RENTON — Heading into their final preseason game on Sunday against Louisville City, the Seattle Sounders’ starting lineup seems to be coming into focus.
Seven players have started each of the past two preseason games and two others would be seeming locks if the regular season was starting now.
Still, Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer is playing things relatively close to the vest. When asked about his starting goalkeeper, for instance, Schmetzer wasn’t quite ready to declare a starter. Although Andrew Thomas has started the last two games, Schmetzer noted that Stefan Frei had left training camp in order to be with family after his mother passed away.
“That’s a tough conversation,” Schmetzer said about choosing a starting goalkeeper. “It’s going to happen very soon. Those guys have both been good pros and I don’t expect any issues there. One of them will start and the other one will be ready in case something happens.”
In center midfield, Hassani Dotson seems to have solidified his spot next to Cristian Roldan, even if that’s not an entirely settled situation.
“Hassani has the inside track because he’s got more MLS experience,” Schmetzer said. “He’s got some bit to him. He’s from Federal Way, he’s pretty tough. I like that. But he can also pass the ball.
“I like a lot of the things he’s done.”
But even if Dotson wins the starting spot, Schmetzer noted there will likely be plenty of minutes for the likes of Snyder Brunell and Nikola Petković.
Illustrating Schmetzer’s point was the absence of Roldan from Friday’s training session. Roldan, who logged more than 4,000 minutes for club and country last year, was given the day off with some discomfort in his Achilles’ heel.
It was not immediately apparently how serious that injury was, but Schmetzer noted the Sounders would almost inevitably need to have a ready replacement for Roldan either way. If the midfielder makes the United States World Cup squad, he could end up missing at least a month ahead of the tournament and might need some time off after.
“We’re going to need everybody,” Schmetzer said.
Preseason details
The Sounders will host USL Championship side Louisville City at 11 AM and then play a second game at 1 PM that will likely feature a mix of reserves and Tacoma Defiance players. Both matches will be played at the Longacres training facility but is closed to the public.
