MLS Footnotes: Jordan Morris is ready to lead Sounders back to playoffs and beyond
Editor's Note: MLS Footnotes takes you inside the major talking points around the league and across American soccer.
It's been a whirlwind last few months for Jordan Morris. The U.S. men's national team forward went to his first FIFA World Cup in November and made two appearances off the bench, including the Americans' round of 16 loss to the Netherlands. He played in the Club World Cup in Morocco in February. Now, three weeks into the new MLS season, Morris is leading the league in goals — not bad for a guy who mans the wing for the Seattle Sounders.
"I play as winger, but I've always prided myself on being a goalscorer," Morris told FOX Sports ahead of Saturday's matinée against defending MLS Cup champ LAFC (4 p.m. ET, FOX). "I was a No. 9 in college and starting out with the national team and the Sounders, so I still have that hunger to score. That was a big mindset of mine going into this year."
As a team, Seattle's mindset was to redeem themselves. That may seem strange; last spring, the Sounders became the first American team to win the CONCACAF Champions League. They also never recovered from their slow start in league play and missed the postseason for the first time since entering MLS in 2009.
Fans and media blamed the long and grueling Champions League run plus injuries — key midfielder João Paulo suffered a season-ending ACL tear in the final against Mexico's Pumas — for the failure. The Sounders didn't see it that way inside the locker room.
"To not make the playoffs wasn't acceptable," Morris said. "It lit a fire under us. You could see the energy in the first couple of games. We definitely have something to prove."
Despite going almost four months without a competitive game, the Sounders narrowly missed out on a semifinal meeting with mighty Real Madrid at the Club World Cup; Egypt's Al Ahly eliminated Brian Schmetzer's squad on a fluky 88th minute goal. They started the 2023 MLS campaign with a pair of convincing wins, over the Colorado Rapids and Real Salt Lake, before losing 1-0 in Cincinnati last weekend.
Saturday's marquee contest in Seattle will be revealing. That this time the visitors are the team fighting on multiple fronts could help. After fielding a full-strength lineup in Wednesday's Champions League loss to Costa Rica's Alajuelense, LAFC is likely to sit some of their starters out on the trip north. After spending all week at home preparing, the Sounders will be fully rested.
"We want to try to play fast and put them under pressure because potentially some of their guys will have tired legs," Morris said. "We know how difficult that was last year, just the wear and tear of playing in the Champions League and the international travel involved.
"But we also know LAFC has a really deep team, like we do," he added. "Whoever they put out on the field, it's gonna be a good test."
MLS FOOTNOTES
1. CONCACAF quarterfinals set
Wednesday defeat at home wasn't fatal for LAFC, which advanced to the last eight of the Champions League 4-2 on aggregate over the two legs.
Carlos Vela & Co. are joined in the quarterfinals by two other MLS teams: the Vancouver Whitecaps, which also lost Tuesday but progressed on total goals, and Philadelphia Union, 4-0 winners Wednesday over Alianza after last week's stalemate in El Salvador. Meanwhile, Austin and Orlando City were knocked out by Violette (Haiti) and Tigres (Mexico) respectively.
At least one MLS club is guaranteed a spot in the semis: LAFC will meet Canadian champ Vancouver in the next round, which begins in early April. The Union will face Atlas of Liga MX.
2. LAFC keeps rolling in MLS play
The title holders remain perfect through two league games. LAFC thumped the New England Revolution 4-0 last Sunday without several starters. Denis Bouanga, who also had the lone goal against Alajuelense midweek, scored twice.
Steve Cherundolo's men outshot the Revs 18-4 and forced keeper Djordje Petrović to make 12 saves. After two games, Bouanga looks like a Golden Boot award contender in his first full season in MLS.
Besides LAFC, expansion St. Louis is the only unbeaten, untied team – although the newbies have played one extra match. St. Louis will go for a fourth straight win Saturday against San Jose.
3. Injured stars in Philly, Miami, Toronto
Winless TFC got some bad news this week: star forward Lorenzo Insigne will miss Saturday's visit from Inter Miami and at least two more games. The league's highest paid player limped off in the first half of the Feb. 25 season opener and hasn't been back since. The earliest Insigne could return is April 8 in Nashville.
Miami will be similarly shorthanded for Saturday's match. The club announced on Tuesday that Gregore will be out for the next months following foot surgery. "We're heartbroken for our captain," Miami coach Phil Neville said of the Brazilian midfielder.
The diagnosis was better for Union keeper Andre Blake. Philadelphia coach Jim Curtin feared the worst when Blake was forced to leave last week's win against Chicago with a non contact injury, but he's only expected to miss a week or two.
On Friday, Blake was named as one of six finalists for CONCACAF 2022 men's player of the year. Two MLS alums (Tyler Adams of Leeds and Bayern Munich's Alphonso Davies) are also on the list.
4. Sounders return to Club World Cup
It took more than 20 years for an MLS team to end Mexican clubs' domination of the CONCACAF region. There were ear misses along the way. Seattle sacrificed blood, sweat, and possibly playoff berth to make the milestone achievement for the U.S. and Canada's top league finally happen.
Contrast that with Tuesday, when Seattle qualified for the expanded 2025 Club World Cup without kicking a ball. FIFA is expanding the competition to 32 teams that year, and the Sounders received an automatic invite along with 2021 CONCACAF champ Monterrey. The 2023 and '24 winners also qualify. That means up to three MLS teams will participate in 2025 – four if the United States is selected to host the event.
Morris is already looking forward to getting another crack at the Club World Cup. The Sounders were devastated to fall after just one match in Morocco, missing the chance to face Karim Benzema, Luka Modrić, Vini Jr. and the rest of Real Madrid's Galácticos on the global stage.
"Even if it didn't end how we wanted it to, it was a great experience for our group," he said. "I know it's a little bit away, but the club is already looking forward to 2025."
Doug McIntyre is a soccer writer for FOX Sports. Before joining FOX Sports in 2021, he was a staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports and he has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams at multiple FIFA World Cups. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.
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