Sounders defeat FC Dallas 4-2; Extend unbeaten streak to six

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders hot streak continues. On Saturday night, the Rave Green came way with their third straight win as they defeated the Western Conference leaders FC Dallas 4-2 to extend their unbeaten streak to six games. The Sounders had a 2-0 lead at halftime, but Dallas came back with two quick goals early in the second half to level the match up at two goals a piece only for the Sounders to come away with two more unanswered goals and the three points. The Sounders will have a chance at extending their unbeaten run to seven games as they travel to the Home Depot Center for a Western Conference Finals rematch against the two-time MLS Cup Champion Los Angeles Galaxy. LA is coming off a 1-0 road loss to the New York Red Bulls and have struggled a bit as of late, losing three out of their last four games. The game will take place this Sunday at 8pm on ESPN2.

With just over a quarter of an hour gone by in the match, the Sounders opened the scoring. After FC Dallas keeper Raul Fernandez cleared the ball to midfield, Ozzie Alonso headed it back into the Dallas area where Eddie Johnson was in a race with defender London Woodberry. The rookie makes a mistake by trying to reach out with his right foot for the ball and EJ makes him pay as he brings it down with his chest and puts it away with the outside of his right foot and the Sounders pick up where they left off against the Earthquakes. Scoring goals. It was Johnson's third MLS goal of the season (fourth in all competitions) and first against his former club. Woodberry had a torrid evening as the Sounders offense took him to school.

EJ nearly had a second five minutes later. Mario Martinez's outswinger from the far touchline found Johnson who outjumped Matt Hedges but couldn't direct his header on target.

In the 27th minute, Seattle had another big chance to double their lead. Mario Martinez found Brad Evans in behind the defense and as he approached the 6 yard area, he hesitated at the last second, deciding whether or not to slide the ball across to Lamar Neagle and that gave Raul Fernandez time to position himself and make the save. Evans appeared to have been offside on the pass from Martinez, but at the same time, Evans was in position to slot the ball inside the far corner with his left foot.

Evans was involved in another scoring chance for the Sounders in the 30th minute. This time, a through ball to Lamar Neagle did the trick. Neagle was fed with a perfectly timed through ball as he beat the offside trap, only had the keeper to beat, dribbles the ball around him and puts the ball inside the empty net before London Woodberry could have any chance of sliding in and breaking up the play. There was no doubt in this play, Neagle was definitely onside. Zach Loyd, the last defender, kept him on. But the question is, why the hell is Dallas trying to push all the way up and trying to play the offside trap? This time the Sounders made them pay. That was Neagle's third goal in two games and the Sounders doubled their lead.

Just shortly after, the Sounders suffered a big blow as Ozzie Alonso was forced to leave the game with in injury. Last I heard, it was a left adductor strain, but no further information as of right now. I just hope he'll be back soon.

Just over 10 minutes later, the Sounders came real close to making it three. Michael Gpsurning gathered the ball quickly threw the ball out to Mario Martinez to set Seattle on the counter. Martinez cut inside and slid the ball trough to Brad Evans for a first timed shot, but it hit the side of the net. Many thought it was in. As a matter of fact, I've seen those plays result in goals more times than not.

Seconds later, Dallas had a golden opportunity to cut the lead in half. Zach Loyd made an overlapping run and was found by Jackson. Loyd had plenty of time to take a touch and whip the ball to the near post for Blas Perez who looked to direct his header inside Michael Gpsurning's right hand post and ends up hitting the post, then off Gspurning's left hand and the rebound by Eric Hassli was saved off Gspurning's left thigh. Had Gpsurning not got a left hand to the ball, I think Kenny Cooper would've had an easy rebound.

In the 54th minute, Dallas this time were able to pull one back. The visitors look more dangerous on set pieces this year then they did last year. Mainly because of the quality that Brazilian midfielder Michel on his delivery and he showed that in this game as he curled the ball into the area for a free header from former Portland Timber forward Kenny Cooper who didn't even need to jump. All he needed to do was direct the ball on target and that's what he did and Dallas cut the Sounders lead to one.

