A championship rematch? Sounders say it’s a new year with new goals

SEATTLE – Arguably no Sounders player benefitted more from the team’s MLS Cup triumph over Toronto FC last December than goalkeeper Stefan Frei.

Its was Frei’s iconic save off Jozy Altidore in extra time that helped the Sounders to a 1-0 triumph over the Reds right in their Toronto backyard. Frei can’t go very far these days without hearing about the leaping, off-balance save made to his left, forever immortalized on t-shirts, tattoos and anyplace else fans can stick the photographed image.

But Frei says it’s time to move on. That his team, still feeling its way this young season, can’t afford to get caught up in rematch hype on Saturday when Toronto visits CenturyLink Field looking for some payback in front of the Seattle faithful.

“We’re looking at it more like it’s an opportunity to play against a really good opponent and put in a 100 percent solid performance to validate what this squad, this year, is all about,” Frei said. “Because we see a huge potential in our locker room. I think we’ve show it in glimpses on the field. But I think it’s more about this year, trying to get better, get better, get better and finally wind up where we want to be.”

Where the Sounders are is 2-2-4 and in seventh spot in the Western Conference. They are fortunate to even be at that point, given their late comeback from 3-0 down to tie New England last Saturday. The Sounders have looked dominant at times, while failing to reward themselves with actual goals until falling behind in games.

Toronto has picked up much where it left off last season, going 4-1-4 and sitting just two points out of the Eastern Conference lead. There is a widespread feeling both in Toronto and around MLS that the Sounders stole last year’s title in a game in which they managed not a single shot on net.

And while the Sounders have seen many faces depart since that victory at BMO Field – Nelson Valdez, Zach Scott, Erik Friberg and Andreas Ivanschitz among them – there are enough familliar faces in Rave Green to help get the visitors’ blood boiling. No doubt Altidore, Michael Bradley and Sebastian Giovinco have some long memories about that freezing day they let a championship slip away.

“I’m going to assume that they’re going to be hungry,” Frei said. “They’re going to want some revenge. They thought that they were the better team and that they deserved to win that championship and they’re going to want to prove that. So, we’ve got to be ready for that. Other than that, it’s a new season.”

A new one for Frei as well. He didn’t have his best game against New England, yielding three goals – including one he completely blew on a routine shot that skipped off his fingertips. He’s looking to get back to the clean sheets that were so key to the team’s playoff run.

“When I’m all said and done playing, it’ll be a great legacy to leave behind,” he said of his iconic save. “But I’m not done playing right now. I want to put a cap on it, temporarily if you will, and look forward to the future.”

Still, the Sounders will have a bit more of their championship past on the field for the noon game than in recent matchups. Center back Roman Torres, whose goal in the penalty-kick round clinched the title in Toronto, will make his first start in four weeks after nursing a hamstring injury.

Torres came on in the last 10 minutes of the New England game – playing at forward no less – to wreak havoc ahead of the two final Sounders goals. This time, he’ll be at his customary position, taking some heat off a backline that showed lapses last weekend – perhaps wearing down a bit after all the spot play the first month-plus of the season.

Right back Brad Evans will also be on the sidelines in a substitute’s role for the first time since his February leg injury. Chad Marshall is also very close to returning after missing some games with back issues, but the team is still taking the cautious route so the problems don’t morph into something longer term.

Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer said Friday, after the team’s final pregame workout in Tukwila, Washington that it’s a different-looking Sounders team Toronto will be facing compared to the defensive-minded squad that rope-a-doped the Reds last December. The addition of Clint Dempsey, sidelined last August by an irregular heartbeat, has given the Sounders an attack as explosive as any in the league – when they actually do finish off chances.

“It’s a completely different scenario,” Schmetzer said. “With (Toronto coach) Greg (Vanney), I mean I’m not a mind reader, but look, our team is a little different with Clint in there. So, I’m sure he’s looking at that and saying ‘How do they play with Clint in there?’ And ‘What have they done?’ And this, that and the other. There have been a couple of significant changes in our lineup, so I think he approaches it as a completely different game.”

A different game, maybe. A different year, no doubt. But it will be tough for anyone playing in Saturday’s game, or watching from the stands, to forget what took place five months ago.

If they have any doubts, they can just lift their heads and gaze at that championship banner flowing in the mid-afternoon breeze.

UPDATE: Giovinco and three other Toronto FC regulars did not make the trip to Seattle after beating Orlando City 2-1 in Florida on Wednesday.