MLS

Seattle Sounders take important step forward in scrimmage against Peñarol as young players shine

SEAvPEN Schmetzer

For the first time in 2020, the Seattle Sounders took the pitch to face off against another opponent.


Even though the Sounders, fielding a mixture of senior First Team players and talented youngsters from the Academy and Tacoma Defiance, fell 1-0 to Club AtlƩtico PeƱarol, the team came away from the experience feeling optimistic as they build momentum toward Concacaf Champions League.


ā€œI think we did a good job,ā€ said midfielder Gustav Svensson. ā€œIt’s always difficult [in] the first game to get the rhythm of the game. Training is one thing, playing a game is another thing. Playing against an opponent who challenges you in every duel, challenges you in every run. It’s always good to get that first game out of your system.ā€


Asked about his first impressions of playing alongside Svensson, Kelvin Leerdam, Stefan Frei and Joevin Jones, new signing Shane O’Neill, who put in an impressive performance against PeƱarol’s dynamic attacking corps, offered plenty of praise for his new teammates following the match.


ā€œObviously it makes a world of a difference when you’re playing next to that kind of quality,ā€ said O’Neill. ā€œIt’s something for me that I’ve obviously really enjoyed my first couple of weeks being here. I think it gives you confidence playing next to players like that.ā€



The match was divvied up into three, 30-minute intervals, with First Team players exiting at the half-hour mark and making way for the young guys. After the match, Head Coach Brian Schmetzer complimented all of the young guys on a job well done, singling out midfielders Chris Hegardt, Danny Robles and Josh Atencio as well as center backs Antino Lopez and Sam Rogers.


ā€œWe’ve got a lot of good kids here and that was a good test,ā€ said Schmetzer. ā€œIt was a good exercise for us as coaches to see if they can measure up.ā€


Atencio, 17, put in a strong, two-way shift as the No. 6, breaking up PeƱarol’s counterattacks and playing a key role in Seattle controlling possession for the final 60 minutes. After the match, the young midfielder, who notched a goal and an assist in 2,078 minutes of USL Championship action with the Defiance in 2019, noted the value of learning from First Team guys in his position.


ā€œYou learn a lot from the guys ahead of you,ā€ said Atencio. ā€œLike when you see these other teams, you try to add those things to your game. When you see players like Gustav and [Jordy] Delem and Danny [Leyva], and how they do the things you want to get better at.ā€

Seattle Sounders take important step forward in scrimmage against Peñarol as young players shine -



Tacoma Defiance midfielder Ray Serrano squeezes through a pair of Club PeƱarol players on Wednesday morning | Mike Fiechtner 

Asked about coaching against Diego Forlan, Schmetzer noted he was happy to see his young players be awe-struck meeting the Uruguay and AtlƩtico Madrid legend.


ā€œWhat I loved is some of our Academy kids went over and wanted photos with him because he’s such a big star,ā€ he said. ā€œThat makes me feel good because they’re students of the game. They know who he is, and they wanted his photo.ā€


The team will enjoy a couple of days of rest and recuperation before returning to their usual training regimen on Saturday.

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