Seattle continued to attack though and in the 59th minute, they were an inch away from making it 3-1. Mario Martinez played in another great through ball in the box, this time to Eddie Johnson who was denied a second goal by Raul Fernandez. Lamar Neagle came crashing in looking to head in the rebound but was denied with a heroic goaline stop by London Woodberry to keep it a 2-1 game. That was pretty much the only highlight of this match for Woodberry who as I mentioned earlier, had a rough night in the office.

Two minutes later, the Hoops level the match up on what is a rare feat in soccer. They call it an Olimpico Goal. I did mention the quality that Michel has on set pieces and his inswinger from the near hashmark goes directly into the far corner without touching anybody and the Sounders quickly see their two goal lead slip away with just under a half an hour to go in the match. This isn't the first time Michael Gspurning was on the back end of a Gol Olimpico. Marco Pappa scored one direct off a corner in Seattle's visit to Chicago last season. Again, Olimpico Goals are very rare, although we've seen quite a few in MLS these last couple of years. David Beckham did it a couple years ago when he was still playing for the LA Galaxy. Thierry Henry scored one direct off a corner kick last year. I already mentioned Marco Pappa. And now Michel against the Seattle Sounders.

Now I'm actually going to show you the goal...... mainly because a lot of you don't know what an Olimpico Goal is, so this video should give you an idea.



However, the match was level for only a minute because in the 62nd minute, the Men in Rave Green came right back and got their third. FC Dallas have been sloppy all night in their passing game, struggling to get the ball out of their area and once again they paid the price. Shalrie Joseph fed Lamar Neagle who turned and slid the ball through to Eddie Johnson and EJ made no mistake this time as he dribbled around Raul Fernandez and went Upper-V (which means he struck it inside the top corner of the net) for his second of the game and the Sounders just like that climb back ahead and take a 3-2 lead. This looked like a similar play where Brad Evans missed wide off a through ball from Martinez back in the first half and EJ getting denied in the second half. But this time EJ see that Fernandez is coming off his line to cut down the angle and he dribbles around him and puts it away.

In the 72nd minute, blood was drawn and the outcome was a controversial red card decision. Blas Perez and Leo Gonzalez were both going up for the ball and Perez ends up catching Gonzalez with an elbow, unintentionally though. When they showed the replay, it looked like a dangerous play and that MLS was going to review it during midweek and see if it worthy of a suspension, but when it got back to live action, referee Mark Geiger (who we've have problems with the last few times he officiated matches involving the Sounders) reached for his back pocket and pulled out the red card after a discussion with the fourth official. You see plays like this every time where players accidentally get elbowed while going up in the air for the ball and no red cards were handed out on those plays, so I think the only reason a red card was given is because Gonzalez's face was covered in blood.

In the 83rd the Sounders would get another goal to cap off another big victory. Lamar Neagle whipped in a brilliant left footed cross for Eddie Johnson to headed the ball straight at Raul Fernandez. The ball fell to Brad Evans who slid the ball to the middle for Obafemi Martins to slide it home for his third goal of the season and more importantly, to seal the Sounders third straight win as they defeat FC Dallas 4-2. The Sounders are unbeaten in their last six matches since starting the year 0-3-1 and most people would begin to think that they're a force to be force to be reckoned with up front with Eddie Johnson, Lamar Neagle and now Obafemi Martins.


Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Eddie Johnson 3 (Osvaldo Alonso 1) 16'

Seattle Sounders FC - Lamar Neagle 3 (Brad Evans 1) 30'

FC Dallas - Kenny Cooper 3 (Michel 4) 54'

FC Dallas - Michel 1 (Unassisted) 61'

Seattle Sounders FC - Eddie Johnson 4 (Lamar Neagle 1) 62'

Seattle Sounders FC - Obafemi Martins 3 (Brad Evans 2) 83'


Misconduct summary:

FC Dallas - London Woodberry (caution; foul) 43'

FC Dallas - Blas Perez (ejection; violent conduct) 73'

Seattle Sounders FC - DeAndre Yedlin (caution; time wasting) 87'


Lineups:

FC Dallas - Raul Fernandez; Zach Loyd, Matt Hedges, London Woodberry (Walker Zimmerman 85'), Jair Benitez; Jackson, Michel, Je-Vaughn Watson; Eric Hassli, Blas Perez, Kenny Cooper (Fabian Castillo 64')

Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning; DeAndre Yedlin, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Djimi Traore, Leonardo Gonzalez (Zach Scott 78'); Brad Evans, Osvaldo Alonso (Shalrie Joseph 31'), Servando Carrasco, Mario Martinez (Obafemi Martins 63'); Eddie Johnson, Lamar Neagle

Fredy Montero comes through with a late goal to salvage a point in Vancouver, 2-2 draw

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders were looking to bounce back from their 1-0 defeat against RSL. Instead, they were a couple minutes away from losing their second straight match for the first time since their 0-2 start last season. However a late goal from Fredy Montero made sure that didn't happen and the Sounders came away with a point after a 2-2 draw with the Vancouver Whitecaps. The Sounders are now 7-2-2 on the year after that draw and remain in third place, one point behind San Jose for second and three points behind Real Salt Lake for first.

In the 8th minute, Seattle got caught on the counter as Sebastien Le Toux sent Omar Salgado away. The 18-year old got to the ball before Ozzie Alonso could clear, but his touch was poor and Bryan Meredith came off his line to cover.

Three minutes later, the Whitecaps got on the board. Omar Salgado sent Alain Rochat away down the left hand side, and with Adam Johansson overcommiting Rochat had time and space to run at the Seattle defense. As he approached the Seattle goal, he had Darren Mattocks and Sebastien Le Toux in support along with Gershon Koffie and Lee Young-Pyo trailing on the play but because Jeff Parke didn't come to challenge, Rochat did all the dirty work alone and he slotted the ball inside the right post to give the Whitecaps a 1-0 lead.

In the 32nd minute, Alain Rochat went long for Omar Salgado. Salgado brushed Jeff Parke aside and looked to snap the ball across and inside the far post, but he missed wide of target. I think the referee blew the whistle though for the challenge on Jeff Parke, but I didn't see anything wrong with the challenge. It was shoulder to shoulder and just poor defending by Parke. Jeff Parke actually had a poor defensive outing all match.

Eight minutes later, more from Rochat as he dispossessed Mauro Rosales and waited a couple of seconds before getting Darron Mattcks in behind the defense. Mattocks looked to slot the ball inside the far post, but he didn't get enough bend on it and it just went wide. Once again it was Jeff Parke getting caught. Fortunetly, the Sounders dodged another bullet and the score remained 1-0. The Sounders did have a couple of shot of their own in the first half, but none of them were on target. The way the back line has played, it could've been worse.

That would change however. A minute into the second half, the Sounders quickly pulled level. Fredy Montero chipped the ball out wide for Mauro Rosales. The Argentine had time to settle before whipping in a very good cross to the far post for Eddie Johnson who rose up and headed the ball back across and inside the right post to tie this match at 1-1. It was important that Johnson had to bounce back from a poor performance last Saturday at home and the easiest way of doing that was to get a goal and that was what Eddie Johnson did as he headed home his third goal of the season.

In the 82nd minute, the Whitecaps climbed back ahead. Camilo took the free kick from the near side. He curled it to the middle of the area and it bounced inside the far post. At first it looked like Gershon Koffie got a touch on it, but it wasn't the case. Nobody touched it in the box and Camilo got credited with his third goal of the season and his second against the Seattle Sounders and more importantly put the Sounders ahead 2-1.

