Montero and EJ power the Sounders past the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-0

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders bounced back from a difficult week and came away with a huge win against their Cascadia Cup rivals from the North. On Saturday, the Sounders defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-0 in front of 55,718 fans at CenturyLink Field in Seattle. Fredy Montero continued his scoring streak as he found the net for the third straight game and has scored four goals in his last five matches. Eddie Johnson's goalscoring frenzy also continued as he picked up his team leading 11th goal of the season.

Through the first 10-15 minutes, the Whitecaps looked like they were the better side from the kickoff. In the 6th minute, Darron Mattocks tried to play a through ball to Kenny Miller who got in behind Jeff Parke and Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, but Michael Gspurning came all the way out to meet it. The ball fell to Dane Richards who tried it from a long way out with Gspurning way off his line, but he missed wide. Richards was making his sixth appearance for the Whitecaps since coming over from the New York Red Bulls for former Sounder Sebastien Le Toux.

In the 19th minute of the match, the Sounders troubled goalkeeper Joe Cannon. Eddie Johnson had possession of the ball on the right hand side. Johnson cut inside to with left foot after a couple of step overs and gave it a go from outside the area and Joe Cannon just punched it over the bar, but it was close to going into his own net.

A couple minutes later, the Sounders gave the ball away in their own half and Kenny Miller played a great through ball to Darron Mattocks in the penalty area, but he pulled his shot wide of the far post. Both Miller and Mattocks combined well in this game, causing a few problems here and there.

Shortly after, the Sounders had another great opportunity. Leo Gonzalez made a nice turn to get away from Dane Richards and Lee Young-Pyo who were double teaming him. Gonzalez fed the ball to the top of the area for Mauro Rosales. Rosales pushed the ball to the right side of the area to Brad Evans just as he was being dragged to the ground by Carlyle Mitchell and I think this is where Evans should've tried to hit the ball first time with his left foot because he had a defender tracking back and cutting down the angle. Instead, Brad Evans let the ball drop to his right foot and forced a save from Joe Cannon.

In the 50th minute of the match, the Sounders gave the Whitecaps another scare. Jeff Parke chipped the ball into the Whitecaps area. Eddie Johnson chested the ball down for Ozzie Alonso for a first timed hit from a long way out and Joe Cannon got down and deflected his shot wide.

In the 64th minute, the deadlock was broken and it was Fredy Montero who opened the scoring shortly after coming off the bench. Mauro Rosales floated the ball into the box for Jeff Parke who chested the ball to Montero and the Colombian international poked the ball inside the far corner for his eight goal of the season and the Sounders took a 1-0 lead. So once again, Montero came on and answered all the unnecessary critics regarding his performance on the pitch.

With three minutes left in the contest, the Sounders put the game out of reach. Ozzie Alonso played a brilliant long ball to the near side for Brad Evans who was all alone on the right hand side. Evans made no mistake on this play as he slid the ball across and Eddie Johnson was there, making a run to the far post for an easy tap in and the Sounders put their Open Cup final defeat against Kansas City and their heartbreaking 2-1 loss on the road to San Jose behind them and get three points against their Cascadia rivals.

Now, I just want to apologize to all of you for not keeping you guys up to date on the Gold Medal run for the U.S. women's soccer team during the 2012 Olympics. I had a lot going on that was more important than this, so I just want to make sure you guys understand. Also I'm gonna be taking a break from blogging for a little while, so I'm not gonna cover the Sounders-Chivas USA game this weekend.


Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero 8 (Jeff Parke 1, Mauro Rosales 10) 64'

Seattle Sounders FC - Eddie Johnson 11 (Brad Evans 2, Osvaldo Alonso 2) 87'


Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (caution; foul) 58'

Vancouver Whitecaps - Gershon Koffie (caution; foul) 91'+


Lineups:

Vancouver Whitecaps - Joe Cannon; Lee Young-Pyo, Andy O'Brien, Carlyle Mitchell, Alain Rochat; Dane Richards, Jun Marques Davidson (John Thorrington 89'), Gershon Koffie, Camilo Sanvezzo (Russell Teibert 74'); Kenny Miller, Darron Mattocks (Atiba Harris 89')

Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning; Adam Johansson (Zach Scott 79'), Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Leonardo Gonzalez; Brad Evans, Osvaldo Alonso, Christian Tiffert, Alex Caskey (Fredy Montero 61'); Mauro Rosales (Andy Rose 88'), Eddie Johnson

Sounders defeat Red Bulls 4-2 in front of a record crowd of 46,065

By Money Mike

In front of a record crowd for an MLS match in Seattle, the Seattle Sounders(7-4-7) did not disappoint as they defeated the New York Red Bulls(5-3-8) 4-2 as the fan favorite Roger Levesque found the back of the net twice for the Sounders. The win pushes Seattle into a tie for 2nd place with FC Dallas in the Western Conference and are 6 back of the Los Angeles Galaxy for 1st place. 3 of the Sounders 4 goals have come off set plays which Hans Backe's team has had issues defending. With Defenders Tim Ream and Rafa Marquez still on Gold Cup duty for their countries as well as 18-year old Forward Juan Agudelo, Backe went with Carlos Mendes and former USL Seattle Sounder Stephen Keel at Central Defense and with Theirry Henry suspended for this match and Luke Rodgers out injured, Backe partnered up Dwayne De Rosario with Dane Richards. But now the question for them is, should they take Goalkeeper Greg Sutton's starting job away for his error he made which lead to the forth goal? I mean really, for a guy who represented Senegal at the 2008 African Cup of Nations, I'm pretty sure Bouna Coundoul wouldn't have made that kind of mistake.

Despite a pretty shaky start, the Sounders got on the board first in the 11th minute. Mauro Rosales sent in a corner from the near hash mark to the middle of the penalty area which was headed away by Teemu Tainio but right to Erik Friberg who cut the ball to his right foot to get rid of Dane Richards who was defending and curled it into the far post. Friberg did very well to position himself for a shot on goal and all he had to do was try to curl it, which he did. And a minute later, another set play, and another goal for the Men in Rave Green...

Rosales took the corner again and again it was headed into a bad spot again and Osvaldo Alonso stepped up and volleyed a short clearance which appeared to deflect off a foot of Roy Miller and into the net for Alonso's second goal in 3 matches. Alonso has started to push forward on the attack more than what we've seen his first two season's here in Seattle.

In the 31st minute the Red Bulls pulled one back. Dane Richards had about 5 yards between him and Zach Scott. After receiving a pass from Joel Lindpere, Richards took about 2-3 touches to beat Scott and send a floater to the far post off the hand of Keller and into the goal to cut the Sounders lead down to 2-1. Zach Scott had a terrible game, giving the ball away in his own area too many times, poor defending, and also scoring an own-goal.

In the 58th minute, this was the own-goal. Right back Jan Gunnar Solli made an excellent run down the right hand side and was fed beautifully by Dwayne De Rosario. Solli sent in a low driven cross that deflected off Scott and into the net to tie the match at 2-2.

Both teams threatened with the score tied but in the 67th minute, it was Seattle scoring on a set play for the 3rd time in the match. Leonardo Gonzalez, who was playing with a heavy heart, took the corner this time, and I thought it was weak, but he found Roger Levesque lurking at the near post and Levesque knocked a glancing header over his shoulder and inside Sutton's far post. He would get another one 11 minutes later. In the 78th minute, Greg Sutton misplayed a simple back pass from Jan Gunnar Solli, allowing Levesque to pick-pocket him and tap the ball into an empty net to put the match beyond reach.

The Sounders will look to close out the month of June unbeaten as they host the New England Revolution on Sunday while the Red Bulls travel to Toyota Park in Bridgeview and take on Chicago Fire the same day.

Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Erik Friberg 1 (unassisted) 11'

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso 2 (unassisted) 12'

New York Red Bulls - Dane Richards 3 (Joel Lindpere 3) 31'

New York Red Bulls - Own Goal (Zach Scott) 58'

Seattle Sounders FC - Roger Levesque 1 (Leonardo Gonzalez 1) 67'

Seattle Sounders FC - Roger Levesque 2 (unassisted) 78'

Misconduct summary:

New York Red Bulls - Teemu Tainio (caution; Reckless foul) 28'

New York Red Bulls - Austin da Luz (caution; Reckless tackle) 50'

Seattle Sounders FC - James Riley (caution; Reckless foul) 52'

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso (caution; Reckless tackle) 60'

Seattle Sounders FC - Leonardo Gonzalez (caution; Delaying a Restart) 90'

New York Red Bulls - Dwayne De Rosario (caution; Reckless tackle) 93+'

Lineups:

New York Red Bulls - Greg Sutton; Jan Gunnar Solli, Carlos Mendes, Stephen Keel, Roy Miller; Mehdi Ballouchy, Teemu Tainio (Corey Hertzog 89'), Joel Lindpere, Austin da Luz (John Rooney 79'); Dane Richards, Dwayne De Rosario

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller; James Riley, Jeff Parke, Zach Scott, Leonardo Gonzalez; Mauro Rosales, Osvaldo Alonso, Erik Friberg, Alvaro Fernandez (Servando Carrasco 72'); Fredy Montero (Nate Jaqua 81'), Mike Fucito (Roger Levesque 58')

The Atmosphere at the Stadium:

I've been asking myself the exact same question over and over and over again. "When will they increase the capacity?" Now I don't know if it's gonna stay this way from now on. But 46,000+ in attendance for an MLS soccer match is pretty legit. Well have a bigger crowd like this when Manchester United come to town for a friendly match next month. Seeing a huge crowd like this for a league match itself? Man, 36,000 fans isn't enough anymore. Will they open up the entire stadium? Not at this point, unless we host the Conference final match in the MLS Cup playoffs or maybe even the CONCACAF Champions League, if we make it that far of course.

Sounders vs Red Bulls preview

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders return home for a Thursday night matchup at "CenturyLink" Field (yeah Qwest changed their name) against the New York Red Bulls. Last week the Sounders came away with all 3 points after defeating Toronto FC 1-0 with Fredy Montero scoring a late Free Kick goal in the 90th minute. On the other side, despite a Red Card issued to Thierry Henry in stoppage time, the Red Bulls managed to get a late goal from Dwayne De Rosario from the penalty spot to complete the comeback against the Portland Timbers. The match ended 3-3. The Red Bulls have so many pieces missing with a player suspended (Thierry Henry), players still in the Gold Cup (Juan Agudelo, Tim Ream and Rafa Marquez) and players out injured.


Injury report:

New York Red Bulls - For the Red Bulls, I'm not sure Carl Robinson's right knee contusion or Chris Albright's hernia surgery are a big blow to the team. One that's definitely a blow is Luke Rodgers out with a Left foot plantar fascitits.

Seattle Sounders FC - For the Men in Rave Green. Zakuani and White, you should know about them. Brad Evans has been added to the list with a Bruised ankle. He will not be seen tomorrow.


Suspensions:

New York Red Bulls - This was sort off bullshit because this was already worked out. Thierry Henry was sent off for no reason. He went at it with Adam Moffit of the Portland Timbers, but they shook hands, which is good sportsmanship, but then referee Ricardo Salazar went to his back pocket and gave Thierry Henry a Red Card and Moffit a Yellow. That's just ridiculous, doing something like that over a thing that was already taken care of between the players... that's just starting trouble. Thierry Henry wouldn't have got the start anyway I don't think, but still, that was ridiculous.

Seattle Sounders FC - I'm not going to bring this one up again, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado. Apparently they didn't appeal his suspension so he will not be seen on Thursday.


International absences:

New York Red Bulls - Juan Agudelo and Tim Ream are still with USA in the Gold Cup. By the way, USA defeated Panama 1-0, so they're in the final. Also Rafa Marquez for Mexico, who look to be headed to the final. It looks like another USA-Mexico matchup.

Seattle Sounders FC - For Seattle uhh........... Well, they have nobody, which is a good thing especially because this team is so jacked up.


