RENTON — About three-quarters of the way through the Seattle Sounders’ training session on Tuesday, head coach Brian Schmetzer told everyone to stop.
Assistant coach Freddy Juarez had designed a drill meant to help the players defend and identify transition moments, but Schmetzer felt as though the message was getting lost.
“The intensity just wasn’t there,” Schmetzer said. “I felt they needed a little bit of encouragement. What Freddy was saying was spot on, but they weren’t applying that.”
Schmetzer’s attention to intensity is particularly heightened this week, as the Sounders prepare to face Sporting KC.
On paper, this will be the weakest opponent the Sounders have faced all year, even accounting for it being a road game. Through nine MLS matches, Sporting KC are the worst team in the league by a host of metrics and shaping up to have one of the worst seasons in league history.
Among the lowlights: Fewest points (4), fewest goals (7), worst goal-difference (-18) and worst xG difference (-19.3). They are currently on a five-game losing streak in league play in which they’ve been outscored 18–3 and lost each of those games by at least two goals. To make matters worse, they even lost a U.S. Open Cup match 3–0 to the USL Championship’s Colorado Springs Switchbacks, where Sporting KC used mostly first-choice players.
Schmetzer wants to make sure his players aren’t overlooking anyone.
“It makes them dangerous,” Schmetzer said, perhaps thinking about 2023 when Sporting KC beat the Sounders at Lumen Field to end what had been a 10-game winless run to start the season. “It’s a trap game in some ways. I don’t want them thinking about the home games (that follow this one).”
MRI reveals lingering scar tissue on Yeimar
Yeimar Gomez Andrade (hamstring) has been ramping up in recent weeks, but a recent MRI revealed that there is still some scar tissue that team's fitness staff wants to see healed before the centerback is cleared to return. With the recent play of Alex Roldan and Tino Lopez at centerback, caution is a little easier.
"When you’re winning games, you have a little bit of luxury of not rushing guys back," Schmetzer said. "We’re going to make sure Yeimar is 100% before we get him back."
Other injury updates
- Kim Kee-hee (calf) was a full participant in training and could be in line to make his first gameday roster of the season on Saturday.
- Cristian Roldan (head) still has some tests to pass before he’s cleared from concussion protocol, but participated in most of training and Schmetzer seemed optimistic that he would be available.
- Albert Rusnák (hamstring) and Paul Arriola (adductor) were both more limited in training, but could still be cleared by the weekend.