However, in the 90th minute the Sounders came from behind again. Eddie Johnson headed the ball forward to Fredy Montero and from 20 yards out, the Colombian hesitated and curled the ball around two Whitecaps defenders and in to the back of the net as goalkeeper Joe Cannon had absolutely no clue on where the ball was because he had two defenders in his way. No chance to make the save and Seattle comes away with a point.


Scoring summary:

Vancouver Whitecaps - Alain Rochat 1 (Omar Salgado 1) 12'

Seattle Sounders FC - Eddie Johnson 3 (Fredy Montero 2, Mauro Rosales 2) 47'

Vancouver Whitecaps - Camilo Sanvezzo 3 (unassisted) 82'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero 4 (Eddie Johnson 1) 90'


Misconduct summary:

Vancouver Whitecaps - Gershon Koffie (caution; foul) 84'

Vancouver Whitecaps - Camilo Sanvezzo (caution; foul) 93'+


Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Bryan Meredith; Adam Johansson, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Marc Burch (Zach Scott 85'); Mauro Rosales, Osvaldo Alonso, Alex Caskey (Andy Rose 45'), Alvaro Fernandez (David Estrada 72'); Fredy Montero, Eddie Johnson

Vancouver Whitecaps - Joe Cannon; Lee Young-Pyo, Martin Bonjour, Jay DeMerit, Alain Rochat; Gershon Koffie, Jun Marques Davidson, Davide Chiumiento (Camilo Sanvezzo 80'); Sebastien Le Toux, Darren Mattocks (Eric Hassli 64'), Omar Salgado (John Thorrington 74')

Sounders head up north to face their rival Vancouver Whitecaps

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders make their first trip to BC Place as they take on the Vancouver Whitecaps in the Cascadia Derby. Last year, the Sounders defeated the Whitecaps on the road 3-1 in Vancouver's final match at Empire Field thanks to two second half goals from Fredy Montero. The Whitecaps are off to a good start so far with a 5-3-2 record (17 points), however they've been short of goals. With stars like Eric Hassli and Camilo Sanvezzo in place, the Whitecaps added a familiar face to the Sounder nation, his name is Sebastien Le Toux. They've also looked better Defensively with the addition of Martin Bonjour and Lee Young-Pyo and in the Midfield with a couple new faces like Matt Watson and Jun Marques Davidson. It's just a question of how the French connection will shape up with Vancouver and whether or not they're ready to compete with the big clubs, which they're not.

The Sounders are coming off a 1-0 loss last Saturday at home to Real Salt Lake after a poor second half display. Good news though, Alvaro Fernandez is back in the starting 11 after making his return last Saturday as a sub for David Estrada who's really struggling. This will be the first time that Fredy Montero, Mauro Rosales, Eddie Johnson and Alvaro Fernandez are all in the starting lineup together. A good opportunity for the Sounders to inch closer to the top spot in the Western Conference after that tough loss last Saturday.


Injury report:

Seattle Sounders FC - For the Sounders, Michael Gspurning did not make the trip so that means he's out. Patrick Ianni, Brad Evans and Leo Gonzalez have also been ruled out. The rest of the guys out for the Sounders are Josh Ford, Michael Tetteh, Steve Zakuani and Babayele Sodade. Alvaro Fernandez was listed as probable, but he's on the squad and ready to go.

Vancouver Whitecaps - For Vancouver, Bryan Sylvestre is out after having right knee surgery. I think that was last year he had it and he's still recovering. Atiba Harris is listed as questionable with a right quad contusion. He has made four appearances this season after making appearances in the first five matches of last year, but he's missed the last two.


A lot of Soccer to be played on Saturday. We got the NPower Championship, which the second division of English football. West Ham United and Blackpool will square off in that match kicks off at 7am on FOX Soccer. The winner of that match will book their place in the Premier League next season along with Reading and Southampton. Just to recap the teams that are relegated from the Premier League, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Bolton Wanderers and Blackburn Rovers. So there's that match. Then at 11:30am, it's the UEFA Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Chelsea and much to the delight of the Munich supporters, the final will be at Bayern's home ground Allianz Arena which was chosen to host this years final. So even if Bayern didn't make it to the final, the match would still be at Allianz Arena. Then shortly afterwards, the Sounders and the Whitecaps kickoff at 2pm. So I'm going to have a pretty busy day recapping these matches.

