MLS Regular Season
Sunday, October 19th; 5:00pm PT; StubHub Center
TV/Radio: ESPN2, KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, ESPN Deportes 1490 AM
In the mother of all regular season-ending series, the Sounders will play the LA Galaxy in back-to-back matches…with the MLS Supporters’ Shield on the line.
Both clubs sit squarely on 60 points with distance between them and the rest of the league at the top. The Sounders hold the advantage with more wins, which is the first tiebreaker for playoff seeding. In other words, one win and the shield will make its way to Seattle for the first time.
Round one is sure to be quite the affair so let’s see how the teams will match-up at the StubHub Center.
Seattle Center Backs vs. Robbie Keane
The mercurial Irishman has dominated the league in 2014, notching an impressive 19 goals and nine assists in just 27 matches, making him one of the front-runners for MLS MVP. The Sounders back line will surely have their hands full with the shifty Keane, but he can be stopped with the right mix of physicality and positioning. With Chad Marshall having something of a career year and Zach Scott nearing full fitness, stopping Keane will be paramount to the Sounders’ success.
Los Angeles Center Backs vs. Obafemi Martins
Right up there in the MVP discussion is Sounders FC forward Obafemi Martins, who is having a career year with 17 goals and 10 assists in MLS play. Most impressively, though, is how well the Rave Green has performed when he’s scored for the club. All-time, Sounders FC is 19-0-0 when Martins scores, including a 12-0-0 clip in 2014. Nothing to scoff at there, and the Galaxy know it. Led by U.S. international Omar Gonzalez, LA’s defense has been just as stingy as its offense has been prolific, allowing a league-low 33 goals this season.
Sounders FC vs. StubHub Center
As the Galaxy so eloquently tweeted this week, the Sounders haven’t won at the Home Depot/StubHub Center since 2009, a 0-2-3 stretch. If the goal is to put the Supporters’ Shield argument to bed with a match to play (a win in LA would do that), the Sounders will need to overcome four years of disappointment in the City of Angels…if you don’t count the flawless results against Chivas USA, of course.
Taking home a second trophy of the calendar year could happen this Sunday against the Galaxy but if history has taught us anything about this rivalry, it certainly won’t be easy.
