Montreal kicks off road trip on West Coast
CF Montréal will be on the road to take on the Seattle Sounders, this Wednesday night at 10pm EST, at Lumen Field. It will be a first game for Montreal in Seattle since March 31, 2018.
Last time these two teams faced off was on June 5, 2019, at Stade Saputo, Montreal getting the better of their visitors that time around with a 2-1 win.
Head coach Wilfried Nancy’s men are coming off an important win, last weekend at Stade Saputo, winning a second consecutive win against Charlotte to jump into third in the Eastern Conference.
The Sounders, on their end, are unbeaten in their last three games, including a 1-1 draw against the league leaders, LAFC, following the international break. They’ve allowed just one goal in their last three games, good news for them defensively as they get set to take on one of the better offensive teams in the league in Montreal. The Bleu-blanc-noir has scored 30 goals this season and leads the Eastern Conference in that regard.
Seattle also became the first MLS team to lift the Concacaf Champions earlier this year, when they dispatched of the Pumas in the final, 5-2 on aggregate.
“It’s a great challenge. We love that,” said head coach Wilfried Nancy. “We love taking on teams that we haven’t faced in a while. We’re going to do what we always do. No matter the opponent, we play the same way. We’re going there knowing it’s going to be a difficult environment, especially with the three-hour time difference and the six-hour flight. But we’re going to do everything we can to come back with points in these two games.”
Despite their deep run in the continental tournament, they’ve managed to stay on track thus far in MLS, currently sitting in seventh in the Western Conference.
On Montreal’s end, striker Mason Toye made his successful return to the pitch last weekend against Charlotte, his first competitive match since August 2021, and will now be an option moving forward for head coach Wilfried Nancy.
Kamal Miller, on his end, who suffered an injury with the Canadian national team during the international break, travelled with the team and is back in training, but it is unclear whether or not he’ll part of the group on Wednesday.
Romell Quioto, on his end, found himself on the MLS Team of the Week following his goal and assist in Montreal’s 2-1 win against Charlotte. It was the Honduran international’s sixth goal of the season.
“We are going on this trip with clear objectives in mind,” added Nancy. “Like I told the players, this isn’t a holiday. We have two very important games against two very interesting teams to play against. We’re there to try and do something positive, because that’s always been our mindset. Now, it’s on us to be good on the field.”
Montreal will further down the coast to California to take om the LA Galaxy at the Dignity Health Sports Complex on Monday, July 4, at 10:30pm, before returning home to host Sporting Kansas City on Saturday, July 9, at 7:30pm. Tickets for that game available here.
