Canadians in action: Oluwaseyi powers Loons to first win in Seattle
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A brace from Tani Oluwaseyi gave Minnesota United a rare win in Seattle. Plus, Olivia Smith was honoured by Liverpool and Zorhan Bassong continued to emerge as a stalwart defender for Sporting Kansas City. Here's a look at Canadians in action over the weekend.
Tani Oluwaseyi, Minnesota United
A bonkers eight-minute stretch early in the second half settled what was an entertaining tie between the Seattle Sounders and Minnesota United with Mississauga, Ont.'s Tani Oluwaseyi once again proving to be a crucial figure for the Loons. The match had no shortage of talking points with a big one coming before the match even started. When the Sounders took the pitch for warmups on Sunday evening, they did so in come brand new t-shirts and not their regular pre-match gear. The t-shirts read "Club World Cash Grab." For the uninitiated, the Sounders will be one of three MLS sides set to partake in the 32-team Club World Cup later this month. The Sounders have an issue with their potential payouts for this tournament. The issue stems from language in the MLS CBA that was agreed to prior to the creation of the expanded Club World Cup. According to the CBA, the maximum a team can earn from a tournament is $1 million to be split amongst the players. The allure of the Club World Cup is the money with the winners set to earn upwards of $100 million. Should the Sounders fail to exit the group stage, they would still be in line for a $10 million payout. The fact that they're currently eligible for only a tenth of that is understandably a source of contention. With only days before the tournament is set to kick off, it remains to be seen if this dispute will be settled. In the ninth minute, the Loons were nearly on the board. Julian Gressel, who was acquired in late April from Inter Miami, sent in a fine cross for Oluwaseyi whose header rang off of the crossbar. The game's first goal came in the 51st from Oluwaseyi and in large part to the work of Robin Lod. Oluwaseyi sent a ball into Bongokuhle Hlongwane on the edge of the area. Hlongwane found Lod, who proceeded to put Nohou Tolo on skates with a Cruyff turn before setting up Oluwaseyi to poke home past former Toronto FC goalkeeper Stefan Frei to make it 1-0. Minutes later, the Loons would grab a second from the spot. Joaquin Pereyra attempted to set up Hlongwane inside the box, but he was bundled over by Jon Bell. Despite Bell's protests, the referee pointed to the spot. Lod stepped up to take and his momentary hesitation fooled Frei enough to make it 2-0 in the 54th. But the Sounders would strike back immediately. Almost from the restart, Pedro de la Vega skipped past Anthony Markanich on the right and he was able to drag back a fine cross to the spot for Kalani Rienzi to score and make it 2-1 in the 55th to get the crowd back into the match. Oluwaseyi would take them right back out, though. In the 58th, Pereyra surprised both Frei and the Seattle backline with a low drive from outside the area. While Frei was able to make a diving save, Oluwaseyi caught the Sounders defenders flat-footed and was first to the rebound to poke home to restore the two-goal lead at 3-1. A Nicolas Romero own-goal in the 83rd would pull the hosts within one again, but it was as close as they would come. The victory was the Loons' first ever in Seattle. The brace gave Oluwaseyi eight league goals on the season to go along with four assists in 16 league matches.
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Olivia Smith, Liverpool
The Women's Super League season ended on May 10, but Olivia Smith has picked up an honour nearly a month later. Fresh off of scoring a goal in the CanWNT's win over Haiti on Saturday, the 20-year-old forward was named Liverpool's Player of the Season. Smith beat out teammates Taylor Hinds and Marie Hobinger for the honour. The Toronto-born Smith was previously named Liverpool's Young Player of the Year. Smith spent her first season with the Reds following an offseason move from Sporting where she was named the Campeanatio Nacional Feminino's Young Player of the Year in 2023-2024. Smith led Liverpool in scoring with nine goals across all competitions, including a brace against Manchester United at Anfield. Smith also added one assist. Smith finished her season in the 98th percentile for successful take-ons at 2.01 per 90 minutes, in the 95th percentile for interceptions at 0.80 per 90 minutes and in the 99th percentile for tackles at 2.75 per 90 minutes. Smith's goal in Canada's 4-1 win on Saturday was her four senior goal in 17 appearances.
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Zorhan Bassong, Sporting Kansas City
Toronto's Zorhan Bassong hasn't received much of a look at the senior level. The Sporting Kansas City left-back has only been capped twice by Canada with both appearances coming in 2020. With manager Jesse Marsch having cast a wide net for his squad ahead of the Gold Cup, Bassong will have the chance to impress after being named to the 23-man squad that will play Ukraine and Cote d'Ivoire at BMO Field in Toronto next week in the inaugural Canadian Shield. Bassong will be part of a defensive corps that is light on experience with Crewe Alexandra's Jamie Knight-Lebel (one cap), Joel Waterman of CF Montreal (six appearances) and Fulham's Luc de Fougerolles (two caps) also in the squad. In his second stint in MLS after a season in Romania, Bassong is in his second season with SKC and has proven to be a dependable option in the backline. Bassong played the full 90 minutes in the team's 3-1 away win over the Houston Dynamo on Saturday. The visitors picked up the win on a brace from Dejan Joveljic. Over his shift, Bassong has a team-leading 71 touches with four tackles and pair of interceptions. He completed 48 of his 55 pass attempts. Bassong has averaged just over 53 minutes of play in his 13 league appearances this season and Saturday's match marked his fourth straight 90-minute shift. Opportunity is knocking for Bassong and he is set to answer.