Sounders Trying to get Right on the Road Against Revolution
By Ben Renner
The Sounders take to the road again to begin their East Coast trip. The first stop on this daunting voyage is Boston, where they will face the New England Revolution.
Winning on the road is hard in any sport at any level. But perhaps more than any other major soccer league in the world, the MLS is particularly hard on road teams. When compared to leagues like the English Premiere League, the sheer number of miles a typical MLS team has to travel throughout the season is insane. Add to that the relative remoteness of a city like Seattle, and travel distances can take their toll on a team.
This season, MLS road teams are a combined 23-64-34. One of those 23 wins came at the expense of the Sounders last week, when the Colorado Rapids struck for one goal and held on despite multiple chances from the Sounders‘ offense. In spite of their road woes, the Sounders, up until their recent frustrating loss to Colorado, have more or less held serve at home.
The Sounders are in dire straights. They are ninth in the Western Conference with 13 points. They have the second-fewest goals scored in MLS with 10, they continue to deal with key injuries, and recently, they lost their best player, Clint Dempsey, to the US Men’s international squad that recently started the Copa America with a win in a friendly over Ecuador.
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But, heading into another road trip across the country to Boston to face the eighth-place New England Revolution, the Sounders actually have three forces in their favor: 1. The Revolution will be without one of their mainstay defenders, Je-Vaughn Watson, who will play for the Jamaican side in the Copa America. 2. The Revolution have only two wins on the season and seven draws. If the Sounders can play their game against them, they should be able to come away with at least a point. 3. The Sounders have done this before.
Last season, the Sounders came away with two wins in three matches in a similarly brutal stretch against NYCFC, Columbus, and Vancouver. The Whitecaps game wasn’t exactly a cross-country journey, but Vancouver did nearly make the MLS Cup final last season, and the Sounders managed to shut them out 2-0. The Sounders have been here before and performed well.
Of course, that was with Clint Dempsey. How the club responds to his absence will make the difference in the upcoming games against the Revolution and DC United. Nelson Valdez will also miss the Revolution game and the DC United game after answering the call for Paraguay.
Next: How will the Sounders Respond Without Clint Dempsey?
The Sounders will face the New England Revolution tomorrow at 4:30 pm. Gotta like that early east coast start time, though!