Matchday Magazine: Sounders FC vs. Colorado Rapids - May 21, 2016 (full version) by Seattle Sounders FC

ERIK FRIBERG

Seattle Sounders FC vs. Colorado Rapids May 21, 2016 路 CenturyLink Field

3 Matchup

15 The NINETY 16 Military Appreciation Day 21 Disciplined, MLS-leading Rapids coming to Seattle 26 2016 Season Stats

4 Sounders FC Central 6 Match Preview 8 Storylines 10 Team Rosters 12 Posters by the People

Seattle Sounders FC Editorial Offices 159 South Jackson, Suite 200 Seattle, WA 98104 (206) 512-1200 Editorial · Sounders FC Communications Advertising · JT Newton Program Design · Janet Jensen, Jensen Graphics Photography · Corky Trewin, USA TODAY Sports Images, Rod Mar, Jane Gershovich, Josh Weisberg, Jeff Marsch and Dan Poss

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Sounders FC (4-5-1, 13 points) returns to the Xbox Pitch at CenturyLink Field for a contest against the Colorado Rapids (7-2-3, 24 points). Last Saturday, the Rave Green lost by a score of 2-0 in a road clash at FC Dallas after surrendering an early penalty. Seattle has won three of its past five matches overall, plus four straight at CenturyLink Field. The Rapids head

into Saturday’s match as the leader of the Western Conference and the only club in MLS to average at least two points per game. Colorado is unbeaten in the month of May after opening the month with a pair of 1-0 home wins against Real Salt Lake and Sporting Kansas City, before drawing Columbus Crew SC on the road last Saturday. The club is 1-2-3 on the road this season.

DID YOU KNOW??? Despite losing the past two matchups in the series, Sounders FC has more victories against the Colorado Rapids than any team in MLS with 13. In regular season play, the Rave Green hold a 13-4-2 advantage, plus an additional 1-0-0 mark in the postseason. Seattle held a seven-match winning streak against the Western Conference side from July 25, 2010 – April 20, 2013 and an additional run of five matches from April 26, 2014 – May 27, 2015. At home, Sigi Schmid’s club have posted a record of 8-1-1 versus Colorado, outscoring the Rapids 19-8.

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MATCH PREVIEW:

Seattle Sounders FC Set for Home Clash with the Colorado Rapids

The Seattle Sounders welcome the Colorado Rapids to CenturyLink on Saturday for the first rematch of the season. Here’s a breakdown of everything you need to know about the game. by Cam Rizzardini

WHEN AND WHERE: Kickoff is Saturday at 7 p.m. PT at CenturyLink Field.

WHERE TO WATCH:

The game will be telecast on JOEtv, ROOT SPORTS (Outside Seattle) and Univision-Seattle in Spanish, with a pregame show beginning at 6:30 p.m. PT.

WHERE TO LISTEN: The game will be aired on KIRO Radio 97.3 FM in English and on El Rey 1360 AM in Spanish. RECORDS AND STANDINGS: Sounders (4-5-1,

13 pts., 8th in Western Conference), Rapids (7-2-3, 24 pts., 1st in Western Conference)

ALL-TIME HISTORY: The Sounders own the all-time series between the two teams claiming a 13-4-2 record against their Western conference foes since the series began in 2009. The Rapids, however, have picked up wins in the last two meetings, earning a 1-0 result at CenturyLink Field in 2015 and sending the Sounders home pointless earlier this season at Commerce City.

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LAST TIME OUT: This fixture will mark the first time the Sounders will square off against an opponent for the second time this season. In the first outing, forward Jordan Morris scored the second goal of his career but the Sounders were ultimately defeated 3-1 in a lackluster performance away in Commerce City. “I thought it was our worst game of the season,” said head coach Sigi Schmid in his post-match press conference. IMPENETRABLE FORTRESS: After uncharacter-

istically dropping their first two home matches, the Sounders are now on a four-match winning tear within the comfortable confines of CenturyLink Field. This weekend’s match may present the team’s toughest challenge yet, with Colorado currently unbeaten in three straight road matches and sitting in first place in the Western Conference.

