The Seattle Sounders are on a seven-match unbeaten streak, their longest since 2015, and Clint Dempsey’s incredible production is leading the charge.
Dempsey has five goals and two assists in his last four MLS matches and has 14 shots. Major League Soccer twice named him to Team of the Week, and he was the Alcatel MLS Player of the Week following his brace in a 3-1 win over the Colorado Rapids on July 4.
“A large part is just the team getting good looks in front of goal,” Dempsey said of his recent performances. “When the team is playing with confidence and in a good rhythm and you’re on a streak like we are, seven games unbeaten, it helps things along. When you get your chances, you just have to finish them.
“You know you’re going to get good looks, so that gives you confidence,” he continued. “It’s just being sharp when you do get your chances and knowing that if you get three chances, you’ve got to put one or two in the back of the net.”
In addition to Dempsey’s torrid run of form, the Sounders have also played resolute defense and are on a shutout streak of 310 minutes, just 69 minutes shy of a club record. The team has not allowed a goal since the 50th minute of a July 19 match against D.C. United and have yet to concede with new fullback acquisition Kelvin Leerdam on the pitch.
The Sounders enter the weekend in fourth place in the West, just three points shy of first place, but will face the toughest test of their current streak on Saturday (1 p.m. PT; JOEtv, Univision-Seattle, ROOT Sports outside Seattle, KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, El Rey 1360AM | TICKETS) when Western Conference-leading Sporting Kansas City visits CenturyLink Field.
SKC has allowed a league-low 18 goals in 23 matches and is riding a nine-game unbeaten streak of its own. Sporting, though, did play a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup semifinal match on Wednesday in which Head Coach Peter Vermes used just two substitutes in a game that went to extra time and penalty kicks. The Sounders want to set the tempo early on Saturday in hopes of avenging a loss in Kansas City in May.
“From the opening whistle, we’re just going to have to go at them and create as many chances as we can,” said Dempsey. “We know it’s going to be difficult, but if we’re able to be at our best, I think we’ll be able to create opportunities. When you get those opportunities you’ve got to be clinical in front of goal.
“Things are going well at the moment,” he added, “and we need to keep building upon it and make sure we keep things tight in the back and hopefully keep moving up the table.”
