Real Salt Lake renews series against suddenly fast-starting Seattle Sounders


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SANDY — Traditionally a "second-half season" kind of team, the Seattle Sounders changed things up in 2019.

The Sounders (3-0-1, 10 points) have been good from the start, rolling to an unbeaten 3-0-1 record in the first four matches of the Major League Soccer play for the best start in club history.

Next stop: Real Salt Lake (1-3-1, 4 points), which will play at Seattle at 8 p.m. MDT Saturday (KMYU, KSL.com).

But RSL coach Mike Petke isn't necessarily shocked by the Sounders early success.

"Traditionally, I guess it's a surprise," Petke said. "But it's not a surprise because they have a talented team. That’s why they’ve done what they’ve always done in the second part of the season, and they have an even more talented team this year."

The Sounders have outscored opponents 34-9 in their last 12 home matches, and have a high-flying attack fueled by U.S. international Jordan Morris.

The former Stanford star will face another former Cardinal standout in RSL's Corey Baird, who will face his ex-college teammate for the first time as a professional. Or the first time ever depending on who you ask — unless you count practice, Baird is quick to point out.

"I'm definitely looking forward to it," said Baird, who recently returned from his second stint with Gregg Berhalter's U.S. national team. "I had a good time talking to him in camp. He’s an incredible finisher, athletic, and deadly in the box. I’m looking forward to going against him."

If Seattle has a reputation, both at home and on the road, Real Salt Lake has also earned its reputation from the Sounders' camp.

Real Salt Lake midfielder Sebastian Saucedo, right, challenges Seattle Sounders defender Kelvin Leerdam during the second half of an MLS soccer match Saturday, May 26, 2018, in Seattle. Real Salt Lake won 1-0. (Photo: Ted S. Warren, AP)
Real Salt Lake midfielder Sebastian Saucedo, right, challenges Seattle Sounders defender Kelvin Leerdam during the second half of an MLS soccer match Saturday, May 26, 2018, in Seattle. Real Salt Lake won 1-0. (Photo: Ted S. Warren, AP)

"Every time I’ve played against RSL, they’ve worked extremely hard," Seattle midfielder Cristian Roldan told media in the Pacific Northwest after training. "Their work rate is really good. But secondly, they have quality players and they have an ability to play in tight spaces — but also score an amazing goal. It’s what they stand for, and those two things will keep them in the match."

The Sounders are coming off a scoreless draw with Vancouver in the first Cascadia Cup derby of the year, giving other MLS teams a basic blueprint for how to stop Seattle's attack.

Salt Lake, too, has had recent success at CenturyLink Field. The Utah side took a 1-0 win last year in Seattle courtesy of Bofo Saucedo’s smasher, then added a 2-0 victory at Rio Tinto Stadium last June behind second-half goals from Baird and Luis Silva.

New year, new team, right? But RSL can take confidence — and a map — in how it played that rare day in Seattle.

"It shows we know what we need to do and what we need to accomplish," Baird said. "That was a good game for us mentally, a 1-0 shutout on the road."

This year's trip to Cascadia could help RSL pull itself out of a lull of back-to-back winless matches against LAFC and FC Dallas, too.

"I want to win every time. We all want to win," Petke said. "Traditionally, we’ve had these lulls in the season … but then we finish strong.

"I would much prefer to start strong and see what happens from there. But we’ve been through these situations. The league is getting better. Teams that we’ve played early on are very talented, and we’ve been on the road — but we’re going to be on the road. So we have to figure it out."

MLS: Real Salt Lake at Seattle Sounders FC

When: Saturday, April 6 at 8 p.m. MT

TV: KMYU

Streaming: KSL.com

Radio: ESPN 700 AM

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