Seattle Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer has praised his side’s resilience in coming back from a poor run of results to go five games unbeaten in the MLS.
The Sounders travel to the Q2 Stadium this weekend to face Austin FC, hoping to continue their winning streak and move further up the Western Conference table.
Schmetzer’s side currently sit in seventh place in the standings and booked their place in the semi-finals of the US Open Cup following a 2-1 victory over Sacramento Republic last time out.
The head coach was able to detail the reasoning behind his side’s upturn in fortunes in recent weeks, going on to say the players within the group have changed their mindset as part of their new-found success.
Schmetzer said: "I have seen goal production; I have seen a little bit of a rebound just in the mindset of the entire group.
“It has always been a pretty resilient group, but I think they are also a proud group, and I don’t think they were happy in the place that they were a month ago.
“They started to dig, so it’s a combination of things.”
Austin also come into the encounter following an impressive victory against New York City FC last time out, coming from a goal down to claim their eighth win of the season.
Josh Wolff’s side sit right on the play-off line in the Western Conference table, currently occupying ninth place on 30 points but have Minnesota United breathing down their necks.
The Verde and Black head coach acknowledged the challenges that await his side as the season reached its conclusion, but lauded his players and staffs efforts for coming through a difficult period having suffered several injuries within their squad.
“Obviously, the pressure will build with each game whether you take points, or you don’t, but if I am being honest, I am very pleased with our group’s efforts to get to this position and be inside the play-off line,” Wolff said.
“We are four points from being higher and four or five points from being in a much lower spot, but that is what the Western Conference is.
“The ability from our high performance and technical staff to keep these guys healthy and in a good space, in some games we had four subs, and we knew we were going to have tough times.
“But the guys, to be able to get results home and away to put us in a position now after the Leagues Cup, the season will go quickly. We have a big week ahead of us and it starts with Seattle.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Austin FC – Gyasi Zardes
Gyasi Zardes was the man of the moment for Austin in their comeback victory against NYCFC, ending his streak of 28 MLS games without a goal.
His previous longest goal drought came between 2016 and 2017 when he was playing for LA Galaxy, going 18 games without finding the back of the net. His brace will surely give him confidence heading into the encounter.
Seattle Sounders – Albert Rusnak
Albert Rusnak’s growing influence within the Seattle Sounders side continues to grow, notching a goal and an assist in their 2-1 triumph over New England in their last MLS fixture.
Rusnak has either scored or assisted in seven of Seattle’s last eight goals (four goals, three assists). Prior to this rich run of form, the Slovakian had managed just seven goal contributions in the MLS prior to June 19 (one goal, six assists).
MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW
Both sides come into the contest off the back of impressive MLS victories, but it is the Sounders who hold the edge when looking at their record at the Q2 Stadium.
Seattle are unbeaten in three all-time visits to Austin (W2 D1), one of two teams (Colorado Rapids) to visit Austin three times without ever losing.
But Austin showed their powers of recovery once again in their victory over NYCFC. Having fallen behind in the fifth minute. However, it was the 14th time they have conceded the first goal in a game this season, tied with Inter Miami and Chicago Fire.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Austin FC – 39.4%
Draw – 26.6%
Seattle Sounders – 34.1%