Carson, CA (Sports Network) - Seattle Sounders FC head coach Sigi Schmid is
hoping his team can turn things around on Saturday at The Home Depot Center
against Chivas USA.
Schmid watched his team endure a frustrating 2-0 defeat against the Columbus
Crew on Wednesday as Seattle enjoyed the majority of the possession and
created many more scoring chances.
But the result leaves the Sounders without a win in their last three games and
drops the club four points back of Western Conference leaders San Jose.
"We need to soul search. I need to soul search. We've got to have a coming to
the mountain and understanding that we have to get back on the same page,"
Schmid said following Wednesday's defeat.
After conceding just four goals in its first 10 games, Seattle has allowed
four goals in its last two contests, and Schmid thinks the problem is down to
individual errors that other teams are taking advantage of.
"Goals change games. It doesn't matter how much possession we have or how much
we dominate that part or how much possession we have in their end of the
field," said the coach. "It's the final quality of what you do. Right now
we're just making individual errors and those individual errors are costing
us. People are punishing us for them."
Chivas is a team that hopes to apply further punishment on Saturday, with the
Goats aiming to continue a three-match unbeaten streak that saw the club claim
its first home victory of the campaign.
After opening the season with five straight home defeats, Chivas secured a 1-0
win over the rival Los Angeles Galaxy on home soil, and followed that up by
traveling to New York in midweek and coming away with a 1-1 draw against the
Red Bulls.
The result was a good one for head coach Robin Fraser's team, but it may have
come at a cost as midfielder Nick LaBrocca was forced to leave the contest in
the opening 10 minutes after sustaining a hamstring injury.
How long LaBrocca will be out remains to be determined, while one player who
Fraser will definitely be without is Oswaldo Minda, who will be away on
international duty with Ecuador.
Fraser will have the services of striker Juan Agudelo at his disposal,
however, as the 19-year-old returned from training with the United States on
Friday and is available to play in his second match for the club since being
acquired in a trade from Red Bull New York.
The Sports Network