With a 6-2 victory over Chivas USA just two weeks ago, Sounders FC knows better than to get complacent as they ready for a hungry Chivas squad tomorrow at CenturyLink Field.
Pay no mind to the past.
The Sounders FC may have topped Chivas USA 6-2 at the Home Depot Center just two short weeks ago, but that match, Sigi Schmid says, has no bearing on Saturday’s meeting at CenturyLink Field when the Sounders will host Chivas in their third and final meeting of the season.
“We can’t trust human nature,” Schmid said. “The most important thing in a game like this is that you can’t look at past games as a predictor of the future. Every game is a separate occurrence and that’s the way we have to approach it. They are going to be highly motivated.”
Chivas USA has undergone a lot of change this season, adding Juan Agudelo, Danny Califf and Shalrie Joseph in mid-season trades. However, the results haven’t come lately. They looked like a team poised to climb the Western Conference standings when they acquired Joseph in August. However, they have gone 0-3-2 since the trade, allowing 18 goals in five games.
With those woes in their rearview mirror, the Sounders expect a desperate, playoff-hungry Chivas squad at CenturyLink Field.
“There is no chance to relax. There is no chance to come here and expect that they will be an easy team to play against. We know the responsibility we have in front of our fans,” said Sounders forward Fredy Montero, who netted a hat trick in their previous meeting. “We expect a team that is hungry for three points and looking for revenge. We need to concentrate on what we can do.”
If there is a past that Seattle will look to while preparing for the match, it is to the club that allowed just 21 goals through their first 20 matches and was in strong contention for the fifth playoff spot in the West.
That team features All-Star goalkeeper Dan Kennedy and a defense that boasts stalwarts Danny Califf and James Riley. They also have proven offensive threats in Juan Pablo Angel and Alejandro Moreno as well as young forward Juan Agudelo and playmaking midfielder Nick LaBrocca.
“Every game in this league is hard. There are so many quality players on each team,” said defender Zach Scott. “They may not have had the best run of form of late, but we’re still expecting a good game.”
They are also expecting to have the services of Osvaldo Alonso and Mauro Rosales, who both have been limited in training this week due to injury. They also expect to have Eddie Johnson back after he rested a sore adductor last week.
The match is set to kick off at 1 pm Pacific with television coverage on KONG 6/16 and the radio broadcast on 97.3 KIRO FM.
