The quarterfinals of the 2016 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup finish up when the Seattle Sounders travel to take on the LA Galaxy on Wednesday night. The game is scheduled to kickoff at 10:30 pm ET at the StubHub Center Track Stadium in Carson, CA. The game will beed on YouTube. This will be the second meeting of three between these two clubs from July 9th to July 31st.
Last time out
In the Round of 16, the Galaxy knocked off the Portland Timbers 1-0 at Providence Park in Portland, Oregon on Raul Mendiola’s goal in just the 5th minute of the game. Seattle knocked off Real Salt Lake 1(4)-1(1) in penalties. Sounders backup goalkeeper Tyler Miller was the hero of the game for Seattle has he made eight saves in the game. He also stopped Joao Plata and Kyle Beckerman’s penalty attempts in the shootout.
In MLS action, Seattle is coming off of a 3-1 defeat to their rivals, the Portland Timbers, this past Sunday. LA bested the Houston Dynamo 1-0 last Friday. The lone goal came from Steven Gerrard in the 66th minute.
Last meeting
The two last faced each other on July 9th in MLS play in MLS action. LA came away with a 1-0 win with Robbie Keane’s game-winning goal in the 15th minute. Seattle had plenty of chances to tie or even win the game but came up short in the end.
Pregame quotes
Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid feels that the club’s success in the tournament shouldn’t have an impact on the player’s motivation.
“There should be no challenge getting the team up for any game right now. We need to continue to build our confidence and continue to win games no matter what competition we’re in.”
Sounders forward Hercules Gomez feels the same way; “At the end of the day, when you sit back and you hang up your boots, it’s not ‘Where’d you go? What’d you see? It’s how many champions, how many finals [you’ve won]. Those are the things you’re measured by. So it’s a great opportunity.”
Gomez also commented on being in a similar position in the past when it comes to where the team in at in the league standings.
“I’ve been in this position before where maybe league play isn’t going so great,” Gomez said. “But [Open Cup] play is a different tournament and it feels like a different tournament. It’s a different animal. I think guys recognize the opportunity. It’s a clean slate. It’s not going to be easy but we understand that. But we’re also excited for the opportunity to bring some good into this environment.”
***Update***
According to Matt Pentz of the Seattle Times, Schmid decided against bringing a full squad to play in the Open Cup match.
"Every time we step on the field, we wan to win. We're going to put a group on the field that we think can win. Certainly, for us right now, the priority is MLS. We have to make decisions that are erring on the side of caution. We're going to err on the side of having a stronger tram for the MLS game. But we're not ignoring this game, either."
Lineups
Expect the two teams to field different lineups from this past week’s MLS action. The Sounders will probably focus more on the upcoming game this weekend with Sporting Kansas City. Taking a look at the last starting XI they fielded in the U.S. Open Cup game against Real Salt Lake, expect it to look very similar.
LA has a game this Saturday against Portland and they will want to make sure all of their key players are rested for their big encounter. The lineup below, which they used against Portland, will probably be very similar.
Prediction
LA is a very deep and talented team and Seattle has been struggling all year long. In games like these, you never know what is going to happen. Seattle has excelled in recent years during the Open Cup and LA has struggled. In saying that, look for Seattle to pull off a miracle and continue their dominance in Open Cup play.