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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   Sounders Update Opponent: Houston Dynamo When: 1 p.m. Where: Qwest Field TV: Kong 6/16 Radio: KIRO 97.3 FM. Spanish broadcast available on 1210 AM Scouting report: It's back to league action for Seattle Sounders FC (6-3-7), which hasn't played a league game since beating Colorado 3-0 two weeks ago. Today's match against Houston won't likely be so easy for Seattle, as the Dynamo has the league's best record at 9-3-4 and has allowed a league-low 10 goals this season. Seattle hopes to have its starting central midfield intact after missing both Osvaldo Alonso (abductor strain) and Freddie Ljungberg (hamstring) in Tuesday's U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal win. Seattle coach Sigi Schmid said Ljungberg could have played if needed in that game, and while Alonso's status is more up in the air, he has been practicing this week. Both teams are missing players who have been called to national team duties. Houston's Brian Ching (USA), Stuart Holden (USA) and Andrew Hainault (Canada) are all with their national teams during the Gold Cup, as are Seattle players Brad Evans (USA) and Tyrone Marshall (Jamaica). Seattle will also be with out Schmid, who will miss the game to attend his son's wedding. Houston and Seattle will meet again on July 21 in the semifinals of the U.S. Open Cup.   CONTACT THE HERALD Report scores and results to 425-339-3470 or 1-866-6-SCORES (Call after 4:30 p.m.) E-mail information including items for Tuesday's Communities Sports Roundup and Thursday's Outdoor Calendar, to sports@heraldnet.com Kevin Brown, Sports Editor kbrown@heraldnet.com   Published: Saturday, July 11, 2009 Big test looms for Sounders FC today By John Boyle Herald Writer The Seattle Sounders FC inaugural season has been filled with benchmarks. There was the first game, the first road game, games against Chivas USA--then the league's top team--a game against Columbus, the defending MLS champion, and a few others that have helped the first-year team gauge its success. Today, in front of another sellout at Qwest Field, Seattle will face perhaps its biggest test to date when it hosts the Houston Dynamo. Since starting 0-2-2, Houston is 9-1-2 and finished the first half of the season as Major League Soccer's best team. "Every time we play we learn something, and certainly when you go against a team like Houston it's a good measure not only of your soccer playing ability but also of your character," said Seattle coach Sigi Schmid, who will miss today's game to be at his son's wedding. Sounders FC midfielder Freddie Ljungberg thinks his team has played well against other top teams in the league this season, even if the results haven't always showed it, and is confident Seattle can do the same today. "When we played Columbus, Chivas, D.C., some of the top teams, I think we played better than them even when we didn't get the results we wanted," he said. "So I don't really think about who we're playing, I just want to concentrate on our game and playing well. I think if we play the offense we normally do and create a lot of chances, and keep things clean on defense, I think we'll be fine." But Ljungberg also acknowledges that his team needs to be better to contend for a league title. Eventually playing well but losing or drawing won't cut it for a team with high hopes. A win today could show that Seattle is making the necessary progress. "That's the small bit we're missing at the moment," Ljungberg said. "Maybe we play great, score goals, but make a mistake somewhere, and in big games you can't do that. Good teams will punish you when you do that. So for us to be contenders, that's what we have to put away, and if we can put that away right now that would be great." Houston's success is nothing new. Over the last decade, as both the San Jose Earthquakes and then the relocated Dynamo, Houston/San Jose has been one of the league's most successful franchises. In its first two years in Houston, the Dynamo won back to back league titles in 2006 and 2007, and in San Jose, the team won titles in 2001 and 2003, and had the best regular season record in 2005. "If you watch Houston you can tell what they're all about," said Seattle forward Nate Jaqua, who played for the Dynamo in 2007 and 2008. "That's just a good hard-working team, everyone knows their job and they take care of their job. Nobody cheats on the field, so it's a game where you've got to come out and really play well. We're not going to get any sort of breaks from them in that sense. We're just going to have to play better soccer and win." Jaqua was picked by Seattle in the expansion draft, and while he looks forward to playing his old team, the Oregon native is happy to be back in the Northwest and holds no grudges against his former team for letting him go. "It will be good to play them, but there's no hard feelings or anything," he said. No hard feelings, but plenty of desire to beat his former team. "We've been on a little bit of a roll," Jaqua said. "If we can keep that going, especially right now in the middle of the season, that would be really crucial for us." Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com. READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

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