ECNL x MLS NEXT Friendly: Seattle United v. Sounders Academy

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Saturday afternoon brought together two Seattle based teams to the Providence Swedish Performance Center and Clubhouse, the newest home of the Seattle Sounders FC. The facility is located in Renton, Washington and is a state of the art facility that boasts four beautiful training fields and brand new performance center. The large campus houses the MLS Seattle Sounders FC First Team, MLS Next Academy Teams and their MLS Next Pro Team, Tacoma Defiance. It was a great setting for what was to be a competitive match.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Seattle United Holds Their Own in the First Half:</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The title of this post mentions that this match was a 'friendly' but it felt more like an ultra competitive rivalry match versus two U18 squads that wanted to prove something. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first minutes of the match had the Sounders GK <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='18166' first='Mohammed' last='Shour']</strong> and the Seattle United GK <strong>Otto Richter </strong>making some quality saves to set the tone early. <strong>Shour</strong> made an acrobatic save to push the shot over the top post to give United a corner.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":267855,"width":"433px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none","align":"right"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/10/IMG_1689-crop-2400x1576-1728261444.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-267855" style="width:433px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Otto Richter #1 - Seattle United ECNL U18</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='17690' first='Carson' last='Yamada']</strong> started the scoring for the Sounders with a well placed shot that beat the keeper to his right. <strong>Yamada</strong> received the ball to his feet off a post deflection from a teammates shot. He was in the right place at the right time. Minutes later, <strong>Yamada</strong> strikes again. He gains possession of the ball near the PK spot and burries a shot past the diving keeper for his second goal of the match.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Possession was a key for the Sounders throughout the match. They had no problem connecting passes to build their attack. Connecting passes of seven, eight and even nine consecutively was the norm for the MLS Next team. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>However, it wasn't all Sounders all the time. The Seattle United ECNL squad came to play. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Talented Seattle United midfielder, <strong>Abdala Hassani</strong>, made his presence known with a left foot strike near the top of the box that stunned the Sounders defense and cut the lead to one. The assist came from <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='18256' first='Riley' last='Cotton']</strong> with a quick quality pass that gave <strong>Hassani</strong> a small shooting window which he took advantage of. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":267853,"width":"411px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none","align":"left","className":"is-style-default"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignleft size-large is-resized is-style-default"><img src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/10/IMG_1665-crop-2714x1782-1728260947.jpg?1728261089" alt="" class="wp-image-267853" style="width:411px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Abdala Hassani #3 - Seattle United ECNL U18</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The United defense stood strong in the waning minutes of the first half. <strong>Jaxsen Teeter</strong> and <strong>Kai Wray</strong> led the back line with physical 1v1 battles and timely clearances. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Seattle United score gave new life to the ECNL team that needed a boost. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Seattle Sounders Academy Pull Away in the Second Half:</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The second half scoring started early. Just six minutes in, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='17690' first='Carson' last='Yamada']</strong> for the Sounders was in the perfect position to place the near post rebound into the back of the net. He quickly secured his hat trick on the afternoon. Once again, the Sounders take a two goal lead up 3-1.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another Sounders player that was dominate throughout was, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='18207' first='Omar' last='Hassan']</strong>. The standout winger used his elite speed to cut through the midfield and defense to place through balls and crosses in dangerous spots. <strong>Omar</strong> recently played with the USYNT U15's where he was named MVP of the Vlatko Markovic tournament.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":267859,"width":"393px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none","align":"right"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/10/IMG_1717-crop-2634x1730-1728264242.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-267859" style="width:393px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='17690' first='Carson' last='Yamada'] - Seattle Sounders Academy</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the 31st minute, Seattle United forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='18256' first='Riley' last='Cotton']</strong>, finished a great cross received from <strong>Kavi Badh</strong> from the left side of the pitch to bring the Seattle United team within one score. <strong>Badh</strong> was dangerous in the second half with numerous crosses in the box to give United opportunities. Unfortunately, the <strong>Cotton</strong> goal would be the last for SU. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Sounders Academy finished strong with two close range 1v1 goals in the final 15 minutes to extend the lead to 5-2. Just before the final whistle, Seattle United GK <strong>Jackson</strong> <strong>Bankers</strong>, had a gorgeous sprawling double save that had him covering the entire face of goal at point blank distance to deny the Sounders their 6th goal.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This game may not show up in any record books but it was a physical battle with the final score not reflecting how close it really was. Seattle United came to play and fought well against some of the best U18 players the region has to offer. These teams will look to continue their successes as their respective seasons continue.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->