Sounders look to keep rolling vs. Real Salt Lake (Sep 23, 2017)

There is a logjam at the top of the Western Conference standings.

First-place Vancouver holds a one-point lead over Portland, Sporting KC and Seattle.

The Sounders (11-7-11), who sit in fourth place based on tiebreakers, will look to leapfrog their rivals when they play Real Salt Lake on Saturday at Rinto Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah.

Seattle is riding a team-record 13-game unbeaten streak but has managed just three goals over its past four games, all draws.

Going winless over a month's time has allowed the pack to catch up.

"I think people are looking too much into it," Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei told The Seattle Times. "You try to fight for a win every game. Obviously, we've been on a bit of a run, an undefeated streak. And there are going to be draws that feel like losses.

"Particularly at home against Portland, we wanted to do better. And maybe on the road against Vancouver, it didn't feel too good. But at the same time, going down to Dallas has been historically difficult for us. So, getting a tie there is fair and probably a decent result for us."

While the Sounders haven't lost a game since June 17, they are just 1-6-2 all-time at Rio Tinto Stadium, which is 4,450 feet above sea level.

Seattle, which is missing the speedy Jordan Morris, will need to find some offense.

"We're trying to get our team to score more goals," Seattle coach Brain Schmetzer told the Seattle Times. "We've been in a rut as far as scoring goals is concerned. We're giving them ideas and little more structure to our attack. Those are things we're going to work on the rest of the year."

The Western Conference standings are also crowded around the playoff cutline.

Real Salt Lake (11-14-5) is even with Houston and FC Dallas at 38 points, but holds the advantage for the sixth and final playoff spot based on total wins. All three teams trail fifth-place San Jose by just a point.

Salt Lake moved above the playoff line for the first time this season by beating Portland 2-1 a week ago, and the team has lost just twice since the beginning of July.

Real Salt Lake has just four regular-season games remaining; Houston and Dallas each have six.

"We do know we depend on other results," midfielder Albert Rusnak told the team's website. "It would be ideal if they all drop points any time soon. We (will) just try to win the rest of the games in the season."

Rusnak, Salt Lake's leader, has two goals, four assists and 17 shots over the past four games. The team is 3-1 during that stretch boosting its postseason hopes.

"There's always work to be done," center back Justen Glad said. "I believe (we can make the playoffs). Everyone on this team believes it. (Coach Mike Petke) believes it. We're good enough to be in the playoffs. It comes down to these last couple games."

Salt Lake hits the road for a Sept. 30 match with the L.A. Galaxy before having 15 days off.

The Sounders will be home for a crucial game with Vancouver on Wednesday.