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

Seattle Sounders FC monthly rewind: May 2012

By Money Mike


The Sounders started the month on a high note with wins over the LA Galaxy, the Philadelphia Union and FC Dallas. Since then, they have struggled to produce as they are winless in their last four MLS matches. After a long month where the Sounders had to play a total of eight matches, including the U.S. Open Cup, I'm going to look back and give you guys some positives (Bryan Meredith filling in very well in goal) and negatives (lack of finishing and poor defending) from this past month and look ahead to what we have going on for the month of June, including Steve Zakuani's road to recovery.


Positives:

Back on May 2nd against the LA Galaxy, Bryan Meredith came on as a halftime sub for Michael Gspurning after he suffered a hip injury. He was ruled out for 2-3 weeks, but I wasn't surprised that Meredith got the start in goal for the rest of the month. Since filling in, Meredith has done an excellent job as he finished the month with a GAA of 0.92 in six starts and he also has a couple of clean sheets. The Sounders have dealt with their goalkeeping crisis since the end of last season starting with Terry Boss's season ending concussion which also forced him to retire. Josh Ford has been dealing with a few injuries as well and Andrew Weber has had ankle problems that dropped him to the #3 spot in the Depth Chart. I still remember Bryan Meredith making his debut against Monterrey in the final Champions League group stage match and putting together a great performance between the pipes because he just joined the team at the time following Kitsap Pumas PDL Championship run. I've been impressed with this kid and I think he has a great future ahead of him, but unfortunately he won't be in goal much longer when Gspurning returns in a couple of weeks.

I think Fredy Montero has had a solid month for the Sounders and has answered all the stupid and unnecessary critics with four goals and three assists during the month. People have been calling him lazy and I will say that he hasn't been aggressive at the start of the season, but last month was a different story as he really began to challenge the defenders and test the goalkeepers. The Montero/Johnson partnership has had its ups and downs during the month, but I think it will start to take shape as summer rolls around. Montero has been accounted for six of the seven goals Seattle has scored in league play last month.


Negatives:

I'm not sure what to make of this. Last four MLS matches, poor defending and on the other side, poor finishing. This is definitely not the Sounders team we saw at the last half of the 2011 season all the way up to the midweek road match against FC Dallas. On the defensive side, the man who has disappointed me the most is Adam Johansson. He has been caught napping in his last three starts and those three times he got caught, the opposition went ahead and scored. He is 10 times better than that. The coaching staff needs to get in his head, get him fired up or whatever. They need to do something because getting caught in three straight matches is ridiculous. The defense needs to wake up and the offense needs to finish when they get the chance.


Western Conference standings:

1. Real Salt Lake, 9-3-2 (29 pts) GF 22 GA 14 GD 8
2. San Jose Earthquakes, 8-3-3 (27 pts) GF 27 GA 17 GD 10
3. Seattle Sounders FC, 7-3-3 (24 pts) GF 16 GA 9 GD 7
4. Colorado Rapids, 6-6-1 (19 pts) GF 20 GA 18 GD 2
5. Vancouver Whitecaps, 5-3-4 (19 pts) GF 13 GA 14 GD -1
6. Chivas USA, 4-6-3 (15 pts) GF 9 GA 14 GD -5
7. Portland Timbers, 3-5-4 (13 pts) GF 12 GA 15 GD -3
8. FC Dallas, 3-8-4 (13 pts) GF 15 GA 24 GD -9
9. Los Angeles Galaxy, 3-8-2 (11 pts) GF 15 GA 21 GD -6


Look ahead to the month of June:

There's really not much going on this month unlike last month. All we have are four league matches and a couple of U.S. Open Cup matches as well, unless the Sounders end of losing to Cal FC this Tuesday.

