Sounders: Unexpected Challenges Ahead of Season Opener
By Ben Renner
The Sounders kick off their MLS regular season tomorrow at 4:00 at CenturyLink Field against Sporting Kansas City. How will they face their many unexpected challenges?
The Sounders fell to FC Dallas last season in the Western Conference Semifinals, a disappointing end to an up and down season. Still, they came into 2016 with a talented side and a record of success under Sigi Schmid. Then, their leading scorer from 2015 was spirited away to China with an offer he couldn’t refuse. Obafemi Martins left the Sounders with the unexpected hole in their offense to fill.
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Instead of coming into 2016 with a killer trio of scorers in Martins, Clint Dempsey, and young Seattle-born stud Jordan Morris, Schmid found himself suddenly thin up front, so he shifted the Sounders’ formation from the tried and true 4-4-2 he has run his entire career to a 4-3-3.
So far, the returns on the new approach have shown promise. If not for a few defensive lapses, Dempsey and company could have changed the outcome of the two matches against Club America in the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals. The Sounders scored at will during a 4-0 drubbing of the LA Galaxy during their last preseason match this season, but it remains to be seen if they can overcome the absence of Martins during a full MLS season.
Tomorrow’s match will be the first true test of the new-look Sounders. Their makeover wasn’t by choice, but the result of the tumultuous offseason on the Sounders starting XI could, in the end, be positive. The Sounders are entering dangerous territory: the scramble to take the MLS Cup trophy before their window closes. They have the talent to do it this season, but even with the youth injection of Morris, their roster is one of the league’s oldest. Schmid realigned the formation in an attempt to take the crown. Even his coaching traditions were on the table for this season.
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Expectations are high from the rabid Seattle fanbase. Tomorrow we catch our first glimpse of the mad dash for the Cup before the window closes.