Sounders begin push to repeat as champions as MLS playoffs begin

SEATTLE – A year ago, the Sounders opened what would be a run to their first MLS Cup championship minus star forward Clint Dempsey.

This year, they’ll open Sunday in Vancouver without Dempsey as well, as he serves a one-game suspension for a red card. But they’ll also be without star forward Jordan Morris, whose hamstring injury likely will cause him to miss the full Western Conference semifinal round against the Whitecaps.

The difference this time is the Sounders hope they’ve found greater depth than they had even in their 2016 championship performance. They’ve endured fewer struggles to get to the postseason and should have injured Osvaldo Alonso and Gustav Svensson in uniform when kickoff at B.C. Place Stadium occurs.

“Personally, I haven’t been in the playoffs the last three years, so it feels good to get back,” said striker Will Bruin, who finished second in team scoring with 11 goals while primarily filling in for Morris.

Bruin had spent his entire career in Houston, where he was second in Dynamo career goals scored. His offseason trade to the Sounders was one of the depth moves the team feels has left it better able to withstand setbacks than a year ago.

“When I get the opportunity, I want to make the most of it,’’ Bruin said.

No team has repeated as MLS Cup champion since the Los Angeles Galaxy beat Bruin and the Dynamo in the 2011 and 2012 finals. The Sounders know any repeat might also have to eventually go through Toronto again, where the “Reds” dominated the league in going 20-5-9 to finish 12 points ahead of the next-closest team and 16 points ahead of the Sounders.

Working Alonso and Svensson back in the mix as defensive midfielders will be key for the Sounders, who got by very well with Nicolas Lodeiro playing alongside Cristian Roldan in the absence of both players. But they’d rather have Lodeiro in his usual attacking role for a playoff opener where they could use some road goals.

Away goals are the first tiebreaker used to decide a series where the aggregate score is even after two games. The Sounders are home against the Whitecaps in the second leg of the series Thursday night at CenturyLink Field.

“It’s crucial, especially scoring away,’’ Roldan said. “And trying to keep a clean sheet. We all know that away goals count and it can make or break a series. For us, we did that at Dallas and in Colorado last year.

“We were able (this year) to secure our home game, but I think the away game is crucial.’’

Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer led the team to the title as an interim coach a year ago. Now, in his first season at the helm full-time, he says the feeling inside the locker room is much the same.

“Last year, we went out to win,’’ he said. “The team was on a good run of form and we believed we could win every game — home or away. So, that’s the way we played.’’

And now, despite not finishing as strongly as in a torrid 2016 second half, he says the Sounders are just as confident.

“I think this team believes they can win every single game they play,’’ he said. “And we know the reality is that they don’t. But they believe that they can win every game that they play.’’

And depth is key to that.

Players like midfielder Victor Rodriguez and left back Nouhou will enter their first playoff with the team.

They’ve helped strengthen the team’s left side, which had been a glaring weakness the first two months of the season.

Schmetzer said the talent and personalities of both already have been difference-makers before the playoffs even begin.

“I’m confident in the squad.’’

Confident, but not content.

Schmetzer admitted he was irked to see Portland Timbers coach Caleb Porter hoist the Cascadia Cup after finishing with the best record in head-to-head play between the three Pacific Northwest teams. Now, he gets to do something about it against one of those clubs, in search of a trophy far more coveted.