SEATTLE – Brad Evans walked gingerly around the Sounders FC locker room at CenturyLink Field on Sunday night, proud of the effort his team put together but undoubtedly well-aware of the toll taken on the players.
Evans became the latest Sounders player added to a list of walking wounded during the team’s cathartic 3-2 win over the LA Galaxy in this Audi 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs, buckled by a pulled hamstring that forced him out of the final minutes of the match.
That injury came after a litany of others this week that likely should have put the Sounders on the outside of the postseason looking in, but somehow didn’t. The Sounders played Wednesday without starting midfielders Osvaldo Alonso (hamstring) and Marco Pappa (hamstring) – Andy Rose and Nelson Valdez stepped in, respectively – and plenty of others took their lumps before the final whistle blew.
But perhaps the most concerning for a lightning quick turnaround ahead of a Western Conference Semifinals clash against FC Dallas or Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Sunday is the status of Evans, who said he’s unsure of the severity of the injury.
“It’s sore, at this point,” Evans said. “I’ll get an MRI [Thursday] and try and move forward as quickly as possible.”
Evans went down in the 91st minute Sunday, with the Sounders clinging to their one-goal lead and the Galaxy pressing for an equalizer. He tracked Galaxy striker Robbie Keane to the corner of the Sounders box before pulling up lame, and he had to be helped off the field.
“You don’t know how bad it is,” Sounders Head Coach Sigi Schmid said. “Right now there’s a lot of emotion from the game. We’ll have a better idea [Thursday].”
Sounders defender Leonardo Gonzalez was also forced out of the game in the 36th minute with an injury – Evans slid over to leftback when Zach Scott stepped in at centerback – and Andreas Ivanschitz rolled his ankle early in the second half.
Ivanschitz was able to shake off the minor scare and log a productive 88 minutes before rookie Cristian Roldan took his place to help kill the final few minutes of the match.
“I twisted it,” Ivanschitz said. “But I think it will not be an issue for Sunday’s game. I’m very tired after two games in four days, but now it’s very important that we enjoy the moment. We beat one of the best teams in MLS, so this has to give us a lot of confidence.”
Finally toppling LA without the likes of Alonso and Pappa should also provide a boost, especially if either or both are able to return Sunday, or ahead of the second leg of the semifinals on Nov. 8.
Schmid said he felt Pappa should be able to play this weekend, while the club will wait and see on the health of Alonso, who has appeared in 16 of the Sounders’ 18 postseason games all-time.
“We don’t know,” Schmid said. “With Ozzie, it’s really day-to-day as we move forward.”
