TUKWILA, Wash. - After a short rest, Seattle Sounders FC 2 are back at the friendly confines of Starfire Stadium to take on the returning Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC on Sunday (5 p.m. PT, livestream available on SoundersFC.com).
The last time around, S2 earned a 1-0 victory over the Switchbacks in April, the team's first win of 2016.
“That was actually my first game,” said defender Michael Nelson, who says the key to a second victory over the fourth place Switchbacks will be sticking to the game plan. “I thought the biggest thing in that game was we were very disciplined, which takes a full team effort for 90 minutes…We need to put forth that same type of effort into the game this weekend.”
Coming off of a promising midweek performance in St. Louis in which S2 earned a gritty 1-1 draw, S2 are poised to take their season to the next level on Sunday. Nelson, who was absent for Wednesday’s match due to a call up by the first team against EPL side West Ham United, was able to catch the match and feels optimistic about the improvements he saw by his teammates.
“I thought the guys played pretty well, especially in the first half; they were really dangerous, created a lot of chances, and defensively they were strong,” he said. “Getting a point on the road is never something to scoff at. We’ve just got to look to the next game and focus on closing out the game if we get a lead.”
Against a formidable Switchbacks side that have only conceded 11 goals on the year (second fewest in USL) S2 will need to come out strong and establish dominance for the full 90 minutes.
“Obviously since we beat them in the first game they’re going to be coming at us pretty hard,” said Nelson. ”They don’t have many losses on the year so they’re going to try to rectify that but we need to anticipate that and come out with more fight than they can.”
