Sounders-Earthquakes matchup pits pair of backup keepers

Opportunities for backup goalkeepers in Major League Soccer can be few and far between.

But Seattle's Stefan Cleveland and San Jose's JT Marcinkowski will both be in net when the Sounders and host Earthquakes meet on Wednesday night.

The Earthquakes' Marcinkowski came on after Daniel was ejected in the 56th minute of a 1-1 draw at Los Angeles FC on Saturday.

Marcinkowski and the short-handed Earthquakes (7-7-8, 29 points) blanked LAFC the rest of the way, though their winless streak reached five matches (0-2-3). All-Star Cristian Espinoza scored his team-leading 10th goal of the season for San Jose.

"Not much was going through my head. That's the life of a goalkeeper. You always have to be ready for your moment," Marcinkowski said. "That's why we train. That's why we grind day in and day out as a group. There's never going to be a pretty moment where you come into a game (as a goalkeeper). I was just ready for my moment."

Daniel will be forced to serve a one-game suspension Wednesday, putting Marcinkowski into the starting lineup.

Seattle's Stefan Frei, who leads MLS with 11 shutouts, was injured in training last week and remains in the concussion protocol.

That means Cleveland will make a second straight start. He had a couple of sterling saves Saturday at Vancouver as the Sounders (10-7-5, 35 points) rallied for a 3-2 victory, their second win in a row.

"I was very impressed," Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer said of Cleveland's play. "It's my belief he could be a starter in this league."

Leo Chu had a brace for Seattle to earn MLS Player of the Matchday honors, and Yeimar Gomez Andrade scored the winner in second-half stoppage time. Both of Chu's goals came off assists from Jackson Ragen and Nicolas Lodeiro on set pieces.

"We're pretty focused," Schmetzer said. "We want to get a result down in San Jose."

--Field Level Media