Schmid: Morris may need time to recover psychologically

Here are a couple of Sigi Schmid quotes from Friday, after the Sounders concluded training for their 7 p.m. Saturday home match with Montreal.

On rookie forward Jordan Morris’s return after USA U-23s were eliminated from Olympic contention: He’s 100 percent healthy and 100 percent fit. Those aren’t the issues. Anytime you go to your national team – like I said the other day – there’s a little bit of a letdown. And certainly they were involved in trying to achieve a pretty lofty goal, and anytime you don’t achieve that lofty goal it takes a few days to psychologically get yourself back and make yourself strong.

(Morris had made his disappointment quite clear yesterday, but he also said that he had never had any trouble mentally shifting from national team duty to college play during his time at Stanford.)

On the Impact: They’re very patient. They like to hold onto the ball. They’ve got obviously a couple of very good players in Piatti and Ciman was defender of the year last year. (Midfielder Harry) Shipp I think has been a good addition to the team. He fits in with what they’re trying to do. (Dominic) Oduro still gives them that speed element in front.

And finally, this heads-up from the club:

Seattle Sounders FC is encouraging fans to arrive early ahead of Saturday's home match against the Montreal Impact on the Xbox Pitch at CenturyLink Field (7:00 p.m. PT / Q13 FOX, Univision-Seattle, ROOT SPORTS, KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, El Rey 1360 AM). Traffic delays are expected due to scheduled closure of the east and west routes of SR-520 from 11:00 p.m. PT Friday to 2:00 p.m. PT Sunday. Construction is also taking place at the CenturyLink Field Northwest Gate, reducing its capacity, but additional entrances will be open at North and West Gates for entry to Saturday's match.

A pre-match party is taking place at The NINETY, Sounders FC's event space located at the club's Pioneer Square headquarters. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. PT, with beer available for purchase and a portion of the proceeds benefitting the club's community partners. The CenturyLink Field gates open at 5:30 p.m. PT with a food truck from Sam Choy's Poke to the Max and Skillet in the NW Plaza available through halftime.

Sunday's March to the Match festivities begin at 4:30 p.m. PT in Occidental Park and include a performance by local band Versing at 4:45 p.m. PT. The March itself, one of the best traditions in American sports started by the Emerald City Supporters, departs from Occidental Park at 6:00 p.m. PT for CenturyLink Field.

The Canadian national anthem is being performed by Arielle Tuliao, an award-winning singer and actress from New Westminster, British Columbia. Dr. Stephen Newby is set to perform the American national anthem prior to Saturday's match.

All lanes and ramps in both directions of SR-520 between Montlake Boulevard East and 92nd Ave NE will be closed from 11:00 p.m. PT Friday to 2:00 p.m. PT Sunday for the new SR-520 bridge grand opening events. Those attending should check with WSDOT prior to leaving their homes, as those times are often subject to change.

Following a bye weekend, Sounders FC returns to MLS play tomorrow against the Montreal Impact. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. PT on the Xbox Pitch at CenturyLink Field, with local television coverage on Q13 FOX beginning at 6:30 p.m. PT. Univision-Seattle is set to carry the match in Spanish, with KIRO Radio 97.3 FM (English radio) and El Rey 1360 AM (Spanish radio) also carrying the contest regionally. ROOT SPORTS is also airing the match live in Eastern Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Alaska. Tickets are still available.

This story was originally published April 1, 2016 at 6:07 PM with the headline "Schmid: Morris may need time to recover psychologically."