New York City FC-Sounders preview
A highly motivated New York City FC squad is relishing the 2,400-mile trip to take on the Seattle Sounders FC on Saturday at CenturyLink Field.
Not only is NYCFC (5-5-6) coming off a much-needed 3-2 win over Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia, but with a 3-2-1 road record, NYCFC is the only Eastern Conference team with a winning record away from home.
In addition, the two teams met only once in NYCFC's inaugural season last year with the Sounders earning a 3-1 win in May at Yankees Stadium.
NYCFC still has a bad taste in its mouth from that loss.
The win over the Union ended a four-match winless streak and gives NYCFC confidence heading into Seattle to face a foundering Sounders squad.
The Sounders (5-8-1), currently in ninth place in the Western Conference, have lost four of five, including their last time out -- a 2-0 shutout at the hands of the New York Red Bulls on Sunday.
Seattle is gearing up for a stretch of three games in eight days and will need all hands on deck if it expects to climb in the standings.
One player who won't be available against NYCFC is Clint Dempsey.
Dempsey stayed with the U.S. Men's National Team to play in Saturday's Copa America Centenario third-place match against Columbia in Glendale, Ariz.
The Sounders do have dynamic forward Jordan Morris, who has made 13 starts and leads the team with five goals. Morris has transitioned from Stanford, where he won the 2015 MAC Hermann Trophy as the nation's top player, to the Sounders as their most consistent offensive threat.
Coach Sigi Schmid has been tinkering with the Sounders' lineup the past three games. The most noticeable change has been inserting Joevin Jones at left mid in an attacking, and the success has been striking.
Heading into the game against the Red Bulls, Schmid's experiment had paid off -- in 43 minutes off the bench, Jones tallied two goals and two assists in two straight wins.
Although Jones did not get on the scoresheet against the Red Bulls, the Sounders might have stumbled on to a spark to kick start the offense.
NYCFC has been waiting for an explosion on offense, and the stars finally aligned just right against the Union.
The ever-dangerous David Villa leads NYCFC's attack. He sits atop the MLS Golden Boot standings and didn't disappoint, notching his 11th of the season against Philadelphia.
The good news for NYCFC also came when Villa got some help from his fellow stars, Andrea Pirlo and Frank Lampard.
Lampard, who has seen limited action because of a calf injury, netted his first goal of the season in his first start of the season on a rebound off a Tommy McNamara shot from eight yards out.
Pirlo, who scored his first Major League Soccer goal on a free kick from 20 yards out in Sunday's win, has a bit of extra motivation.
Pirlo admits that being left off Italy's Euros squad hurt.
"I didn't like being left out, but I have to accept the decisions of the coach," Pirlo told the Times of India.
NYCFC does lead the league in goals allowed (31) and has the worst home record in MLS. And against the Union, they were on the verge of losing their poise and had to hang on for the 3-2 win.