Seattle’s (2-4-2) match on Sunday against the Portland Timbers (3-3-2) on Sunday (at 1PM) will be a chance at franchise history for star forward Clint Dempsey as he is one goal away from tying Fredy Montero for the most goals scored in franchise history; he’s two goals away from owning the record all by himself.
The goal that ties Montero will also be the first goal the 35-year old has scored this season. Playing against the Timbers will be a good for the veteran as he’s absolutely dominated Portland throughout his MLS stent. But the bad news is that it’s unclear whether not Dempsey will be available heading into tomorrow’s match.
“He’s a big-time player,” Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer said, while not quite confirming whether or not Dempsey would start. “And these are big games.” – Jeremiah Oshan, Sounder at Heart
Dempsey has started in three matches this season and his absence has been felt by the Sounders offensive attack as they consistently struggled to get shots on goal and goals scored. It’ll be huge if he’s available for the 100th match between the Timbers and Sounders on Sunday.
Portland’s defense will pose a challenge for the Seattle as they’ve been particularly good at limiting opposing offenses’ near the net. But they do have weak points for Seattle to take advantage as the Timbers’ wings have been easily turned around a few times. So there could be some opportunities in the making.
The good news for Seattle is that the offense managed to score two goals against Toronto FC last Wednesday that occurred after the Sounders were able to take advantage of opportunities it created. That’s a positive change as it’s been a struggle for Schmetzer’s squad to take advantage of opportunities with near the net throughout the early going in 2018. It’s going to be critically important going forward that the Sounders continue to capitalize on opportunities going forward, especially since Dempsey’s health is such an unknown at this point in his career.
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