TUKWILA, Wash. — Battered but not broken, the Seattle Sounders returned to training Friday at Starfire as they try to put what has been a difficult 4-game winless stretch behind them. Injuries, absences and a dip in form have conspired to knock the Sounders from their perch atop the Western Conference, and for the time being do not control their own destiny as they attempt to reach the summing with two games remaining.
Still, the Sounders are hardly in a precarious position. They’ve guaranteed themselves a top-3 finish, and with one win in their final two games can assure themselves of at worst a second-place finish, which would guarantee home-field advantage up until the Western Conference final and lock up a Concacaf Champions League spot.