The Seattle Sounders host the San Jose Earthquakes on Sunday, July 23rd, in their second and final regular-season match of the 2017 campaign. Here is everything you need to know:
WHEN AND WHERE: Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. PT at CenturyLink Field (TICKETS).
WHERE TO WATCH: The game will be televised on JOEtv, Univision-Seattle upon completion of the Gold Cup semifinal, and ROOT Sports (outside Seattle).
WHERE TO LISTEN: The will air on KIRO 97.3 FM and in Spanish on El Rey 1360AM.
2017 RECORDS AND STANDINGS: Sounders: 7-7-6 (27 points, 6th West), San Jose: 7-8-5 (26 points, 7th West).
ALL-TIME HISTORY: The Sounders are 7-10-5 all-time against San Jose including a 6-5-1 home record.
RECENT MEETINGS: The Sounders fell out of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in the Round of 16 in San Jose on June 28, falling to the ‘Quakes 2-1 on an 84th minute goal by Danny Hoesen.
In MLS play this April, the Sounders allowed a late Chris Wondolowski goal to offset a wonder-strike from Nicolas Lodeiro, resulting in a 1-1 draw at Avaya Stadium.
MISSING INTERNATIONALS: With the 2017 Gold Cup semifinals taking place this weekend, both clubs will be without key players. The Sounders will be without U.S. internationals Clint Dempsey and Jordan Morris as the U.S. takes on Costa Rica, as well as Oniel Fisher as Jamaica takes on Mexico in the other semifinal.
The ‘Quakes will be without Costa Rican forward Marco Ureña but return midfielders Darwin Ceren (El Salvador) and Anibal Godoy (Panama) to the fold following their respective country’s defeats in the Gold Cup quarterfinals.
LODEIRO SUSPENDED: The Sounders will be without playmaker Lodeiro, who is serving a one-game suspension stemming from his ejection toward the end of the Sounders’ 4-3 win over D.C. United on Wednesday.
HERITAGE CUP: The winner of Sunday’s match will determine the winner of the Heritage Cup, a yearly battle between San Jose and Seattle that dates back to the teams’ NASL days. Here are the standings entering matchday:
Taking into account the 1-1 draw in San Jose earlier this year, the team that wins the match will win the trophy. In the event of a tie, tie-breaker rules are in effect, with away goals the deciding factor.
- 0-0 goes to the Sounders
- 1-1 is a legit tie
- 2-2 (or more goals) goes to San Jose
FORMER TEAMMATES: ‘Quakes attacking midfielder Valeri “Vako” Qazaishvili and Sounders right back Kelvin Leerdam, both recently acquired for their respective clubs, were teammates at Eredivisie club Vitesse from 2013-2017.
CURRENT UNBEATEN STREAK: With Wednesday’s come-from-behind 4-3 win over D.C. United, the Sounders are now unbeaten in four matches. They’ve scored seven goals their past two games for their highest goal output over a two-match period in 2017.
BRUIN THE BEAST: Will Bruin enters Sunday averaging 0.71 goals per 90 minutes, the fifth-highest ratio in MLS for players with at least 500 minutes. Bruin has four goals in his last six matches and is tied for the team lead with seven.
