Wasatch Soccer Sentinel

As you might have observed, there were no player ratings this week, owing to family commitments immediately after the match — you know the drill. And what a match to not write about immediately afterward — this was an end-to-end match with a goal that probably caught many people still turning on their streams.

The first minute — it’s not something you see often, which is honestly a little funny to me. You’d think we might see more early scoring in low-granularity sports, but maybe teams are coming out more prepared and focused than Houston Dynamo did last night. It’s the earliest goal scored in MLS this year, and it’s the first time RSL has managed it since a week 22 5-2 win last year against Atlanta United.

It was perhaps a little shocking how easily RSL sliced open Houston, with the opposition looking as disorganized in transition as I’ve seen a team. It really just took Diego Luna — who else? — starting a great run down the left side, drawing two players to the touchline before a neat interchange with Emeka Eneli. Again, who else? These two players have been at the center of everything RSL’s done well, and that was the case again here.

Eneli continuing his run from the midfield really emphasized how much his game’s grown over the last two years. I am one of many that’s been skeptical about the value of the MLS Draft, but there’s value to be found, and we found it in Eneli. (I do still think it’s a poor method of squad-building, but I should celebrate the successes, too. And I will never say no to smart players — does the college system create smarted players? I don’t know. Eneli’s bright, though.) Even just at the end of last season, Eneli likely wouldn’t have continued his run into the box in a moment like this, opting to play a little more cautiously. There’s a bravery to his game now that wasn’t there before, and it’s not that he was a timid player before — but he was a role player. Maybe it’s the mantle of captainship.

And we should talk, too, about the impact of Diogo Goncalves, whose goal was a tidy one. Not to diminish his goal, but while his run for the goal was excellent, it’s not as if he had much competition in a very routine position in the box. He’s basically at the penalty spot, and his finish completely unmarked should never have been an issue.

Before we get to RSL’s second goal, we should touch on Houston’s. There are two things I’d like to discuss. First, we have the foul in an extremely dangerous position, which Bode Hidalgo committed with no necessity whatsoever. The ball had gone. It should’ve been a non-issue. It wasn’t, as the ensuing free kick from just outside the right corner of the box was delivered perfectly onto the header of Houston’s Ponce. It appeared to be generally an issue of man-marking, and with Eneli the closest player just on the wrong side, I think he’ll shoulder some of the popular blame. I don’t think that’s quite it, though — a closer read has Sam Junqua and Brayan Vera both marking who I believe is Ethan Bartlow, who was the player just in front of where the ball arrived. You can also see Braian Ojeda dealing with two players, and Bode Hidalgo and Justen Glad dealing with — I think — Griffin Dorsey. It just looked a bit of a mess, and I don’t think we can just pin that on one player. While we won’t give up too many free kicks in that specific position (at least, I should hope not), that looks to be an area of particular weakness that could be readily targeted. So, a bad moment upon a bad moment, but I suppose I’m not too worried. Perhaps if we continue to see poor or otherwise suspect defensive positioning on corners, I’ll protest.

If you had to pick a time to score, RSL’s goal was scored at perhaps the best moment: in first-half stoppage time. I just go right back to the old adage about it being the best time to score because your opponent is forced to rip up their plans. Whether that’s true or not, it’s certainly a more fun way to go into halftime than having just conceded, so I’ll take it.

And what a goal to go into halftime with: Diego Luna, sans mask, smacking a maybe-errant shot from Dominic Marczuk into the goal with his head. I mean, what a player. He created the play in the first place, somehow winning the ball on the end line when most players can’t get around the defender before a nice dribble in the box. The fact that the ball landed at Marczuk required a bit of fortune after a poor pass in from Hidalgo, with the ball rebounding off a Houston defender to get to the Polish winger. And Marzcuk’s shot somehow finding the head of Luna was a bit of good fortune all its own, as you almost never see short players with powerful headers from their teammates’ shots. It’s just not the usual thing. I loved it, but if we’re talking about replicable plays, that’s absolutely not one of them. (That honestly makes it even better for me as a fan.) There were even some afters for those who enjoy that part of the game, with Marczuk celebrating in front of a Houston player with whom he’d been sparring a bit. I like the bite, but I do think it’s worth saving those moments for truly big moments — not a go-ahead goal in the fourth week of the season against Houston Dynamo, of all teams.

I don’t really have anything to say about the second half. It was fine. Nothing all that weird happened. Houston had some good opportunities, and they controlled the last 10 minutes of the game to no particular effect. It’s not scintillating stuff, seeing your team drop in, and while I get it, I’m not going to pretend to enjoy it.

A few stray thoughts:

• Dominic Marczuk saw the early sub, coming out in the 57th minute. Sub-60 minute substitutes are interesting, and I don’t know if there’s something I missed that led to it.
• Late in the second half, Emeka Eneli seemed to embody Kyle Beckerman a bit with some antagonism toward Houston after committing a foul — he fell on the ball, held to it, let himself get thrown a bit. It’s not that I ever saw Beckerman do that in particular, but there was a commitment to further incensing the opposition that just worked.
• Pablo Ruiz entered in a central attacking role, which I don’t think suits him particularly well — especially when pressing. I think subbing Diego Luna was reasonable, but was Ruiz the right choice there? I suppose it doesn’t much matter, as the match was won and is very much over, but I’m going on record here saying I’m just not sure about how he’ll be used.
• RSL still needs a center forward. There’s still over a month until the transfer window closes, but it’s still worth remembering that neither Ari Piol nor Forster Ajago appear to be good enough to hold the starting role. That’s one of five positions (goalkeeper, both center backs and at least one central midfielder, plus center forward) that really should be established on good teams.

Alright, well, hope you had a good time watching.

This week:

• Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.: Real Monarchs vs. El Farolito — 1993 winners of the U.S. Open Cup (as San Francisco Club Deportivo Mexico)
• Saturday, 7:30 p.m. Mountain Daylight: RSL vs. FC Dallas
• Saturday, 8 p.m.: San Diego Wave vs. Utah Royals
• Sunday, 6 p.m.: Colorado Rapids U-23 vs. Real Monarchs