After six games, the Seattle Sounders sit top of the Supporters' Shield standings with five wins and a draw. It's a start worth celebrating, which Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer did following the team's 2-0 win over LAFC on Sunday.
Schmetzer gave a number of individual shoutouts to commemorate an unbeaten start to the 2021 season, showing appreciation for individual efforts that benefitted the collective cause.
Schmetzer started with compliments for goalkeeper Stefan Cleveland, telling him to "keep it going" after picking up his second career win while deputizing for the injured Stefan Frei. The head coach then moved on to defender Brad Smith, joking about his three goals to start the season by saying, "You've never scored three goals since you were U-6."
The next of his individual shoutouts came to forwards Will Bruin and Raul Ruidiaz, but for their defensive effort. "You guys do the work," he said. "It starts at the front, goes all the way through the team, so make sure I don't miss that."
It was a round of compliments that generated applause, but nothing more than the team's reward for earning nine points in a week: two days off.
Seattle aim to continue their unbeaten run on Sunday against Atlanta United (4:30 pm ET, FOX, FOX Deportes).
