Busy stretch continues for Crew

Hector Jimenez has done just about everything that has been asked of him this season.

He had to replace Harrison Afful for two months at right back, then move to left back when Waylon Francis got hurt. He played winger when Francis and Afful returned, and he has captained the Crew since Wil Trapp left to join the U.S. national team for the Gold Cup.

Tonight at Mapfre Stadium against the Seattle Sounders, Jimenez could be playing a third game in eight days on just one day of recovery after the team flew back from Utah on Thursday.

With three recent acquisitions and the return of Trapp and forward Gyasi Zardes next week after the Gold Cup concludes Sunday, coach Caleb Porter will have more options for his lineup. For now, he has to roll with who he has on short rest against one of the best teams in MLS, with the Crew needing points desperately after having lost 11 of the past 13 games.

“If you just do the math and add it all up, we're going to have to have guys that play all three games,” Porter said. “Good news is, I think we're in a better position in this third game than some of the other windows because we rotated six guys in

this last game.”

The Crew played several young players Wednesday in a 1-0 loss to Real Salt Lake. Forward JJ Williams and midfielders Eduardo Sosa and Niko Hansen were getting their second starts of the season. Defender Aboubacar Keita, from Westerville, had his first career start at age 19.

Midfielder Pedro Santos was subbed out of the game in the second half, possibly to preserve him for tonight.

Regardless of the lineup, the Crew is still searching for someone — anyone — to finish the scoring opportunities it has been creating.

“I can only ask for so many opportunities,” said Williams, who might be on the bench given he started the past two games. “What it comes down to is putting the ball in the back of the net.”

The Sounders lost a midweek game to New York City FC, having rotated regular starters Kelvin Leerdam, Brad Smith and Gustav Svensson, who should play tonight. Star midfielder Nicolas Lodeiro will also likely return to the lineup after Uruguay was knocked out of the Copa America tournament this week.

The Crew has been in position to get at least a point in just about every game it has played with a depleted lineup. Translating that effort into points against an MLS Cup contender might spark some confidence.

“There are positives out of (the past three games), but there's also disappointment in not getting the goal and giving up the goal,” Porter said. “This is another game where we have to fight, we have to grind and we have to figure out who can get the job done for us.”