CHESTER, Penn. – Sounders FC will kick off against the Philadelphia Union at 4:30 pm PT in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup final and Head Coach Sigi Schmid made just two changes from Friday night’s stoppage-time win over Real Salt Lake. Chad Barrett and Andy Rose start in place of Obafemi Martins and Gonzalo Pineda as Seattle aims for its fourth Open Cup title in five championship match appearances.
Stefan Frei will start at goalkeeper after backstopping Seattle in the quarterfinal and semifinal. He has allowed just one goal in 210 minutes of Open Cup play against the Portland Timbers and Chicago Fire.
He will start behind a back line of DeAndre Yedlin on the right, Leo Gonzalez on the left and a central pair of Chad Marshall and Zach Scott. This is Yedlin’s third Open Cup appearance this season after starting in the quarterfinal and semifinal. Gonzalez is making his 14th Open Cup appearance for Sounders FC and fourth in an Open Cup final. He started in 2009, 2011 and 2012. Marshall has started two previous Open Cup matches for Seattle in a shootout win over the San Jose Earthquakes and an overtime win over the Timbers. Scott is in his 17th start in the Open Cup for Sounders FC after also featuring throughout his career at the USL level. He is the club’s all-time leader in Open Cup appearances.
In the midfield, Osvaldo Alonso will start in his sixth Open Cup final in the last seven years, dating back to the 2008 final when he started for the Charleston Battery against D.C. United. This is his 15th appearance for Seattle and he is third in club history with six goals. He will pair in the middle with Andy Rose, who has three goals in his last two MLS matches and scored two in the Open Cup semifinal against Chicago. On the left side will be Lamar Neagle, who is making his ninth appearance for Seattle in the Open Cup and fifth this year. Brad Evans will be on the right, making his fifth start in this tournament in four different positions. This is his 11th career Open Cup appearance for Seattle.
At forward, Clint Dempsey will make his first appearance in the tournament for Sounders FC along with Chad Barrett, who has appeared in all four matches leading up to the final.
Kickoff is scheduled for 4:30 pm PT with television coverage on Gol-TV.
Sounders FC XI – Stefan Frei, DeAndre Yedlin, Chad Marshall, Zach Scott, Leo Gonzalez, Brad Evans, Osvaldo Alonso, Andy Rose, Lamar Neagle, Chad Barrett, Clint Dempsey.
