SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC

Three keys for the Sounders vs Colorado Rapids in Leg 1 of MLS Western Conference finals

Nov 20, 2016, 8:00 AM

Nelson Valdez may find himself in a big role Tuesday for the Sounders with Jordan Morris potentiall...

Nelson Valdez may find himself in a big role Tuesday for the Sounders with Jordan Morris potentially out. (AP)

(AP)

As the Sounders continue their unlikely charge in the 2016 MLS Cup playoffs, they are set to face one of their most difficult challenges of the year. Even though the Colorado Rapids didn’t manage to get the Supporters’ Shield, they were probably the best defense in the league and got the best of the Sounders in both matchups during the regular season.

Seattle lost its second semifinals match to FC Dallas, but they progressed to the finals on aggregate goals thanks to their 3-0 win in the first leg. The Rapids made it to this stage by a much finer margin. Colorado lost 1-0 on the road against the Los Angeles Galaxy in the first leg, but a stunning goal from Shkëlzen Gashi in the second leg in Colorado tied the match after 90 minutes, which continued through the periods of extra time. The round had to eventually be decided via penalty shootout, which the Rapids won 3-1.

Here are three keys for the Sounders when they host the Rapids in the first leg of the Western Conference finals at 7 p.m. Tuesday on KIRO Radio 97.3 FM:

Will injuries doom either team? As I noted last week, the Sounders are healing up from their injuries, but a few will likely linger long enough to keep some players out of the first leg. Both teams are dealing with bad, long-term injuries to star players: Clint Dempsey for the Sounders and Tim Howard for the Rapids. But both teams’ leading goalscorers could also miss the first leg. Jordan Morris is battling back from a hamstring strain suffered in Dallas two weeks ago, and Gashi is questionable with an ankle injury that he suffered in Colorado’s second semifinal match. Without each team’s most reliable scoring threats, they’ll both have to turn to the rest of the attack to put the ball in the net. For the Sounders, this will probably rely on Nicolas Lodeiro feeding great passes to Nelson Valdez up top. The Rapids, meanwhile, will likely look to Kevin Doyle, who is still an excellent goalscorer despite a rather lackluster 2016.

Everything that Dallas did wrong in Seattle, Colorado will do right. FC Dallas coach Oscar Pareja came to Seattle for the first leg of the conference semifinals with a plan to bunker down and take a draw back to Dallas, where his team had been nearly undefeated over the last couple years. But trying something new against a team as hot as Seattle was turned out to be a pretty poor decision. Dallas tried to play a formation with three central defenders, two wing-backs and two defensive midfielders in the hopes of taming Seattle’s potent, creative attack. Unfortunately for Pareja, his players didn’t really get the message. The Sounders unleashed eight minutes of pain on the visitors with three goals en route to the greatest playoff result in their history. But Colorado isn’t new to the whole “bunker down and get a cheap goal” mentality, as it’s been kind of the status quo for them in 2016. Especially if head coach Pablo Mastroeni decides to save Gashi for the second leg, the Rapids will be doing what they do best and create a fortress in front of Zac MacMath’s goal at CenturyLink Field.

Sounders will need height and strength to break through. In order to counter the Rapids’ stout defense, the Sounders will need to rely on strength and height on set pieces. This is where the possibility of not having Morris for the first leg doesn’t sound so bad. While he’s decent in the air, it’s not his strongest quality. When the Sounders get a corner on Tuesday, they’ll probably have Valdez, Chad Marshall, Roman Torres and maybe even Brad Evans up to fight for headers in the box. With Lodeiro and possibly Andreas Ivanschitz taking those set pieces and so many big guys to try and latch onto them, the Sounders might just be able to break down Colorado’s fierce back line. It’s worth noting that this goes both ways, and Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer will likely be drilling defensive set pieces into his team going into this one.

Spenser Davis also covers the Sounders for Sounder at Heart.

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Three keys for the Sounders vs Colorado Rapids in Leg 1 of MLS Western Conference finals