Sounders do-or-die weekend: a look at some press reports

November 6, 7:21 AMSeattle Soccer ExaminerDavid Falk

Previous Next

4 comments Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Seattle Soccer Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Sunday at 12:30 PM Seattle Sounders FC will kick off in Houston against the Dynamo (KING 5 TV) to decide which club will move on in the Major League Soccer playoffs. Here is some of what the soccer press are reporting on this Friday before...(I'll be updating this all day, with newest links at the top.)

Get those bandages ready for the second leg. (Rick Morrison)

Ives for ESPN: Playoff weekend previews

MLSnet.com: Match details, including officials, injuries, etc.

Goal.com: Second leg preview...and a prediction

Glenn Davis: Only 16,000 seats sold for Sunday.

Goal.com: SEATTLE, Wash. -- You wouldn't think a team entering its second ever playoff match would be so nonchalant.

MLSNet.com: This is what Seattle Sounders FC wanted their designated player to do. After a measured start to the season, Freddie Ljungberg has elevated his game toward the end of the season.

Chron.com: Houston mayor wants to paint the town orange.

Seattle Times: The Houston Dynamo roster is littered with players with ties to the Puget Sound area. Which makes the Sounders FC-Dynamo matchup, entering its fifth chapter Sunday afternoon in Houston, even more intriguing.

Seattle P-I: Sounders set to defend Houston's set pieces.

Soccer America: After failing to beat the expansion Sounders in four games this season, including a 0-0 tie in the Western Conference semifinals first leg, Houston hosts Game 2 knowing it fell to New York, 3-0, in this same situation a year ago.

TNT: Ten months and 50 matches since reporting to training camp, Seattle Sounders FC is preparing for its most important game of the season. And to help ensure that the players are fresh on Sunday, rather than exhausted from the grind, the club has turned to a high-tech training method that flips some conventional training wisdom on its head.

P-I:Trying, and failing to embrace the beautiful game.

MLSnet.com: Western finals hold much intrigue.

MLSnet.com: Confronted with the difficult task of scoring away from home in the second leg against Houston, Seattle Sounders FC know they must improve on their offensive effort after the scoreless first game. Fresh off the bone-jarring first match against the Dynamo, the club has been practicing quick ball movement in practice to try to create more scoring opportunities by getting out in front of Houston's challenges.

Centerline: No team is a sure thing in MLS playoffs.

Chron.com: Young blood fuels Dynamo playoff run.

Soccer365.com: Top 5 second leg questions.

By Seattle Sounders FC Communications Dept.---The Seattle Sounders FC travels to Texas for the second and deciding match of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Houston Dynamo this Sunday. Kickoff is 12 p.m. PT at Robertson Stadium. The two teams, level on aggregate following the first leg in Seattle, are vying for a place in the MLS Cup West Final. 

Unbeaten (3-0-1) in its last four games, the Sounders FC (12-7-12) goes for its third straight road win. It has won four of its last five away games in all competitions. Seattle is undefeated (2-0-2) in four matches played against Houston in its inaugural season. 

The Dynamo (13-8-10), MLS Cup champions in 2006 and 2007, lost only once at home during the regular season.  

The winner of Sunday’s match will face either the Los Angeles Galaxy, the Western Conference’s top seed, or Chivas USA on November 12 or 13 for a berth in MLS Cup 2009. 

Conference Semifinal series are conducted in a home-and-home, aggregate-goal format. The lower seeded team hosts the first game. The team that scores the most goals in the home-and-home series advances to the single-elimination Conference Championship. If the teams are tied after 180 minutes in the Conference Semifinal series, a 30-minute extra time period (divided into two 15-minute periods) will be played, followed by kicks from the penalty spot, if necessary. 

The winners of the four series advance to a single-game Conference Championships that will determine the MLS Cup Finalists. The team with the higher seed between the two finalists will host the game. The West Final is November 12 and the East Final is November 14. 

MLS Cup 2009 will be played on Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field on November 22 at 5:30 p.m. PT. 

Sunday’s match will be televised locally on KING 5 and can be heard on KTTH: The Truth 770 AM radio with Kevin Calabro and Greg Vanney calling the action. The game will be available nationally in Spanish on TeleFutura, and locally on Ke Buena 1210 AM with Rene Aleman, Noe Menendez and Victor Hernandez calling the action.  

Upcoming Competition Schedule (All times Pacific)

Sunday, November 8, 12 p.m. — at Houston Dynamo; Robertson Stadium; Houston, Texas

Thursday, November 12, 7 p.m. — MLS Cup Playoffs Western Conference Final, teams & site, tbd 

Upcoming Training Schedule:

Friday, November 6 – Training at Starfire Sports Complex, 10 a.m.

Saturday, November 7 –Training at Robertson Stadium, p.m. 

Grass is Good

Although Seattle plays the majority of its matches on artificial turf, the team has thrived on natural surfaces down the stretch. Sounders FC has won its last four games on grass and is unbeaten (5-0-1) in its last six on sod, dating to an August 15 win at Los Angeles. That stretch includes a 2-1 win at D.C. United in the U.S. Open Cup final. 