Top 5 worst Designated Players in MLS history

By Money Mike



When Major League Soccer began its history in 1996, lots and lots of fans cashed in and bought single game tickets or season tickets or.... whatever, but following the MLS Cup, people started to lose interest in MLS and the league underwent financial problems mainly because the level of play was too damn low. However following the 2006 season, MLS has taken steps to further internationalize the league in an effort to increase the level of play. One of the first moves they made was that they added the Designated Player rule to bring in Big Money players from around the World. Since the rule was formed, we've had a total of 36 designated players, but there have been a few that have been crap so as promised, here are the Top 5 worst Designated Players in MLS since the rule came into place.


We're gonna head up North to Vancouver and start off with Eric Hassli:

Eric Hassli - France
Vancouver Whitecaps (2011-present)
Salary - $900,000

And don't even try to give a bunch of dumbass excuses to back him up. OK, this guy has made 22 appearances and leads the Whitecaps with 10 goals, including one of the goals of the year in Seattle. I don't give a shit if he's the team leader in goals scored, this guy has sent off three times this season, which leads MLS. He must have taken Thomas Gravesen's example from his time with Raal Madrid when he got into a bitch fight with Robinho. Can you think of a striker who's been sent off three times in one season? Thierry Henry, NO. Fernando Torres, NO, however he did get sent off last weekend. Yakubu, NO. Lionel Messi, Not even close. Bottomline is, this guy does bring his A-game, but he sure doesn't know how to stay out of trouble. Will somebody teach him to just kick the ball instead of acting like a bitchass.


Now onto D.C. at #4, Marcelo Gallardo:

Marcelo Gallardo - Argentina
D.C. United (2008)
Salary - $1,874,006

This guy was released by Paris-Saint German and he dicided to take the money, only to just suck. 15 appearances and only 4 goals in one season. I know he was injured in the process, but fact that he did not bring his game at all was the reason he is listed on there. He was just lazy and made D.C. United's offense and midfield look like a bunch of freakin clowns. I don't blame him for taking the money, I blame D.C. for signing him because they won the Supporters Shield the past two seasons prior to 2008 and then they pick him up and they suck.


Moving on, at #3, this guy hasn't found a team has he? Nery Castillo:

Nery Castillo - Mexico
Chicago Fire (2010)
Salary - $1,788,061

This guy should've stayed with Olympiacos in the first place. He had a career year with them during the 2006-2007 season, scoring 12 goals in 25 apparances. The following year, he moves to Shakhtar, and he doesn't do anything with them. He then gives it a shot at Manchester City, it didn't work at all for him. Then with Dnipro, and he's garbage. Then he moves to the Chicago Fire on loan from Shakhtar and becomes their second or maybe their third designated player, and same result, he sucks. Nery Castillo, go back to Olympiacos instead of skimming around for clubs.


Now this guy was absolutely worthless and is pretty much the reason by the entire Toronto FC front office got the boot at #2, I'm talking about Mista:

Mista - Spain
Toronto FC (2010)
Salary - $987,338

This guy joins the club on July 7, 2010, and he just sucks ass. Quite a few designated players have joined MLS in 2010 and a lot of them prooved to be useless, but this was rediculus. Instead of leading Toronto FC to a playoff run, he helps this team go from Bad to worse, and there's a good reason why he's not on a club right now. Mista, you're way past your prime, time to Retire.