INJURY REPORT: Forward Nelson Valdez was a late scratch from last weekend’s lineup in FC Dallas picking up an apparent calf strain in practice. There is yet to be any word on the severity of the strain or what the DP forward’s status for this weekend will be. Valdez aside, all other Sounders appear to be healthy and available for this weekend barring any setbacks in training.

PAPPA’S RETURN: Ex-Sounder Marco Pappa may make the trip to Seattle to compete against his former club following a four-week absence with a knee sprain. The injury kept him out in the first meeting between the two clubs and his status for this weekend is still unclear. Pappa recorded nine goals and 11 assists in his two-season stint with the Rave Green. TABLE TOPPERS: To say the

Rapids have had a meteoric rise would be no exaggeration. After finishing dead last in the Western Conference last season with a dismal 37 points in 34 games, Colorado has come into 2016 spring loaded and now find themselves on top of the league with 24 points in 12 games.

RIGID RAPIDS: While the Rapids have been solid in front of net, putting away 15 goals so far this season, it’s the backline that’s been the key to their success. In 12 games, the Rapids have conceded just nine goals, the fewest of any team in MLS. The Sounders, meanwhile, have scored the second fewest goals with ten. SQUAD SHARE: The Sounders and Rapids have exchanged quite a few players in the MLS era including: Herculez Gomez, Marco Pappa, James Riley, Micheal Azira, Marc Burch, Marcus Hahnemann, Pat Noonan, Sanna Nyassi, Nathan Sturgis, Tyrone Marshall and Tyson Wahl.

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MATCHDAY STORYLINES Radio Play-by-Play Commentator Matt Johnson tells you his three storylines to follow in tonight’s match vs. the Colorado Rapids. How the West is Won

Not a “Must-Win”, but Critically Close I really can’t stand the thought or the use of the term “must win,” so let’s not say it – especially in game 11… BUT, this being the last home game until June 25, facing the West and MLS leading Colorado Rapids, rebounding from the loss last week to FC Dallas and continuing our home form (winners of the last four) this match is critical. Add the fact that the coaches and players have told us that the performance in Colorado was a low point of the season, a win on Saturday would be a great sendoff to three consecutive road matches. The Rave Green are 4-2-0 at home and as I’ve already mentioned have won four straight. As powerful as the Rapids have been at home (6-0-0), their road record is average (1-2-3). Let’s head to New England with three points.

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The team needs to start picking up points against Western opponents. Ten matches in, the Sounders have picked up four points against the West. The four home wins in a row have been fantastic and the team might be headed where they have been in years past in making CenturyLink Field an absolute fortress. But three of those wins came against the East in Montreal, Philly and Columbus. As the season is moving through the first quarter, it is becoming apparent that the West is the power conference. When your team beats the East, so does everybody else above you. That being said, when an opportunity comes up and a six pointer comes to your home park you must take advantage of it. In rolls Colorado. Here is your chance.

Rapid Change at the Top Tip your cap to Colorado. Sometimes you need to look at your opponent and admire the job they are doing. With the Rapids, it starts with their coach Pablo Mastroeni. His club is playing like he did. They are hustling and picking up the loose balls, they are

a tough tackling squad and they are not backing down to anybody, whether the match is at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park or on the road. When the news came that Jermaine Jones was headed to Colorado, there was a wonder how he would fit into a squad that hasn’t had the best results in the last few years. But with this being Mastroeni’s third year in charge, it is evident that the Rapids have taken his personality. They have plenty of options up front, Jones is leading the middle and with Sam Cronin and Micheal Azira camped in front of their back four, there is good reason why they are leading the West. They are now picking up points on the road while staying undefeated at home. Their current seven-game unbeaten streak is the best in MLS thus far and they will certainly do their part to make Saturday’s match very entertaining.