Upcoming schedule: June 2012

June 5 vs Cal FC, 7:00pm (soundersfc.com, FOX Soccer)*
June 16 @ Montreal Impact, 4:30pm (KONG TV)
June 20 vs Sporting Kansas City, 7:00pm (KONG TV)
June 24 @ Portland Timbers, 2:00pm (ESPN)
June 30 @ New England Revolution, 4:30pm (KONG TV)

Note: * - U.S. Open Cup match

Now this is huge for the Sounders. Last night Steve Zakuani appeared in a reserve match against the Whitecaps reserves and played a full 45 minutes. It was great to see him back out there as he winds down his long road to recovery from that broken leg he suffered April 23rd of last year. With the struggles the Sounders have gone through late last month and the fact that they have yet to get past the MLS Cup Quarterfinal, having Zakuani back will be a major boost for the Seattle Sounders on their road to MLS Cup 2012.

Fredy Montero leads the Sounders to a fifth straight win

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders came out on top yet again and are now just one point back of Real Salt Lake first place in the Western Conference. Led by two second half goals from Fredy Montero, the Sounders came away with their fifth straight win as they defeated FC Dallas 2-0 to extend their record to 7-1-1 (22 points). Speaking of Real Salt Lake, the Sounders return home this Saturday to face RSL in a huge Western Conference matchup. Remember last year, these two teams met in the MLS Cup quarterfinal and just like the first two seasons, the Sounders couldn't get past the quarterfinal round. They lost the first leg 3-0 and in the second leg, they did very well to rally back but not good enough as they lost 3-2 on aggregate. The Sounders have a shot at payback as they battle RSL this Saturday in a battle for first place in the Western Conference.

In the first half, FC Dallas looked like the better side and they nearly broke loose after a few big chances. In the seventh minute, Fabian Castillo used his speed to get past Zach Scott to the endline and he decided to go for goal from an impossible angle and he hit side netting. That was a little selfish from Castillo because he had Jackson and Scott Sealy in support and also had Jair Benitez trailing on the play. Castillo is an exciting young player but as exciting as he is, he tends to hog the ball rather than pass to his teammates like in this match where he did that quite a few times. I think this is where he'll get better in years to come.

In the 17th minute, the Sounders should've had a goal. After Dallas got caught on the counter attack, Eddie Johnson played the ball out wide to Andy Rose who squared it across for Mauro Rosales who's shot was right at Kevin Hartman. Rosales then followed up and hit the post before FC Dallas could clear the ball out of danger. I really do not understand how Dallas survived that. In reality, those chances go in almost 99.99% of the time. FC Dallas got lucky there.

In the 39th minute, the Sounders were lucky not to find themselves a goal down. Fabian Castillo, who has given Zach Scott all kinds of problems in this game, sent in a cross towards Andrew Jacobson who headed the ball back across for an unmarked Scott Sealy who directed his header towards goal and Bryan Meredith got up well and deflected the shot off the crossbar. Sealy had a chance at a rebound, but he spilled it and Meredith pounced on the ball. Not only was Zach Scott tested in this match, left back Marc Burch had a tough go against Jackson. There was one play where Burch dragged Jackson to the ground because if he hadn't, Jackson would've been clear of the defense and more than likely would've given Dallas the lead but Burch dragged him down and picked up a yellow card.

With just over 20 minutes to go, the Sounders broke the deadlock. Cordell Cato brushed Hernan Pertuz aside and sent in a low cross for Fredy Montero. Montero then beat two defenders and ripped his shot past Kevin Hartman and in at the near post. Three minutes later, Montero wasn't done. Alex Caskey sent in a low cross and the ball deflected to Montero for a diving header to double Seattle's advantage and cap off their fifth straight win.


Observations:

Bryan Meredith picked up his second consecutive clean sheet since taking over for the injured Michael Gspurning who could make his return next Saturday for Seattle's Cascadia Derby match against the Vancouver Whitecaps at BC Place. He was kept busy all match as the defense looked like they were not on the same page a few times in this game but Bryan Meredith has done a terrific job between the pipes and that should really boost his confidence for Saturdays match against Real Salt Lake. So far, Meredith has gone 225 minutes without conciding a goal and will have to continue doing that for at least 90 more minutes.

