About five weeks ago, SoundersFC.com ran a positional breakdown of the club as it was beginning preseason training camp. Seattle had recently acquired a couple of veterans and several rookies, and with S2 coming into play, the group training at Starfire Sports was larger than ever.
Two preseason camps and seven friendlies later, Sounders FC’s depth chart for the 2015 season has taken form. Though the club experimented with different formations in those preseason tilts, Head Coach Sigi Schmid has reiterated that his team will play a 4-4-2.
With the Rave Green’s season opener just five days out, here is what you can expect to see when Schmid’s side takes the pitch this year.
Forwards
Projected Starters: Clint Dempsey, Obafemi Martins
Depth: Chad Barrett, Kenny Cooper, Darwin Jones, Victor Mansaray, Kevin Parsemain
Both named to the 2014 MLS All-Star Fan XI, Dempsey and Martins were the starters whenever Schmid used a first-choice lineup this preseason. Last year Sounders FC scored a club-record 65 goals in its first full season with the star-studded forward pairing.
Back for their second seasons in Seattle, Cooper and Barrett are also proven MLS strikers, ranking fifth and 14th, respectively, among active players in career goals. Cooper tallied four scores in six preseason appearances, while Barrett assisted on a pair of Parsemain goals in the club’s opening match of the Desert Diamond Cup. After sitting out 2014 with an injury, Parsemain showed during the last month that he is capable of contributing in 2015.
Midfielders
Projected Starters: Marco Pappa, Osvaldo Alonso, Gonzalo Pineda, Lamar Neagle
Depth: Micheal Azira, Aaron Kovar, Cristian Roldan, Andy Rose
Alonso’s status is uncertain against the New England Revolution on Sunday, though Schmid said the All-Star central midfielder is ahead of schedule in his recovery from groin surgery. In his stead, Azira played most of the minutes in the middle with Pineda during the preseason.
On the outside, Sounders FC will likely feature two attacking-minded veterans that were key to the team’s success in 2014: Neagle and Pappa, who combined for 15 goals and 14 assists last year. The technical staff has also been pleased with Kovar, the 21-year-old Seattle native entering his second professional season.
Defenders
Projected Starters: Tyrone Mears, Brad Evans, Chad Marshall, Leo Gonzalez
Depth: Andres Correa, Damion Lowe, Jimmy Ockford, Dylan Remick, Zach Scott
Perhaps the most significant change from last year is Evans’ move from the midfield to centerback. He and Schmid are in agreement that this is the right season to make the change, hence why the Seattle captain has been playing next to his good friend and 2014 MLS Defender of the Year Marshall throughout the preseason.
Right back is the only position on the field where Sounders FC lost its starter from 2014. Shortly after DeAndre Yedlin completed his transfer to Tottenham Hotspur, Sounders FC signed Mears, a veteran of some of Europe’s top leagues who then started on the right in five of the seven preseason friendlies. Seattle also brought in 21-year-old Correa to bolster its depth at left back.
Goalkeepers
Projected Starter: Stefan Frei
Depth: Troy Perkins
Frei was in goal for every minute of every MLS match in 2014, and if he continues playing the way he did toward the end of last season, that could be the case once again in 2015.
Perkins is one of seven players on the Sounders’ roster that has been named an All-Star during his MLS career. After signing in mid-January, he appeared in three games during the preseason, starting two of them.
