TUKWILA, Wash. — The Seattle Sounders will take on Mexico’s Club Necaxa on Saturday (7 p.m. PT; JOEtv, ROOT Sports outside Seattle, KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, El Rey 1360AM | TICKETS), but don’t call it an exhibition.
“It’s not a friendly,” Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer said matter-of-factly on Wednesday. “[Former Mexican international Gonzalo Pineda] is on our staff.”
Schmetzer said he and his assistants are approaching this match no differently than they would a regular-season Major League Soccer game. They’re watching film on Necaxa and devising a game plan to combat what they expect Los Rayos to throw at them.