There are now 9 games remaining and it would seem the hits keep on coming.
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As of late the Sounders have been struggling. Martins has now missed nine league matches and one more in CONCACAF Champions League. His performances in midfield have, honestly, been pretty poor for most of this year. [The Sounders] play a short corner and pass it out to the top of the box, we have to take some space. After all, this was a Sounders team that had lost eight of its last nine MLS games, hitting the onion bag only three times in that time. Tally Hall had a decent showing in goal but the defense was less than stellar this weekend. The Lions defense has only gotten stronger this week, with the addition of David Mateos attending training sessions. Fellow Sounders-debuter Román Torres was a monster at the back line, as he was expected to be. This time scoring a goal that can only be described as a series of blunders that led to an opportunity for Martins that he also nearly turned into a blunder before reacting quickly to correct it. It took only seconds but it makes for some hilarious viewing as Martins stumbles and fumbles his way to a goal. Kaka and Larin need to be explosive on the pitch and they need to be explosive early.
The Seattle Sounders had only scored once in five matches, losing all of them. The New York City FC won 5-3.
Orlando brought their trademark passing style to CenturyLink Field, along with an impressive contingent of fans, and matched the Sounders fairly well in the early minutes. The Lions continue to tumble down the Eastern Conference standings and have shown no signs of a post-transfer window resurgence.
Dempsey leads the team in goals with seven finishes and three game-winning goals.
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The chemistry between Valdez and Oba Martins further separates the Seattle attacking unit, as the two internationals play like they are the playground heroes of the league. Orlando City had been struggling too, but they had at least been scoring some goals along the way. The midfield needs to be active and aggressive to gain control of the middle of the field and possess the ball. Forward Marco Pappa, goalkeeper Stefan Frei, midfielder Obafemi Martins and central defender Brad Evans will likely also be absent.
