The Seattle Sounders will be missing two key components when they open the Western Conference Championship against the LA Galaxy on Sunday (5 pm ET; ESPN).
Midfielder Osvaldo Alonso was held out of head coach Sigi Schmid’s group after suffering a hamstring injury during the second leg of the team’s Western Conference semifinal series against FC Dallas, and winger Lamar Neagle was forced to skip the match to tend to a personal matter.
Alonso appeared in 33 games during the regular season for the Sounders. He’ll be replaced by Micheal Azira, who appeared in 14 games this season for the club and subbed in for Alonso when he went down two weeks ago against Dallas.
Neagle, meanwhile, scored nine goals and added nine assists in 32 appearances for the team in 2014. Sounders officials confirmed that he is dealing with a family matter and should be back with the team this week
The LA Galaxy are also dealing with an absence of their own in the the form of center back Leonardo, who was injured during the team’s semifinal series against Real Salt Lake. Tommy Meyer replaced him in the starting lineup.