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No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 20 22 23 24 25 29 31 33 39 80 91 99

Name Tyler Miller Clint Dempsey Brad Evans Tyrone Mears Jimmy Ockford Osvaldo Alonso Cristian Roldan Erik Friberg Herculez Gomez Aaron Kovar Michael Farfan Jordan Morris Chad Marshall Dylan Remick Nelson Valdez Darwin Jones Nathan Sturgis Zach Scott Charlie Lyon Andreas Ivanschitz Stefan Frei Tony Alfaro Rom谩n Torres Damion Lowe Joevin Jones Oalex Anderson Victor Mansaray Oniel Fisher Andy Craven

Pos. Height Weight Age GK 6-4 195 23 F 6-1 170 33 M/D 6-1 170 31 D 5-11 163 33 D 6-1 185 23 M 5-11 155 30 M 5-8 165 20 M 5-11 154 30 F 5-10 160 34 M 5-10 155 22 M 5-19 160 27 F 6-0 185 21 D 6-4 190 31 D 6-0 165 25 F 5-10 160 32 F 5-10 175 24 M 5-10 160 28 D 5-11 175 34 GK 6-2 215 24 M 6-0 180 32 GK 6-3 195 30 D 6-2 190 22 D 6-2 195 30 D 6-3 175 23 D 5-11 160 24 F 5-8 155 20 F 5-11 180 19 M/D 5-9 155 24 F 5-11 167 24

No. 3 4 5 6 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 16 17 18 19 21 22 23 24 29 30 33 44 94

Name Eric Miller Marc Burch Mekeil Williams Sam Cronin Dillon Powers Kevin Doyle Marco Pappa Shkelzen Gashi John Berner Jermaine Jones Dominique Badji Zach Pfeffer Dillon Serna Zac MacMath Conor Doyle Luis Solignac Micheal Azira Bobby Burling Sean St. Ledger Caleb Calvert Chris Froschauer Jared Watts Axel Sjoberg Marlon Hairston Emmanuel Appiah Dennis Castillo

Pos. Height Weight Age D 6-0 175 23 D 6-1 180 32 D 6-1 180 25 M 5-10 165 29 M 5-11 170 25 F 6-0 179 32 M 5-10 155 28 F 6-0 165 27 GK 6-3 205 25 M 6-0 170 34 F 6-0 175 23 M 5-8 145 21 M 5-7 140 22 GK 6-2 194 24 F 6-2 172 24 F 6-0 171 25 M 5-10 160 28 D 6-5 195 31 D 6-0 188 31 F 6-2 160 19 GK 6-4 215 22 D/M 6-1 155 24 D 6-7 210 25 D/M 6-0 157 22 M 5-9 160 22 D 5-10 160 23

Make URBANE part of your game day ritual. Featuring sustainable and farm-to-table fresh ingredients found locally in the Pacific Northwest, Urbane is the perfect location for pre and post match gatherings. Offering easy access to the Link Light Rail, join us for our daily happy hour specials. Urbane is located in Hyatt at Olive 8, the official hotel of Seattle Sounders FC and the only dual LEED and Green Seal certified hotel in town. Happy Hour 4p â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 6:30p (daily) 1639 8th Ave (at Olive) 206.676.4600 urbaneseattle.com

Presented by:

ARTIST: KEEGAN HALL Keegan Hall is best known for his highly detailed pencil drawings, which have raised over $50k for charity in just the past six months. His drawings have been featured by all of the Seattle sports teams including the Seahawks, Mariners, and Storm, but he has also developed a unique digital style of art. This piece, which included triangles that were individually drawn and colored, explores the relationship between shapes and color and how we perceive them: individually, each triangle appears flat and dull, but when they unite, they form a striking, seemingly three-dimensional image of Clint Dempsey. BUY NOW: Saturday’s To see more of Keegan’s art please visit KeeganHall.com. Matchday Poster

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LET THE

MARCH BEGIN. THE STARTING XI IS READY. Delta is proud to kick off the season as the presenting partner of the Starting XI. Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s to another raving season.

SCARVES UP!

What is THE NINETY? THE NINETY, located at 406 Occidental Avenue S., is a cultural hub of soccer and a gathering place for all soccer fans to celebrate the world’s game.

What type of events are held at THE NINETY? Be on the lookout for new events every week! We will host radio shows and podcasts, Sounders FC player autograph sessions, chalk talks, speaker series and more. THE NINETY is also open before every home match and hosts away match viewing parties while the team is on the road. Follow along at #TheNINETY and check our calendar frequently to plan your next visit!