Seattle has outscored the opposition 11-5 in those road games on grass. The only losses in the last 12 games have come on FieldTurf. New England did the deed on both occasions, both at Qwest Field and Gillette Stadium.  

Quick Turnaround Out West

The winner of Sunday’s clash will turn around and play four days later for the Western Conference title, facing either the L.A. Galaxy or Chivas USA on November 12 or 13. The Galaxy and Chivas USA also play Sunday. The two sides tied, 2-2, in the first leg. The Eastern Conference representative in MLS Cup 2009 will be determined on Saturday, November 14. 

Championship Coaches

Whatever is said in the two locker rooms prior to Sunday’s match, it’s a safe bet that each coach will draw upon past experience of what it takes to win a title. After all, Seattle’s Sigi Schmid and Houston’s Dominic Kinnear, together, have won the last three MLS Cups and four altogether. Schmid guided the Columbus Crew to a crown in 2008 and he first accomplished that feat with Los Angeles in 2002. Kinnear’s Dynamo won the league title during the club’s first two seasons in Houston, 2006 and 2007. 

Experience in the Nets

Each team features an experienced, internationally-tested keeper with Northwest roots anchoring a solid defense. Kasey Keller, 39, is the Sounders FC captain and is coming off his 11^th shutout in his first MLS season. Keller returned to his home state this season following 17 seasons in Europe, and he holds the U.S. National Team record of 102 caps, 53 wins and 47 shutouts.  

Pat Onstad, 41, has spent the majority of his career in North America. Onstad holds the Canadian National Team’s mark for career shutouts (21) and is second with 56 caps. The Vancouver, B.C., native is familiar to Seattle supporters since 1987, having faced the Storm, A-League/USL-1 Sounders and now the MLS Sounders FC. 

Clean Sheet Repeat?

Seattle seeks its first back-to-back shutouts since the first three rounds of the season, when it opened 3-0-0 with successive clean sheets against New York, Real Salt Lake and Toronto. Including the playoff opener, the Sounders FC has posted 11 shutouts. Only two of those have come at home, however the last regular season clean sheet was October 3 at Columbus, 1-0. 

Home Draw Not Always a Drag

In MLS Cup conference semifinal series which have started with draws, the low seed has come back to win the second leg on the road in two of the six such situations in past seasons. Chicago won 4-0 at D.C. United in 2005. Last season, after tying the Dynamo 1-1 at Giants Stadium, New York won 3-0 in Houston.  

Breaks of the Games

Both Seattle and Houston are returning from their longest competitive break since early September. Sounders FC was idle for 10 days after beating D.C. United for the U.S. Open Cup on September 2. On September 12 the Rave Green returned to action (and RFK) to defeat United again, 2-1 in MLS play. 

After playing four games in an 11-day period, the Dynamo got its longest spell between matches since August 30-September 13, consecutive road losses at Colorado and Columbus. Prior to the draw in Seattle, Houston had played at home, in El Salvador and in Southern California. 

Defense Does the Job

A scoreless draw was not exactly shocking, since Seattle and Houston had tied for the top defensive record during the regular season, each allowing 29 goals.  

While defense doesn’t always win championships, it does quite often. The top defensive team has always qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs. In fact, the top defensive team has advanced to the MLS Cup Final eight of 13 times, wining five times. 

Houston (and in its past life as the original San Jose Earthquakes) has been top defensive team six of last nine years, winning four MLS titles. The top defensive team has made final eight of last 10 years. 

Not Necessarily Safe at Home

Houston matched Real Salt Lake for the fewest home losses (1) during the regular season. However, the postseason can prove another matter. 

Of the 16 playoff teams with fewest home losses in regular season, seven have lost at least one home playoff game. Two others earned a draw in their only postseason home date. In three of the last four seasons, the team with the fewest regular season home losses has been eliminated from the MLS Cup Playoffs at home. 

In 2005, San Jose (now Houston) was held to a first round draw at home, losing on aggregate, 4-2, to Los Angeles. In 2007 the best home side, Chivas USA, was tied by Kansas City, 0-0, at home, and lost (1-0) on aggregate.  

In 2008, Houston and Real Salt Lake each lost just once at home during the season. New York eliminated both the Dynamo (3-0) and RSL (1-0) with wins on the road. 

Card Talk

Fredy Montero, Osvaldo Alonso and Brad Evans were each issued yellow cards during the first leg. If one of those players receives a caution on Sunday and the Sounders FC advances, they would miss the Western Conference Final. The team’s three total cautions were the most in five games, dating back to the September 19 match with Chivas USA. 

Marshall on the Mend

Sigi Schmid expects to have central defender Tyrone Marshall available for Sunday’s match after the Jamaican stalwart missed the first leg with a mild strain of the MCL in his right knee. Marshall sustained the injury the day prior to the match and originally was listed in the starting XI. He was scratched shortly before kickoff, with Patrick Ianni taking his place in the back four.