TUKWILA, Wash. – Seattle Sounders FC 2 have two straight victories heading into one of the biggest matches of the season against Portland Timbers 2 at home on Sunday (5 p.m. PT, livestream on SoundersFC.com).
After two matches down in Portland, S2 welcome Timbers 2 up to Seattle for the first time in the 2016 season. S2 split results in the first two matches with their southern rivals, conceding defeat in the first and claiming victory in the second and most recent match between the two sides. With that in mind, midfielder Jordan Schweitzer expects a T2 side ready to get revenge on his home turf.
“We know they’ll be ready,” he told reporters after a training session on Tuesday. “When you beat them at their home turf, they’re going to want come back and do the same so we’ve got to bring the fight and we’ll let our soccer do the rest.”
For head coach Ezra Hendrickson, the emotions of the rivalry will play a large part in the match on Sunday.
“I think it’s going to be a very emotional game considering what happened on Sunday and also what happened in the last game we played down there,” he said. “We’re at home, we’re expected to get three points so that’s what we’re going to try to do on Sunday.”
After a slow start to the season, Hendrickson and company are quickly gaining ground on the rest of the league, having jumped up three spots in the standings in the last two weeks. S2 now sits just three points outside of playoff contention. The team has also been impressive on the scoresheet, averaging two goals over the last three matches after having gone scoreless through their first three.
While development has always been the priority over winning for Hendrickson and his staff, he and his team are showing they have every intention of making a late season push.
“We can’t stop here; we don’t want to stop playing at the end of September,” he said. “It’s something we see as very attainable, making the playoffs this year.”
