Before Saturday night’s home match against the Montreal Impact, Sounders midfielder Aaron Kovar had only started two Major League Soccer games, and even then only when the team was stripped bare by injuries and international call-ups last summer.
Of all of Seattle’s lineup changes for the game, from Clint Dempsey moving into the midfield to Jordan Morris starting on the bench, Kovar’s inclusion was probably the most surprising. Saturday’s match wasn’t quite a must-win — the only must-wins are elimination playoff games, coach Sigi Schmid sagely noted this week — but was certainly a better-not-lose.
Kovar took a different approach to the opportunity of finally getting some run next to veteran teammates.