SEATTLE — Even at the tail end of what can be a slog of a campaign, soccer still has the capacity to surprise.
Saturday afternoon’s match between the Sounders and Whitecaps was an unlikely occasion for such a welcome reminder. Both teams entered the weekend on the periphery of the Western Conference playoff picture, another bad result or two from being edged out of it altogether.
Instead of suffocating the rivalry game, the high stakes inspired recklessness. This was a match of long runs and shots from a distance.
And it ended with perhaps the unlikeliest plot twist of all, given the trajectory of the Sounders’ 2016 season to this point: Long stretches of dominance giving way to a breakthrough goal.
Seattle rookie Jordan Morris’ 81st-minute header lifted the Sounders over rival Vancouver 1-0 on Saturday afternoon in front of an announced attendance of 47,111 at CenturyLink Field.
Those three points lifted the Sounders from ninth place in the West all the way to seventh, leaping over both the ‘Caps and ‘Quakes in the process. Seattle (10-13-5) is four points back of sixth-place Kansas City with a match in hand.
“Patience was important today,” Sounders keeper Stefan Frei said before conceding how hard that was to keep in the front of minds. “We knew it was a do-or-die game.”
The opening 45 minutes mixed moments of irrational confidence with a sense that neither team was entirely sure of itself, like college freshmen without a firm grip of their alcohol tolerance.
The pattern made sense: Both sides were aware of the need to win but are scarred from a season’s worth of setbacks.
Whitecaps forward Erik Hurtado chipped a ball over Frei’s head early on, only to be denied when the goalkeeper backtracked in time to swipe it off his head. Andreas Ivanschitz swerved a screwball around the far post, coming so close to the opening goal that somebody triggered the celebratory flamethrowers by accident.
Morris redirected a long pass between a defender’s legs with a clever first touch, then picked out Ivanschitz with a pass off the outside of his right foot. Osvaldo Alonso slalomed between a pair of ‘Caps near midfield before setting up another chance.
The first half was full of gasp-inducing pieces of fleeting inspiration such as these.
“That was some of the best soccer we’ve played, with or without Clint (Dempsey), that I’ve seen in a long time,” Schmetzer said.
Yet for the many examples of in-the-moment unpredictability, by the final half hour, the match had settled into a familiar pattern. Seattle had more of the ball, created the better of the chances. But as has often been the case in this stadium this season, that hadn’t translated into the all-important go-ahead goal.
“It can be frustrating especially as a forward,” Morris said. “That’s your job, to put the ball in the back of the net. It was in the back of my mind. But you’ve keep pushing, keep grinding, be confident that the chance will come.”
Morris had been a menace in the attacking third all afternoon, sprinting into space and throwing his body against defenders. The rookie forward harried opponents and won corner kicks, waiting with blind faith for a chance that, as he knows better than anyone, isn’t promised.
Until it did: Nicolas Lodeiro’s left-footed cross finding a ducking head, Morris holding off a defender and finishing with a grimace.
“That’s a good goal by any standard and it’s also a brave goal. Jordan’s sticking his head in there,” Schmetzer said. “It’s not easy. But he did and he got the goal — that was his reward.”
That was the interim coach’s take-away theme: Put hard work in, take points out. Both Schmetzer and Morris have learned that it’s rarely so straightforward.
