Austin FC look to parlay their home-pitch advantage to leapfrog the visiting Seattle Sounders when the Western Conference teams battle on Saturday.
The Sounders (8-7-7, 31 points) are in seventh place in the West, one point and two spots ahead of Austin. Seattle heads to Texas with four wins and a draw in its past five league games, including a 2-0 home victory home over New England on July 6.
Albert Rusnak scored his third goal in two league matches and assisted on the other tally, which came from Jordan Morris, and goalkeeper Stefan Frei made four stops for the Sounders. Morris has scored seven goals over the past nine matches, while Rusnak leads the team with 10 assists.
Seattle also beat the Sacramento Republic 2-1 on Tuesday to earn its first berth in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals since 2014.
“We’re playing as a collective, and guys have just been bringing a lot of fight and a lot of energy,” Morris said Tuesday. “And we’ve been in tournament formats before, so we know how to win games.”
The Sounders own a 3-1-3 all-time edge over the Verde. Most recently, the teams played to a 0-0 draw this season on March 2 in Seattle.
Austin (8-8-6, 30 points) has won two of its past three matches and remains at home after a 2-1 victory over New York City FC on July 6. Gyasi Zardes recorded a brace, and his second goal, which came in the 69th minute, proved to be the deciding score.
Zardes’ goals were his first two of the season, but he has 105 for his career, moving him into 10th place in MLS all-time goal scoring list.
“The pressure will build with each game with how you take points or don’t take them,” Austin coach Josh Wolff said Friday. ” … I’m extremely pleased with our group’s efforts to get to where we are this season and be inside the playoff line. You’re four points from being in a higher spot and four from being lower, but that’s what this league is.”
The Verde’s 25 goals this season are the fewest in the West and are tied for third-lowest in MLS (behind New England’s 20 and Charlotte’s 24).
–Field Level Media
