Sounders FC vs. Real Salt Lake
MLS Regular Season
Friday, September 10; 7:30 pm PT; CenturyLink Field
TV/Radio: NBC Sports Network; KIRO Radio 97.3 FM; ESPN Deportes Radio, 1490 AM (Spanish)
Over the last six years, Sounders FC and Real Salt Lake have been two of the top three teams in Major League Soccer. The two teams have been consistently among the best in the league each year and have found success in CONCACAF Champions League, as well.
However, Sounders FC Head Coach Sigi Schmid ruffles at the notion that Salt Lake is the underdog in the series because of the conception that RSL doesn’t operate with the same resources as Seattle.
“I don’t buy this David and Goliath stuff. A lot of people want to paint that picture,” Schmid said after training on Wednesday ahead of Friday’s matchup between the two Western Conference powers. “They have a very good team. They have a very good nucleus. They have a group of six or seven players that have been together for five or six years or longer. They know each other. They know what they’re capable of. They push each other. They have a tightknit locker room that really helps them.”
The key to maintaining that success, according to Schmid, has hinged on the teams’ abilities to keep a core of players intact and fit the right complimentary pieces around them to keep the level high. Both clubs have also developed young players to keep the energy high and the tides rising, a principle that was conveyed to Schmid by Sir Alex Ferguson when Manchester United visited Seattle.
“The teams that stay on the top consistently are able to replenish their talent level and they’re able to find new energy levels,” Schmid said. “Consistency is the important thing. I think Salt Lake makes good player decisions. I think LA makes good player decisions and I think we’ve make good player decisions to maintain that consistency. Sometimes we talk about the depth and when you look at all those teams, they all have players that have come along.”
READ: Depth will be key for Sounders as they enter stretch of five matches in 16 days
Seattle and Salt Lake have quite a history against each other. They both have eliminated each other from the playoffs at different stages and played some of the most hotly contested matches of each other’s seasons.
This year is no different for the two sides, and their two prior head-to-head matchups further emphasize the point. Seattle, who is first in MLS with a 16-7-3 record, won the first meeting in convincing fashion with a 4-0 drubbing at CenturyLink Field back in May. Salt Lake, third in the West at 12-5-10, came back and topped the Sounders in their home building at Rio Tinto Stadium with a 2-1 score line.
“It’s going to be a tough game. They want to win the Supporters’ Shield too and they’re right there near the top,” Seattle defender Chad Marshall said. “It’s a big game for both of us.”
That last result in Salt Lake still leaves a bad taste for Seattle, too.
“It’s always a good game between us and I think we owe ‘em,” said Seattle’s Lamar Neagle. “So we want to come out and get another win at home heading into a long stretch away.”
After facing Salt Lake, Seattle will take to the road for three consecutive matches against the Philadelphia Union in the U.S. Open Cup final and the New York Red Bulls and FC Dallas in MLS play.
Kickoff for Friday’s match is scheduled for 7:30 pm PT with national television coverage on NBC Sports.
