Playing their second of three games in a week — and in the middle of a stretch of five games in 15 days, all away from Lumen Field — Seattle Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer acknowledged there will be some significant rotation for Sunday’s game against the San Jose Earthquakes.
“We’re going to rotate, we have to,” Schmetzer said following Saturday’s training session at the snow-covered Longacres facility. “We’ll play some guys 45 and 45 and will make do.”
A handful of players could make their first starts of the season.
Among the first-time starters is likely to be centerback Tino Lopez, who is on a short-term loan from the Tacoma Defiance. The Sounders are perilously thin at centerback and Schmetzer indicated on Thursday that Lopez would likely be called upon.
Lopez is a 23-year-old product of the Sounders Academy who has spent the last two seasons with the Tacoma Defiance after playing collegiately at Duke. He made one appearance for the Sounders last year and has trained extensively with the first team throughout this year.
“Even though it was a little cold and snowy today, the group was in good spirits,” Schmetzer said. “There’s going to be some shuffling of the deck and guys smell opportunities. They’re going to use that energy.”
Hands full with Timo
Timo Werner is a few years removed from when he was considered one of the top players in all of Europe, but in his first two Earthquakes appearances has looked more than capable of being a contributor in MLS. Schmetzer said he expects Bruce Arena to give Werner his first MLS start on Sunday.
“He’s going to be good for MLS,” Schmetzer said. “He’s a quality player. Give him a fresh start and I think he’s going to be good.”
Injury updates
- Jackson Ragen took a couple blows to the upper body in Thursday’s game and even stayed down after the final whistle, but was a full participant in training on Saturday and is likely to start.
- Jordan Morris was a limited participant in training and while he won’t be available against the Earthquakes, Schmetzer indicated that he could be available as soon as Wednesday.
- Hassani Dotson continues to progress through concussion protocol and has apparently also targeted a return for next week.
