Pumas were arguably the most dangerous team in the opening minutes and looked to be taking an early lead before Piero Quispe’s opening goal was disallowed for offside. But when Paul Rothrock put the hosts ahead in the 32nd minute, the Sounders were in the firing line. Jordan Morris (2 goals/0 assists) and Albert Rusnák (1 goal/2 assists) took control and decided the game in the second half, with Rothrock tunneling Mexican international César Huerta.
“They didn’t like that. Pumas is a proud team, Huerta is one of their best players, he’s a $10 million player,” Schmetzer said. “And here’s our kid from Capitol Hill in Seattle putting the ball between his legs in the corner. I know why the Pumas players were upset.”
That anger boiled over in second-half stoppage time when Lisandro Magallán was sent off for tackling Morris from behind in the box. Morris scored the penalty himself to seal the result, but it was his striker’s reaction that impressed Schmetzer most.
“I’m extremely proud that Jordan, number one, stood up for himself because that wasn’t a nice tackle. He could have hurt himself on that play,” said Schmetzer. “And he jumped up and got in the guy’s face. I think that was very good, and whether it was calculated or not, whether Jordan is trying to get rid of his image as a nice guy, he earned that penalty, he stood up for himself, he scored the penalty. And that shows that it’s important to him.”
Monday’s performance also showed how much the Sounders have improved over the course of the competition, with Schmetzer comparing this recent performance to their loss in the group final to Necaxa.
“What I’m most proud of about this group is the game against Necaxa. When things started to get out of hand, we had no answer. And tonight, when the Pumas were on top of us, scored the goal and everything was going in their favor, we turned the momentum around and got it back,” Schmetzer said. “That’s what I’m most proud of about this group.
“That was a statement from this group: ‘You know what?’ We’re going to do good things this year.”