Cordell Cato came on with 25 minutes to go in the game and I thought he did very well on his debut. Hopefully we see out there quite a bit this season. He has a ton of potential and he did show a bit of that last night. During the offseason when he was interviewed on soundersfc.com, he said this is his only year with the Sounders, but I think he's going to stay here in Seattle for a while. With what he's shown, I don't see why Cato doesn't deserve a spot on this team in the future.

Another great performance by the Sounders and with a big match coming up against a team that knocked them out of the playoffs last season, they got to feel hungry for revenge. Hopefully the Sounders can pull it off against Real Salt Lake and not only picked up their sixth straight win, but take over first place in the Western Conference.


Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero 2 (Cordell Cato 1) 68'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero 3 (Alex Caskey 2) 71'


Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Marc Burch (caution; foul) 30'

Seattle Sounders FC - Jeff Parke (caution; foul) 42'

FC Dallas - George John (caution; foul) 57'

Seattle Sounders FC - Zach Scott (caution; foul) 75'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero (caution; foul) 81'


Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Bryan Meredith; Zach Scott, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Marc Burch; Mauro Rosales (Fredy Montero 46'), Andy Rose, Brad Evans (Servando Carrasco 77'), Alex Caskey; David Estrada (Cordell Cato 66'), Eddie Johnson

FC Dallas - Kevin Hartman; Zach Loyd, George John, Matt Hedges, Hernan Pertuz (Ruben Luna 84'); Jackson, Andrew Jacobson, James Marcelin, Jair Benitez; Fabian Castillo, Scott Sealy (Brek Shea 70')

Sounders look to build on their fast start as they travel to face FC Dallas

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders are off their best start in franchise history and they will look to continue their hot start tomorrow night on the road against FC Dallas. Last week, the Sounders got their first home win against the LA Galaxy with a 2-0 win and followed it up with a 1-0 win over the Philadelphia Union for their fourth straight win. Tomorrow night, they face a short-handed FC Dallas side who will be without a few of their key players. Last Sunday, Dallas we're reduced to nine players in the first half of their match against the Colorado Rapids. Daniel Hernandez was sent off after picking up two yellow cards and a couple minutes later, Blas Perez who is tied with Brek Shea for the team lead in goals scored with three goals was given a straight red card after his studs caught Drew Moor in the thigh while he was challenging for the ball. So both of them will be out for Dallas and there's also a chance they'll be without Brek Shea as well.

Some people were complaining about the Perez challenge, saying that it was unintentional and shouldn't have been a red card, but for challenges like that, you have to give a red card regardless of whether or not it was intentional. I saw the video of the red card and I believe the referee got the decision right. The law states that "Any player who lunges at an opponent in challenging for the ball from the front, from the side or from behind using one or both legs, with excessive force and endangering the safety of an opponent is guilty of serious foul play."

In six meetings against FC Dallas, Seattle is 2-1-3. Last time these two met in league play, the Sounders came away with a 1-0 road win at FC Dallas Stadium last August. Unlike last year, Dallas have stuggled to produce so far and are currently stitting on a four match winless streak which has hurt them in the standings in this early part of the season while the Sounders are riding high with a four game winning streak and are only three points back of the San Jose Earthquakes and Real Salt Lake who they will face this Saturday at CenturyLink Field.


Injury report:

Seattle Sounders FC - For the Sounders, Josh Ford, Michael Tetteh, Steve Zakuani, Babayele Sodade and Michael Gspurning of course are out. Alvaro Fernandez is fully recovered from a quad strain that kept him for a couple weeks, however Sigi will decide whether to play him tomorrow, or save him for Saturday's big match.

FC Dallas - For the Hoops, David Ferreira has been out since April 2011. Believe it or not folks, in case you didn't know by now, the day after Zakuani suffered a broken leg, Ferreira suffered a broken ankle in Dallas's match against Vancouver. He's been out ever since. Ricardo Villar, Andrew Wiedeman, Carlos Rodriguez, Bobby Warshaw and Ugo Ihemelu are out as well and as I mentioned earlier, Brek Shea could be out as well due to a turf toe on his left foot. Right now Shea is listed as Questionable.


