Seattle Sounders centerback Román Torres has been suspended for one game following his kick out at Montreal Impact's Ambroise Oyongo in the 37th minute. This is the first time that Torres has been suspended for a game in his brief MLS career. The MLS Disciplinary Committee suspended Torres for "violent conduct" and fined him an undisclosed amount.
This is not the best time for Torres to be suspended as they welcome the New York Red Bulls to town on Sunday. The Red Bulls have a stable of players that can harass any team's back four. Torres is coming off one of his worst games that I can remember since he signed with the Sounders in September of 2015. He constantly found himself out of position and had quite a few bad clearances throughout the game.
To see what happened, go to 3:37 of the video below and judge for yourself.
In the end, the Disco Committee got it right. You just can't do that.
Now the Sounders must find someone to pair next to Chad Marshall. Normally, you could slot Brad Evans but he is out due to injury. The Sounders could move Gustav Svensson from right back and have him play next to Marshall. He's mainly a defensive midfielder but he does have some experience at centerback. If Svensson moves to centerback, Oniel Fisher could come in and play right back.
The Sounders other option would be to have Tony Alfaro play centerback, which is his primary position. However, he has only one MLS start in his career and that came at left back last season.
Do the Sounders risk putting a player with one MLS start on the field against a potent Red Bulls attack or does head coach Brian Schmetzer stick with the veteran in Svensson and see how things play out?