The Sounders finished up training on Friday in advance of their game tomorrow against Colorado on beautiful early Fall day. The team appeared to be about as healthy as they could be, excepting those previously ruled out by Coach Brian Schmetzer. There were a few interesting comments from Schmetzer in light of the team having lost their last two games.

Schmetzer said that training today was “good,” and the players were anxious to get back on the field. I followed up on the training issue, as during the Sounders/Galaxy broadcast, Taylor Twellman made it a point to mention that towards the end of last week before the game, Schmetzer noted that he didn’t feel that the team practiced well.

Schmetzer put a little bit of that on having three games in a week, but also said, “the challenge is that guys understand they have to train for themselves, so that in case they get a chance, they can perform.” Citing Alex Roldan as an example, “driving him, making sure he is sharp in training every single day, because he might get an opportunity [to play]. So that’s the messaging we want to have.”

Stefan Frei on that point thought the team trained well, and that they’re ready to put the last two games behind them. “We had a good week of training and we’re ready,” he said. In some ways, a team like Colorado can be difficult since they’ve already been eliminated from the playoffs. “They can afford to lose, and they could care less if they lose 2-0, 3-0, 4-0,” he said.

Beyond that, the other news of note is regarding the Sounders that have been called up for national team duty in just under two weeks. Schmetzer indicated that discussions are ongoing about keeping as many players through the oddly-scheduled game on October 8 against Houston. “Those conversations (with national team associations) are ongoing,” Schmetzer said.