Postgame Pontifications: Many questions must be answered in second half

Kayla Mehring / Sounder at HeartSEATTLE — The last couple of months have been a bit of a slog. The Seattle Sounders’ play on the field has been mostly uninspiring and the mood around the team has been increasingly negative.

At kickoff on Saturday, it all seemed to melt away. The biggest crowd of the season roared to life for a match against their biggest rivals on a beautiful spring day, the first half of a much-anticipated doubleheader.

Unfortunately, they had very little to scream about after that. The Sounders and Portland Timbers played to a 0-0 tie that was every bit as uninspiring as the scoreline suggested. The two teams combined for 15 shots which equated to just .60 expected goals,…