Key matchup:

Red Bulls attacking front vs Sounders back line - Looking at the reports it looks like they're going partner up Dwayne De Rosario with Dane Richards. De Rosario is used to playing as an attacking midfielder so he can get more time on the ball as well as score more goals, which has worked out very well. Dane Richards is a winger. They're gonna be under a lot of pressure from the Sounders back line.

Sounders come up empty handed again. Juan Agudelo scores the lone goal in a 1-0 Red Bulls win

By Money Mike

After a tough 1-0 loss at home to the LA Galaxy, the Seattle Sounders traveled to Red Bull Arena to take on the New York Red Bulls, looking to bounce back and get at least a point. Instead they came away with nothing to show for as they lose their 2nd straight match 1-0 thanks to a 70th minute goal by 18-year old Juan Agudelo, it was his first MLS goal. Remember he made his international debut for the United States national team on November 17, 2010, against South Africa at 17 years of age and scored in that match which made him the youngest player in U.S. soccer history to score on his international debut.

New York had a chance to go ahead early when Thierry Henry's ball found Juan Agudelo behind the Seattle defense. Agudelo with his brilliant piece of skill, cut the ball back and drew contact from Jhon Kennedy Hurtado which resulted in a Penalty Kick. Of course, you would expect Thierry Henry to take the penalty because he's one of the best PK takers in the game. However, Henry tried to go low into the bottom left corner of the goal but Kasey Keller read it perfectly and tipped it wide.

The game was pretty much a back and forth battle for the rest of the first half since the penalty miss by Henry. Seattle had few good scoring chances. In the 16th minute, Fredy Montero sent Alvaro Fernandez alone behind the Red Bull defense, but his touch sent the ball to the right of goalkeeper Greg Sutton. Montero would test Sutton again in the 27th minute as he tried a shot from just inside the half-way line as he caught him well off his line but Sutton punched it away. In the 39th minute, Fernandez and Montero hooked up again as Montero ran onto a weighted ball and ripped a shot from a tight angle that was tipped by Greg Sutton who recovered the loose ball before O'Brian White could follow in on the rebound. The two combined again in the final minute of the first half as Montero beat Tim Ream before hitting the post from an impossible angle.

In the 51st minute, the Red Bulls tested Keller long range when defender Rafa Marquez lashed one that just sailed over. Seven minutes later, a corner from Marquez found his teammate, Mehdi Ballouchy but his touch just rolled wide right of Kasey Keller.

In the 70th minute, the Red Bulls found the breakthrough when Teemu Tainio's long ball found Juan Agudelo behind the defense. Agudelo shrugged off Leo Gonzalez and off the outside of his boot, slotted the ball past Kasey Keller into the net for his first MLS goal to give the Red Bulls a 1-0 lead with 20 minutes to go.

In the 88th minute, New York nearly put the game away from the corner when Rafa Marquez found Tony Tchani unmarked, but his header was punched over the bar by Kasey Keller.

Seattle had a golden opportunity to draw level when Fredy Montero's free kick was punched by Greg Sutton and Lamar Neagle's rebound sailed over the bar. And that proved costly as Seattle ends up getting shut out again and are off to an 0-2 start to begin 2011.

Area Seattle needs to improve on next game:

Finishing is one, but the most important one is to get more people to commit forward. I cannot remember one time in this match when we had 5-6 players on the attack. Also, an even bigger problem, go after the ball at all times. Every time New York has had position of the ball, rather than going after them, the Sounders just back off and let their opponents burn them in every way. Having only your two strikers commited and 8 other outfield players in their own area backing away and not going after the ball is unacceptable and it's never Seattle's game. Their game is ATTACK, ATTACK, ATTACK, go after the ball for 9o minutes, and they obviously didn't do that, which is never good and that needs to change in their match against the Houston Dynamo.

