The Seattle Sounders will put a four-game home unbeaten streak on the line when they host Minnesota United on Saturday night.
Seattle (5-2-1, 16 points), which is in third place in the Western Conference just two points behind first-place St. Louis City SC, comes in off an ugly 4-1 loss to bitter Pacific Northwest rival Portland. The Sounders, who have compiled four clean sheets in their 3-0-1 start at home, yielded four goals over an 18-minute span in the second half to the Timbers.
“It’s an emotional punch to the jaw, those four goals, but I would say it’s uncharacteristic of this group and this team,” Seattle coach Brian Schmetzer said. “They smacked us in the jaw for sure.”
The Sounders led that contest 1-0 on a goal by forward Raul Ruidiaz in the 58th minute, but Portland midfielder Dairon Asprilla fueled the Timbers’ impressive comeback when he scored in the 71st minute on a bicycle kick to tie it.
“What happened was (Asprilla) scored an unbelievable goal, gave them life,” Schmetzer said.
The Sounders, who scored a 3-0 win over St. Louis in their last home contest, now turn their attention to sixth-place Minnesota United (3-2-2, 11 points), which has never won in seven previous trips (0-7-0) to Lumen Field. That includes a 3-1 loss on May 15, 2022, in their last meeting there. Seattle is 10-1-1 all-time (.833 percent) against Minnesota United.
The Loons have dropped back-to-back 2-1 decisions at Chicago and last week at home to Orlando City. Minnesota United is 3-1-0 on the road with one of the wins coming at St. Louis, 1-0, and has matched its best start to a season in MLS history with 11 points through seven games.
Loons coach Adrian Heath is well aware of his team’s struggles at Seattle.
“They’re a very, very good team,” Heath said. “Really well coached and a great atmosphere that they generate to play in. It’s not just difficult for Minnesota, trust me; it’s difficult for most teams when they go there.”
–Field Level Media