Today could mark the return of Fredy Montero to the Sounders FC lineup. And if it does, Seattle hopes it also marks the return of the forward’s scoring touch.
Montero, who has missed two games since undergoing surgery to repair a fractured right wrist, made the trip with the team to Philadel
phia for today’s Major League Soccer game against the Union. What is not known, however, is if he will play. Montero was one of 19 players to make the trip, and just 18 can suit up for the game, which means the health of Montero or someone else is enough of a concern that the team opted to bring an
extra body.
Montero was able to practice this week, and at this point it is mostly an issue of getting used to playing with a cast on his right hand. He said if called upon, he will be ready to go.
“Absolutely,” Montero said through a translator. “My mentality is to help the team, and most of the time I’m playing with my feet anyway, so I’m just ready to get back in the game and play.”
If Montero does make it back, he’ll be looking to end a substantial scoring drought. Montero, whose 22 goals over the past two seasons make him the franchise’s career scoring leader, has not been able to find the back of the net of late. He last scored in MLS play on Aug. 28 when he scored both goals in a win over Chicago. Montero scored four days later in a US Open Cup semifinal victory, but was shut out for the remainder of last season and the first three games of this season.
Sigi Schmid has said in the past that he isn’t worried about Montero’s lack of production, but the Sounders FC coach also has the luxury of not rushing the forward back thanks to a recent increase in offensive output. After starting the season with a pair of 1-0 losses, Sounders FC has scored five goals in its past three games, including two in each of the past two games without Montero.
“We will see how the improvements come along and be smart about it,” Schmid said earlier in the week. “Obviously in the last two games we have been able to produce some offense so there’s no need to rush it or take an undue chance.”
If Montero returns, Schmid will have a tough choice deciding who to remove from the lineup. Mauro Rosales has started in Montero’s place, but his natural position is midfield, and as well as Rosales has played in the past two games, it would be tough to remove him from the lineup. Should Schmid start Montero and keep Rosales in the lineup, it most likely would mean removing either Erik Friberg or Brad Evans from a starting role.
Whoever plays, Seattle needs to find a way to score. Philadelphia is 3-1 despite scoring just three goals this season because its defense has allowed just one goal in those four games.
“Obviously, defensively they haven’t given much up,” Schmid said. “Every game they’ve been in has been a 1-0 game either for them or against them. Defensively they have got a good mindset. All 11 guys get back and help on that defensive side of things. Their goalkeeper has kept them well organized and they’ve done well. They bend a little bit, sort of like a willow, but they don’t break. We have to find a way to get in behind them and obviously get goals.”
Note
The league suspended Seattle rookie midfielder Servando Carrasco for one game and fined him $500 for a reckless challenge on Chicago’s Patrick Nyarko in last week’s 2-1 win. Carrasco was given a yellow card at the time, but the league’s disciplinary committee decided a harsher penalty was in order for the dangerous tackle. Carrasco, who has started one game as an injury replacement, will serve the suspension today. He did not make the trip to Philadelphia.
Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com.
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