Suspensions:

Seattle Sounders FC - Leo Gonzalez was just penalized by the MLS Disciplinary Committee for stomping on Sheanon Williams last match against the Philadelphia Union, so he'll be suspended for this match.

FC Dallas - As I mentioned earlier, Blas Perez and Daniel Hernandez are suspended for tomorrow nights match after they each picked up a red card in their match against Colorado.

Alot to play for in this early part of the season for the Seattle Sounders as they hope to inch closer to the top spot in the Western Conference standings or maybe even take over the top spot. Depending on the outcome of this match, Saturdays match against Real Salt Lake could turn out to be a battle for first place in the West. I understand it's early in the season, but when you're in a tight race in the standings, every game feels like a must win. The Sounders have two games in hand with the San Jose Earthquakes and three games in hand with Real Salt Lake and it's important that they take advantage of the games in hand, which they've been able to do so far and they should feel confident having gotten off to a 6-1-1 start.

Kasey Keller comes up huge in the final seconds to salvage a big win for the Sounders.

By Money Mike

In a highly anticipated match between two of the hottest Western Conference teams. Most would've thought FC Dallas would come away with a win, if not a draw. The fact was, Seattle had not won a single match in the state of Texas, and the temperature at kick-off was a fucking 106 degrees. But the Seattle Sounders got through all of that, as Mauro Rosales's 15th minute goal and Kasey Keller's last second heroics prove to be the story in their 1-0 victory over FC Dallas. With the win Seattle climbs above Dallas for 2nd place in the West and remain 6 back of LA for the top spot in the West.

Here's how Seattle got their goal. Lamar Neagle wide left looked to have given the ball away, but the ball bounced away from Ugo Ihemelu and to the feet of Fredy Montero who make a good run and led a streaking Mauro Rosales down the right flank. Rosales fired a low shot from 18 yards out to beat Kevin Hartman who was making his 379th MLS appearance which is now the all-time record. Ihemelu was partnered in the center with Zach Loyd in this match because former UW Husky George John was suspended for the match. There were rumors about George John possibly leaving for England to join Blackburn Rovers in the winter. Zach Loyd had to leave the game early after colliding with Fredy Montero and possibly injuring his leg in the process. Head coach Schellas Hyndman was forced to make an early change, bringing in Jeremy Hall, who was acquired in a trade with the Portland Timbers that sent Eric Alexander the other way, to play right back and move Jackson into the center.

Zach Scott made his third straight start at defense. Getting the start at right back over James Riley with a major test, marking the always dangerous Brek Shea. And all he did was make their go-to guy look like a complete Bozo all game long. This guy hasn't been out on the pitch much since the first couple games of the 2009 season and I was expecting Seattle to cut him during the preseason, but now I think he has a spot in this team. I think he played probably his best match of his MLS career.

Jhon Kennedy Hurtado made his first MLS appearance since suffering an MCL Sprain in their match down at Portland against the Timbers on July 10th and nearly doubled Seattle's lead when he headed the ball past Kevin Hartman, but the offside flag was up.

In the 56th minute, the Sounders could've been reduced to ten men, instead, it was Dallas who were reduced to ten men. Daniel Cruz went down just outside the penalty area and it looked like Erik Friberg was going to be shown a second yellow for the challenge, but instead referee Dave Gantar booked Cruz for diving and that was his second yellow of the game so FC Dallas had to play with 10-men the rest of the game. In all honesty I think this referee has just done a horrible job with this game. I think that was a bad decision, but this is MLS. And Dallas now knows what it's like to be victimized.

Dallas desite playing a man down continued to push and in the 94th minute, they came so close to stealing a point in this game. Kasey Keller punched a free kick clear, but the ball fell straight to Bruno Guarda and Seattle looked doomed, but Kasey Keller came up with probably the biggest save of his life because not only did he save that effort, he saved the victory for the Seattle Sounders.

Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Mauro Rosales 4 (Fredy Montero 6) 15'

Misconduct summary:

FC Dallas - Daniel Cruz (caution; Reckless tackle) 3'

Seattle Sounders FC - Erik Friberg (caution; Tactical foul) 6'

FC Dallas - Ugo Ihemelu (caution; Reckless foul) 27'

FC Dallas - Daniel Cruz (caution; Simulation) 56'

FC Dallas - Daniel Cruz (ejection; Second caution) 56'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero (caution; Reckless foul) 60'

Seattle Sounders FC - Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (caution; Tactical foul) 64'

Seattle Sounders FC - Zach Scott (caution; Handball) 94'+

Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller; Zach Scott, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Leonardo Gonzalez; Mauro Rosales, Osvaldo Alonso, Erik Friberg (Brad Evans 63'), Lamar Neagle; Mike Fucito (Pat Noonan 78'), Fredy Montero (Alvaro Fernandez 68')

FC Dallas - Kevin Hartman; Jackson (Fabian Castillo 73'), Ugo Ihemelu, Zach Loyd (Jeremy Hall 25'), Jair Benitez; Marvin Chavez, Daniel Cruz, Daniel Hernandez (Bruno Guarda 81'), Ricardo Villar, Brek Shea; Maicon Santos

Kevin Hartman keeps the Sounders off the scoresheet. Dallas win 1-0.

By Money Mike

In the final game of three straight matches at Qwest Field. The Sounders were the better side from the first kick to the final whistle, but all the bullshit calls made by Boldomero Toledo plus great goalkeeping by veteran goalkeeper Kevin Hartman resulted in a 1-0 Sounders loss. FC Dallas has now gone 489 minutes without conceding a goal. The last goal Dallas conceded was a 51st minute goal by Landon Donovan in a 2-1 home victory on May 1st.

The Sounders started off bright in the opening minutes, but in the 17th minute, the defense ends up getting caught on the break.

After Seattle was dispossessed, Brek Shea's vertical run from midfield was met perfectly by Andrew Jacobson who slid the through the defense to Shea who beat Jeff Parke and calmly placed it past Kasey Keller and into the far corner for his 4th goal of the season and an early 1-0 FC Dallas lead.

Seattle nearly pulled one back in the 18th minute, but Erik Friberg's attempt was cleared by Zach Loyd.

In the 42nd minute, Fredy Montero chipped a pass into the area for Mauro Rosales who was able to chest the ball down and strike it with his right foot, but Kevin Hartman stood his ground and kept the ball in front of him.

In the second half, Dallas had a shot to go up by two but the attack broke down when Brek Shea's attempted pass to Fabian Castillo was poorly executed.

In the 64th, a long throw in found the head of Mike Fucito, but Kevin Hartman tipped his effort off the crossbar. Fucito had a chance on the rebound but Hartman came up big again.

The Sounders after picking up only 4 points in their last 3 home matches now head to Real Salt Lake on Saturday. On the other side, FC Dallas look to keep their clean sheet streak alive as they travel to Houston to take on the Dynamo.

Scoring summary:

FC Dallas - Brek Shea 4 (Andrew Jacobson 2) 17'

Misconduct summary:

FC Dallas - George John (caution; Delaying a restart) 44'

Seattle Sounders FC - Zach Scott (caution; Unsporting behavior) 82'

Lineups:

FC Dallas - Kevin Hartman; Jackson, George John, Ugo Ihemelu, Zach Loyd; Marvin Chavez (Ricardo Villar 89'), Daniel Hernandez, Andrew Jacobson, Eric Alexander (Bobby Warshaw 74'), Brek Shea; Fabian Castillo (Ruben Luna 64')

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller; Zach Scott, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Leonardo Gonzalez; Erik Friberg, Mauro Rosales (Lamar Neagle 83'), Osvaldo Alonso, Alvaro Fernandez (Roger Levesque 64'); Fredy Montero (Nate Jaqua 75'), Michael Fucito

Seattle Sounders FC vs FC Dallas preview

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders get ready for their final match of three straight at home as they play host to the runners-up from last years MLS Cup, FC Dallas. Last year, these two teams came away level pegging the two times they faced each other. The first match down at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco ended 2-2 after some controversy that led to a game tying PK Goal at the end of stoppage time. The next match at Qwest Field ended 1-1 after David Ferreira, who went on to win MVP, equalized off a left foot volley. Seattle are 1-0-3 against Dallas and are looking to head to Salt Lake with a 2-0-1 homestand.


