The Seattle Sounders are hurting and hurting real bad. They are currently without Obafemi Martins for at least six weeks and Clint Dempsey is currently serving a three game suspension, but everyone knows Seattle won’t see him until the end of July once Gold Cup is over. On top of that, the Sounders are currently ravished with injuries which is causing their backups not being able to play.

The last game the Sounders played, it showed how much they struggle when they only have one forward up top. They essentially played a 4-2-3-1 with Lamar Neagle as the lone striker. Neagle is an okay player, but he is not good enough to play as a lone striker. No offense Lamar. The Sounders are also without Osvaldo Alonso and for those of you at home keeping count at home that is all three designated players missing from the lineup in one game. Not good, not good at all.

Chad Barrett is another player that hasn’t played since May 31st due to a hamstring injury. He has been one of the more productive players on the Sounders team since the beginning of the 2014 MLS season. In one of his two starts this year, he bagged a brace in Canada when the team was missing Martins.

We all know who is on the team and for the most part what they can or cannot do. The main reason for this article is to see who has the potential to step up and be that guy that can help fill the void for the next five to six weeks. It’s kind of funny when you think back to a couple years ago and the Sounders had so many forwards on the team that they didn’t know what to do with them. Now it’s almost like they don’t have anyone behind Martins and Dempsey besides Neagle and Barrett.

Luckily, the Sounders can look at their USL squad, Seattle Sounders 2. S2 has a lot of playmakers right now and some have already contributed to the first team this year. There are really two, maybe three, players that this writer feels could lend a helping hand for the next few weeks. Yes, it will deplete S2’s roster, but sometimes sacrifices have to be made.

The first player to look at is Victor Mansaray. He may only be 18 years of age, but Mansaray has a huge future ahead of him in the Rave Green. He is one of the Sounders Homegrown players and has played well on the field with the first team when he has been given his chances. He is still a little raw, but he has amazing speed. Yours truly would love to see him up top or even on the wing and use his speed to disrupt opposing defenses. If he is given the chance, he should exceed.

The other player to take a peek at is Darwin Jones. Jones, also a Homegrown player, signed with the team in January 2015. He is another player that has gotten some time with the first team. He has only logged 15 minutes in three games with the first team so far this year. If he could just get some more time on the pitch, he could really show the Sounders what he can do.

Lastly, Andy Craven has been tearing it up for S2. He is one player that will actually probably not see any time with the first team this year. It would be cool to see what he could do to some MLS defenses. Watching him against Sacramento Republic FC in the home opener for S2 earlier this year was truly awesome. He is physical and he made the center backs for Sacramento work all night long.

In the end, somebody needs to step up for the Sounders and step up now. Whether it is Barrett, Neagle or anyone else that was mentioned above, it needs to happen. The Sounders need to play .500 ball for the next few weeks to make sure they stay in reach of whoever may catapult to the top of the standing. Maybe the Sounders will surprise us all and stay at the top while missing multiple players at a time for the next five to six weeks. Who knows what will happen.