D.C. United-Sounders Preview

D.C. United leads the race for the Supporters' Shield and has an opportunity to add to the woes of the team that earned the honor last year.

The Seattle Sounders have dropped three straight and will again be without their two leading scorers for Friday night's home matchup with United.

D.C. (10-5-5) has a league-high 35 points, though no team has played more games. Vancouver is second with 32 points and Seattle is next with 29, but both have played two fewer contests than United.

The Sounders (9-7-2), who won their first Supporters' Shield in 2014, are mired in their longest losing streak in MLS play since dropping four in a row Oct. 5-19, 2013.

"I think we're all optimistic that we can get through this," defender Zach Scott said. "We've got not only a good group of guys who can step in but also a good locker room."

Seattle has been limited to one goal during the three-game skid as each defeat came without star forwards Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins, who have seven goals apiece. Dempsey served a three-game suspension for a confrontation with a referee in a U.S. Open Cup loss June 16 while Martins is out with a groin injury.

Dempsey's suspension is over, but he is away with the United States national team. Midfielder Brad Evans is also with the U.S.

Those absences figure to make it difficult for Seattle to continue a 3-0-1 run in this series during which it has outscored United 6-0.

The lone contest started by Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei in that span was a 1-0 road win in last year's only meeting. Frei leads MLS with eight clean sheets, though he and Seattle's defense conceded a season high in goals in Sunday's 4-1 loss at Portland.

Not far behind him with six clean sheets is D.C.'s Bill Hamid, who has posted back-to-back shutouts in MLS play after Saturday's scoreless draw with Toronto FC. United is allowing a league-best 0.85 goals per game.

"It's two shutouts in a row for us and we have been trying to get back for looking out for each other and making sure if on the day we are a little off with the passing and things aren't clicking offensively we can still close up shop," coach Ben Olsen said.

Chris Rolfe leads D.C. with six goals. Fabian Espindola, limited to eight games due to a knee injury, has a team-best five assists.

"Obviously they're quality players," Seattle coach Sigi Schmid said. "Espindola is a good player who hasn't played a ton of minutes this year so maybe he's a little bit fresher and Rolfe seems to have found a whole new lease on life."

Espindola did not see action and Rolfe only played the final seven minutes of Tuesday's 2-1 loss at Philadelphia in the Open Cup. D.C. rested most of its starters and enjoyed a man advantage after the 24th minute.

"They didn't play many, if any, of their starters in the Open Cup game and they got to play a man up for basically 75 minutes of that game so the game wasn't as taxing as maybe it would have been," Schmid said.

The Sounders have lost their last two home games, including the Open Cup match, and have never dropped three straight in Seattle.