Come Saturday for a pre-match party ahead of Sounders FC’s home clash with the Colorado Rapids! Doors open at 4:30 p.m. PT, with beer available for purchase and a portion of the proceeds benefitting the club’s community partners. Fans can meet Sounders FC defender Román Torres and purchase Sounders FC scratch tickets. You can enter for a chance to win seats on the Lottery Sideline Couch, spin the prize wheel and more! MATCHDAY · 15

Military Appreciation Day Ahead of Saturday’s Military Appreciation match on Saturday, Sounders FC took a visit to Joint Base Lewis-McChord on May 9 to meet with service members. The military installation, located about 10 miles southwest of Tacoma, Washington, combines the United States Army’s Fort Lewis and the United States Air Force’s McChord Air Force Base. Established in 1917, JBLM has more than 45,000 service members and civilian workers.

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Disciplined, MLS-leading Rapids Come to Seattle By Will Parchman It’s fair to say no one quite anticipated the Colorado Rapids would be here, perched atop the Western Conference like a watchful hawk approaching three months into the 2016 MLS season. Colorado started the 2015 season on a four-match winless streak, which extended its total winless mark to 18 games pulling back to the end of the 2014 season. That set the tone for a last-place season and a round of serious soul searching under embattled manager Pablo Mastroeni in the offseason. What a difference a single offseason makes.

Since losing their fifth match of the season on April 9, the Rapids are a frankly astounding 5-0-2 in their last seven. Included in that run was a 3-1 win at home over the Sounders on April 23 that might’ve been their best 90 minutes of the season. Recent Designated Player signee Tim Howard hasn’t even played his first match for the club yet. All the sudden, the Rapids have 24 points from their first 12 games. Not only can no team in MLS match that pace so far, but that total is 13 points shy of the team’s total points output from all of 2015. And they have 22 games left. The Sounders got an up-front look at Mastroeni’s startlingly successful

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reclamation project last month. They will have no illusions about the starseeking Rapids team that invades CenturyLink Field this weekend. “We don’t want to get carried away with ourselves, quietly keep ourselves under the radar,” Rapids forward Kevin Doyle said after the team’s 1-1 draw against Columbus last weekend. “Hopefully, everyone dismisses us for another six months and we can finish where we are now. Who cares what people think?” That final parting shot was an appropriate microcosm for the Rapids’ season. In bucking convention and turning to Jermaine Jones as an unlikely creative spark, Mastroeni has largely abandoned any kind of methodical order and turned to the chaos theory. Anything that works is in bounds. And a lot of things have worked for the Rapids this season. A return to the first meeting between these teams this year reveals some unsurprising trends. Seattle owned the possession battle in Commerce City, out-passed Colorado by more than 100 passes, and got an enormous match out of Osvaldo Alonso, who handily led all players with 88 touches. And yet Colorado was significantly more ruthless in the box, where they harried Stefan Frei with 10 shots. Seattle had half that many from inside the 18. Colorado’s preference is to run straight down the middle with Newcomer of the Year candidate Shkelzen Gashi providing the connective tissue between suddenly world-beating defensive midfielder Micheal Azira and Jones’ marauding runs. Colorado is nothing if not positionally disciplined, and since leaving Seattle in the offseason Azira

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has blossomed into one of the best holding mids in MLS. Seattle struggled to cope with the Rapids’ opportunism in the first meeting. Their first goal came through a missed assignment on a Jones header off a free kick. The second in the 52nd minute encompassed all of five touches and 60 yards on a quick break that snuck in behind Tyrone Mears and Chad Marshall. And the third was a quickflash toe poke from Doyle off a cross during an attack that had lasted seconds. This is how the Rapids operate. They are vultures in defense, constantly probing for fleshy defensive weak points even while pulling back to defend. Jones’ defensive work rate has been on the wane for years. Cut loose of many of those responsibilities, he’s been able to push higher and occupy defensive

