Seattle Sounders Blank New England Revolution 3-0 to Stretch Unbeaten Run to Nine

Brian Schmetzer did not bother with modesty. "This was a statement win," the Seattle Sounders coach said after his team walked into Gillette Stadium on Saturday night and left with three goals, three points and a clean sheet.

Seattle beat the New England Revolution 3-0, getting goals from Hassani Dotson, Dejan Joveljic and Paul Arriola, plus five saves from Andy Thomas. The AP says the win stretched the Sounders' unbeaten run to nine matches, and it was their fourth straight victory after a run of five consecutive draws. For a team that, per the club, once lost a club-record eight league games in a row this season, the vibes have officially changed.

Dotson Lights the Fuse

New England came out with intent. Peyton Miller tested Thomas from distance in the fourth minute, Will Sands had a shot blocked a minute later, and Luca Langoni forced another save in the 14th. The Revs were knocking.

Seattle answered with one swing. In the 15th minute, Dotson let fly with his right foot from outside the box and found the bottom right corner. VAR took a look and confirmed the goal. The AP says it was his third of the season, and it was the kind of strike that changes the temperature of a building instantly.

The rest of the half turned feisty. Cristian Roldan and Sands were booked within five minutes of each other, Albert Rusnák blazed over from the middle of the box, and New England piled on corners without much reward. Miller had the Revs' best chance deep in first-half stoppage time, but Thomas got down to save his shot from the left side of the six-yard box. Seattle went into halftime 1-0 up.

Bench Power

The second half was a tug of war for 25 minutes. Matt Turner saved Roldan's shot from a tight angle in the 50th minute, Dotson picked up a yellow in the 56th, and Thomas denied Miller again in the 67th.

Jordan Morris went off injured in the 68th minute, and his replacement, Arriola, made an instant impact. Turner saved Joveljic's left-footed shot in the 70th after an Arriola pass, and four minutes later the same combination worked. Arriola found Joveljic on the left side of the box, Joveljic took a quick touch to his right to make space, according to the club, and picked out the bottom right corner with his right foot. 2-0.

New England threw on Dániel Gazdag and Judah Siqueira, and Miller forced Thomas into yet another save in the 78th minute. But Seattle had one more punch. In the 81st minute, Jesús Ferreira, on for Joveljic one minute earlier, set up Arriola on a fast break, who finished from the center of the box into the bottom left corner. Two substitutes, one goal, game over. Seattle even absorbed a second injury along the way, with Alex Roldan going off in the 80th minute for Kalani Kossa-Rienzi.

"We knew we were gonna be back on top," Joveljic said. "We just needed one win."

New England pushed through seven minutes of added time, with Dor Turgeman heading wide and two more shots blocked, but Thomas and the Seattle back line never cracked.

The Difference Makers

Andy Thomas made five saves, four of them against Miller, and earned what the AP counted as his eighth shutout in 28 starts.

Hassani Dotson scored the opener, the best goal of the night, and picked up a yellow card for his trouble later. Two shots, one goal.

Paul Arriola came on for the injured Morris and produced a goal and an assist in 13 minutes. The AP says it was his second goal of the season.

Dejan Joveljic scored his third goal in five appearances with Seattle since arriving in a trade from Sporting Kansas City, according to the AP. Both of his shots were on target.

Peyton Miller was New England's most dangerous player with five shots and four on target. Thomas simply had his number.

The Turning Point

Morris's injury in the 68th minute. On most nights, losing a starter would cost a team momentum. Instead, Arriola was involved in both of the next two goals within 13 minutes, and the Sounders turned a tense one-goal lead into a rout. Sometimes the best substitution is the one you never planned to make.

There was a deliberate plan underneath it, too. Seattle were comfortable without the ball, finishing with 43.4 percent possession, and went long whenever it made sense: 69 long balls, 49 of them accurate, compared with New England's 35. When the Revs did work the ball into dangerous areas, the Sounders cleared it 30 times. It was not always pretty, but it gave New England very little clean to work with.

Stats That Matter

• Saves: Thomas made five. Turner made two.
• Shots on target: Even at five apiece, but Seattle turned three of theirs into goals.
• Possession: New England had 56.6 percent of the ball.
• Crosses: New England attempted 26 and completed three.
• Clearances: Seattle cleared the ball 30 times to New England's 15.

What It Means

Seattle move to 11-8-9 with 41 points, with six regular-season matches left, per the club. Joveljic is already thinking big: "In the playoffs we can be a very dangerous team," he said. Schmetzer has seen this movie before, too, saying "what really matters is when it comes to the playoffs, you have to be playing at a very high level." The Sounders visit FC Dallas on Wednesday.

New England fall to 14-4-10 with 46 points, and the AP says the loss left the Revolution fourth in the Eastern Conference. It was also their second straight 3-0 defeat, after a loss at Real Salt Lake on Sept. 26. Next up is a trip to FC Cincinnati on Wednesday.

The Closing Take

Seattle's season has had more plot twists than a prestige TV drama: a nine-match unbeaten run, a club-record losing streak, a string of draws, and now four straight wins. Schmetzer's team does not look like it wants to just squeak into the postseason. It looks like it wants to crash the party. "It wasn't just a smash-and-grab," Schmetzer said. "We outplayed them." Hard to argue.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Additional details from the AP recap via ESPN. Postgame quotes as reported by Seattle Sounders FC.