RENTON, Washington - The Seattle Sounders will play Mexico's Veracruz in a preseason friendly on February 22 at Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Arizona. The club made the announcement on Monday before the team departed for the southwestern city to continue its pre-season preparations.

The Sounders advanced to the quarterfinals of this season's CONCACAF Champions League, where it will face another Mexican club - Tigres - in a two-leg series in March.

"This is good preparation for our match against Tigres," said Seattle head coach Sigi Schmid. "It's important to play another team from Mexico and we are very thankful that Veracruz is able to do so. It's a good opportunity for our team to play against that style of play because it is different than what we face in MLS."

Also, during their stay in Tucson, the Sounders will take part in the Desert Diamond Cup, an annual tournament that features teams from the USA's major League Soccer. The three-time U.S. Open Cup winner will face the New England Revolution (Feb. 13), Real Salt Lake (Feb. 16) and the New York Red Bulls (Feb. 20), before playing in either the tournament's third-place match or final on Feb. 23.