Sounders
Sounders hope to avoid playoff bounce

By Matt Massey
Special to The Seattle Times

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When the Seattle Sounders announced that Seahawks Stadium, which is now called Qwest Field, would be their new home before the 2003 season, the future looked bright.

At the news conference to announce the Sounders' new home, coach Brian Schmetzer promised an A-League championship within two years.

This is the second year of that prediction and if the Sounders are to fulfill their coach's promise, something needs to change quickly.

With five home matches left in 2004, the Sounders (10-9-3 overall, 7-9-3 A-League) must win six of nine remaining games — for three points each in the standings — to qualify for the playoffs.

"My hopes are shrinking with every three points we give up," said Sounders general manager Adrian Hanauer, whose club played its last match without five starters, including four injured regulars. "I'm still hopeful. I still believe that if this team gets a little bit healthier, plays as a team and works together, then we can beat any team in the league."

Seattle must finish in the top four of the Western Conference standings to reach the playoffs. The Sounders are fourth with 24 points, just one point ahead of Milwaukee (7-7-2), but the Wave United has played three fewer games.

"Talk about bad bounces ... we're still waiting for a good one," said Sounder Darren Sawatzky, playing his fourth season with the club. "The expectation for the Sounders every year is at the highest level. We want to compete for a championship.

Saturday Portland @ Sounders, 7 p.m.

"Our backs are against the wall. We need two wins to stay in the running. We need a six-point swing."

Sawatzky, a midfielder/forward, was forced to play defender because of the team's injuries last week.

"Our team really isn't much different than it's been the last three years," he said. "It's just been a year where the ball has bounced bad for us. We've been in every game.

"We've only had one game where we've lost by more than one goal and that was 3-0 against Minnesota."

The Sounders could be playing their last A-League season in 2004 or 2005 with the anticipation of Major League Soccer granting Seattle a franchise for 2006.

Seattle teeters on its first losing season since joining the A-League in 1994 and missing the playoffs for only the second time in 11 years.

"I can't stand losing," Hanauer said. "I'm not happy about it. I'm an extremely competitive person. If we play in 2005, I'll try and take a look at what went wrong. I always try to win a championship."

Coach Bernie James was fired after the club failed to make the playoffs for the first time as an A-League member in 2001, going 17-13-2 overall and 13-12-1 in league play.

The Sounders have yet to beat an opponent with a winning record this season after coming off a franchise-best league mark of 23-4-1 in 2002 and a 16-7-5 record in 2003.

"My goal is to win a championship, and we've still got nine games to go," Hanauer said. "We can still do that."

The Sounders are coming off a 4-3 double-overtime loss to the second-place Portland Timbers on Saturday.

"It's going to take a lot of mental fortitude and a little luck on the field," Hanauer said of turning things around.

Games in Portland on Saturday and at home against Milwaukee on Sunday could quickly decide the club's playoff fate.

Seattle is 0-3 against Portland and 0-1-1 against the conference-leading Vancouver Whitecaps.

"Frankly, I think it's mental," Hanauer said of not beating its top conference rivals. "I think this team needs a win over a team like Vancouver or Portland to believe it can win more games against teams like that."

SOUNDERS' LOSING SEASONS

The Seattle Sounders, in their 23rd season, have never had a losing season in league play or overall in the current A-League era, which began in 1994. The only year during the current that the Sounders missed the playoffs was in 2001. The franchise, which also played from 1974-83 in the North American Soccer League (NASL), has had only three losing seasons overall and three losing campaigns in league play.

Club, Year Overall record, NASL record

Sounders, 1983 14-22-0*, 12-18-0*

Sounders, 1981 17-17-1, 15-17-0*

Sounders, 1979 13-17-0*, 13-17-0*

Sounders, 1978 15-16-0*, 15-15-0

* — Qualifies as losing seasons overall or league.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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