It’s been a long month on the road for Sounders FC 2, but the trip is coming to an end on Saturday night in Austin as the Rave Green complete a three-match road swing against the Austin Aztex.
The weary traveling Sounders are close to securing a postseason position in the USL Western Conference. With only three weeks left in the season, a win in Austin would be enough for the club to ride into the playoffs, but Head Coach Ezra Hendrickson is looking for three points and momentum as S2 wraps up its inaugural season.
“We are developing a winning mentality within this organization and we don’t want to settle for anything less,” said Hendrickson. “Obviously we want to make the playoffs, but we are focused on the match at hand and what we have right in front of us. We need to be better on the road and this is where it starts.”
S2 is 2-8-3 on the road, most recently dropping two away matches to LA Galaxy II and Real Monarchs SLC, both by just a one-goal margin. Despite being the third-highest scoring team in the conference, S2 has been shut out in three of its last five.
Though the Aztex sit second to last in the conference table, the club remains in playoff contention, needing results from across the league (including winning twice against S2) in order to remain in the hunt. Austin has conceded the fourth-fewest goals in the conference (32), 16 of which came on its home turf.
Kickoff for Saturday’s match from Reeves Athletic Complex in Austin is set for 5:30 p.m. PT and will be live-streamed on Sounders FC.com.
