SANTA TECLA, El Salvador — The Seattle Sounders trained at Estadio Las Delicias on Wednesday ahead of the first leg of their Round of 16 CONCACAF Champions League match against Salvadoran champions Santa Tecla FC, and Seattle is expecting a traditional Central American environment on Thursday.
“The fans can be hostile sometimes,” said forward Jordan Morris, who has experience playing in the region with the United States national team. “It makes for a very good atmosphere, but it can be tough. The heat can be tough, the humidity, but luckily we’re playing at night. The field can be a little bit tough and all the travel on the legs…We’re used to playing on turf, so hopefully that will give us a little bit of an advantage.”
Estadio Las Delicias is a 10,000-seat stadium due west of the capital city of San Salvador. Although the field has turf, there is still an adjustment Seattle hoped to get used to Wednesday evening.
“Every turf field is a little different, but there are some similarities that we’re used to,” said Head Coach Brian Schmetzer. “The condition of the field is fine, it seems like a very nice little stadium.”
The Sounders know generally what to expect from Santa Tecla. They’ve watched them on film and sent staff members to Texas a few weeks ago to watch them scrimmage against FC Dallas. They’re very organized and are going to want to put on a solid performance in front of their home fans.
“We are familiar with them on film, but we all know it’s different when you’re on the field,” said Schmetzer. “The challenge for us is to adapt, try and win our duels and be better than our opponents.”
Added Morris: “Hopefully we can do well keeping possession and try and take our chances when they come. We’re playing away from home in a two-leg series, so we have to make sure we manage our risks.
“Guys are ready to go. We came all this way, so we want to get a result.”
