Sounders FC won its first game over the weekend, and on Monday the sun was shining in Seattle.
Coincidence? Goalkeeper Michael Gspurning thinks not.
“The weather was just waiting for the first win, I think,” he said. “There are no clouds for the first time this year. At the moment, it’s very sunny in Seattle.”
A lone goal by designated player Obafemi Martins was the difference Saturday, as the Sounders won at Colorado, 1-0. And while coach Sigi Schmid didn’t go as far as Gspurning, he admitted noticing a lighter feel through his team Monday as they returned to their first practice session since the breakthrough.
“It’s nice to come off a win,” Schmid said. “We’ve had some games where I thought we’ve played well and deserved to win — like New England and (Portland) — and you don’t come out with a win. But at the end of the day, we’re happy to get a win, and we’ve got to move forward from there, build from there.”
The Sounders have some time for that, as they are off this weekend and don’t return to Major League Soccer play until May 4 at Philadelphia.
Most other MLS teams will play again before then, so the 1-3-2 Sounders know they will actually lose ground in the league standings before they get their next chance to add points against the Union.
Still, the team got its second consecutive shutout, its first victory, and the mental boost that comes with it.
“Otherwise, it would have been a very long two weeks,” Gspurning said. “Focus is on work. ? (But) it was more fun, more smiley faces, of course. You feel that a lot of pressure is now away from the team. Still the situation is not good — we all know this. But we did the first step. Now we have to continue and make the next step.”
Yedlin called in
Sounders first-team right back DeAndre Yedlin and Sounders Academy forward Jordan Morris were called in by the U.S. U-20 national team for a training camp that opened Monday and will run through April 29.
The team is preparing in Carson, Calif., for the U-20 World Cup, which takes place June 21-July 13 in Turkey.
Yedlin, 19, is the only Sounder to play every minute of every match this season. And that streak is expected to continue as Schmid said Yedlin will return early next week.
Morris, 18, is a forward on the Sounders Academy U-18 team. He was the 2012 Gatorade Washington state player of the year and has committed to play at Stanford in the fall.
Yedlin was called into the U-20 national camp in January 2012. This was Morris’ first call at any national-team level.
Added Time
Sounders FC will meet San Jose in an MLS Reserve League match at 8 p.m. today at Starfire Sports Stadium in Tukwila. Admission is free, but donations ($5 suggested) will be taken at the gate. ? Defenders Djimi Traore and Marc Burch were limited in Monday training due to health issues Schmid indicated weren’t serious. ? Philadelphia Union forward Jack McInerney was voted MLS player of the week Monday after scoring two goals in the Union’s 3-2 win over D.C. United on Saturday.
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