TUKWILA, Wash. — Injuries to Seattle Sounders FC strike corp and the club’s inability to find the back of the net are to Pat Noonan’s benefit.
On Thursday, Sounders owner and general manager Adrian Hanauer confirmed that the club has agreed to extend Noonan’s contract for another three months. Hanauer said he wanted to keep the reserve midfielder/forward in the mix while Seattle mull their options for the veteran.
"Yeah, we're going to extend [Pat’s contract],” Hanauer told The Seattle Times. “It's another three-month extension and then we'll make a decision later in the summer on what the long-term plan is."
Injuries have limited Noonan’s participation this spring—the 30-year-old has not seen time in any of the first three games—but his contributions to the front line could be important in the near term, as Nate Jaqua, Mike Fucito and now Fredy Montero have all been dealing with injuries.
Noonan signed with the Sounders in 2010 and the deal was set to expire at the end of March. Best known for his role on the New England teams of the mid-2000s, the veteran has been mostly a reserve for Seattle since joining after being released by the Colorado Rapids.
Noonan has played in 12 games in all competitions, including eight starts, and has one goal and one assist as a Sounder.
[inline_node:332586]Riley set for Earthquakes
Defender James Riley admitted that he wanted to play last week against the Houston Dynamo, but after he reported feeling headaches in the two days before the match, he conceded that it was probably safer to sit out.
"To be honest, Friday, they were almost going to have to handcuff me to keep me from not playing,” Riley said of last week’s game against Houston. “I'm glad that our medical staff did their diligence and they were very cautious with it, which I'm sure I'll thank them later on in my life.”
Last week, Zach Scott filled in for Riley, who said he has been cleared to play against San Jose on Saturday (7:30 pm ET, Direct Kick, MatchDay Live).
In other injury news, left back Leo Gonzalez also looks ready to compete after suffering an injury during Tuesday’s training session. Mike Fucito walked out of Thursday’s practice after rolling an ankle, while third-string goalkeeper Josh Ford (illness) did not attend the session.
