Osvaldo Alonso 'exactly where we want him to be,' Sigi Schmid says

Osvaldo Alonso still isn't training in full with his Seattle Sounders teammates, but head coach Sigi Schmid still sounds optimistic about the possibility of his star defensive midfielder returning to action for the Leg 2 of the Western Conference finals on Sunday.

"He's been doing great. He went through the full warm-up possession and then we just wanted him to do some accelerations after that, so he's exactly where we want him to be. He'll do more tomorrow, and I think he'll be ready to go on Sunday."

- Schmid, via the Tacoma News-Tribune

That's obviously good news for the Sounders, who used Micheal Azira in Alonso's place in Leg 1. Although Azira played well defensively, Alonso's absence was particularly apparent in the Sounders' struggles to transition to the offensive side.

The Sounders are also hoping to have Lamar Neagle back for Leg 2. The Federal Way native missed the first game due to a "personal matter," and although "there are still some things going on" he's at least back in training.