And finally at #1, this guy is complete ass on and off the pitch............... David Beckham:

David Beckham - England
Los Angeles Galaxy (2007-present)
Salary - $6,500,000

This guy had a very good season with the LA Galaxy in 2008, but then he gets loaned out to A.C. Milan during the offseason and he ends up losing his head. I mean how stupid can this guy get? He's been like "Keep me at Milan", "I want nothing to do with MLS" and blah blah blah. When he returned from his loan stint with Milan, the LA fans sure gave him a warm welcome back to LA. Booing him in his unofficial home debut in 2009. He then is loaned out to Milan again in the hopes of making the England squad for the 2010 World Cup and guess what he does? He tears his achillies tendon. He could've had around 100 appearances with LA by now, but after all that shit, he only has 71 appearacnes, which is rediculus. This guy must have brain damage. And asside from soccer, next time there's a Royal Wedding, keep this guy away from it. And I know some of you remember what happened the last time there was a Royal Wedding. Oh man, he fucked up real good. This guy has an OBE which has to do with the British Empire. His OBE was supposed to be pinned on the left lapel of his suit and instead, it's pinned on the right label. You may think it's a minor issue, but minor issues sometimes turn out to be an embarrasment, like this one. David Beckham, time to pack your bags and head on out.


Don't tell me:

I know. There were others that didn't make the list that sucked as well. Frank Rost (New York Red Bulls), yeah he's helping this team. And what I mean by that is helping them choke. Luis Angel Landin (Houston Dynamo), lost his way with the team in 2010. Freddie Ljungberg (Seattle Sounders FC, Chicago Fire), this guy did very well in 2009, he's sucked ever since. Milton Caraglio (New England Revolution), ASS!! He only had one good game and that's it.

Fredy Montero weaves his magic with two second half goals. Sounders win 3-1.

By Money Mike

The Seattle Sounders sent their 1,500 traveling fans home happy after deafeating the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1 in the final game at Empire Field. The final game drew 21,000 people total for the game, and if my memory isn't screwed up with this one, the first goal at Empire Field was scored by Eric Hassli and the last goal was scored by one of our own, Fredy Montero who came away with his second brace of the season and is now sitting at 9 goals to go with his 8 assists. With the win, Seattle re-takes second place in the Western Conference over Real Salt Lake who still have another game in hand between them and the Sounders.

Vancouver got off to a good start in the first half. In the 12th minute, Camilo sent in a low left foot ball into the middle of the area and found Mustapha Jarju making a run into the area. Jarju got a touch on it with the outside of his right boot, but just wide of Kasey Kellers goal. Jarju was signed during the midseason point as Vancouver's second Designated Player. He has still yet to score his first goal for the club, and he came close about 3 or 4 times on my count, but he's looked dangerous all game.

In the 18th minute, Kasey Keller came off his line and punched the ball out of the penalty area off a corner kick and collided with Michael Boxall in the process. The attack wasn't over though, Davide Chiumiento got the ball back into the box and ball somehow fell to Boxall, but he was denied on a one on one opportunity as Keller got down very well and made a huge stop on what was a sure goal.

Four minutes later, the home side broke through. Eric Hassli's no look ball found Davide Chiumiento, who just dodged the offside trap by about an inch before cutting the ball back for Camilo to tap the ball past Keller for the opening goal. There were a couple appeals for offside when the ball was played through to Chiumiento, but he looked even. I think either Jeff Parke or Jhon Kennedy Hurtado who played him onside. Camilo was offside when the ball was played to his teammate and when Chiumiento played the ball back to him, he was still offside. I think I need to look at the FIFA laws of the game because I don't know how Camilo wasn't offside on this part of the play.

Vancouver nearly doubled their advantage in the 25th minute. Former Sounder Peter Vagenas showed his guide by hitting a penetrating ball to send Jarju through on goal but the angle prooved to be too acute for the Gambian striker as he dragged his shot wide of the far post.

