Pressure advantage doesn’t figure in tie with Sounders

Before the season began, a home draw against a Seattle team projected to be among the best in the Western Conference probably would’ve sounded OK to the Philadelphia Union.

It’s a testament to how things have changed around Talen En- ergy Stadium that the same result evinced disappointment Saturday night.

The Union had plenty of passes and plenty of chances, but they couldn’t find a way through Stefan Frei and the Sounders in a scoreless draw before a sellout crowd of 18,450, the first sellout at Talen since last July.

The result presented a conundrum for Jim Curtin: Happy with the input, disappointed by the final score.

“It feels negative because we had an opportunity to take two more points,” Curtin said. “But I think there was a lot of positives from the game. That’s a very good Seattle team, a top team in the Western Conference, one where I think we had control of the game.”

“Control” puts it lightly. The Union (7-3-3, 24 points) fired 20 shots at the Sounders, owned 67.8 percent of possession and won a monstrous 64.4 percent of duels. But they still had to stomach their first scoreless draw of the season and the first scoreless stalemate at Talen since March 17, 2018.

Both teams extended their unbeaten streaks to six games, the Union on a 4-0-2 stretch to return to the summit of the East, thanks to D.C. United’s loss to Houston.

The two-headed coin of the evening was most evident for Brenden Aaronson, who Curtin declared as having “probably his best game as a pro.”

Starting in place of Marco Fabian, out again due to ankle problems, the 18-year-old Homegrown’s incessant defensive pressure caused the Sounders fits. He came closest to scoring in the 19th minute, a shot from 20 yards denied by a diving Frei. Three minutes earlier, he had teed up Kacper Przybylko with a great cut-back cross, but the German striker put it wide of the near post.

Aaronson also took a perfect cross from Ilsinho in the 69th minute, but he didn’t quite get his hips around the shot, whistling it wide.

“We want him to not be good, we want him to be great, and the difference is now finishing one of those plays off, because he had good looks, he had great movement all night,” Curtin said. “He had good service, he played good through balls, he really worked tirelessly defensively. … I can’t say enough good things about Brenden and the way he’s playing.”

“I had way too many,” Aaronson said when asked about missed chances. “That’s a thing I guess I’m learning, and I need to get better at, so that’s one for me. And I think the ball movement, it had to be quick tonight and we were quick with it and we created so many chances, but it’s just the finishing touch.”

Przybylko headed a Medunjanin cross, on a move started by Ilsinho, right at a perfectly positioned Frei in the 59th, the goalie smothering it while planted on his line. Frei also got his fingertips to a free kick by Medunjanin tipped onto the bar in the 72nd, part of six saves for the keeper.

In their third game in eight days, the Sounders (7-1-5, 26 points) opted for a largely reserve side, starting five at the back for the first time this season and content to play for the draw. That sign of respect is indicative of how far the Union have come, but it didn’t help them find a way through.

“I think there’s a respect factor for sure that we’ve earned now in this league,” Curtin said. “But that in a way makes it harder on us, because we’re not sneaking up on anybody now. Credit to the players, I think they deserve all the credit for the intensity they’re playing at and getting better every game.”

“We dominated them and created a lot of chances,” Ilsinho said. “It’s frustrating because we didn’t win. That’s the worst thing. We dominated them. They come here to draw and then we are so much better than them all game. We created a lot of chances and that’s the worst part.”

The Sounders still presented danger as long as Nicolas Lodeiro was on the field, though he was effectively muted. His shot in the 24th off a throwin scramble skied over the bar, and in the 33rd minute, it took a well-timed Jack Elliott intervention to stymie a 3-on-3 rush. A weak header by Will Bruin in the 40th, off a Lodeiro free kick, was the only Seattle shot on target, easily held by Andre Blake, making his return after four matches out with a hamstring tear. The threat of energetic Peruvian striker Raul Ruidiaz on the bench prevented Curtin from throwing the kitchen sink in search of three points.

The Union’s attack was enlivened by Ilsinho’s introduction in the 56th to wreak havoc down the right wing, but his skills didn’t yield a goal, even if they did garner plenty of cheers. A Medunjanin show was blocked in stoppage time, followed by an effort by Jamiro Monteiro, that flew over the bar.

But the finish wasn’t there in the final third, which is about the only thing that could temper Curtin’s pride in an otherwise stellar outing.

“I think it was a really good performance,” Curtin said, “but one that leaves you feeling a little bit empty because it deserved the three points.”

MEDIANEWS GROUP FILE Union midfielder Brenden Aaronson, seen in an April game against FC Cincinnati, had what manager Jim Curtin called “probably his best game as a pro” Saturday in a 0-0 draw with Seattle.