TUKWILA, Wash. – After such a disheartening start to the season, few would believe that Seattle Sounders FC 2 are just one victory away from vaulting themselves over the red line and into postseason contention.
But S2 will have that opportunity when they take on Real Monarchs SLC at Starfire Stadium on Monday (7:30 p.m.; Live Stream on SoudnersFC.com).
The road to the playoffs, however, won’t be easy. S2 have already played the majority of their home matches and will face a primarily road-heavy end to the season. After a training session on Thursday, head coach Ezra Hendrickson stressed the importance of getting full points in their final three home matches.
“It’s a must, that we pick up nine points at home,” Hendrickson said. “We’re in a position now where full points from home games puts us in a really good position for playoffs.”
In the teams' last matchup, S2 went down to Rio Tinto Stadium and picked up a scoreless draw on enemy turf. This time, the Monarchs come to Seattle and with a similar playing style, and Hendrickson expects a battle for possession.
“We’re two teams that like to play the ball, that like possession,” Hendrickson said. “We can’t have possession for 90 minutes so we just have to make sure that when we have possession that we’re effective. It’s going to be a good game.”
Defender Michael Nelson has been a defensive stalwart for S2 this season, leading the squad in minutes. His status for Monday was suddenly thrust into question after picking up a knee strain in Thursday’s training, but Hendrickson is confident that the knock will not keep him out on Monday.
“He should be fine for Monday,” he said. “Right now we don’t have any injury concerns.”
