Sounders FC 2 (1-2-0) is on the road once again this weekend as the squad travels down to Southern California for a USL western conference clash with LA Galaxy II (1-2-0) on Saturday, April 15 (7:30 p.m. PT). S2 will look to bounce back after a disappointing 3-0 lossaway to Whitecaps 2 last weekend.
Although both sides use plenty of young players and possess identical records, there’s a stark contrast between their playing styles. Los Dos have lined up in an empty-bucket 4-4-2 every match this season with varying success, while S2 has employed a more dynamic 4-2-3-1. And while both teams try to play possession-based, progressive soccer, S2 tend to push width and attack down the wings far more often.
In both of LA II’s losses this season, the outside midfielders, who normally provide the width, pinched in dramatically and essentially operated as additional center mids. And since 48-percent of the squad’s passes go from side-to-side, this translates to plenty of possession in the middle of the pitch with few tangible chances created. It also leads to plenty of opportunities for opposing wingers to go 1v1 with LA’s full backs, which is why they’ve allowed 47 crosses from open play in the last two matches and conceded five goals.
S2’s formation, style of play and personnel are all perfectly suited for this matchup. Both sides will look to keep the ball on the ground and unbalance the opposition with their build-up play. However, a larger portion of the Rave Green’s passes have gone forward (44.9% vs. 38.9%), and they’ve completed a percentage of passes in the attacking half (62.3% vs. 58.4%). S2 will likely look to find Zach Mathers in the final third, and for the crafty No. 10 to pull the strings from little pockets of space in central areas. Once the Los Dos midfielders collapse inward to help out defensively, the Rave Green will spray the ball wide for 1v1 and 2v1 opportunities against LA’s full backs. And if LA manages to keep their wingers out wide, then Seattle will have consistent 3v2 matchups in the middle of the field.
Center Back Prospects
In addition to sharing a similar possession-based brand of soccer, both sides look to integrate talented players from the Academy. Center back Sam Rogers has broken into S2’s lineup as a starter thus far, while 18-year-old Hugo Arellano has started two matches in the heart of LA’s back line. This weekend’s game will provide a rematch of sorts for Rogers and Arellano, who squared off regularly in USSDA action.
USL Crash Course
The young Sounders have had a bit of a trial-by-fire with their fixture list early in the campaign. After playing the season opener against Sacramento Republic, the Rave Green played two consecutive Cascadia clashes against Timbers 2 and Whitecaps FC 2. This weekend, S2 will face another important test against Los Dos.
A key part of player development is testing young prospects in adverse environments. After an impressive victory over Portland, S2 suffered a difficult loss away to Vancouver and must look to bounce back in LA this weekend. If the boys can apply the lessons learned from last weekend’s result against WFC2, then the match against Los Dos will provide a crucial opportunity for the talented prospects on S2’s roster to take a big step forward in their development.
Coach’s Take
“I think the game against Vancouver was a one-off match for us. We didn’t have a good game collectively. That’s part of the learning curve and it’s what happens when you have a bunch of young, inexperienced players, on the road especially. But I told them to keep their heads up and learn from it. The guys are in good spirits this week and looking forward to getting a result on the road this weekend. LA II are a very good opponent. They have some very good young players -- they also have a young team -- and I think we match up very well against young players like that. I think it’s going to be a good game for the fans to see.” - head coach Ezra Hendrickson.
