As expected, winger Mauro Rosales is not in the Sounders starting lineup for the second leg of the Western Conference semifinals against Real Salt Lake. But in decidedly unwelcome news for Sounders fans, he was also left out of the squad altogether, making this the second consecutive year in which Seattle will be without Rosales in a huge playoff test at Rio Tinto. In a bit of a surprise, it will be Mario Martinez that starts on the right in Rosales' place.
The big question marks for Real Salt Lake coming into the game were Jamison Olave and Fabian Espindola; Olave was deemed healthy enough to making the starting lineup, while Espindola will start the evening on the bench. With both sides missing one of their most potent weapons in the attack, a game in which goals already looked as though they would be tough to come by may well have increased potential to be a cagey affair.
REAL SALT LAKE XI:
GK Nick Rimando; CB Tony Beltran, CB Jamison Olave, CB Nat Borchers, LB Chris Wingert; M Ned Grabavoy, M Kyle Beckerman, M Javier Morales, M Will Johnson; F Paulo Jr., F Alvaro Saborio
REAL SALT LAKE BENCH:
D Kwame Watson-Siriboe, M Yordany Alvarez, M Luis Gil, M Jonny Steele, GK Kyle Reynish, D Kenny Mansally, F Fabian Espindola.
SEATTLE SOUNDERS XI:
GK Michael Gspurning; RB Adam Johansson, CB Jeff Parke, CB Jhon Kenedy Hurtado, LB Marc Burch; M Brad Evans, M Osvaldo Alonso, M Chrstian Tiffert, M Mario Martinez; F Fredy Montero, F Eddie Johnson
SEATTLE SOUNDERS BENCH:
GK Marcus Hahnemann, D Zach Scott, M Andy Rose, M Alex Caskey, M Steve Zakuani, F/M David Estrada, F Sammy Ocho