TUKWILA, Wash. – For the first time this season, Seattle Sounders FC 2 have claimed back to back victories.
Fresh off of wins over both Cascadia rivals Portland Timbers 2 and Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2, S2 now welcome Sporting KC affiliate Swope Park Rangers to Starfire Stadium on Sunday, June 26(5 p.m. PT, livestream on SoundersFC.com). S2 is coming off a nearly two-week break, the longest stretch between games so far this season.
“Two wins like that, especially against those two teams, makes our confidence really high,” said head coach Ezra Hendrickson. “We joked last week that it was a shame we didn’t have a game on the weekend because we didn’t want that momentum to stop, but we’ve had our break now, it gave us a chance to refresh, we’ve had a great week of training and we’re looking forward to Sunday.”
After a rough start to the season in which they only claimed one victory in their first 12 matches, S2 now seem to be hitting a stride with consecutive wins and Hendrickson spoke to media at Wednesday’s training session about what has been going right for his team.
“I think we’re playing a little quicker,” he said. “I think before we were holding onto the ball too long. We focused in training on one or two touches and then switching the field. That’s what helps you open teams up, and then you can look for that penetrating pass.”
Led by manager Marc Dos Santos, Swope Park Rangers are just one point ahead of S2 in the USL's Western Conference of the USL standings. Contrary to S2, the Rangers had a more promising start to the season but are now on a two game losing skid. Despite their recent run of form, Hendrickson is preparing for a battle.
“Any team that comes here is going to be a difficult match,” he said. “They’re very good at possession…We know it’s going to be a very good game.”
With a win, S2 could vault themselves up two spots in the conference, beginning what would be a long, but promising, climb to the top.
Sunday is also Movie on the Pitch Night at Starfire Stadium. Fans who stick around after the match will be able to enjoy the movie Minions from the grandstand.
