TUKWILA, Wash. – Seattle Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid knows better than to draw any rash conclusions about his team based on a two-game sample size – especially in the ever-unpredictable world of MLS.
But with his team off to an 0-2 start for just the second time in MLS franchise history following last weekend’s 2-1 defeat at the hands of Real Salt Lake, it also doesn’t ring coincidental that the Sounders went through a longer-than-usual training session at Starfire Soccer Complex on Wednesday in an effort to shore up offensive execution.
“We wanted to work on our final third play, and we wanted to get some work in on our finishing,” Schmid told reporters following the extended practice. “It was good. We got a lot of things accomplished that we wanted to get accomplished.”
Seattle’s star-studded attack has netted just one goal in its first two games, something that likely contributed to Wednesday’s emphasis on their play in the final third. However, Schmid said Monday that he feels as though his team has also been victimized by some unfortunate luck through their first two games – the type of luck that tends to even out over the course of a 34-game schedule.
“We’ve been unfortunate in the first two weeks. I think we’ve played fairly well,” Schmid said. “Do we deserve to be 0-2 right now? Probably not.
“We just need to complete final passes, score some goals, the ice needs to break and get some luck going our way. … It’s MLS. It’s early, and you’ve got to let the dust settle. The dust doesn’t usually settle for a couple months.”
Although he’s still in search of his first career goal, Schmid also said he’s not worried about the development of rookie forward Jordan Morris as he acclimates to the professional game and his new teammates.
“[Morris] is four games into his professional career, and he’s learning,” Schmid said of his prized rookie. “There were a couple times [against Real Salt Lake] when he got caught offsides by a little bit. The timing of those runs, our players recognizing those runs, maybe they could have played it a step sooner because he’s going to burst into that space. That’s just getting to know each other.”
The Sounders now look to right the ship against an equally motivated opponent. Seattle have a Cascadia Cup clash with the Vancouver Whitecaps at CenturyLink Field looming on Saturday (10 pm ET, MLS Live in US, TSN1 in Canada) -- a team looking to avoid an 0-3 start of its own.
“I think we’re playing good. Unfortunately, we have two losses,” Seattle midfielder Ozzie Alonso said Wednesday. “But we have to look forward and now focus on Saturday’s game.”
