The Seattle Sounders will play their final preseason match in Tucson, Ariz., on Tuesday against the San Jose Earthquakes (9:30 a.m. PT; SoundersFC.com) in a scrimmage. The Sounders drew 1-1 with the Portland Timbers on Saturday in a Desert Diamond friendly and will travel to Charleston, S.C., for three matches against the Charleston Battery, Atlanta United and Columbus Crew SC in the Carolina Challenge Cup from Feb. 18-25.
Formal or not, the Sounders will get another chance to test themselves on Tuesday, particularly their younger players, against a Western Conference foe. Seattle defeated San Jose 2-0 at home on May 7 last year before drawing 1-1 on the road on Sept. 10 thanks to a late Nicolas Lodeiro free-kick goal.
Here’s what you need to know about San Jose:
INTERNATIONAL SPLASH
The Earthquakes added several foreign signings this past offseason after finishing ninth in the West in 2016. Costa Rican forward Marcos Ureña, Albanian midfielder Jahmir Hyka and Panamanian defender Harold Cummings all bring senior international experience. Forward Danny Hoesen, on loan from FC Groningen, and defender Florian Jungwirth have represented the Netherlands and Germany, respectively, at various youth levels.
Cummings will be unavailable on Tuesday after undergoing surgery last Friday to repair a sports hernia in his abdomen. He is expected to miss three to four weeks.
SUPER(DRAFT) TALENT
The Earthquakes drafted midfielder Jackson Yueill out of UCLA with the eighth pick in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft in January, and he seems poised to earn regular minutes this season. SoundersFC.com’s own Will Parchman evaluated Yueill as the top center midfielder in the draft class, ranked him the No. 5 overall prospect and compared his game to that of a younger Sacha Kljestan. Yueill has started the first half in each of San Jose’s first two friendlies.
BINGHAM OUT
Earthquakes starting goalkeeper David Bingham will likely not play against the Sounders after spending the previous three weeks with the United States national team. Bingham did not play in the U.S.’ first friendly against Serbia on Jan. 29, but he entered at halftime for Luis Robles against Jamaica on Feb. 3 and played the final 45 minutes.
WONDO’S STILL WONDO
U.S. national team head coach Bruce Arena originally called in Earthquakes forward Chris Wondolowski to January camp, but he was one of five players sent home prior to the friendlies. He picked up where he left off in 2016 by scoring San Jose’s lone goal against Real Salt Lake in their friendly last Friday. Wondolowski is searching for his eighth consecutive season with double-digit goals.
WYNNE CONCERNS
MLS veteran Marvell Wynne is out indefinitely after doctors discovered a heart abnormality during a routine preseason physical. He is undergoing further evaluations.
SPENCER SIGNING
San Jose hired former MLS player and Portland Timbers head coach John Spencer as an assistant on Saturday. He joins the Earthquakes after being an assistant with the Colorado Rapids last season. He was previously on current San Jose head coach Dominic Kinnear’s staff for four years when Kinnear was the with Houston Dynamo.
