Espindola, Olave set for game-time decisions against Seattle

There were two significant injury concerns heading into the first leg against Seattle Sounders on Friday: Jamison Olave and Fabian Espindola. Going into Thursday's Western Conference semifinal second leg against Seattle Sounders, those concerns remain.

Olave came off the bench and played about 30 minutes for Kwame Watson-Siriboe, while Fabian Espindola played the first half before being subbed out for Paulo Jr.

With the possibility of extra time involved in Kreis's considerations, starting Watson-Siriboe could be a safer option than testing Olave's legs.

"He's still getting over his last hamstring injury," Kreis said after training on Wednesday. "We got 30 minutes out of him, but now the question is, can you start a player like that when there's a possibility of an overtime looming?"

Olave and Espindola have both been involved in training, but Kreis will, in part, be trusting the players themselves to judge their match fitness.

"Typically in our training sessions, we don't open up the spaces enough to really test them," Kreis said. "We think we're going to have a couple game-time decisions tomorrow. When they get here, try to get them to open up a little bit and see how they feel."

Kwame Watson-Siriboe, who came off on Thursday for Olave with a knock to the ankle, is "ready to go," Kreis said. Given the partnership he has quickly formed with Nat Borchers, the worries at the defensive end should be somewhat abated.