RENTON – Although the Western Conference Wild Card game comes just a couple of days after the close of the FIFA international window, the Seattle Sounders are not expecting any players to miss the game as a result.
That’s mainly because Sebastian Gomez and Snyder Brunell were given permission to remain with the Sounders rather than join the United States’ U23 team for a pair of friendlies in Spain. The USA will play Scotland on Nov. 15 and then play a closed-door match against Ukraine on Nov. 17.
“That was something decided by people levels higher than me,” Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer said. “But it’s a good decision because it allows them to train with us; we’re going to need them.”
Although Albert Rusnák is with Slovakia – who plays Faroe Islands on Friday and Kazakstan on Nov. 16 in UEFA Nations League play – Schmetzer was confident the midfielder would be back in time, too.
Whether Rusnák starts for the Sounders will likely depend on a few factors. The biggest consideration will likely be how much he plays for Slovakia. But Rusnák’s travel itinerary could also cause some issues. He’ll be coming to Seattle from Kazakstan, which can take anywhere from 18 to 26 hours, which will likely only give him one day of limited training before the Sounders face Real Salt Lake.
“We’ve got a deep squad,” Schmetzer said. “Let’s just see how it pans out.”
Jackson Ragen suspension?
One player who’s unlikely to be available is centerback Jackson Ragen, who seems reasonably likely to be suspended for the game after his 76th minute tackle in the season finale not only knocked Jacob Shaffelburg out of the game but resulted in the midfielder going to the hospital with multiple cracked ribs and a collapsed lung. Ragen was only shown a yellow in the game, but the seriousness of the injury has left many observers calling for a more serious punishment.
"We’re sitting on pins and needles," Schmetzer said.
Sounders mostly miss out on end-of-season awards
Aside from Paul Arriola being named a finalist for MLS Humanitarian of the Year, no Sounders were among the end-of-season award finalists that were announced on Thursday. That's most unsurprising given the Sounders’ 16th-place finish in the Supporters’ Shield standings.
But if one player deserved a bit more consideration, it was probably goalkeeper Andrew Thomas. The first-year starter is among the league leaders in goals prevented (12.8), save percentage (72.9), shutouts (8), and goals against average (1.4).
"Andrew had to overcome a lot of ups and downs," Schmetzer said. "That's a very specialized position. For him to perform like he did that last game and keep us in the game for a lot of long parts of the second half, that's growth to me."
