Ring Preview | NYCFC vs. Seattle Sounders

New York City FC is back in the Bronx, just three days after securing three points against Philadelphia Union. 

Now the team is shifting their gears and preparing to face off against the Seattle Sounders.

The Boys in Blue have shown heart winning four consecutive matches in all competitions and one man who has set the tone for the teams' gritty performances is the captain, Alex Ring. 

It’s no secret that Dome is known to shake up formations in games as needed and for Ring, that flexibility is key. 

Ring told reporters: “In games, things change really quick. If you go down by one, maybe the shape you’re in at the moment won’t work for you, or hasn’t worked well, at that moment we’re able to shift, to react the way the game is going, and often we can play in the shape that we want to. I think it’s been our strength to react if something is not working as well. 

“We say it’s a sign of a good mixture of players who can adapt quickly, with good tactical approaches from the coaches, and I think in the long run it’s going to take us where we want to go.”

The team has been without seven players but, even while missing players from the roster, the team’s depth has been a large part of their success. 

“I mean in the end it doesn’t matter if you play 3-4-3, 4-2-3, or whatever you want to call it, it’s all about the desire, the greediness, you have to have fun when you’re playing with your teammates,” Ring said. 

“You have to want to work for them, run for them when we lose the ball, and that’s exactly what we’re doing. When we lose the ball everyone is trying to chase it down, we’re trying to win it back and when we have it, we don’t want to give it away.

“I think at the moment, we’re just enjoying ourselves, we’re in a good place and we want to keep the momentum going.”

Although the team works hard for every play, every ball, every goal, and every assist… The Ringleader often reminds the team to have fun with it.

“I want to play all the time and in the form, we are right now, I think all of us just want to go game-by-game, just play the game feel good… We’re having fun with each other and you know we’re going to get the best possible results,” Alex continued. 

While NYCFC gears up to take on the Seattle Sounders, the team knows it won’t be an easy task but they will keep doing what has worked for them thus far in order to keep their unbeaten streak alive. 

"I think the opponents, they do their homework, they prepare well for us. Then if we see that the things we are doing aren’t working, we can switch it up and that has been our strength,” Ring said. “Honestly I haven’t seen them play in the last couple of weeks, but they’re always a strong team. Really good pieces, really good organization and we have to play the same way we did on Saturday and we’ll win.”