Sounders FC head to Columbus on Saturday looking for a hat-trick of road wins. Having won 1-3 at the altitude of Colorado on April 18, Sigi Schmid’s team visited the postage stamp field of Yankee Stadium where they repeated the scoreline.

With a Cascadia Cup win over Portland in between, a victory in Ohio would represent the fourth straight win and the third consecutive on the road. Sounders have never lost there since arriving in MLS, outscoring the hosts 7-1 in four games. Three wins and a draw was their haul.

It’s not often MLS clubs can call upon their entire first eleven and Schmid will enjoy the luxury of picking some incredibly in form individuals.

Obafemi Martins leads the  Golden Boot standings with six goals and seems an early favourite for league MVP. However it is not just the numbers that describe how well Martins is playing.

When he receives the ball with his back to goal, he turns and panic seems to set into the opposition defenders who back off and back off. This results in Martins finding himself in areas where he can set up an opponent in a goalscoring position with just one final short pass or even use his trickery to manoeuvre a shot on goal directly.

He credited the entirety to a reporter at training this week:

“I think we’re doing well at the moment, working hard and winning games which is a much important thing. I’m glad we’re doing our thing as a team.”

Asked what he thought difference to lat year was, Martins noted:

“I think it’s more we keep the ball to ourselves.”

For one Sounder, Chad Marshall, the match in Columbus was a return to where he experienced days of glory. He cited winning MLS cups there with his current coach as a fond memory of Columbus.

He added perhaps meaningfully:

“It was a blast, a great group of guys. Similar to what we have here.”

Crew SC had their four-game undefeated run put to an end last weekend, falling 2-0 at D.C. United.

Edvin Jurisevic referees.