The Seattle Sounders welcome the San Jose Earthquakes to CenturyLink Field in Seattle, WA on Saturday. The game is scheduled to kickoff at 1pm EST and can been seen on MLS Live. The Sounders enter this match at the top of the Western Conference and Supporters Shield standings at the moment. San Jose currently sits in eighth place just three points out from the final playoff spot.
This is the second meeting of the season between the two clubs. The first meeting ended in a 3-2 victory for 10 men San Jose. The Earthquakes played the final 33 minutes down a man, but the Sounders couldn’t find the equalizing goal. San Jose actually scored while being a man down and extended their lead to 3-1 before a late goal from Obafemi Martins in the 84th minute to make it seem closer than it really was. The Sounders got on the board in the 1st minute of the match on a goal from Clint Dempsey. San Jose tied it in the 13th minute on a goal by Chris Wondolowski. Wondo put the Earthquakes ahead for good in the 48th minute. It was all over but the crying at that point.
The Sounders will be without two of their top scorers in Martins and Dempsey. Martins was injured in Tuesday night’s 3-1 extra time defeat to the Portland Timbers in fourth round action of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup action. Dempsey was given a red card after ripping up the referee's notebook. Dempsey’s punishment came down just after 12pm PST and he will be suspended for three games.
Deputy Commissioner Mark Abbott had this to say, “We do not tolerate conduct of this nature from any of our players. No matter how passionate our players are or what happens in the ‘heat of the moment,’ they must always respect all aspects of the game, especially the referees. In light of Clint’s actions and our past precedents, we felt that a significant suspension was appropriate.”
Both teams will be without some players either due to suspension or because of injury. The biggest issues are on the Sounders side as Martins and forward Chad Barrett are out of the lineup. Midfielder Osvaldo is questionable as well going into the game.
The Sounders will need to be careful in this match. San Jose has only won two of their last six matches, but it doesn’t make them any less dangerous. Wondo is the team’s leading scorer with eight goals. Everyone else has one. The Sounders will be relying on Lamar Neagle and his three goals to create opportunities in the attacking third. Some Sounders fans just threw up a little in their mouth after reading that.
Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei will be looking for his ninth shutout of the season and seventh at home. San Jose has a solid goalkeeper as well in David Bingham. Bingham has saved 47 shots while Frei has saved 57, most in the league. Both ‘keepers save a lot of shots, but they also face a lot of shots and that’s not a good thing. Frei has conceded only 11 goals through 15 games and Bingham has conceded 15 in 14 games.
This game will come down to who can play the best defense. The Sounders will need to keep an eye on Wondo and San Jose will need to be careful not to let Neagle slip through their defense.