Sounders face a true must-win match

The Seattle Sounders have at least the gift of clarity Wednesday, when the Vancouver Whitecaps visit CenturyLink Field.

There is no aggregate score to figure, no away goals to weigh, no distant scoreboards to watch. Win, and the Sounders advance to the CONCACAF Champions League semifinals. Lose, and they’re eliminated.

“We all know it’s a game where if they win they advance, if we win we advance,” Seattle coach Sigi Schmid said. “A loss or a tie doesn’t get them anywhere. … I think both teams are going to come out on the field and try to win the game.”

Actually, a tie does get the Whitecaps somewhere: Honduras for the deciding group match with CD Olimpia on Oct. 22. However, Schmid doesn’t think Vancouver coach Carl Robinson sees that as any kind of consolation prize.

“They don’t want to have a Wednesday game in the last week of the league that is important for them advancing,” Schmid said. “Or else they’re going to send down a reserve team and say, ‘OK, we’re not going to advance, we don’t care.’ I think both teams are going to come out (Wednesday) trying to win the game.”

Seattle and Vancouver both need points in the Major League Soccer season, and that will complicate their personnel decisions in CCL.

Vancouver is tied with the New York Red Bulls in the MLS Supporters’ Shield race, and is one point clear of Dallas and Los Angeles for top seeding in the Western Conference. Meanwhile, Seattle is three points behind the Whitecaps, and five points clear of the playoff red line.

Both teams have important league games awaiting them this weekend: Vancouver is at home against New York City FC on Saturday while the Sounders visit Sporting Kansas City on Sunday.

Schmid’s mantra in such situations is that Sounders FC wants to win any competition it enters. But in this case he was willing to acknowledge his higher priority.

“The most important thing for us is the league because of the position that we’re in, and we want to continue to gain points and push ourselves up,” he said. “Kansas City plays a game Wednesday night as well — they’re at Houston — so that helps because they’re in the same sort of rhythm as we are. We’ve had so many injuries this year, we don’t want to put any of our players into a situation where we think we’re putting them in jeopardy of having a long-term injury.”

Still, Schmid indicated he may use more regulars than he has in previous CONCACAF matches — just not repeat the kind of first-choice lineup he used Saturday in a 3-0 league win at Vancouver.

He also expects changes from the Whitecaps. And that could render moot the way this series has played out in the previous four meetings this season, when the Sounders managed two wins, a loss and a draw over three MLS and one CCL matches. The lone loss came in Seattle’s lone home match.

“It’s a different tournament,” Seattle midfielder Gonzalo Pineda said. “Probably there will be changes in the lineups for both teams. It’s a different tournament, but I think both teams want to win. I hope that we can get the three points. In that way, we can achieve (advancing to) the next round for the Champions League.”

This story was originally published September 22, 2015 at 10:33 PM with the headline "Sounders face a true must-win match."