SOUNDERS UPDATE: Seattle vs. D.C. United

Radio: KIRO (97.3 FM) / Ke Buena 1210 (AM)

Scouting report

Tonight’s game, Seattle’s last before taking a break for the World Cup, is all about sustaining momentum for Sounders FC. After a rough start to its season, Sounders FC played perhaps its best game of the year against New England last weekend, winning 3-0. Before that game, however, players stated that the goal was to win both that game and tonight’s contest heading into the break. So, their work is only halfway done despite the impressive showing.

“Definitely we want to do well in this game,” Sounders FC coach Sigi Schmid said. “What we did against New England was just one game. It was just one step. So we have got to take a lot more steps to get ourselves back to where we want to be.”

Seattle now sits 4-5-3 and in sixth place in the Western Conference. All four wins have come against Eastern Conference foes, and D.C. is in last place, so tonight represents a very good chance for Seattle to even its record as it nears the halfway point of the season. Seattle has yet to win two games in a row this season, but anything less than a victory tonight would be a disappointment for Seattle.

Given that Seattle adds Swiss forward Blaise Nkufo after the World Cup while also getting several injured players back, including MF Osvaldo Alonso and FW Nate Jaqua, a .500 record would be a decent start on which to build moving into the second half of the season.

Seattle switched back to a 4-4-2 formation after experimenting with a 4-3-3. Expect Schmid to stick with that change after it helped net three goals on Saturday. And although Seattle is playing on less-than-normal rest, don’t expect lineup changes from that game unless someone is injured.

D.C., which comes to Seattle with former Sounders FC MF Stephen King, is playing a little better after a 0-5 start, but still has just seven points through 11 games.

“They are a good team down the middle of the field, but they are a team that hasn’t gotten a lot of results this year and as a result, they have been searching for their confidence,” Schmid said. “But as of late, they have gotten good results so their confidence has gotten better.”