That's around the time when the Sounders woke up, and it wasn't long until they came back and equalized. In the 32nd minute, the Sounders launched a counterattack. Fredy Montero, after receiving a pass from Nate Jaqua, took the initial shot on goal that was parried away by Joe Cannon. The ball fell to Alvaro Fernandez who found himself with a clear shot on goal in the 18-yard box. Jay DeMerit slid in to block the shot, but the ball his hands and referee Jair Marrufo pointed to the penalty spot. I was expecting DeMerit to be sent off as well, but he was only shown a yellow card. None the less, Brad Evans who was 2 for 2 on PK's this season and just as he did the first two times, he sent the goalkeeper the wrong way and converted with ease.

In the second half, the Sounders got off to a fast start. Ozzie Alonso hit a low drive that forced a save from Joe Cannon. A minute later, Lamar Neagle hit a thunderus shot from outside the box that cannoned off the crossbar.

Mustapha Jarju came close to opening up his account a couple of times, first getting the ball caught in his feet after finding himself through on goal, then about a minute later he could only manage a weak shot on Keller after a nice piece of buildup play.

In the 63rd minute, it was Fredy Montero stealing the show. The Colombian took advantage of a poor cross from Jay DeMerit before taking a clever touch to fool his marker and floating one into the top left corner. That was one of the best goals I've seen from him in his Sounders career. It was surely the best goal I've seen from him this season. He was not done yet, four minutes later he made the captain look like an idiot again. Montero had a go from well out of the area which took a slight deflection off Jay DeMerit, and the Jabulani ball dipped over Joe Cannon and into the back of the net.

It was nice to see this guy finally make his MLS debut. Sammy Ochoa came on as a substitute for Nate Jaqua and I thought he did very well out there. He nearly got his first for the Rave Green after his header was denied by the post. The Sounders have been denied about 3 or 4 times by the post in this game. He's right now at the point where he's not 100% just yet, but at a point where he can come off the bench for the last 20-30 minutes of the match like he did last night. The fact is, Estudiantes Tecos didn't even give him a chance to show what he could do. And with the poor depth we have up front, with O'Brian White injured and both Nate Jaqua and Pat Noonan sucking ass again, I hope that he is 100% by the start of the playoffs, and the Sounders for sure will have a bye week in the playoffs, which would give them plenty of time.

The Sounders will once again step out of MLS play and into the Champions League. Tuesday night, they head to Guatemala to face Comunicaciones where they can book their place in the Quarterfinal with at least a draw.

Scoring summary:

Vancouver Whitecaps - Camilo 9 (Davide Chiumiento 9, Eric Hassli 2) 22'

Seattle Sounders FC - Brad Evans 5 (penalty kick) 32'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero 8 (unassisted) 64'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero 9 (Brad Evans 3, Leonardo Gonzalez 2) 67'

Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Brad Evans (caution; Dissent) 31'

Vancouver Whitecaps - Jay DeMerit (caution; Handball) 32'

Vancouver Whitecaps - Eric Hassli (caution; Unsporting behavior) 70'

Vancouver Whitecaps - Jeff Parke (caution; Unsporting behavior) 77'

Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller; Zach Scott, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Leonardo Gonzalez; Alvaro Fernandez (David Estrada 79'), Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans, Lamar Neagle; Fredy Montero, Nate Jaqua (Sammy Ochoa 66')

Vancouver Whitecaps - Joe Cannon; Jonothan Leathers (Jeb Brovsky 46'), Jay DeMerit, Michael Boxall, Jordan Harvey; Davide Chiumiento, Peter Vagenas, Gershon Koffie, Camilo; Eric Hassli (Long Tan 81'), Mustapha Jarju (Shea Salinas 58')

Ozzie Alonso's go ahead goal short lived as Eric Hassli's volley salvages a 2-2 draw for Vancouver

By Money Mike

In a wild last 10 minutes of the game, the Sounders, down 1-0, get an equalizer from Mauro Rosales to tie the match at 1. Then four minutes later, Ozzie Alonso takes advantage of a turnover and lashes a low left foot drive to put the Sounders up 2-1. But then a minute later, a turnover in the Sounders area by Jhon Kennedy Hurtado gave the Frenchman Eric Hassli a chance to make one touch and volley it over Kasey Keller off the far post and in the back of the net to salvage a 2-2 draw for the Whitecaps. No real changes in the standings except for one with Colorado pulling into a tie for 3rd place in the Western Conference after a late winner in stoppage time on the road against the Portland Timbers.

