The Seattle Sounders earned a 1-1 draw at the Colorado Rapids to run their unbeaten streak and Danny Musovski's scoring streak to three games. And yet there was at least a touch of melancholy to the postgame ambiance given the possibility of striker Jordan Morris missing more time.
The 30-year-old Morris had missed about a month with a hamstring issue before he played the final 28 minutes of last week's 3-0 victory over Nashville SC. Then he came on at halftime of Saturday's draw in an attempt to continue a progression back toward 90-minute fitness.
Instead, he was forced off before the final whistle after what appeared to be a reaggravation of the issue, walking straight to the dressing room as soon as he rose from the turf during a sequence in second-half stoppage time.
"We don’t know the severity of it," manager Brian Schmetzer said afterward. "We’re going to check him out when he gets home, but you know, we had to take him out of the game. Whether it’s a little one -- he doesn’t think it’s that bad -- but obviously he felt something."
On again, off again
Morris recently passed Raul Ruidiaz as Seattle's all-time leading scorer during its MLS era but has been dealing with the hamstring issue since shortly thereafter, beginning during Concacaf Champions Cup second-round competition.
Despite his limited availability he's still tied for the team lead with Musovski on three league goals. Unlike Musovski, who has never scored more than five times in an MLS season, Morris has an established goal-scoring track record.
Morris has undergone two ACL repairs during his career but has been pretty durable since recovering from the second, making at least 26 appearances in each of the previous three MLS seasons.
Seattle is still healthier up front than when winger Pedo de la Vega also missed time earlier with a quadriceps issue. The Sounders also seem to have righted some defensive struggles, keeping three clean sheets and conceding multiple goals only once in their last seven games, meaning they may be better able to weather Morris' absence now.