May is going to be a very busy month for Sounders FC. The club will play six matches in a span of 29 days, including a challenging spell of three consecutive road fixtures that begins on Sunday.
“I don’t go into it and say, ‘Well if we get four points out of these three games, we’ll be happy.’ That’s not the way I look at it,” Head Coach Sigi Schmid said. “I want to maximize what we can do at all times. I think every time we win a game, our team gets a little more confident.
“We’ve always shown ourselves to be a good road team, so we aren’t afraid to go on the road.”
Schmid isn’t kidding when he says the Sounders have always been successful on the road. Here are some statistics that justify the team’s confidence as it prepares for the next three matches.
- Since its inaugural season in 2009, Sounders FC has earned 38 wins and 146 points on the road, both the largest figures among MLS teams in that span.
- During the Supporters’ Shield-winning campaign in 2014, Seattle picked up a league-high 27 points away from home and was tied with Sporting Kansas City for most road victories (eight).
- The Rave Green went on a three-game road trip in April of 2014 and returned home with two victories and a 4-4 result against the Portland Timbers.
- In 2013, Sounders FC had three consecutive road matches from the end of April to the beginning of May, winning two of those games and tying 2-2 with the Philadelphia Union.
So far this season, the Sounders are 1-1-1 away from home, including a 3-1 win over the Colorado Rapids in their most recent road match. Seattle is on a two-match winning streak heading into its matchup with New York City FC, and the club aims to maintain that streak for as long as possible.
“In order to be able to contend for all those championships, all those trophies, you need to put a good string together,” goalkeeper Stefan Frei said. “Maybe this is our chance.”
One arduous part of this road swing will be the constant travel. Despite playing at Columbus Crew SC just six days after their game versus NYCFC, Schmid and his staff decided it would be best to come home in between matches. Following the Columbus game, the Rave Green will once again return to Seattle before traveling to Vancouver for their matchup with Whitecaps FC on May 16.
“I’m interested to see how we can deal with it,” said first-year defender Tyrone Mears, who admits he’s not used to the constant travel. “I’ll be watching the other guys to see how they prepare.”
Sunday night, Mears and the Sounders will play at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx for the very first time. Although NYCFC is winless in its last half-dozen games, the expansion team has drawn 28,351 fans per match, the third highest average in MLS this season.
To captain Brad Evans, it’s one of the most significant road matches the club will play all season.
“You circle certain games on the schedule, and this is one of the away ones that we’re looking forward to,” Evans said. “It will be pretty cool, pretty surreal. We’re staying at a hotel in the city, so we’ll get the whole experience. I think all the guys are excited.”
Sunday’s game will kick off at 4:00 p.m. PT with national television coverage on FOX Sports 1.
