SEATTLE — Thanks to international duty (and Osvaldo Alonso’s injury), the last two Seattle Sounders matches looked rather dire as Brian Schmetzer was forced to experiment with his starting XI to compensate for the lack of players. They had already been without Clint Dempsey, Jordan Morris, and Alonso against DC last Wednesday, but Sunday’s match compounded the problem further as Nicolas Lodeiro served his suspension against San Jose. In both matches, salvation came from a sort-of-unlikely-but-not-really source: midfielder Cristian Roldan.
Despite earning his first international cap, Roldan was sent back to Seattle and replaced by club teammate Dempsey for the Gold Cup knockout round.