-
Seattle enters a five of six home game stretch
Where are the wins? The Sounders capped off a five-game draw streak with a frustrating loss to Chivas USA, a team they outplayed, last weekend.
The team’s third loss dropped them into a two-way tie for third place in the Western Conference and left them 10 points behind the conference leaders, Chivas USA.
But, Seattle will have a golden opportunity to make up some serious ground as the team plays five of the next six games at Qwest Field.
To Continue...
Seattle will get to put it's notorious home field advantage to the test.
However, that’s not to say Seattle will have it easy. Four of those home games go up against teams with equal or better records than the Sounders.
Despite the tough stretch of games, Seattle has a chance to get the home stand started off on the right foot as they take on a team they’ve already beaten this year, the San Jose Earthquakes.
But, Seattle will need to score, something they failed to do last weekend despite maintaining possession for the vast majority of the match.
“Hopefully the loss wakes you up and makes a little bit of a difference,” head coach Sigi Schmid said. “We’re working on our attitude in the box. When we looked at the clips of our last game, there’s really three chances for Chivas in the 90 minutes and there’s a number of chances for us. We got to make sure we convert those chances.”
After this weekend, Seattle has a difficult match against the no. 2 team in the Eastern Conference, D.C. United.
Nate Jaqua, who’s serving a mandatory one-game suspension against the Earthquakes, will be back to play D.C. United at home. And Seattle will likely need Jaqua for the match, as he plays his best soccer in June, tallying 11 goals in 23 matches in his career during the month.
“We weren’t able to complete that final pass or final shot, and that’s what really matters in the game of soccer,” Jaqua said about last week’s loss. “It’s all that matters. I think our runs can improve a little in the box and we need more movement up there. I think we just need to be a little bit sharper and have a little bit better commitment to finishing.”
The Sounders had a day off practice today but will resume tomorrow at Qwest Field.
Reach Aaron Weinberg at nextseasonsports@gmail.com
