TUKWILA, Wash. – Fresh off of a dramatic 2-1 victory down at Starfire Stadium on Friday night, Seattle Sounders FC 2 will take on Vancouver Whitecaps 2 for the second time in four days on Monday (3 p.m. PT, Live Stream on SoundersFC.com), this time on Vancouver’s pitch.
After the match on Friday, head coach Ezra Hendrickson put a premium on rest and recovery for his players heading into leg two of the home and away double derby.
“Monday is going to be three games in eight days,” he said. “We have to make sure these next two days we really take care of the guys.”
Now only one point out of the playoffs, S2 could vault the red line with a win on Monday. However, with three other teams battling for the last playoff spot in the West and a tough challenge of fourth place Whitecaps 2 on the road, Hendrickson knows the road to playoffs is anything but paved.
“They’re going to come out guns blazing on Monday,” he told reporters. “We’re looking forward to another good match against them. It’s always a good match when we play these guys.”
It’s a different story for forward Irvin Parra who got his first goal in an S2 uniform against Whitecaps 2 on Friday and is brimming with confidence going into Monday’s match.
“Now we know how they play,” said Parra. “We got this. I believe in my team. We’ve got the quality; everybody is hungry for playoffs.”