midfielders. He’s hardly an ideal creator - he takes about twice the number of shots as chances he creates - but it’s worked. For their part, the Sounders are still tinkering with attacking options. Jordan Morris was moved back out wide during last week’s 2-0 loss to FC Dallas in Frisco, and the midfield trio of Erik Friberg, Cristian Roldan and Alonso played together in that capacity for the first time. As captain Brad Evans laid out earlier this week, things always look a bit different on the road. Especially for a tactical work in progress. “Different tactics on the road,” Evans told reporters. “We played a little bit different, moved some guys around. We weren’t as fluid as in a home game.” This Colorado match was supposed to be a last full-team bastion before the summer Copa America call-ins

hit. But nothing’s been particularly easy on the injury front this season - the last two seasons, really - and both Nelson Valdez and Marshall are seemingly questionable. Valdez, who blossomed as a hold-up striker early in the season, tweaked a hamstring in practice last week and missed the FCD match. Marshall, meanwhile, pulled up lame on Wednesday and his status for Saturday is a going concern. Valdez will soon decamp for the Copa America, injured or not. Some combination of Clint Dempsey, Jordan Morris and Evans will as well for at least the next two games. Meanwhile, the Sounders need to begin amassing points to begin the climb up the quality-choked Western Conference table. Taking a win from the surprise No. 1 team in the conference would be a mighty fine place to start.

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2016 MLS REGULAR SEASON STATS UNF POS Player

13 F Jordan Morris

9 784 4 1 16 11

6/8 3 0 0/0

14 D Chad Marshall

10 10 900 2 0 11 5

7/9 0 0 1/0

2 F Clint Dempsey

MIN

A SHT SOG FC/FS

OFF CK C/E

9 798 2 0 31 8 15/13 2 0 1/0

23 M Andreas Ivanschitz 9

7 617 1 3 13 8 3/13 3 38 2/0

6 M Osvaldo Alonso 10 10 900 1 1 14 5 18/23 0 0 3/0 7 M Cristian Roldan 10

8 783 0 1 5 0 4/13 1 0 0/0

8 M Erik Friberg

3 245 0 1 1 0

6/2 0 2 2/0

24 GK Stefan Frei

9 810 0 0 0 0

0/1 0 0 1/0

4 D Tyrone Mears

9 810 0 0 1 0

6/6 0 0 1/0

33 D Joevin Jones

8 725 0 0 4 2 12/3 0 0 2/0

3 D Brad Evans

7 625 0 0 3 0

3/3 0 0 1/1

16 F Nelson Valdez

4 382 0 0 6 3

4/9 5 0 1/0

9 F Herculez Gomez 6

4 335 0 0 9 4

5/7 1 14 0/0

20 D Zach Scott

3 290 0 0 0 0

3/7 0 0 1/0

11 M Aaron Kovar

4 271 0 0 8 3

3/4 0 8 0/0

39 F Oalex Anderson

2 230 0 0 6 2

3/8 0 0 0/0

2/2

D Dylan Remick

197

1/0

1 GK Tyler Miller

1 90 0 0 0 0

0/0 0 0 0/0

91 D Oniel Fisher

1 41 0 0 0 0

2/1 0 0 0/1

0 14 0 0 0 0

0/0 0 0 0/0

17 F Darwin Jones

Team totals

900

7 129 51 102/139

15 62 16/2

Opponent totals

900

12 13 126 47 139/102

13 44 19/1

GP-games played; GS-games started; MIN-minutes; G-goals; A-assists; P-points; SHT-shots; SOG-shots on goal; FC/FS-fouls committed/fouls suffered; CK-corner kicks; OFF-offsides; C/E-cautions/ejections GAME-WINNING GOALS: Morris (2), Dempsey (2) GAME-WINNING ASSISTS: Ivanschitz (2) PENALTY KICK GOALS/ATTEMPTS: None

SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC INDIVIDUAL GOALKEEPING UNF POS 24

Player

GK Stefan Frei

1 GK Tyler Miller

GP GS 9

1 1

MIN 810 90

SHTS SV GA 43 33

GAA 1.11

PG PA W-L-D SO 3

4-4-1 3

4 2 2 2.00 0 0 0-1-0 0

Team totals

900

47 35

1.20

4-5-1 3

Opponent totals

900

51 41

1.00

5-4-1 1

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NATURALLY

WHITE

Cheddar.