| 16 September 2011
TV: KONG 6/16
Time: 6:30 PM
With the season coming down to the wire, teams are making their final playoff push. While most teams are trying to make the playoffs, the Sounders are fighting this week to become the second team in the league to clinch a playoff berth (LA clinched last week).
In order for this to happen the Sounders must win, the Timbers need to loss and Houston needs to tie or lose. While this is unlikely to happen tonight, this is a good sign that the Sounders are close to the playoffs and hopefully will grab a high seed. This week the team the Sounders must beat is DC United.
Read the rest of the game preview after the jump.
While the Sounders are looking to clinch the playoffs, DC United is on the opposite end of the playoff spectrum with DC holding onto the final wild card spot. DC is led up front by a trio of star forwards; former US star Charlie Davies, Chris Pontius and Josh Wolff who have scored a combined 23 of the team’s 37 goals.
Complementing these forwards are Midfielders Chris Pontius and Dewayne De Rosario who are masters of creating for the forwards. Never has their scoring been evident than in August and through their first game in September, averaging about two goals per game.
Despite this offensive output, DC hasn’t faced that quality of teams through the past month with their best opponent being Sporting KC (who they lost to 1-0). This will be a huge test for a team trying to make the playoffs.
With the best record a team could imagine in a one month period, the Sounders pulled within four for the Supporter’s Shield. However, after a long break, the Sounders started off losing 2-1 to Real Salt Lake last week. They rebounded well with a 2-1 win in Costa Rica against Herediano in CONCACAF play where Fredy Montero showed he is ready for the final stretch by scoring two goals.
Hopefully Real Salt Lake was just a hiccup in this final stretch and the Sounders are hyped up to try and come back in the Supporters Shield race.
The last time the Sounders faced DC the Sounders ended up losing 2-1, but that was back in May. What has changed for the Sounders is the emergence of midfielder Mauro Rosales, the realization that Nate Jaqua isn’t a good forward for the Sounder. With fans looking for a result after a strange home loss I see the Sounders asserting its dominance early and a late bombardment by DC in an attempt to comeback. DC is a veteran team looking to get into the playoffs, as a result, this game will be close, but in the end I see the Sounders winning 3-1.
Go Sounders!!
