Sounders-New York City FC Preview
While the Seattle Sounders aren't settling for modest expectations ahead of a three-game road stretch, it isn't exactly high-minded to think they'll beat the first opponent.
The club makes its first trip to Yankee Stadium on Sunday night to face a New York City FC side trying to end a six-match winless streak and figure out how to score should David Villa miss another match.
Things will get a little more difficult for Seattle (4-2-1) with stops in Columbus and Vancouver, but the Sounders are heading into it with nine points in mind.
"I don't go into it and say, 'Well if we get four points out of these three games, we'll be happy.' That's not the way I look at it," Seattle coach Sigi Schmid told the club's official website.
"I want to maximize what we can do at all times. I think every time we win a game, our team gets a little more confident. We've always shown ourselves to be a good road team, so we aren't afraid to go on the road."
That hasn't necessarily translated into great success so far for the Sounders, who are 1-1-1 away from home as part of a 2-4-3 span dating to Sept. 20 and have been shut out in three of their last four road matches.
NYCFC (1-4-3) knows what that's like.
Villa last played April 16 in a 1-1 draw with Philadelphia and remains questionable because of a right hip injury that was initially considered a hamstring problem. With him, NYCFC is 1-1-3. Without, it's lost three times without scoring.
The club's five goals rank ahead of only Montreal's two, though the Impact have played just four matches because of their CONCACAF Champions League slate.
"I think it's a very difficult thing in this league, and I've always thought so, when you have extremely important players like that, that you're allocating a lot of resources to, you need those guys on the field," NYCFC coach Jason Kreis told the league's official website. "It's not just about what David Villa is, it's also about what he brings to the group and how everyone feels a bit more confident and positive that plays around him."
And Seattle knows what that's like.
The Sounders haven't won in their two matches without Clint Dempsey, but the forward is available and contributing with four goals and three assists in five others. Dempsey scored in the 77th minute of Sunday's 1-0 home win over Portland to give the club its first winning streak of the season.
Along with Obafemi Martins' four goals and Lamar Neagle's two, the trio has doubled NYCFC's scoring, though no one else has scored for Seattle.
New York, conversely, is on its second losing streak after a 1-0 loss in Chicago on April 24. It hasn't scored in 213 minutes and is dealing with injuries to Adam Nemec (hamstring), Javier Calle (hamstring), Jason Hernandez (calf) and Josh Williams (adductor). Andrew Jacobson will miss the match because of a red card against the Fire. Including Villa, the six, who are at best probable, have each started at least four games.
"If you start to consider all those things, I think you have to feel pretty good about what we're doing," Kreis said. "Obviously we'd like to have a lot more points under our belt, but if you look at the individual performances and you actually start to break down the individual games, I think we've been a little unfortunate."