After an emotionally charged win over the Portland Timbers on Sunday and another match in Portland this coming Sunday, the Seattle Sounders’ midweek match against the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday (6 p.m. PT; JOEtv, ROOT Sports, El Rey 1360AM, 770 KTTH) has all the makings of a classic trap game.
The Sounders enter on a four-game unbeaten run and is steadily creeping back into the playoff picture. But will they be up for a match after three-days rest on a humid night in Houston?
“There will be no trap,” Sounders interim head coach Brian Schmetzer said on Wednesday. “The effort will be there, I can guarantee that. Smart soccer, that’s what [the team] will have to provide for us tomorrow, and I’m confident that they can do it.”
The Sounders are 3-0-1 since Schmetzer took over last month, including winners of three straight. New Designated Player Nicolas Lodeiro has settled in nicely, and the 4-2-3-1 formation that Schmetzer has implemented has created a lot of attacking opportunities of which the team has taken advantage.
Trying to adjust for a midweek match, especially the second of three games in an eight-day span, can be difficult to plan for, but Schmetzer assured that he’d be sticking with what’s working.
“[There will be] minor tweaks because the team is on a roll,” he said. “We’re not going to overhaul things just for a midweek game. I want to keep the rhythm of the group together, but there will be strategic change, one or two.”
One of the big changes could very well be the addition of Roman Torres, who was activated off the disabled list on Tuesday for the first time in nearly a year. The imposing center back suffered an ACL injury last September after just four matches with the club, but he’s once again healthy and ready to contribute.
"It gives me a big smile on my face,” Schmetzer said of Torres’ return. “He’s ready to go. We’re happy to have him back. We’ll see where tomorrow takes us.”
