Sounders FC had two young defenders return from injury in Monday’s Reserve League victory over Arizona United at Starfire Stadium. Second-year left back Dylan Remick and rookie center back Damion Lowe were back on the field after extended layoffs and both impressed in their 30-minute stints.
“It felt great to be back and play any type of competitive game against players other than your teammates because it just steps it up a notch,” said Remick, who missed several weeks with an adductor strain. “It felt good to get back into the swing of things and contribute to the team in this game and go from there.”
Remick began the season in the starting lineup for Sounders FC while regular starting left back Leo Gonzalez recovered from off-season surgery. He has totaled 602 minutes while making seven starts and four appearances off the bench.
Now working his way back to health, he is looking forward to the chance to spell Gonzalez when the need arises in busy portions of the upcoming schedule.
“It’s hard to be off the field for any reason, injury especially, because you want to help the team. You can’t play, you can’t compete,” Remick said. “One of the strengths I have going for me, I can build that fitness pretty quickly. I’ll try and use that to my advantage, as well.”
Meanwhile Lowe has been on the shelf since April 7 when he underwent surgery on his left hip. Sounders FC’s first round pick in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft, Lowe had high hopes during training camp, but a hip injury left him watching from the outside for the last four months. He eased his way back in training and logged 30 minutes for the reserves on Monday to continue his progress towards a full recovery.
“It’s good for him to get back on the field, so he’s happy about that,” Sounders FC Head Coach Sigi Schmid said. “Obviously he needs to work on his fitness now and his game-timing. When you come off a longer injury like he has, the first couple of weeks are good because you’re full of energy. Then you go into a little bit of a lull and you’ve got to come out of that lull. He’s probably four weeks away from being at the top or near the top of his game.”
Sounders FC has just one Reserve League match remaining on the schedule on October 8 against the Colorado Rapids.
