Sounders will try to rally in CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinal

RENTON - After traversing the continent, including stops in Canada and Mexico, the Sounders are back to play a match on their own turf. Err, grass.

The Sounders haven't played at Lumen Field since February because of their hometown stadium undergoing renovations to host the FIFA Men's World Cup this summer. Among the changes was the instillation of a grass surface.

The U.S. women's national team will play a friendly on the new field Tuesday night. The Sounders will have their chance with a CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinal match against Tigres UANL.

The Liga MX side won the first leg 2-0 in Monterrey, Mexico, last week. For the Sounders, the international match wrapped an eight-game road trip (5-2-1) where the team traveled as far as St. Louis for an MLS match and crossed both borders for the CCC tourney.

Here's a look at Wednesday's match:

Sounders (2-1) vs Tigres (3-1-1)

Time/place: 8:30 p.m. at Lumen Field in Seattle

TV: FS2, TUDN

Radio: None

Series history: The all-time series is split at 2-2 since 2013

Rested and ready?

There are four MLS teams remaining in the CCC tournament, but the Sounders are the only ones who had a bye in league play last weekend.

Tigres also had a league match, defeating Chivas 4-1 at home. First-choice midfielder Juan Brunetta had a brace while striker Rodrigo Aguirre and winger Ángel Correa each contributed a goal.

Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer gave his players some time off and when they returned, the focus was on balancing an aggressive attack with defending to win the decisive leg.

Three and hold

The Sounders are down two goals after last week's loss. Away goals are a tiebreaker, so the easiest way for the Sounders to advance is to score three goals in regulation and shut out the potent Tigres. If the Sounders are up 2-0 at the end of regulation Wednesday, two 15-minute extra time periods will be played to break the tie, and the away goals rule no longer applies. If still tied, a penalty shootout will determine a winner.

Quotable

"We saw a live feed of the grass when we were doing video and it gave me feelings of the (FIFA Men's) Club World Cup, seeing the pitch and how nice it looks," Sounders forward Danny Musovski said of the team watching a feed showing Lumen before breaking down game film. "There's a lot that changes. It feels different on your body; you're not as beat up after games. The ball moves completely different. Personally, I feel I can control the ball better when it's on grass than turf. But we're at home. That will be the advantage."

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