Minus star players, Sounders lose 1-0 at Philadelphia

CHESTER, Pa. — With Sounders FC locked in a busy stretch and in a tight conference race, the timing of its injury bug is as bad as it gets.

C.J. Sapong took advantage Wednesday, striking on a 69th-minute header to send a depleted and youth-laden Sounders side to a 1-0 defeat against the previously struggling Philadelphia Union.

Goalkeeper Stefan Frei saved a first-half penalty and made a couple more key stops to keep Seattle in the match, its third of five during an 18-day stretch that continues with Sunday’s Cascadia Cup fixture at Portland.

But the Sounders still fell to their first back-to-back defeats of the MLS season on a night injuries and Clint Dempsey’s suspension conspired, forcing Sigi Schmid to choose a lineup with three players making their first career MLS starts.

“With all the players that we’re missing, the difficult part is that we also don’t have the chance to train,” Schmid said. “If we had the same amount of injuries as everything else but we can train with this group for a week, then maybe things would be a little different.”

The Sounders (9-6-2, 29 points) also remained winless in MLS play at PPL Park, the site of their U.S. Open Cup triumph last September, while the Union (5-10-3) snapped a two-match losing streak.

Seattle remains tied with Vancouver atop the Western Conference standings as it reaches its halfway point of the season.

Sapong’s game-winner suggested communication issues, with the red-hot forward finding a spot between Jimmy Ockford, making his MLS debut, and veteran Sounder Zach Scott.

With Sheanon Williams serving in a cross from the right, Sapong had several feet to either side as he made his run from the penalty spot, then rose to head home his sixth goal of the season and fifth in his past six matches.

“I was split between two guys,” Ockford admitted, “so I was kind of torn between the first guy that scored the goal and then the guy behind me. … He made a great run. It was just unfortunate that he got to it before us.”

The reality is that for Ockford, Oniel Fisher and Aaron Kovar, their first MLS starts Wednesday aren’t likely to be the only time they are needed. Dempsey remains suspended through Sunday. Brad Evans, Obafemi Martins, Osvaldo Alonso, Chad Barrett and Leo Gonzalez all also didn’t travel with the squad while nursing injuries.

In that light, Frei chose to focus on the positive.

“Some things you can’t re-create in practice,” the goalkeeper said. “Whether things get dicey out there on the field, your instinct sometimes takes over. So you need to have some experience, and I think today, that was great to get some experience.”

Frei kept Seattle in it a couple of times. In the 32nd minute, he dived right to block Edu’s penalty kick, then lunged to grab the rebound just ahead of the approaching Cristian Maidana.

Then in the 83rd, he came quickly off his line to deny Fred’s breakaway.