Sounders-Union Preview
The Seattle Sounders were shut out over the weekend while playing without two of the top scorers in MLS. They'll be short-handed again Wednesday night, though this time they get to face the league's worst defensive club.
Seattle takes on a Philadelphia Union team that has allowed the most goals in MLS by far in a rematch of last year's U.S. Open Cup final.
The Sounders (9-5-2) fell 3-1 to Portland in U.S. Open Cup play last Tuesday and the defeat did more than just hurt their chances in that competition. They also lost Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins, tied for third in the league with seven goals apiece.
Dempsey was given a three-game suspension for a confrontation with a referee as he grabbed a notebook from the official and tore it after a teammate was handed a red card.
Martins tied it in the 79th minute but later suffered a groin injury that will sideline him for three to six weeks.
Without their star forwards as well as injured forward Chad Barrett (three goals), the Sounders returned to league play and lost 2-0 to visiting San Jose on Saturday.
Including the U.S. Open Cup, it was Seattle's third match in eight days.
''I think for us, you need a full gas tank to play well, and sometimes, when you play on half a gas tank, it makes it a little tougher,'' coach Sigi Schmid said. ''We were around the goal, we were there, and we were hitting crosses. Guys were just missing on crosses. Our quality in the final third wasn't as sharp as it needed to be. I think that's more fatigue related than personnel related.''
Seattle won its fourth U.S. Open Cup title in six years with a 3-1 victory at Philadelphia on Sept. 16. Barrett tied the game in the 47th minute, Dempsey scored the winner in the first overtime and Martins added an insurance goal.
It was the Sounders' first win in Philadelphia after going 0-1-2 in MLS action.
The Union (4-10-3) have the most losses in the league and an MLS-high 30 goals allowed - seven more than FC Dallas. They fell for the third time in four league matches and tied a franchise high for goals allowed in Saturday's 5-1 loss at Los Angeles.
"Everyone has to take a good hard look in the mirror when you get outplayed like that," coach Jim Curtin told the Union's official website. "Starts with myself, but all of the guys as well, it was disappointing.
"They were on fire tonight, they beat us soundly. We don't have time to feel sorry for ourselves, we have to pick our heads up and get back to work and try and get a result against Seattle on Wednesday."
Including last year's U.S. Open Cup final, the Sounders have gone 3-0-1 in the last four meetings.