By Mazvita Maraire Posted on

Brian Schmetzer is confident Sounders FC ready to face talented and in-form Whitecaps team

After Wednesday’s thrilling 2-1 victory over the LA Galaxy Sounders head coach is confident his team can replicate a similar performance on Saturday night against the Vancouver Whitecaps.  The replication Schmetzer is looking at is the three points earned and not so much the late stoppage-time drama.

FAMILIAR FOES

Saturday’s Cascadia clash will be the  151st  meeting between the two sides in official competition.  While the Whitecaps have clinched the 2023 Cascadia Cup and despite both teams already punched their ticket to the 2023 MLS Playoffs a lot will be on the line Saturday.  The Sounders are currently second in  Western Conference with 48 points six points behind leader St Louis.  The  Whitecaps are fifth in the conference with 46 points, Real Salt Lake (46) is above them in fourth with  LAFC ( 48)  sitting third in the conference with 48 points. Places one through four in the conference will host two out of the three matches in the Round 1 best-of-three series.  Each team has won the two previous on their home field.

COUNTER  AGGRESSIVE TEAMS

Both teams like to use the counterattack to ignite their offense. Whitecaps midfield  Ryan Gauld is a dynamic player who is a solid defender in the back half and a lethal technician on the offensive end. The Whitecap’s scoring attach is led by  Brian White who has scored 15 goals two behind Golden Boot leader Denis  Bouanga of LAFC. White has scored in four consecutive matches.  

The Rave Green are second in the league in goals allowed with 32 three behind  Nashville who has allowed just 29 goals.  Vancouver has allowed 47 goals. A disciplined and packed midfield of Joao Paulo, Obed Vargas or Josh Atencio, and  Cristian Roldan should be able to clog the middle and force the Whitecaps to go wide.

ATTACKING SPEED UP THE MIDDLE

One tactic that worked for the Sounders in the win over the LA Galaxy was pushing Alex Roldan down the flank and pinching him inside to overload the Galaxy’s left side of defense. Look for the Sounders to continue to overload the Whitecaps defense by pushing their outside backers down the flanks. A stretched Whitecaps defense will create room for Morris in front of goal and Leo Chu will look to make more penetrating runs inside.

BIG TAKE

Both teams have lethal finishers who can put the ball in the back of the net and don’t need much space to create a shot. If the Sounders are to continue their winning ways, they will need to be aggressive on defense and not allow the ball carrier time and space to make a pass. Sounders need to be clinical and proficient in front of goal.

Leave a Reply