(Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images for New York Red Bull)
The first half of their debut MLS season behind them, Seattle Sounders FC enters the home stretch sitting in position for a playoff run. With a record of six wins, three losses, and seven draws, SSFC's 25 points puts them 3rd in the Western Conference and in the MLS overall.
The Sounders are also making their mark felt in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup as one of only four remaining MLS teams left in the tournament. They face the Kansas City Wizards this Tuesday for a quarterfinal match.
Despite their somewhat unexpected success, there are some questions that will need answered if SSFC expects to make a run to an MLS Cup located fittingly at home on the XBox 360 Pitch at Qwest Field.
1) Which Fredy Montero will show up for the second half?
The young Colombian import is undoubtedly one of the most talented young prospects in the MLS. Starting out red-hot with three goals in two games earning him March's MLS Player of the Month honors, the rest of the league took immediate notice and set on a strategy of sending him off his feet more often than on them.
Meanwhile, off the pitch troubles seemed to distract him and his work rate fell along with his confidence.
However, in the last few matches his focus seems renewed along with his ability to find the back of the net. Montero now stands second best in the league with eight goals and is also clicking with fellow forward Nate Jaqua and midfielder Freddy Ljungberg; the assists killing questions of his selflessness.
The Sounders fortunes seem to rise and fall with Montero's productivity, so if Montero stays hot, this is a dangerous team.
2) Can Alonso stay healthy?
Ask an SSFC supporter who the MVP of the first half is and you might be surprised to find Osvaldo Alonso at the top of the list. The defensive central midfielder picked up from the USL side Charleston Battery after defecting from Cuba two summers ago, has been a revelation.
The man is a menace to opposing sides offensive goal production winning ball after ball and killing counter-attacks so quickly that most of the season thus far is spent in the Sounder's attacking third. In short, he's a wrecking ball that also brings the ability to send a screamer in from way outside.
Unfortunately his physical play has also taken its toll and has already rode two separate injuries off the pitch the first, a strained quad and now an abductor. Like Montero, his absence coincided with a lengthy series of draws that resulted from defensive breakdowns that were unheard of while he was in service.
With a couple weeks off he should be back in action, but a dinged up Alonso clearly changes SSFC's ability to come away with three points.
3) What will Leonardo Gonzalez add to the defense?
Despite being an expansion team, depth has been a surprising strength for SSFC. Already we've seen a number of sendoffs due to injury or red card bookings that have meant a large number of reserves capably holding down the fort at key positions. If there is a knock on SSFC, it's been at the left back position with several teams exploiting whoever Sigi Schmidt has thrown at it.
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