The Seattle Sounders wasted little time getting back on the field for their second camp of the preseason on Sunday in Southern California, earning two wins in three short scrimmages against UCLA.
Jordan Morris netted his first goal of the preseason and Darwin Jones brought his preseason total to four, while Andreas Ivanschitz and Aaron Kovar also found the back of the net. The Sounders won games 2-1 and 3-0, and also finished with a 0-0 draw against the Bruins.
Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid was satisfied to see Morris find the back of the net for the first time on Sunday afternoon, opening the scoring in the squad’s first period.
“Morris getting a goal was important for us and winning that 45-minute period 2-1 was also important,” Schmid said. “He’s only had one real training session with us, then he played today. I think the team is finding him well. There were some good spaces he put himself into.”
Despite only having a few days in Arizona with the squad after joining straight from from U.S. national team camp, Morris is pleased with his short time with his teammates. “It was good to get 45 minutes in with the guys,” Morris said. “It was exciting to get that first goal. It was a great ball by Nelson [Valdez] and that was it.”
Schmid also praised the play of Jones, and attributes the Homegrown Player’s recent run of success to playing him in a more comfortable position.
“We’ve played him almost exclusively on the flank, whereas last year we were thinking ‘Is he a center forward? Is he a winger?’” Schmid said. “But I think we’ve determined he’s a winger and he’s had more success there.”
Preseason winds down
The final and perhaps most challenging test of this preseason is slated for Wednesday night, when the Rave Green will take on the LA Galaxy at StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. Schmid said after a tough schedule this weekend, he’s planning to ramp up his team’s play for the midweek matchup.
“We’ll ease off now and try to get a good 75-90 minutes from everyone in the LA game,” Schmid said.
