SEATTLE — It was just about two weeks ago that the Seattle Sounders put in arguably the best offensive performance in their history.
Facing that same Chivas USA team again this weekend, head coach Sigi Schmid would just as well his players forget about their 6-2 victory on Aug. 25 at the Home Depot Center.
“The most important in games like that is you can’t look at the past one as a predictor of the future,” Schmid said ahead of the teams' rematch on Saturday (4 pm ET, MLS Live). “Every game is a separate occurrence and is mutually exclusive from the past. That’s the way we have to approach it. Just because they had a bad game against us in LA, doesn’t mean they are going to have a bad game again.”
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As bad as Chivas USA have been recently – allowing 13 goals in their past three and 18 goals in their past five – their offense has looked better in recent weeks.
Prior to being shut out last week against the San Jose Earthquakes, the Goats erased a 3-0 deficit to salvage a tie on the road against the New England Revolution. They also scored two goals against the Sounders, and some better finishing could have easily yielded a few more.
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They also have quite a bit to play for. If they were to win their three games in hand, they’d pull even on points with the fifth-place Vancouver Whitecaps.
“They are going to be highly motivated,” Schmid said. “Mathematically they are a team that still has a shot at the playoffs. They’re the same they were in LA, they are a very dangerous team. We should have confidence based on our LA experience, but confidence you still have to work hard.”
Jeremiah Oshan covers the Seattle Sounders for MLSsoccer.com and SB Nation.
