Dave Boling: Jordan Morris just a little strong in first big moment

Oh, man, it was right there. The start of a legend.

That rare unforgettable opportunity opened up in front of Jordan Morris — only about nine minutes into his MLS career with the Sounders.

It could have been that first flash of greatness, the prologue to a legacy.

Soccer fans around Seattle would talk about this for years, and those who were on hand would cite it like a bookmark in time. Oh, yeah, they’d brag, I saw Jordan Morris’ first goal as a Sounder. It was magical.

Morris knew the possibilities and the portent, too. He had to.

And maybe that’s why he ended up powering his first great scoring opportunity for the Sounders well above the cross bar early in the season-opening MLS game against Sporting Kansas City at CenturyLink Field on Sunday.

The game ended up a 1-0 loss for the Sounders, as K.C.’s Nuno Andre Coelho skipped a shot off the wet turf and under the arm pit of a diving Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei.

The Sounders played well considering they were short-handed for nearly 55 minutes after Oniel Fisher was sent off in the first half with a red card for a two-footed tackle that was ruled a serious foul.

The direction of the game could have changed in the ninth minute when Morris took a pass from Andreas Ivanshitz. He was onsides, had the ball on his right foot as he raced toward the goal, and he rocketed his shot well above the goal.

He ended up skidding face down on the turf. And there he stayed for a long moment, considering what could have been.

“I just got underneath the ball, just kind of rushed it a little bit,” Morris said after the game. “I should have looked up and taken my time a little more, I just got underneath it.”

And about his moment silently staring at the turf?

“It was frustrating; that would have changed the game for sure,” he said.

Coach Sigi Schmid agreed.

“If Jordan Morris buries that chance, that changes the game a little bit for us,” Schmid said.

Morris likely will be a game-changer for the Sounders soon enough.

Only 21, Morris won the Hermann Trophy as the most outstanding college soccer player in country last year as a junior at Stanford. He had been the first active college player to play with the national team in 20 years.

Yes, he was soccer’s wonder boy.

All this out of a Mercer Island kid who came up through the Sounders Academy.

In addition to his appeal as a home-grown talent, Morris has potential to reach even more than soccer fans, and inspire any number of youths facing physical challenges.

Morris was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 9.

Sunday, he showed good energy, accuracy with his passes and the ability to make a good, aggressive tackle on the defensive half.

It didn’t seem as if the MLS game was too big for him at all.

Schmid was sympathetic.

“Obviously, I’m sure he’d like to have that chance back again,” Schmid said. “I think the ball sat up on him a little bit and he ends up hitting it over the top.”

The Sounders still have Clint Dempsey and Osvaldo Alonso and a roster full of other veterans. So Schmid doesn’t want Morris to feel as if the game is up to him.

“We can’t heap too many expectations on him,” Schmid said. “That’s not fair, that’s not right. … It’s his first regular-season MLS game.”

Morris had been in the stands for the Sounders first game in 2009. His father works with the Sounders as a physician. To be on the field in the season-opener, he conceded, was “surreal.”

When he came onto the field, he spotted his family in the stands. He heard the cheers and chants when he was introduced.

“A dream come true,” he said.

Just not quite as dreamy as it might have been.

This story was originally published March 6, 2016 at 7:51 PM with the headline "Dave Boling: Jordan Morris just a little strong in first big moment."