounders have been winning lately, they’ve only beaten a team by more than two goals three times all season. And four of their past five wins have come by one goal.

“There are a lot of games to go this season and we know we can’t win every single game 3-0,” midfielder Reed Baker-Whiting said. “It’s just we have to go out there each game and focus on it. Each game is the most important game. And if we win, that’s great.”

Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer said better execution, and a little luck, have factored into the improved play of late.

“The players are the same but we are just executing better, we are making plays,” Schmetzer said. “We got a good squad. They believe that they can win. The coaches have done a great job getting the players to understand what we want and the players have been delivering.

“The ball seems to be bouncing our way now. We had bad luck. We were shooting ourselves in the foot early on in the year. One of my biggest mentors Jimmy Gabriel said, ‘your luck always evens out as the season progresses.’ We had a ton of bad luck at the beginning of the year, but it’s evening out.”

Allowing just 26 goals over the regular season, the third fewest in the league, is one aspect that isn’t down to luck. 

It’s helped the attacking unit achieve what they’ve done recently: scoring two or more goals in eight of the last 11 matches.

“The energy we’ve brought running behind, I think perhaps earlier in the year and at times last year, we’ve had really good shape and we’ve been able to move the ball really well, but we were a little static,” Baker-Whiting said. “I think now we’re incorporating a little dynamism into our shape that even though we have our formation, we have guys who are just going to run in behind and guys who are going to play that ball in behind.”

Another major factor in the team’s recent play has been Morris’s recent ability to find the back of the net. The Mercer Island native has scored in nine of Seattle’s past 11 games.

“For goal scorers, once you’re playing with confidence, it obviously helps,” Morris said. “I knew at the beginning of the season when things weren’t quite falling that you go through those times where it feels like you’re never going to score again and then sometimes you’re scoring every game. Obviously it’s up to the group giving me really good balls. I’m happy with the run of form but more happy with the run of form from the group and hopefully we can keep going.”

That confidence comes from Schmetzer allowing Morris to play further forward and utilize his speed along with the defense.

“He’s been so good,” Baker-Whiting said. “It’s why we’ve been winning so much. He’s been really contributing. Scoring goals and getting assists is how we win games because we’re always so good defensively. When we have players that can make goals and make goals happen, that’s how we’re going to win games. That’s why we’ve been winning so much.”

There certainly will be added motivation from St. Louis to end Seattle’s six-game winning streak on their home turf. St. Louis has conceded 16 goals over their last six outings and have won just once since their losing 2-1 to the Sounders on May 25.

Frei believes that as long as they stay even-keeled, never getting too high or too low during the long 34-game season, and play with confidence, things will continue to point in the right direction.

“I think we were always pushing and working very hard,” Frei said. “Things were just a knife’s edge from going our way at times and that can be very disheartening. I think we kept going and kept going. Then, when it finally turns and you get your results, you get rewarded. Then you finally have your confidence just slowly increase. 

“Guys are firing on all cylinders and it’s amazing to see. We’ve always said we had a deep team, but when a deep team gets confidence as well, it’s going to be dangerous.”