The Seattle Sounders will host the Eastern Conference’s New England Revolution on Saturday, April 29 (TICKETS). Here is a breakdown of everything you need to know about the match:
WHEN AND WHERE: Kickoff is at 7 p.m. PT at CenturyLink Field.
WHERE TO WATCH: The game will be televised on Q13 FOX and Univision.
WHERE TO LISTEN: The game will air on KIRO Radio 97.3 FM and in Spanish on El Rey 1360AM.
2017 RECORDS AND STANDINGS: Sounders: 2-2-3 (9 points, 5th place West), Revolution: 2-3-3 (9 points, 8th place East).
ALL-TIME HISTORY: The Sounders are 4-5-2 all time against the Revolution, but boast a 3-1-1 record at home.
RECENT MEETINGS: The Sounders lost 2-1 at New England on May 28 in their only meeting last season. Aaron Kovar scored his first professional goal, but New England took all three points in Foxborough, Mass., on a penalty kick from Lee Nguyen and an 80th-minute strike from Femi Hollinger-Janzen.
ROWE RETURNS: New England Revolution midfielder Kelyn Rowe is a Federal Way, Wash., native and will be returning to his home state on Saturday. Rowe was an All-American at Federal Way High School and was the 2010 Class 4A Player of the Year. He spent two years at college powerhouse UCLA before turning pro in 2012. He’s been with the Revs for all six of his professional seasons.
ONE WIN IN FIVE: The Revs enter Saturday having only won once in their previous five matches, a 2-0 victory over the Houston Dynamo on April 8. New England had two home matches last week — on Wednesday vs. the San Jose Earthquakes and on Saturday against D.C. United — but it could only muster two draws, prompting defender Antonio Delamea to say, “We expected more.”
FOUR NGUYENS IN EIGHT: New England is led by attacking midfielder Lee Nguyen, who has a team-high four goals in eight matches this season. Nguyen scored the opening goal on Saturday in the fifth minute.
DODGING DIEGO: New England midfielder Diego Fagundez has four goals against the Sounders, the most of any Revolution player. Just 21 years old, Fagundez is already in his sixth professional season with the Revs and helps spearhead the attack with Rowe, Nguyen, Juan Agudelo and Kei Kamara.
SOUNDERS SHUFFLE: Seattle employed the same 4-2-3-1 formation in its convincing 3-0 win over the LA Galaxy last week, but head coach Brian Schmetzer opted to start Will Bruin at forward and move Jordan Morris to the wing. The result was a clinic in offensive spacing and execution and earned the Sounders their first road win of the year.
DYNAMIC DEMPSEY: Sounders midfielder Clint Dempsey scored, had an assist and recorded eight shots on goal on Sunday, prompting Schmetzer to say that the United States star is “absolutely back” following his extended absence while recovering from an irregular heartbeat last year. Dempsey leads the Sounders with three goals despite hitting the post or crossbar four times this year. He has 15 shots in his last two matches, and his 28 shots this season are fourth-most in MLS.
BRAVO, BACK LINE: The Sounders started the same makeshift back line on Sunday — Joevin Jones, Tony Alfaro, Gustav Svensson and Jordy Delem — as they did against Atlanta United on March 31. And for the second time this season, the defense recorded a shutout. Regular starters Chad Marshall, Roman Torres and Oniel Fisher were all out with injury, but the back four in front of Stefan Frei came up big yet again.
