Wizards stand in the way of Sounders' fourth straight win on Saturday

If the Seattle Sounders are to push their remarkable opening streak to a fourth straight victory they will have to come up with enough magic to solve the Kansas City Wizards. The match takes place Saturday night at 7:30 PM at Qwest Field and live on KONG 6/16 TV. We have an earlier preview with a ' traffic problems around Qwest Field' alert here.

The match is sold out, as the TNT explains here.

Prost Amerika Soccer's match preview in part states:

Sounders FC are sure to get a warm welcome when they return home from their victorious trip to Canada. Boasting a record of three wins from three games, they welcome Kansas City Wizards to Qwest Field. They will be protecting an unbreached defence which has protected Kasey Keller well and limited the number of saves he has had to make. The Wizards finally embraced winning ways last week beating San Jose Earthquakes 2-0 at their CommunityAmerica Ballpark (CAB), after losses to Toronto FC and Colorado Rapids.

SounderatHeart.com's match preview adds:

The Kansas City Wizards no longer have a Designated Player, but still retain Claudio Lopez as their star forward after they convinced him to sign for less money. This actually led the Wizards into bringing on Santiago Hirsig who was impressed with how the team and city supported Lopez. Kansas City was a balanced team not dominated on either end of the pitch that will be counting on Lopez and Hirsig to light the offense with 10-year MLS veteran Jimmy Conrad leading the defense. Hartman in goal will have to continue his history of stopping more shots than the league average in order for the Wizards to maintain or improve their playoff seeding.

Next Season Sports continues with:

The Sounders proved they could win on the road last week, answering the critics who still thought they were merely enjoying a beginners luck. They managed to beat an undefeated Toronto side without their leading scorer, Fredy Montero. Freddie Ljungberg proved that he is going to be a force in MLS this season, scoring on his first shot of the season.

However, all of the praise that has been thrown Seattle’s way could come crashing down if the Sounders don’t take care of business on Saturday against an underrated Kansas City Wizards side, who looked impressive in a 2-0 shutout over San Jose last week.

From the Sounders FC email to fans...

• Bring your Gear!  The Washington Youth Soccer Equipment Drive Program will be collecting new & gently used clean soccer equipment at Saturday's match. The equipment and funds collected at the match will help to meet the soccer uniform and equipment needs of all communities, regardless of income, gender or location, across the state.  Thanks to the Washington Youth Soccer and News Talk 97.3 KIRO for their partnership in this drive.

• Join Us for Soccer Celebration!  We invite you to join us early for the excitement of Soccer Celebration beginning 90 minutes before the first kick.  Arrive early and design a GO SOUNDERS FC sign, paint your face and listen to music!  All of your pre-match activities are located at the Northwest Gate, continue inside the stadium at the North Plaza and throughout the Qwest Field Plaza.  Click here to learn more about the Sounders FC pre-match experience including the March to the Match.

• Traffic Heads Up!  Road construction season is starting so stay in touch with latest traffic info.  Check out the latest road projects and traffic alerts.  The SR519 project will impact travel on Royal Brougham Way, click here for details.  Please note that the Qwest Field Garage will only be accessible from the westbound Royal Brougham at 1st Avenue.  Royal Brougham will not be accessible from 4th Avenue.
• Nothing But Nets Challenge!  Help the Sounders FC Nothing But Nets Campaign by bidding on autographed jerseys from Freddie Ljungberg, Kasey Keller, and Nate Jaqua.  BID NOW, or for more details on how you can participate and win a trip to the 2009 MLS All-Star game, click here.