TUKWILA, Wash. — The Seattle Sounders dodged a bullet ahead of their Decision Day match against Real Salt Lake.
Defensive midfielder Osvaldo Alonso does not appear to be facing an extended suspension for his ejection against the Houston Dynamo last week. He was sent off after a scrum with Will Bruin and was suspended for the team’s 2-1 loss at FC Dallas on Sunday, but neither he nor the Sounders have heard anything from the MLS Disciplinary Committee.
“Sometimes that happens, but [my teammates] support me, we are together and we’re moving forward,” said Alonso.
Seattle will need his boost. He was a giant absence in the middle of the park last Sunday, a match in which FC Dallas’ Mauro Diaz bossed much of the midfield. Diaz assisted on both Dallas goals in the final 11 minutes of the match.
“It’s always tough when you’re sitting on the couch and watching your team playing,” said Alonso. “It is what is, but I have to move forward and be ready for Sunday.”
Alonso has his work cut out for him with another strong midfield core in RSL. Kyle Beckerman, Javier Morales and either Luke Mulholland or Sunday Stephen are a handful and capable of dictating the tempo and field position battle. It’ll be Alonso’s job to run possession from the back as well as sniff out opportunities in RSL’s attacking third.
Whether he is able to execute will go a long way in determining whether Seattle qualifies for the postseason. Win and they're in, but lose or draw and they could end up on the outside looking in.
“That’s a key storyline,” interim head coach Brian Schmetzer said. “You can almost expand that. It’s not just Beckerman vs. Ozzie…It’s going to be interesting from a tactical standpoint which group of three can control the game for sure.”
Seattle is in a nearly identical situation as last season as well when it needed a result on Decision Day at home against RSL. The Sounders won 3-1 that day and booked their seventh consecutive playoff berth, a streak they will try to improve to eight on Sunday.
“I think there’s a lot of similarities to last year’s team,” Schmetzer said. “We have a strong mentality, good group of players, talented group of players…It’s almost the same game.”
