It hasn't been the greatest start for the Sounders so far in 2013. They'll look to change that against the Revolution.
Sounders FC vs. New England Revolution
April 13, 1:00 pm PT, CenturyLink Field
TV/Radio: KONG 6/16, KIRO Radio 97.3 FM
When the Sounders FC meets the New England Revolution on Saturday at CenturyLink Field, it will pit two teams scratching and clawing their way toward better results.
Though they had a good run to the semifinals of the CONCACAF Champions League, the Sounders have just one point through four matches in league play. New England have just one win and one draw through four matches.
Like the Sounders with their historic win over Tigres UANL in the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals, things started off on a bright note in 2013 for the Revolution.
They opened the campaign with a 1-0 win on the road over the Chicago Fire. Honduran forward Jerry Bengtson, who had two goals in 13 matches in 2012 for the Revs, scored the winner and top overall SuperDraft pick Andrew Farrell was steady at right back in his professional debut.
Since then, they have remained stout on defense, allowing just two goals in the three matches they’ve played, but they have also been kept scoreless and are 0-2-1 in those matches. However, the promise of greater things to come from their young lineup is ever-present.
“They’re off to a little bit of a slow start and I’m sure they’d like to be doing better,” Sounders FC head coach Sigi Schmid said. “They’ve got quality players and they’ve got attacking options there with Bengston and Lee Nguyen and a few of the other guys—Kelyn Rowe, et cetera. They want to make things happen on the offensive end, as well.”
Rowe, a Federal Way native, has started two of the four matches the Revs have played and assisted on Bengtson’s goal, giving him three goals and six assists in 34 career MLS matches. He is part of a dynamic midfielder that includes Colombian creator Juan Toja, 18-year-old Homegrown phenom Diego Fagundez and Lee Nguyen. Each brings their own distinct attacking threat while veteran Clyde Simms acts as the calming defensive presence.
While that midfield works to get scoring chances for themselves and Bengtson, the Sounders will be looking to get their scoring touch back, too. With just two goals through four matches, they know that missed scoring chances have been the difference in the early stages.
No matter how the win comes though, the Sounders just want to get three points.
“The main point for us is to win—to win, to get our confidence back. They don’t like that they’re winless. They feel like they’re a better team than that, and we have to show that on the field,” Schmid said. "We can talk about it, we can rant and rave in the locker room all we want, they can be upset about it at home and everything else, but at the end of the day it’s all on the field. We have to give it on the field on Saturday.”
The match will also be the last chance the Sounders will have to play at home for four weeks. With three road matches in between, the Sounders won’t play at CenturyLink Field again until May 11, so they not only want to get their first win out of the way, but they want to head out on the road with positive momentum.
“We want to get this one at home,” Schmid said. “We want to get it for ourselves, we want to get it for our fans. We want to get it for us as a team.”