Scoring Summary:

New York Red Bulls - Juan Agudelo (Teemu Tainio) 70'

Misconduct Summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (caution) 61'

Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC: Kasey Keller (captain); James Riley, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Leonardo Gonzalez; Alvaro Fernandez (Mauro Rosales 68'), Servando Carrasco (Lamar Neagle 80'), Osvaldo Alonso, Erik Friberg; Fredy Montero, O'Brian White (Roger Levesque 73')

New York Red Bulls: Greg Sutton; Jan Gunnar Solli, Rafael Marquez, Tim Ream, Roy Miller; Dane Richards (Danleigh Borman 90'), Teemu Tainio, Mehdi Ballouchy (Tony Tchani 68'), Joel Lindpere; Juan Agudelo, Thierry Henry (captain)

Seattle Sounders FC vs Red Bull New York preview

By Money Mike

The Seattle Sounders, coming off a 1-0 loss to the LA Galaxy on Tuesday, hit the road to Harrison, New Jersey, to take on the New York Red Bulls. Last year, the two sides split the season series with the Red Bulls winning 1-0 at Qwest Field with Macoumba Kandji scoring the winner. Seattle returned the favor by defeated them on their home turf 1-0 thanks to an 85th minute goal by Fredy Montero, it was also the Red Bulls first defeat at Red Bull Arena. The Red Bulls look to start their season on a good note, while the Sounders look to bounce back from their defeat against Los Angeles.

Injury Report:

Seattle Sounders FC - The Sounders have battled a lot of injuries last season and continue to do so at the start of this season. Mike Fucito is out for at least another 2-3 weeks with a right adductor strain. Also out is Mike Seamon with right leg neuritis. Nate Jaqua is still recovering from hip surgery, he is listed as doubtful. Brad Evans is battling a right hamstring strain and Pat Noonan is suffering from a left adductor strain. Both of them are listed as probable. Steve Zakuani picked up a hip injury in the Sounders final preseason match against Colorado, but managed to play in the opener against the LA Galaxy and I don't see why he won't play in this match. Finally, Roger Levesque picked up a knock in the opening match. We have not heard anything on that.

New York Red Bulls - For the Red Bulls, they got a pretty healthy squad. Chris Albright and Brian Nielson are both recovering from knee surgery and are both out for this match. Also, 18-year old Juan Agudelo picked up a groin injury in the Red Bulls preseason match against NASL side, Fort Lauderdale Strikers. Red Bulls coach Hans Backe thinks Agudelo may miss the opener, but I'd list him as Questionable.

Key Matchups:

Dane Richards vs Leonardo Gonzalez: The reason I think this is key is because Dane Richards can find ways to beat you so easily and make you look like an idiot. A Jamaican footballer who played for the Jamaican senior national team before even playing college soccer at Clemson University, Richards has the ability show off his dribbling skills from the wing. He also has the ability to score goals and create opportunities. If Leo Gonzalez can keep him contained out there for 90 minutes, it could limit New York's scoring chances. If not, Richards, with his skill, can wear down the Sounders back line quickly.

Fredy Montero vs Tim Ream: I'm expecting Red Bulls coach Hans Backe to turn to Tim Ream to try to shut down Fredy Montero. Montero has scored in 3 of the 4 times the Sounders and Red Bulls faced off against each other, including that two goal night in the Sounders inaugural match on March 19, 2009. If this were to be the matchup, I think it would decide the game.

Area's Seattle needs to improve on:

FINISH FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!! The Sounders had so many opportunities against the LA Galaxy. When you have a golden opportunity to score, you need to take advantage of it. Despite how good the Sounders are, this is one area where they have struggled in. And in a big road game in New York............well, New Jersey, this team can't afford to continue wasting all their opportunities.

New Signing:

The Sounders earlier today have completed the signing of Argentine international Mauro Rosales and should be available for the match this weekend. Rosales began his career with Newell's Old Boys in Argentina from 1999 to 2004, scoring 30 goals in 199 matches. He then spent two seasons at Ajax where he won the Dutch Cup in 2005. After returning home to Argentina to play for River Plate of Argentina from 2007 to 2010, Rosales originally agreed to play for Mexican club Queretaro FC, however, the deal broke down after Rosales was unable to pass his physical. Rosales joined the team on a trial while they were in Florida. After all speculation, he and the club came to an agreement earlier this week and now he is officially a Sounders FC player.