Seattle, WA (SportsNetwork.com) - Seattle Sounders FC will be eyeing three points at CenturyLink Field on Wednesday when the club squares off with a confident Colorado Rapids side.
Seattle began a three-game homestand with a 0-0 draw against Sporting Kansas City on Saturday, while the Rapids collected just their second win of the campaign in a 1-0 triumph over Vancouver Whitecaps FC this past weekend.
The Sounders won four of their previous five games prior to the Sporting match, but Sigi Schmid's side was unable to break down a determined SKC defense and had to settle for a point.
"We're disappointed with the tie at home," said Schmid following the game. "We always want to win when we're at home. I thought we had more possession, they played certainly deeper right from the beginning of the game. In a game like this you're not going to get 10 or 15 chances. You're only going to get one or two and you need to finish them when you can. That didn't fall for us today."
Chad Barrett was once again in the lineup for Seattle in place of the injured Obafemi Martins, and he certainly wasn't surprised by Sporting's tactics, which saw the visitors get plenty of men behind the ball throughout the game.
"They really only had one choice and that was to sit in because we had pretty much a full team on a full week's rest," Barrett said. "They pretty much did exactly what they came in here for. I had some chances I wish I could have back, but ultimately we didn't get as many chances as we wanted to because they were getting 10 or 11 guys behind the ball every single time."
The Sounders will try to take out some of that frustration on the Rapids, but it won't be easy against a team that snapped a run of four successive draws with a solid home win against one of the top teams in the Western Conference.
Lucas Pittinari provided the lone goal in the 51st minute and goalkeeper Clint Irwin made the lead hold up as Colorado notched its fifth clean sheet of the campaign.
"It feels great. Like I said from the beginning, you need the results to validate all that hard work you put in from Monday through Friday," Rapids head coach Pablo Mastroeni said postgame. "These guys have not made any excuses. They come in and give everything they have."
Mastroeni has remained positive through some tough stretches for the Rapids, and his side will no doubt be buoyed by the fact that they picked up their first win at home since July 2014.
The match also marked the first start for Argentinian forward Luis Solignac as well as the first appearance for Designated Player Kevin Doyle.
Mastroeni lost top goal threat Deshorn Brown early in the season after he transferred to a Norwegian club, but the arrivals of two new attacking options in Solignac and Doyle should help a lot in terms of increased offensive production.
"I thought they brought a different dynamic to the group that we didn't have," Mastroeni said of Colorado's newest attacking additions. "They're great teammates, but they fight as well and are willing to get stuck in deep. It's a long season, it's a tough league and to have these two guys join us is going to be a big lift."
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.