Sounders look to continue run against Minnesota United (Aug 20, 2017)

Sounders look to continue run against Minnesota United (Aug 20, 2017)

Published Aug. 19, 2017 7:33 p.m. ET

The Seattle Sounders are putting together a late-season surge and the expansion Minnesota United are caught right in the middle of it.

The Sounders shut out United 4-0 last week in Minnesota and now get another shot at the Loons on Sunday at CenturyLink Field.

Seattle is unbeaten in its last eight matches and hasn't surrendered a goal in 400 consecutive minutes, a streak that dates to July, making it the longest in franchise history.

The Sounders entered the weekend in a four-way tie atop the Western Conference table. Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer acknowledged that his players are likely to start looking at the standings but stressed that any letdown ahead of the second straight game against Minnesota could be costly.

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"We've absolutely messaged that to death, saying that this not going to be an easy game," Schmetzer told reporters this week.

Schmetzer said the 4-0 score in last week's game with Minnesota was a little misleading and pointed to multiple early opportunities by the Loons that put pressure on Seattle.

"We watched some film and reminded them that (United) is a potent team," Schmetzer said.

The Loons have endured a typical up-and-down debut season and sit at the bottom in the Western Conference. They have been competitive, though, against some likely playoff-bound teams. Minnesota battled Houston, one of the teams tied for first with Seattle in the West, to a 0-0 draw three weeks ago.

"One of the things that I was really worried about (with Seattle) was their counterattacking play with the players that they have at their disposal," Minnesota coach Adrian Heath told reporters this week. "Now obviously we'll approach the game in a slightly different manner with the fact that we're away from home, and we know how good they are on the counterattack.

"At home, I will always try and take the game to the opposition, which is what we did here. And had we got the goals that our play deserved at times, it might have been a different outcome."

Minnesota's top scorer, Christian Ramirez, who is trying to work his way back from a hamstring injury that kept him out of last week's game against Seattle, is listed as questionable for Sunday's game.

The Loons are still looking for their first win on the road. The Sounders are 7-1-3 at home this season.

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