Seattle Sounders FC hopes to reverse its seasonal Western Conference fortunes by scoring victory No. 1 against the Colorado Rapids in a 6 p.m. Pacific Time matchup at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.

The Sounders hope that some of the Sigi Schmid coaching magic will furnish them with an edge over the Rapids.  An MLS legend at Columbus Crew prior to taking the Seattle job, Sigi Schmid has carved out an impressive record against the Colorado team.

Schmid’s lofty slate stands at 15-9-7 against the Rapids.  In his last 12 meetings against Colorado, his mark is even more impressive with one lone loss and an overall record of 5-1-6.

This encounter, the first Saturday night game of the year for the Rapids, will find the home club looking for its initial win over the Sounders since the Emerald City contingent joined the MLS.

Last season, the Sounders notched a 2-2 tie with Colorado at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.  One month later, Seattle shut out its opponent 3-0 at the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field in the second of two meetings ever between the two teams.

Both clubs were in action last Wednesday night with Seattle enjoying a much better result.  Seattle blanked international Argentine power Boca Juniors 3-0 before an effervescent home crowd.

Colorado endured a defeat by an identical 3-0 margin against the New York Red Bulls in a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play-in game.  The loss prevented Colorado from entering tournament competition.

The Sounders would like to maximize an opportunity against the Rapids to leap frog over their rivals in the Western Conference.  They stand one point behind Colorado with 12 points and a 3-4-3 mark.

While Seattle stands just a shade below five hundred, Colorado is slightly above at 4-3-1 with 13 points earned.

It will take a victory for Seattle to vault above Colorado, which a three point effort would accomplish.  A tie would provide a point for each team and leave the rivals where they began the night.

The Sounders are hoping that the Boca Juniors success embodies a milestone with carryover impact into MLS competition.

Seattle seeks its first victory of the season over a Western Conference rival.  The team is 1-1-2 on the road this season with a loss at Toronto and ties against Salt Lake City and Dallas.

The single Seattle road victory marked the only defeat for the New York Red Bulls in their new stadium.  It was the most dramatic win of the campaign for Sigi Schmid’s team as speedy forward Fredy Montero came off the bench to drive home the game’s only score late in the action for a 1-0 victory.

In league play, Colorado is coming off of a 1-0 win at DC United May 15.

This is an important test for Seattle as the Sounders seek to bury every vestige of the scoring drought blues.  After a listless 1-0 home loss to San Jose last Saturday, the triumph over Boca Juniors energized the Sounders and gave them something to believe in regarding their ability to score.

The drought was strange in that, rather than being in a full blown slump with the team being consistently outshot, Seattle frequently enjoyed substantial edges but failed to apply the finishing touch of placing the ball into the net.

A victory in Colorado on Saturday will go a long way towards convincing critics that Seattle is back on track and ready to march back down the road that marked the team’s impressive opening season of 2009.

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