The Seattle Sounders wrap up their three-game road trip Wednesday night, this time traveling to take on Western Conference foe FC Dallas (9 pm ET, MLS LIVE).
The travel jaunt has included positive and negative results for the Sounders so far, starting with a 3-1 win over the Philadelphia Union in the US Open Cup final on Sept. 16. Seattle floundered in their subsequent Saturday game against the New York Red Bulls, getting blasted 4-1 and in the process falling into a tie on 54 points with the LA Galaxy for the Western Conference and Supporters’ Shield leads. The teams will have played the same number of games after Wednesday's contest.
With a playoff spot clinched and fatigue a factor as the season’s final push gets underway, Seattle head coach Sigi Schmid turned to reserves on both sides of the ball against New York, notably holding star forwards Obafemi Martins and Clint Dempsey out of the starting lineup before subbing them on during the second half.
Defenders DeAndre Yedlin, Zach Scott and Leo Gonzalez, meanwhile, were all given the night off entirely.
The balancing act between chasing a Supporters’ Shield while also managing the minutes of key players to keep them fresh for the playoffs figures to remain a theme for the Sounders down the stretch. Even so, Schmid said the decision to rest players against New York was influenced by the desire to have more fresh legs at his disposal for the Dallas match, meaning at least a couple of regulars will likely be seen in their customary starting positions Wednesday night.
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“I thought the cumulative effect of trying to play some guys against New York would have ruled them out [against Dallas],” Schmid said. “”It wasn’t the personnel [against New York], it was that we played a bad game.”
With his team squarely locked in a battle with LA for the Supporters’ Shield crown and the top spot in the West, Sounders forward Lamar Neagle said the intensity level of Seattle’s games stands to increase, with plenty left to play for as the playoffs approach.
“Once you get down to the end of [the season], it seems like [games] count a lot more,” Neagle said. “We definitely know we have to stay on top of the league and on top of other teams, and just on top of ourselves.”
