Youngsters like Aaron Kovar will need to step up big time for Seattle to have any chance versus Supporters Shield Leaders DC United.

By Steven Agen

The Seattle Sounders host DC United at 8pm PST on Friday night in a prospectively high profile, star-studded, top-of-the-table matchup.

At least the very least, the latter portion will come true as DC currently leads the Eastern Conference and the Supporters’ Shield standings on 35 points from 20 matches with Seattle following closely in third overall on 29 points from 18 played. However, the late kickoff time on the east coast and (more instrumentally) the decimation of both rosters by injury and fatigue puts a damper on what would be one of the biggest matches of the regular season thus far. Those in Virginia and Maryland who brave it out until early Saturday morning may look forward to one side playing their seventh match in 17 days and another who has lost four of their last five.

Both sides will enter CenturyLink Field short a few starters. The visitors continue to miss Chris Pontius, Michael Farfan, and Sean Franklin- all near certain starters if available. Just this morning, it was announced that DC starting goalkeeper Bill Hamid will miss the match with a finger injury, as well. The roster situation is still rather comical for the Sounders, who will be without Clint Dempsey, Obafemi Martins, Brad Evans, Marco Pappa, and potentially Gonzalez and Alonso, due to a combination of international duty and injuries

Despite the absences, there will still be plenty of quality on the field for DC and that means the hosts will have to overcome both their own absences and the reality that DC owns the edge in both key matchups on the field.

Fabian Espindola and Luis Silva will lead the line for DC, getting the edge over Seattle’s forward unit of Neagle and Barrett. The creative tandem of the visitors will be a handful for veteran backup Zach Scott, who steps in for US international Brad Evans. Scott’s matchup with Silva is key one – while Chad Marshall occupies himself with the main danger man in Espindola, it’ll be up to Scott to cancel out Silva’s vision and nose for finishing. The aging Sounder has shown himself to be a capable fill in but the magic has to wear out at some point.

Perry Kitchen and Davy Arnaud line up as dual-pivot holding midfielders in the United 4-4-2, and they’ll stare across at Gonzalo Pineda and Michael Azira on the other side. The edge goes to DC again in the second key matchup. Kitchen’s creative ability will cause more problems for Seattle than Pineda’s will for DC. The key is actually broader than that, with Azira and Pineda needing to keep up with the work rate of their counterparts throughout the 90, a task that they couldn’t come through on against Portland. With better wingers in Rolfe and DeLeon, United’s center midfield should have the easier time on the night, as they won’t have to cover for the mistakes of substitutes on the wings.

For Seattle to take a result, they must neutralize scoring threats from out wide. Espindola and Silva are enough of a handful themselves, if Marshall and Scott also have to cope with threats from outside this patchwork Seattle side will struggle. Look no further than last Sundays match against Portland to see that Sounders centerbacks can’t handle being left on an island. For that reason, it’s ultimately on Pineda and Azira to power an engine that can nullify DC’s inventive edge and give Marshall and Scott a breather.

For their part, the Sounders do own an edge, CenturyLink Field and their venerable coach.

The home crowd and Sigi Schmid’s ability to grind out results will be perhaps more important than ever. There isn’t a lot in the tank for either team, and that means it’ll come down to guts, and sheer willpower. If the Sounders can hide the talent gap like they did from the 45th-60th minute in Portland last weekend, the home crowd and DC’s fatigue could mean points. Even games favor the Sounders at home, and even games favor Sigi Schmid.

Schmid will be forced into starting more youngsters than he ever has before. Thomàs, Roldan, Kovar, Rose, Azira, Remick, and maybe even Craven are likely to start or see time against DC United. They impressed so far and are a large part of why Seattle was on top of the standings three weeks ago. But since then they’ve turned in stale performances. Sigi Schmid needs to find a way to energize them with out also adding on pressure. Schmid has an unproven track record with youngsters but he’ll need to step it up today, and adequately prepare them for the game at hand.

Outside of that, the Sounders boss’s job is simple enough, for now – find a way to make your 5 regular starters and 6 reserves look as good as DC’s 7 starters and 4 reserves, and instill on them the tenacity and will power to finally earn a result for their fans.

It’s easier said than done, but Sigi Schmid’s been down that road before.