Seattle rides a midweek breakthrough into the weekend
The Sounders spent months searching for answers during a 13-match winless run that threatened to bury their season. They found some this week. A 2-0 win over Real Salt Lake lifted Seattle to 8-9-8 and 32 points, tied for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference heading into Saturday’s home date with Minnesota United at Lumen Field.
Midfielder Paul Arriola summed up how bleak things had gotten before the turnaround. “During our winless streak before, it was like we couldn’t buy anything,” he said. Coach Brian Schmetzer pointed instead to what kept the group together through it. “The one constant is that they just don’t quit,” he said.
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Minnesota arrives in freefall of its own
Minnesota United have lost four straight and sit at 7-11-8 for 29 points, three points and two spots behind Seattle in the Western Conference table. The Loons have not found the answers the Sounders just did, and a fifth consecutive defeat would push their playoff hopes to the brink with the calendar working against them.
Depleted rosters on both sides
The international break strips talent from both benches. Seattle will be without striker Dejan Joveljic, who has scored three goals in his last four appearances, a significant loss against a Minnesota defense that has been shipping goals during its own skid. The two sides met back in March and played to a scoreless draw, a result that offers little indication of how differently both clubs look right now, one rising off a hard-fought win, the other searching for anything to stop the bleeding.
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