Stefan Cleveland will get another start
Stefan Frei remains in concussion protocols.
Stefan Frei will miss at least one more game and will likely be out until the beginning of Leagues Cup, Seattle Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer said on Tuesday. Frei missed Saturday’s 3-2 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps after suffering a concussion during training last week.
“He’s in the latter stages of concussion protocol, but he’s not cleared to play,” Schmetzer told reporters. “There’s a really tiny chance for Saturday, but we’re not going to rush him. We’ll take our time.”
Frei has been enjoying a standout season, ranking among the league leaders in goals against average (.86) and leading the league in shutouts (11).
Easing Schmetzer’s decision-making process is the quality play of Stefan Cleveland. Although he allowed two goals, Cleveland came up with two massive saves, including one from close range on Brian White late in the match.
“Very, very impressed,” Schmetzer said in assessing Cleveland’s play. “He’s been a good goalkeeper for us. He’s shown he can be a starting goalkeeper in this league.”
Cleveland has made 22 starts over the previous two seasons, posting a 1.14 goals against average and stopping 72.4% of the shots he’s faced.
Other changes
Wednesday’s match at the San Jose Earthquakes will be the Sounders’ second of three games this week. The Sounders are just 0-3-3 in their previous short-rest matches, but Schmetzer seemed to indicate that he’s not planning much heavy rotation. The Sounders are riding their first two-game winning streak in three months and Schmetzer is intent on maintaining that momentum.
“We’ll make a couple of minor tweaks and see how the game goes in San Jose,” Schmetzer said. “Every game the next game is the most important for us. If we win three in a row, it doesn’t matter if it’s home or away. Winning three in a row is good.”