You can tell a lot by looking into a player’s eyes. And Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer saw quite a bit on Friday.
“I’ve had lots of conversations with lots of tired players,” he said via phone from New Jersey, where Seattle is staying in preparation for Saturday’s match against Philadelphia (7-3-2).
The Sounders (7-1-4) are on the final leg of playing three games in eight days. They defeated Orlando, 2-1, on Wednesday night, then boarded a Thursday afternoon flight to the East Coast.
It’s nothing new in MLS. But the turnaround, injuries and opponent, a team that’s second in Eastern Conference standings, did take a little more planning for Schmetzer and his coaching staff.