Sounders notebook: Andreas Ivanschitz available vs San Jose
May 6, 2016, 6:38 PM
Seattle midfielder Andreas Ivanschitz will be available Saturday after missing the past two matches. (AP)
(AP)
After being out with a thigh strain and mystery sickness, Seattle Sounders midfielder Andreas Ivanschitz will be available for selection against San Jose on Saturday.
Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid said after Friday’s training session that Ivanschitz participated in full training, and noted that Clint Dempsey, Nelson Valdez, and Erik Friberg trained all week and are good to go. Each of those players have had small injury issues in recent weeks, but it sounds like all of them are as close to 100 percent as they’ve been all season.
Here are some other notes from the Sounders:
• The Copa America Centenario, the trans-continental tournament being held in the United States this year, was officially welcomed to Seattle this week. The trophy is on a mini-tour of the city, which is hosting a number of the tournament’s matches but not the final. Find out where the trophy will be on Saturday prior to the match and see some Sounders players with the trophy on the Space Needle. The matches being held in Seattle are Haiti vs. Peru on June 4, Argentina vs. Bolivia on June 14, and a quarterfinal on June 16.
• A number of Sounders players have been named to provisional rosters for the Copa America, including Oniel Fisher (Jamaica), Brad Evans (USA), Clint Dempsey (USA), Jordan Morris (USA), Nelson Valdez (Paraguay), and Roman Torres (Panama).
• After a tough start to the season, the Seattle Sounders 2 hope to extend their three-match unbeaten streak when they face the Tulsa Roughnecks at Starfire Sports on Sunday. S2 drew with Oklahoma City last week after their opponents equalized late in the match.
• Sounders GM Garth Lagerwey told Sports Radio 950 KJR this week that he and the club were hoping to make some big signings, but that they wouldn’t likely happen until the summer transfer window. The current transfer window ends on May 11, and the summer window will be open from July 4 to Aug. 3. Last season’s big transfers happened in the summer transfer window when the team signed Friberg, Valdez, Torres, and Ivanschitz. This is partially due to the lower salary cap hit; because the players only play half a season, the cap hit is only half of what it would for a full season’s salary.
