Jordan Morris leads Sounders past Austin FC to fourth-straight MLS win

For more than an hour, Sounders fans might’ve been forgiven for feeling like they were experiencing déjà vu. Just like the two teams did March 2, the Sounders and Austin FC were locked in a scoreless match. Threats to either goal were few and far between.

But in the 63rd minute, Sounders midfielder Obed Vargas made a surging run. As the Austin defense collapsed on him, Vargas passed the ball ahead to winger Paul Rothrock, who laid it off to Jordan Morris.

The Mercer Island native, who came off the bench for coach Brian Schmetzer on Saturday, received the pass, took a touch to let the Austin defenders fly past him, then calmly passed the ball into the back of the net.

“They’re finding me in really good spots,” Morris said.

Morris’ goal — his ninth in his past 11 games in all competitions — led the Sounders to a 1-0 win against Austin FC at Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas. It’s the fourth-consecutive MLS win for the Sounders, and the fifth-straight victory for coach Brian Schmetzer’s team in all competitions.

The Sounders remain in seventh place in the Western Conference standings with 34 points, above the playoff positions. The Houston Dash in eighth now trail by three points while Austin, in ninth, faces a four-point deficit. The Sounders welcome St. Louis City SC to Lumen Field at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

“The whole team had a really awesome performance,” Schmetzer said.

Schmetzer made several changes to the team that beat Sacramento Republic 2-1 in the quarterfinals of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday. Two players, however, were unavailable for selection.

Christian Roldan didn’t make the trip to Austin, staying in Seattle in preparation for the birth of his first child. Additionally, striker Raul Ruidiaz missed out on the matchday squad as he deals with minor leg tightness.

Left back Nouhou and center back Yeimar Gomez Andrade retained their spots in the starting 11 after playing all 90 minutes in California. They played the entire game on Saturday, too. Midfielder Joao Paulo and Rothrock also started again Saturday. Both players were substituted after about an hour against Sacramento.

The most notable changes Schmetzer made were to the Sounders attack. Argentine attacking midfielder Pedro de la Vega made his first start since March 2 — coincidentally, also against Austin — and striker Danny Musovski was called upon to lead the line. Schmetzer also recalled winger Leo Chu for the first time since substituting him at halftime against the New England Revolution on July 6.

“I was going to make a few more changes in this game, but I decided against it,” Schmetzer said. “I think we needed to collect points in the regular season push.”

Schmetzer’s heavily rotated team got the first real opportunity of the game. Joao Paulo was fouled in the 11th minute just about 30 yards away from goal, leading to an opportunity for a direct free kick. De la Vega stepped up and put his shot on target, forcing Austin goalkeeper Brad Stuver to tip the ball over the crossbar.

De la Vega was active throughout the opening stages of the game. He was brought down in the box by Austin defender Julio Cascante, but referee Jair Marrufo waived away calls for a penalty. De la Vega then came inches away from connecting with a cross from Chu after the Brazilian winger glided through Austin’s defense to create the opportunity.

“I’m going to give him some freedom,” Schmetzer said. “He’s certainly a tremendous player, a talented player. But he has to understand our system.”

Austin’s best chance of the first half came two minutes into stoppage time. A cross deflected off Nouhou and found winger Owen Wolff at the far post, but his shot was saved by a sliding Yeimar Austin did not register a shot on goal in the first half.

Schmetzer made the game’s first adjustments before the second half began, bringing on Morris and attacking midfielder Albert Rusnak for Musovski and de la Vega, respectively.

But Austin drew the first real chance of the game in the 49th minute, when a cross from right back Jon Gallagher found midfielder Sebastian Driussi making a run at the front post. His header drew a diving save from Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei.

The Sounders responded with a 60th-minute counterattack. The Rave Green’s attack surged forward for a four-on-three opportunity. Rusnak chose to play in Chu on the right, but the Brazilian’s first-time shot was saved.

Chu’s miss, however, was foreshadowing for Morris’ breakthrough two minutes later. It’s his ninth MLS goal of the season, and his sixth in his past seven games.

Morris wasn’t done impacting the game. He drew a second yellow card for center back Brendan Hines-Ike in the 77th minute to send Austin down to 10 players after the defender wrestled Morris to the ground to stop a line-breaking run. Hines-Ike’s first yellow card was also for a foul against Morris in the 58th minute to prevent a counterattack.

Rusnak’s resulting direct free kick from right on the edge of the penalty box beat Stuver, but rang off the crossbar.

Austin struggled to generate chances down a player, but came close to leveling the game with a barrage of corner kicks in stoppage time. The Sounders defense, however, stood strong to secure a crucial three points.

“We’ve got a good squad,” Schmetzer said. “They believe that they can win.”