TUKWILA, Wash. — The Seattle Sounders know the task at hand, and it isn’t an easy one.
The Sounders travel to Los Angeles for a Sunday tilt against the Galaxy on national television (1 p.m. PT; ESPN; 107.7 The End, El Rey 1360am). Five points out of a playoff spot with six matches remaining, they’re desperate for points and must find them against the second place team in the Western Conference, which hasn’t lost at home all season.
How do you stop a team with the offensive firepower of LA, while still playing aggressively enough to steal three points? The Sounders organization has fared fairly well on the road since it joined MLS in 2009, but it’s still a dilemma that interim head coach Brian Schmetzer and his staff are trying to solve.
“The home tactics versus away tactics are subtle, but sometimes those subtle differences can creep up in moments in the game where one team executes their game plan, versus the other team executing theirs and it becomes an issue,” Schmetzer said. “Case in point: We’ve talked about or outside backs going [forward], but [Robbie] Keane, [Giovani] dos Santos, [Steven] Gerrard when he was in, those guys like to play in those soft areas, wait until the ball is turned over and then they’re out on the counter.
“So the challenge will be for Joevin [Jones] and Tyrone [Mears], Cristian [Roldan], Ozzie [Alonso], the two center backs to be aware, but at the same time we’re not going to be afraid to try and pin them in their half of the field either.”
After conceding early against Portland and San Jose in the past month, the Sounders played tremendous team defense in their 1-0 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps FC last weekend. Allowing LA to get on the board first would put a major dent in their chances of flying back to Seattle with a result.
“We need to concentrate early on, we don’t want to give up an early lead,” said midfielder Nicolas Lodeiro through a translator. “And then moving forward, we need to do what we know how to do.”
Lodeiro has grabbed either a goal or an assist in the last seven matches, including an assist on Jordan Morris’ game-winner against the Whitecaps. The Uruguayan Designated Player has only played in eight matches with the club, but he’s starting to get more comfortable with Morris, understanding the rookie striker’s runs and where he’s going to be on the field.
“It’s very easy playing with [Morris], Lodeiro said. “The more we play together, the more we understand each other. He makes my job easier because he’s a smart player and he helps me dictate my game as well.”
Brad Evans trained again on Friday and Schmetzer said his captain is available for selection on Sunday after missing the last two matches with injuries to his lower back and calf. Roman Torres has been starting at center back in Evans’ place, and Schmetzer hopes his big, bruising defender can disrupt the rhythm of the Galaxy’s forwards. Torres’ ability to do that will ultimately determine if Seattle can win a massive road fixture.
“[The Galaxy] don’t know what Roman is all about,” Schmetzer said. “It might take Keane a few minutes to figure out what he’s all about on set pieces and stuff like that. We’ll present them a few problems.”
