The Sounders bounced back from their first defeat of the season against Minnesota last weekend with perhaps their most impressive win of the season at Austin FC. The Sounders were without several key players through injury and rested the majority of their remaining starters in favor of a line up including five teenagers. The youngsters did not disappoint and produced a superb display to pick up a famous win open up a five point gap on Sunday’s opponent, Sporting Kansas City.
Peter Vermes side have had an excellent start to the season and are the top scorers in the western conference with 25 goals. They also lead the league in Expected Goals highlighting their creativity in the final third. They will be without key starters Gianluca Busio and Alan Pulido, but Daniel Salloi is a real scoring threat coming inside and Johnny Russell is a creative threat from both open play and set piece opportunities. SKC have the ability to win games in different ways, as showcased recently in their victories over LAFC and LA Galaxy.
Against LAFC, Sporting had more of the ball and eventually wore down their opposition in a come-from-behind win, albeit with an extra man for the final 30 minutes. The following week they had less of the ball against the Galaxy but were equally threatening on the counter as they once again secured a late victory.
The Sounders youngsters may have impressed in midweek but the expectation is we will see a much more experienced line up for this top of the conference clash. Brian Schmetzer sacrificed possession for a strong defensive shape against Austin but still managed to provide a goal threat in counter situations. With Raúl Ruidíaz, Kelyn Rowe and others expected to start, the Sounders will have more of the ball on Sunday but must find a balance with the wingbacks' attacking positions as SKC are a counter threat. The Sounders wingbacks, particularly Brad Smith, are much more threatening with sustained spells of possession. This would also force Russell and Salloi to do their defensive work and help nullify their freshness in attack.
The Future Is Bright:
Ruidíaz scored a sensational winner coming off the bench in midweek but the striker brings much more than goals to this group. His leadership with the young players was obvious and his willingness to track back and do the defensive work to seal a win is a shining example to every young player in the squad. Culture is created by everyone buying in to doing the little things that make victories possible and Ruidiaz, along with João Paulo are just about the best in MLS when it comes to this.
It Is a pity that this game isn’t being played with both teams at full strength but it will still provide a stern test against one of the Sounders biggest challengers for a Supporter’s Shield crown.
Goal Watch:
With his goal in midweek, Ruidíaz now has 44 regular season goals for the Sounders, just five behind Fredy Montero for the all time regular season Seattle record. Who will reach a half century first?
