Sounders creep above playoff line with win over St. Louis City

It took time to figure out.

Was it a deflection? Own goal? Cristian Roldan creativity?

Desperate for wins and goals, the Sounders didn’t care Saturday. A debatable score was quickly followed by an undeniable goal by Jordan Morris to give the Sounders a 2-1 win against St. Louis City at CityPark. The franchise joined MLS last year and has lost its three matches against Seattle.

The result moved the Sounders (4-6-5) above the playoff line, albeit what would be a play-in match if the postseason were to start today. St. Louis (3-4-7) is a point behind in 10th place.

“The first goal is to make the playoffs and make a run from there, so it feels good to be in that position,” said Morris, who has three goals this season. “It’s a good start, but we have a long way to go.”

Sounders midfielder Albert Rusnak was instrumental in both goals. For the first, he fed Roldan on the right wing. The midfielder sent a chip shot into the box, seemingly intended for a Raul Ruidiaz header. Instead, the ball deflected off defender Kyle Hiebert for an own goal in the 66th minute.

City keeper Roman Burki was surprised by the deflection, but he was in position for Morris. The forward collected a through ball from Rusnak on the run and only had Burki to beat. Morris used a right-footed shot to give Seattle a two-goal lead in the 69th minute.

“The lead-up play to the goal was great,” Morris said. “And the ball Albert put was perfect. Burki is a big presence in there, so I was happy I was able to put it away, but it was really the buildup play before that led to the goal.”

The Sounders had a messy defensive spell that allowed City their opening goal in the 82nd minute. A deflected shot was recycled from distance, defender Tomas Totland getting a tap on the ball to direct it past Sounders keeper Stefan Frei.

Majority of the 22,500 in attendance at CityPark turned the volume up as St. Louis pressed for the equalizer. Seattle nearly obliged in a similar situation to how the team conceded a draw at Lumen Field against Vancouver last week.

Paul Rothrock, who subbed on in the 87th minute, made a challenge inches outside the penalty box that earned him a yellow card. St. Louis couldn’t take advantage of the ideal spot for the free kick.

City also hit the post in stoppage time, dropping their third straight match.

“It’s the story of our season, we don’t like to make things easy,” Roldan said. “We seem to make it difficult on ourselves by conceding possession, conceding crosses, letting them win second balls. That compiles and they did a really good job of putting the ball in the box. Nervy moments for sure, but when you have a goalie like Stef, sometimes you have to rely on him.”

Frei had four saves in the match.

Sounders defender Nouhou made a challenge like Rothrock against Vancouver and was shown a yellow card. On the free kick, he tried to make a block that was ruled a handball, the Whitecaps knocking home the penalty for a 1-1 draw.

“They were throwing everything and the kitchen sink at us,” Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer said of St. Louis. “They were a little unfortunate not to get an equalizer, but our luck is changing.”

Seattle hogged the ball with 60.5% possession in the first half Saturday, but it was St. Louis midfielders Celio Pompeu (28th minute) and Njabulo Blom (44th) that forced Frei to make easy saves.

Alex Roldan set up the best chance for the Sounders in the 45th minute. But keeper Burki punched the ball away before Morris could connect with his head for a possible goal for Seattle.

With midfielder Josh Atencio still out with a hamstring injury, Schmetzer played Cristian Roldan alongside Joao Paulo in the middle and Obed Vargas on the right wing.

Cody Baker slotted in for Nouhou at left back due to the latter serving a one-game suspension for being sent off against Vancouver last week. It’s Baker’s fourth MLS start this season.

“I’m happy we’re using many different players to obtain these results,” said Cristian Roldan, whose team is unbeaten in their past three matches, including a U.S. Open Cup win where he joined Nouhou as the only mainstay starter in the opening lineup.

Schmetzer wanted to build minutes for Pedro de la Vega against St. Louis. The midfielder was listed as questionable due to a hamstring injury he’s managing and was ultimately left off the gameday roster.

Seattle returns home to host Real Salt Lake on Wednesday and Schmetzer hopes de la Vega can play.

“There’s momentum building,” Schmetzer said. “We have to back up some of those performances with a good performance against RSL.”