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)
For the third time this season, Sounders FC will face Real Salt Lake on Friday at CenturyLink Field in a meeting of two of the top four teams in MLS. Here are three key matchups between the perennial Western Conference contenders.
Lamar Neagle vs. Luke Mulholland
On teams full of stars, these two former lower-division standouts can often go under the radar, but have proven vital to their club’s successes. Mulholland scored his sixth goal of the season and added his fifth assist in RSL’s 2-1 win over Seattle on August 16, while Neagle notched his sixth assist of the year last week against Chivas USA to go with five goals. Both players have gained reputations for a strong work rate and opportunistic scoring, and will make life difficult for each other on the wings on Friday.
Osvaldo Alonso and Gonzalo Pineda vs. Kyle Beckerman and Javier Morales
The middle of midfield is where games can be won and lost and there aren’t many better central pairs than the ones in Seattle and Salt Lake. Morales pulls the strings for Salt Lake while Beckerman is the fulcrum that connects the defense to the offense. In Seattle, Pineda has taken some of the defensive stress off of Alonso, but both can contribute on the offensive end as well. It’s a passionate foursome as well, making the middle of the park at CenturyLink Field a prime showcase for Seattle and Salt Lake’s most pivotal players.
Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins vs. Chris Schuler and Nat Borchers
Last time out, Schuler and Borchers kept Dempsey at an arm’s length the entire match, with one or the other seeming to shadow the Seattle forward throughout the match at Rio Tinto Stadium. That becomes a much more difficult task with Martins to contend with, too. Martins served a red-card suspension in that August match in Sandy and since his return, he and Dempsey have combined for six goals and five assists in just four matches. Friday could continue that scoring trend, but only if the Seattle attacking duo can solve the defensive efforts for Schuler and Borchers.