Injury report:

FC Dallas - Edson Edward has a right knee ACL tear and he is out. Speaking of the MVP David Ferreira, he has a fractured ankle and he is gonna be out for a long time. Bryan Leyva has an ankle injury and he is also out. The guys listed as questionable are Jiar Benitez, Maykel Galindo, and Milton Rodriguez.

Seattle Sounders FC - For Seattle, of course, no Zakuani and no O'Brian White. Brad Evans is questionable. Erik Friberg is now listed as probable. And Mauro Rosales is no longer on the injured list.


Key matchups:

Fabian Castillo vs Jhon Kennedy Hurtado - Ferreira maybe gone for a while but Dallas have another weapon. Fabian Castillo, the youngest Designated Player in MLS History, only 18-years of age. He comes in from Deportivo Cali where he made 18 appearances and scored 3 goals and so far this season with FC Dallas, he has made 9 appearances and scored 2 goals. With MVP Ferreira gone, it's going to be Castillo who will test his fellow Colombian.

Marvin Chavez vs Tyson Wahl - I like this matchup here between Chavez and Wahl. Chavez is very good at creating goals and Tyson Wahl has done very well defensively since taking over for Leo Gonzalez and he also provides an attacking option for the Sounders.

Fredy Montero vs George John - Here's another good matchup, Fredy Montero, who is still due for a breakout game and former Washington Husky George John. I think now is the best time for Montero to bring his A Game, and all of it, against George John. This matchup should determine the result.

Seattle Sounders to play Panamanian club San Francisco F.C. in the Champions League qualifying round

By Money Mike


The CONCACAF Champions League took place earlier this morning at the CONCACAF Headquarters in New York City and the Seattle Sounders, who qualified by winning the U.S. Open Cup last year, have been drawn against Panamanian club San Francisco F.C. in the preliminary round of the Champions League. The winner of this matchup has been drawn into Group D with Monterrey (Mexico), Comunicaciones (Guatemala), and the winner of Herediano (Costa Rica) and the 3rd place team from the CFU Tournament. The Sounders are one of five MLS clubs that will take part in this years Champions League. The LA Galaxy got in by finishing with the best overall record in 2010. Colorado Rapids got in by winning the MLS Cup. FC Dallas were the runners-up in the MLS Cup. Seattle's rivals Vancouver Whitecaps could take part in the Champions League if they beat Toronto FC in the Canadian Championship. Here's the draw from the preliminary round to the group stage.

Preliminary round (Teams listed 1st will host 1st leg):

Motagua (Honduras) vs Municipal (Guatemala)

UNAM or Morelia (Mexico) vs CFU runner-up

Isidro Metapan (El Salvador) vs CFU champion

Santos Laguna (Mexico) vs Olimpia (Honduras)

Alianza (El Salvador) vs FC Dallas

Toronto FC or Vancouver Whitecaps (Canada) vs Real Esteli or Walter Ferretti (Nicaragua)

San Francisco (Panama) vs Seattle Sounders FC

Herediano (Costa Rica) vs CFU third place

Group stage:

Group A:
Los Angeles Galaxy
Alajuelense (Costa Rica)
Clausura runner-up (Mexico)/CFU runner-up
Motagua (Honduras)/Municipal (Guatemala)

Group B:
Colorado Rapids
Real Espana (Honduras)
Santos Laguna (Mexico)/Olimpia (Honduras)
Isidro Metapan (El Salvador)/CFU champion

Group C:
Clausura champion (Mexico)
Tauro (Panama)
Alianza (El Salvador)/FC Dallas
Canadian champion/Real Esteli or Walter Ferretti (Nicaragua)

Group D:
Monterrey (Mexico)
Comunicaciones (Guatemala)
San Francisco (Panama)/Seattle Sounders FC
Herediano (Costa Rica)/CFU third place