TUKWILA, Wash. – All it takes is getting hot at the right time.
It’s a mantra that has propelled many a team to an MLS Cup, as recently as a season ago, when the Portland Timbers barely squeaked into the postseason before embarking on a magical run that ended with their first-ever championship.
This year, the Seattle Sounders hope that a similar fortuitously-timed hot streak will propel them to the promised land.
As they navigate their way through the final days of their two-week break before the first leg of their Western Conference Championship series with the Colorado Rapids on Tuesday (7 p.m. PT; FS1; KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, El Rey 1360am, the Sounders' current form stacks up well against any of the other teams left standing.
Seattle have rattled off 10 victories in their last 15 matches dating back to July, including their postseason triumphs over Sporting Kansas City and FC Dallas.
“I think this is a good team,” Sounders forward Herculez Gomez said this week. “We’re a deep team. It’s a team of players that have been around. And when you’ve been around, you don’t start freaking out, you don’t press the panic button when maybe others would.
“It’s that belief that even during hard times, you know the animal you’re going against. I think that familiarity with things is what’s allowed us to just keep going.”
If the Sounders are to make an MLS Cup run, they’ll need to thwart a more-than-worthy defensive adversary.
The Rapids boast the stingiest back line in all of MLS – a suffocating unit that conceded a league-low 32 goals. Even with dynamic midfielder Nicolas Lodeiro leading the attack and Colorado goalkeeper Tim Howard out with a groin injury, Sounders captain Brad Evans said his team harbors no illusions about the challenge that presents.
“We’re playing the best defensive team in the league,” Evans said on Saturday. “It’s a difficult team, a difficult test. What we’ve been working on all week is getting after goal. Making sure we’re good defensively but also that our attacking is on point.
“A team like that, they’ve been so consistent this year. They’ll say they’ve flown under the radar, but we’re smart enough to know that they were one of the best teams in the league this year.”
For the Sounders, the main caveat that could dampen their title hopes is health. Midfielders Andreas Ivanschitz and Alvaro Fernandez and rookie forward Jordan Morris are all working their way back from injuries and none have a definitive status for Tuesday’s first leg.
In that way, the two-week break from action has been well-timed for the Sounders. But speaking with reporters this week, head coach Brian Schmetzer said his squad is also itching to get back to work.
“The locker room is good,” Schmetzer said. “But when you have to train, train, train and there’s no games, you get squirrelly.
“I think they’re ready for the game to happen.”
