CARSON, Calif. – Could Sunday's nationally televised showdown with the Seattle Sounders on Sunday be the perfect stage for the LA Galaxy to put behind all that ails them?
Maybe. But the Galaxy, who come into the match riding a four-game winless streak following consecutive shutout losses, say it doesn’t matter who’s on the schedule – to a point.
“I don't think it matters which team we would play right now,” midfielder Stefan Ishizaki said. “Everyone's mad and disappointed that we didn't play better than we did [in last week's one-sided defeat] against Vancouver. And you can tell with the guys this week that everyone's kind of upset and mad, and we're going to do everything we can to fix that.
“I think Seattle's a good team to play. They're going to keep us on our toes. And at home we're going to press them more, and we've got to go on attack more than we did in Vancouver. ... It's always one of those games you really want to win. It's a rivalry because we're two of the best teams in the league.”
The sides met in two defining series of the last MLS campaign, with the Sounders (2-1-1) pulling out the home-and-home at the end of the regular season to win the Supporters’ Shield, then the Galaxy claiming the Western Conference championship on away goals en route to a third MLS Cup crown in four seasons.
Those heated matchups are sure to carry over, right?
“No. All that stuff's in the past,” head coach Bruce Arena said. “If you worry about all of that stuff, your head's full of a lot of crap all the time. Last year is last year – that's over.”
Not everyone agrees.
“[It plays into this game] a little bit,” Ishizaki said, “because they got the Supporters' Shield, and we wanted that, and we got the MLS Cup, and they wanted that.”
Backline leader Omar Gonzalez acknowledges that “the fact that it is Seattle makes it a little bit better” but suggests the hype exceeds the reality.
“I think it doesn't matter who [we're playing], just happy to have a home game and, hopefully, get a win,” he said. “It's important for us to get some points. ... We know it's going to be a great game, we're going up against some great players, and they're going to come here to beat us.
“I think it's just another game for us. It's an important game – every game's important to us – and the fact that it is Seattle makes us want to win a little bit more.”
- Get more LA news at LAGalaxy.com
The primary challenge is stopping Sounders forwards Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins.
“They pose a unique threat because they work so well together,” Gonzalez said. “They're both very technical. Obafemi Martins has got amazing speed. Clint has some speed, too, when he gets going. In tight spaces, they're just really great, and they're able to combine, play one-two touches, can one-two you, turn you, get quick shots off and make stuff happen out of nothing. And that's what poses that unique threat is that they're able to just come up with something out of nothing, and that's what's really dangerous.”
The Galaxy have struggled to create a coherent attack during the first month of the season, have dropped points by failing to finish chances and conceding at the death, and have been clearly outworked in two of their past three outings. Arena says he just wants to see improvement following last weekend's performance, but victory, by any means, will be enough.
“Winning's fine, we'll start with that,” he said. “We won't worry about much more if we accomplish that.”
