Sounders Andreas Ivanschitz and Clint Dempsey stood over the dead ball, huddling close to communicate over the rising CenturyLink Field din.
Ivanschitz and Dempsey are Seattle’s designated pair of free kick takers, but it’s up to them to divvy up each specific opportunity. There’s no an exact science to it, nor do they discuss the matter during pregame strategy sessions.
The decision is made in the moment.
“It’s fully on them,” Sounders coach Sigi Schmid said. “Because when you’re not out there on the field, you don’t know whether the other team has mis-lined the wall a little bit.