TUKWILA, Wash. -- Coming off their 2-0 weekend road defeat to FC Dallas, it’s back to work for the Seattle Sounders as the team hit the practice field for an overcast Monday morning training session at Starfire Sports.
The loss to FC Dallas dropped the Sounders to 4-5-1 on the season, meaning that Seattle head coach Sigi Schmid now has a 10-game sample size to evaluate when assessing exactly where his team stands at the outset of the 2016 season. Although Schmid admits that the Sounders’ record isn’t where they would like it to be, he also said on Monday that it’s not necessarily reflective of how Seattle have played – especially in the weeks following the team’s 0-3 start.
“Obviously, we’re not exactly where we want to be,” Schmid said following Monday’s practice. “But we’re going out into every game and trying to win every game. Certainly over the last seven games we’ve played, from a result (standpoint), reasonably well.
“From a standpoint of are we a team that’s capable of winning every time we play? Yes.”
Schmid also gave his overall assessment of the Dallas match – a game that he says could have been drastically different had Seattle shored up some early-game execution. The Sounders had their chances in an open and up-tempo first-half against FCD, but couldn’t manage to find what could have been a game-altering goal.
“We had three great chances early on, in the first 18 minutes of the game,” Schmid said. “Stick one of those chances away and the game becomes different. In the second half, they brought on two defensive subs to pack it in against us, just looking to counter.
“I thought the way we played was alright. We controlled possession of the ball. I thought [Dallas midfielder Mauro] Diaz had some good moments early on but after about 20 minutes I thought we bottled him up pretty good.”
As the Sounders turn their focus to their home matchup this weekend with the suddenly-potent Supporters’ Shield-leading Colorado Rapids (7 p.m. PT; JOEtv, Univision-Seattle, ROOT Sports (outside Seattle); KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, El Rey 1360AM), Seattle might have a couple of returning faces to help the cause.w
Schmid said that designated player Nelson Valdez is improving after sitting out the Dallas match with an injury he picked up in training last Wednesday, although his availability for this weekend will depend on how he progresses throughout the practice week.
Set-piece maestro Andreas Ivanschitz might stand a chance at making a return to Seattle’s starting XI as well. The Austrian has come off the bench for the Sounders’ last two games as he works his way back from a thigh strain.
“Last week was his first full week of training,” Schmid said of Ivanschitz. “He’s still getting his final game fitness and we didn’t want to push him too early. So [bringing him off the bench] was our decision.”
