Sounders know they have lots of work left to do

RENTON — The good vibes from beating Cruz Azul 7-0 are still very much present with the Seattle Sounders. The mood at training is light, the energy high. Players walking off the pitch have smiles splashed across their faces.

But there’s also a reality that all of that good work can be undone with just one bad result. While the Sounders certainly have a leg up on their competition thanks to their +7 goal difference, that’s secondary to their point total and they’ll likely need somewhere between six and nine points in order to advance to the Knockout Phase.

“I’m trying to give them the message that they should enjoy this moment but that we still have two games to go,” Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer said during Saturday’s matchday minus-one press conference, noting that just 4 of 18 MLS teams will advance. “We’re not going to take our foot off the gas.”

To help illustrate his approach, Schmetzer wanted to focus more on how the Sounders played in the scoreless first half than on what they did during their seven-goal second half.

During that first half, the Sounders held a 65-35 possession advantage, created several good scoring chances and would have had a goal if not for it being flagged narrowly offside. Defensively, they limited the danger Cruz Azul posed aside from a couple of decent counter-attacking opportunities.

Goalkeeper Andrew Thomas pointed to a double-block the Sounders had during Cruz Azul’s most dangerous sequence as evidence for the work his teammates were doing.

“You can see the desire that everyone had,” Thomas said. “Once we started scoring a few goals, you could see the change, you could see how quickly their heads went down after we went up 3-0. Even at that point, transition becomes even more important as we get more aggressive and it’s one thing we did well.”

Like Cruz Azul, Santos Laguna is a team that likes to press and can sometimes get into trouble when they’re overly aggressive. In their Leagues Cup opener against the Colorado Rapids, Santos Laguna were repeatedly gashed in counter-attacking situations.

“If we could keep good possession against Santos, that might tire them out a little bit, might wear them down,” Schmetzer said. “It might give us an advantage in the second half.”

Both teams will be playing on just two days’ rest, meaning there’s likely to be at least some rotation. Schmetzer has openly talked about needing to get central midfielders Obed Vargas and Cristian Roldan some rest at some point, while Yeimar Gomez Andrade is still working back to full fitness as he recovers from a calf strain.

Santos Laguna will also be playing without goalkeeper Carlos Acevedo, who was red-carded against the Rapids.

The Sounders have plenty of experience with rotation, having used 31 different lineups in their 31 competitive matches this season.

“When we do our tactical training sessions, we’re not just working with the first group or the first team,” Schmetzer said. “A lot of times in our training sessions, we rotate both groups in so they hear the tactical instruction the team is starting and also the team that’s the reserve team or the team that’s on the bench.

“The guys that we put on the field when we want to try and rotate players, they understand the tactics that we want, they’ve heard it, they’ve seen it, they’ve been in exercises geared to whatever game plan we come up with.”

Celebrating 7-0

The Sounders are marking their 7-0 win over Cruz Azul by offering four-ticket packages to both the Santos Laguna and Club Tijuana matches for $70, which works out to less than $18 per ticket.