The last time the Seattle Sounders played at Colorado, they were six games into the season and still looking for their first win.
When they return today, they will be looking for a victory that would secure their place in the Major League Soccer playoffs, keep them atop the Western Conference standings and perhaps return them to the top of the Supporters Shield race.
That puts them a long way from where they were on April 20 when they arrived at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park with a 0-3-2 record and left 1-3-2 following a 1-0 win. That first breakthrough came on the combination of a 27th-minute goal by Obafemi Martins and a clean sheet by goalkeeper Michael Gspurning.
“It was an important win,” Seattle coach Sigi Schmid said. “It was important for us to get that win on the road, because I think we went on the road and got (a draw at Philadelphia and another win at Kansas City). So those things are important, to re-establish that we are a good road team. We’ve had good success with Colorado in the past. We hope to continue that. I think the field suits us a little bit, and we just have to go out there with the same concentration and focus that we did the last time.”
Another win at Colorado would clinch a playoff spot and keep the Sounders at least even with Real Salt Lake atop the West. A win also could send them to the top of the Supporters Shied race if New York loses or draws at home today against New England. If the Sounders win their last five regular-season games, they would clinch the Supporters Shield no matter what anyone else does.
The Sounders will be without designated player Clint Dempsey and central defender Djimi Traore, who both remained home with hamstring injuries.
And for all of their improvement since that first game at Colorado, the Sounders weren’t able to beat the Rapids when Colorado visited Seattle in July. In that game, the clubs played to a 1-1 draw — a rare disappointment in a series the Sounders have dominated 8-1-2.
“Historically we’ve done well against them at home,” midfielder Brad Evans said. “This is going to be a tough test, playing away from home against a team that’s a very good team. They’ve completely turned it around, have a lot of quality players and they’re playing well at the right time. I think this will be an extremely challenging game.”
Colorado is 7-2-4 over its past 13 matches. Yet, the Rapids have only a one-point advantage over San Jose in the race for the fifth and final Western Conference playoff spot.
In that way, this game is every bit as important to them as it is to the Sounders.
“You can’t take a game off,” Schmid said. “There’s not a game where you’re going to go out there and say, ‘Well, these guys … might not be in it, so we don’t have to be in it, focused and mentally completely prepared.’ No, these games are all games that we need to be completely prepared for, and it will harden us as we move forward to the playoffs.”
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