Last season saw Seattle finally beat their playoff rivals LA Galaxy only to lose to FC Dallas in the next round. Could this season have more in store for the men in Rave Green?
By Toby Dunkelberg
After a frustrating series with Club America, the Seattle Sounders return to the welcoming confines of CenturyLink Field to face Sporting Kansas City in the opening match of the 2016 MLS season. This concludes a tumultuous preseason that started with the signing of Jordan Morris and a shift to a 4-3-3 formation but ended with the departure of Obafemi Martins and a loss in the CONCACAF Champions League semifinal after leading three separate times.
For Sporting Kansas City this is a chance to show that they belong in the MLS Cup contenders discussion. Despite the loss of Kristian Nemeth to Qatar, the addition of Brad Davis and a fully healthy roster make this version of Sporting Kansas City a more deadly unit up and down the field. After bowing out of the MLS Cup playoffs in a nail-biting 11-round shootout, they’ll be even more motivated to quickly establish a reputation as a club to be feared.
Sporting Kansas City has only won once at CenturyLink Field, way back in 2009. Since then they’ve lost three times and drawn twice for an overall record of 1-3-2 in Seattle. Both teams have tremendous pedigree’s and are regular guests to the post-season. Partially due to the consistent quality of both clubs, every matchup between the two has been decided by a goal or less, many times scoring the winning goal late in the game. They also tend to be low scoring affairs with only three goals across the three meetings last season.
Unlike prior seasons however, the Sounders will be running a 4-3-3. With both sides embracing such a free-flowing style one would expect Sunday’s match to be quite entertaining. The only damper to that is that each teams defense is arguably their strongest unit. Even with the addition of Davis, Nemeth’s departure leaves a gaping hole in SKC’s attack, and we’ve yet to see if Morris can live up to all the hype and make up for the departure of Martins.
Sporting Kansas City’s trying to move on from a gutting loss to Portland in an 11 round penalty shoot out
On the other side of the ball SKC’s gotten healthier and finally has Ike Opara back who started the last season strongly before succumbing to injury. It’s always tough to pick up where you left off but luckily Opara’s got a proven track record in that department and all news out of training seems to point to a full recovery. Early last season he showed a knack for scoring goals. That coupled with Besler’s long throw in’s, Brad Davis’ left foot, Graham Zusi’s service, and Dom Dywer’s uncanny ability to be at the right place at the right time, should be enough to pressure Seattle’s backline on most set pieces.
Across the pitch, the Sounders have lingering questions. Their matches against Club America did little to assuage concerns over Seattle’s attack. The Sounders got three goals but one of them was a gift from Club America and the other two were of of set pieces. In the run of play, Seattle looked dangerous but rarely threatened. That being said, players are still adjusting to their new positions and life in the post-Martins era. Clint Dempsey and Andreas Ivanschitz look to be the most settled. The two were involved in virtually all of Seattle’s chances. Out wide Morris still looks to be adapting to his new position.
Still the Sounders did manage to score two goals against the reigning CONCACAF Champions despite still being in pre-season. Above all, there’s a sense from the Seattle side that they’re still figuring things out. Sunday could be the day that it clicks. If that’s the case SKC better be prepared. But it’s equally as likely that they continue to struggle to find their footing.
The Swedish midfielder Erik Friberg is still questionable after a collision with Chad Marshall near the end of the second leg of the CCL Semifinals against Club America. He’s likely to be a game-day decision.
But like most games it’ll all come down to the midfield. In the Sounders first leg against Club America a large part of their success in the first thirty minutes was due to the distribution and ball winning skills of Erik Friberg and Osvaldo Alonso in the middle of the park. With Friberg still questionable after a late game collision with Chad Marshall in the second leg against Club America, it’ll be up to Sigi Schmid to decide between youngster Cristian Roldan, or the known quantity in Nathan Sturgis. Roldan’s proven himself to be more than up to the task but Schmid places a high priority on experience. Either way it’s a clear downgrade form Friberg who looked to have developed a solid partnership with Alonso. That solid defensive backing allows the attack the freedom it needs to combine and interplay. We don’t know if Roldan or Sturgis will be able to keep that intact.
If Seattle losses the midfield possession battle that’ll put even more pressure on a Seattle backline that’s already shown an inability to defends leads. They have the talent, experience, and determination to prove their Champions League lapses were just flukes, but it starts by putting in a full ninety minutes of defensively sound soccer. The Sounders have shown themselves capable of that in the past – in fact they were the best defense in the league last year statistically – and look to have all the right cards to replicate that success but like most things going into the first game of the season, it’s yet to be seen.
Sunday’s match will go a long way towards answering that question and many more. With the home crowd on their side and fresh off a frustrating defeat, Seattle has that extra bit of motivation that you usually don’t get until much later in the season. For that reason I think Seattle will be able to edge out SKC in a close game that has Seattle see the majority of possession.
PREDICTION
Seattle Sounders 2 – 1 Sporting Kansas City
