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TUKWILA, Wash. — The Sounders were back at it Wednesday morning at Starfire, but it’s more of pitstop because after Thursday’s session, the team will depart for Frisco, Texas to continue preparations for a weekend game versus FC Dallas.
The team didn’t dwell too much on the loss last weekend in Kansas City, though they did lament the defensive errors, especially in the first half.
“I think we could have been organized when we pressed from the beginning and a little bit more patient with the ball early on,” Sounders forward Will Bruin said.
Coach Brian Schmetzer was pleased with the MLS debut of Xavier Arreaga, who was called into duty when centerback Kim Kee Hee went down with an injury in the 38th minute.
“He’s good on the ball, good technically,” Schmetzer said. “He needs to learn the league and and figure out how to defend against bigger, strong players.
“He’s a game kid and even before the game, he told me he wanted to play, and that he was going there [Kansas City] not just to sit on the bench, but he wanted to play and I was encouraged by those words.”
Looking forward to FC Dallas, the Sounders will be without the services of Nicolas Lodeiro, who will be suspended to yellow card accumulation. However, both Gustav Svensson and Victor Rodriguez participated in full training, and should be available to start if called upon. Schmetzer said he will have a couple of options to replace Lodeiro, including Rodriguez or Cristian Roldan.
“[Rodriguez] is always game for playing in the pockets on either side of the opponents spaces, so I think he’d be a choice,” he said. “Cristian has played there as a 10, and there you get a little more power out of that position.”
Kim was out doing some light work today, and Schmetzer said the MRI came back negative, so the injury is not expected to be long term. It’s also possible that left back/midfielder Joevin Jones could arrive on Thursday, though that has not been confirmed and there is no indication at this point that Jones could be available for the weekend’s game. Finally forward Jordan Morris continues to improve from his hamstring injury. Schmetzer said he’s getting close, but will probably not quite be ready for this weekend, though he will provide an update later this week.