After three straight matches on the road—including two cross-country trips—Sounders FC returns home for three consecutive home fixtures. Don’t think for a second, though, that it will be a restful and restorative stretch. For the first time in franchise history, the Sounders will play three games at CenturyLink Field in a nine-day stretch. That’s a lot of soccer in Seattle, folks.
Three away matches followed by three home matches is pretty wacky, but it merely scratches the surface of the musings Sounders FC provides this week. Let’s dive in!
Seasonal Sizzles
Sounders FC remains in third place in the Western Conference with 19 points (6-3-1), but has one game in hand on first-place FC Dallas (6-2-3, 21 points) and two games in hand on second-place Vancouver (6-4-2, 20 points). Seattle is one of four MLS teams with six wins, and is the only team do so in 10 games or fewer. The Rave Green are the league leaders with a plus-eight goal differential, ranking tied for first in both goals scored (17) and fewest goals allowed (nine).
Forward Clint Dempsey is currently tied for the league lead in goals (seven), assists (five) and game-winning goals (three). Midfielder Marco Pappa is even with Dempsey at five assists, while Obafemi Martins is one behind Deuce with six goals on the year. After Chad Barrett’s two-goal performance on Saturday, the Sounders now have the top three players in goals per 90 minutes (among players with at least 200 minutes):
1. Clint Dempsey (.90)
Chad Barrett (.90)
3. Obafemi Martins (.75)
Last Week’s Listings
The 100th win in franchise history, Saturday’s result also snapped a five-game winless skid against Whitecaps FC, and it was the club’s first-ever victory at BC Place. The win positioned the Sounders in first place of the Cascadia Cup standings with six points (2-0-0), two points ahead of Vancouver and five points ahead of Portland.
Chad Barrett’s first-half brace opened his 2015 scoring account and placed him 12th on the active MLS scoring chart and 33rd overall with 53 career goals. Of the 20 two-goal performances in MLS this season, four are Sounders. Additionally, each Sounder to score a goal this season has recorded a brace (Dempsey, Martins, Barrett and Lamar Neagle).
With five saves and another shutout, goalkeeper Stefan Frei leads MLS in saves (41) and save percentage (82 percent), while ranking second in shutouts (five).
Deuce Almighty
For the first time, this weekly feature debuts a new section—fittingly, it pays tribute to one Clint Dempsey, who has busted the box score with enough stats to create his own category. As previously mentioned, Dempsey is tied atop MLS categories in goals, assists and game-winning goals, and has done so in just eight appearances.
He has registered a goal or an assist in all eight appearances of 2015, and owns a streak of 10 straight matches dating back to last season. This mark—the longest in MLS since 1998—is tied for the fourth-longest streak in MLS history. Dempsey can tie the record in his next appearance.
Matchup Mashup
Next up, Sounders FC faces Sporting Kansas City, who currently ranks sixth in its first season back in the Western Conference (3-2-5, 14 points). Sporting KC opened the season with a 1-1-2 record in March, followed by a matching 1-1-2 record in April. Thus far in May, Sporting KC beat Chicago and drew D.C. United. The club plays at New England on Wednesday before visiting Seattle on Saturday.
Sounders FC is 7-1-1 all-time against Sporting KC in the regular season, including an unblemished 4-0-0 record on the road. Sporting delivered Seattle its first loss in MLS in April 2009, but hasn’t found success against Seattle since. Last season, the Sounders won the season opener 1-0 on a 94th minute goal by Barrett—one of five stoppage-time winners for Sounders FC in the series history.
Throwback
Welcome to Seattle, Chad Barrett. In Barrett’s first appearance with the Sounders, the forward scored the then-latest goal in franchise history—four minutes into added time—to defeat Sporting Kansas City 1-0 on March 8, 2014. In a nationally televised match between Seattle and the defending MLS Cup champion, Barrett, a late substitute, delivered the heart-stopping winner on a rainy pitch at CenturyLink Field.
On a counter attack, Sean Okoli sent a cross into the box, where Clint Dempsey positioned himself for a jumping header that struck the crossbar. An ensuing scramble in the six-yard box vaulted the ball upwards, which Barrett half-volleyed into the net from close range.
It was the first of 20 wins for Sounders FC in 2014, a record in the post-shootout era.
Key(s) to the Game
Set the tone and pace early on. Meetings with Sporting KC have traditionally included volatile physicality, close, low-scoring results, and late Seattle magic. The last time these two sides met there were 40 combined fouls and five yellow cards. Of the nine matches in the series, no team has won by more than one goal, and only once has there been more than three combined goals in a game.
Over the past few matches, it is evident that Head Coach Sigi Schmid has tactically positioned his team to rely on possession and quality attempts. In a series that tends to be scrappy with close results, if the Sounders can establish a tempo from the opening whistle, they may not have to rely on a frenzied finish. Of the 12 goals Seattle has scored against Sporting KC, eight have come in the final 15 minutes.