The Sounders started off bright in the early stages as they've obviously done almost every match this season.

In the 12th minute, Camilo tested Keller from a long way out. The Brazilian intercepted a sloppy pass from Ozzie Alonso and fired away from about 23-yards out (I can't measure it), but it was straight at Keller who punched it away.

Two minutes later, a beautiful ball through by Gershon Koffie found Shea Salinas breaking behind Tyson Wahl, but Salinas just missed wide. Salinas has been a pain all match long for Tyson Wahl. Camilo also played well this match. Another guy that I think caused the Seattle back line problems is Davide Chiumiento. And I think Koffie had a good game.

In the 20th minute, Joe Cannon came out to punch away a corner kick which was taken by Mauro Rosales. Alonso stepped up and volleyed with his left foot, but Joe Cannon was equal to it and he punched the ball over the crossbar.

In the 28th minute, the Whitecaps were awarded a PK. A pass from Jeb Brovsky set up Camilo down the left hand side and his clever cutback led to a foul in the box by Alonso and a penalty kick for Vancouver. Eric Hassli stepped up a calmly chipped the ball right down the middle with Keller diving to his left.

In the second half, the Sounders brought on Nate Jaqua and Miguel Montano to spark the Sounders attack and they nearly came through in the 67th minute but Jeb Brovsky snuffed out the danger with a good challenge.

It didn't take until minute 81' for Seattle to get their goal. Tyson Wahl's left footed cross was aimed towards Nate Jaqua. The ball came off a Whitecaps head and it redirected to Mauro Rosales and with Joe Cannon caught out of position, Rosales took it first time and put it away to tie the match at one. But the Sounders weren't done there.....

In the 84th minute, Brad Evans was tripped up, but the referee didn't call a foul. The Whitecaps however, failed to clear the ball away and Osvaldo Alonso made them pay with a low left foot drive from just outside the penalty area to put the Sounders on the high end of the game.

However, the lead only lasted a minute. The Whitecaps came right back to level the match at 2-2 when Eric Hassli took advantage of a poor pass from Jhon Hurtado and volleyed a dipping shot into the far corner for his second of the game and to erase a victory for the Men in Rave Green.

The Sounders next Saturday hit the road to face Toronto FC at BMO Field, Toronto are coming off a 2-2 draw to the LA Galaxy. The Whitecaps return home to face the Philadelphia Union the same day.

Scoring summary:

Vancouver Whitecaps - Eric Hassli 5 (penalty kick) 29'

Seattle Sounders FC - Mauro Rosales 1 (unassisted) 81'

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso 1 (unassisted) 84'

Vancouver Whitecaps - Eric Hassli 6 (unassisted) 85'

Misconduct summary:

Vancouver Whitecaps - Alain Rochat (caution; Reckless tackle) 46'+

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso (caution; descent) 47'+

Vancouver Whitecaps - Camilo (caution; Reckless tackle) 55'

Vancouver Whitecaps - Jonathan Leathers (caution; Delaying a restart) 71'

Lineups:

Vancouver Whitecaps - Joe Cannon; Jonathan Leathers, Jay DeMerit, Mouloud Akloul, Alain Rochat; Shea Salinas (Bilal Duckett 90'), Gershon Koffie, Jeb Brovsky (Michael Nanchoff 85'), Camilo; Davide Chiumiento (Peter Vagenas 73'), Eric Hassli

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller; James Riley, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Tyson Wahl; Brad Evans, Osvaldo Alonso, Mauro Rosales (Erik Friberg 83), Lamar Neagle (Nate Jaqua 59'); Fredy Montero, Mike Fucito (Miguel Montano 65')