TUKWILA, Wash. — For the first time all season, the Seattle Sounders are above the playoff line. They occupy the sixth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference with four matches remaining after winning three straight for just the second time all season, but have a difficult road test against Cascadia rival Vancouver Whitecaps on Sunday (5 p.m. PT; FS1; KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, El Rey 1360AM).
The team’s run of form has been fantastic lately, but before it departed for Vancouver on Saturday, interim head coach Brian Schmetzer wanted to make abundantly clear that there’s still much more work to do.
“We’re a desperate team,” Schmetzer said. “We need points. We’ve prepared our team as well as we could on a short rest and hopefully our team can take parts of the game from them.”
Seattle is preparing for its third match in eight days after defeating the Chicago Fire on Wednesday at CenturyLink Field. The team had heavily focused on set pieces all week and was rewarded when defender Chad Marshall headed in the game-winner.
With playmaking midfielder Nicolas Lodeiro suspended for the game because of yellow-card accumulation, capitalizing from corners and free kicks will be all the more important.
“We know that they’re going to come out after us,” Schmetzer said. “They’re a dangerous team, Carl [Robinson] is a good coach. They had a midweek game as well, CCL, where they put four in. It’ll be tough.”
The Sounders defeated the Whitecaps just two weeks ago, a 1-0 result in Seattle that began their three-game win streak. Captain Brad Evans is expected to return on Sunday and will look to provide extra depth and versatility in the midfield. Whoever steps out on the field, though, Schmetzer and the rest of the coaching staff will ensure they’re ready.
“I’ll give the team [a final message] when we get up [to Vancouver],” Schmetzer said. “And it’ll be a good one.”
