Sounders take down the Timbers 3-0 in front of 66,452

By Money Mike


After clinching a fourth consecutive playoff berth up in Vancouver and with four games remaining in the regular season, it was important that the Seattle Sounders ended their regular season on a high note, starting with a stretch of three straight at home. And what better way to kick off that stretch with a victory over your arch rivals in front of a record crowd. Last night, the Sounders defeated the Portland Timbers 3-0 in front of a record crowd of 66,452. After a somewhat disappointing month of September, the Men in Rave Green bounced back and completely dominated this match on both sides of the ball from start to finish to kick off the final month of the regular season. The Sounders also move up to third place and are three points behind Real Salt Lake for second position in the Western Conference with a game in hand. These two will square off on October 17th at CenturyLink and if the Sounders can win this match, they will move up to second in the Western Conference. This could be a potential quarterfinal matchup in the MLS Cup playoffs, but we don't know for sure. The Sounders still have three games to go before we find out who their opponent will be.

In the 17th minute, Portland fails to capitalize on some miscommunication. Jack Jewsbury's corner found Rodney Wallace unmarked in the middle of the area but he missed wide of Michael Gspurning's left hand side. The problem there was either Jeff Parke or Brad Evans were supposed to cover him, but they were both marking David Horst.

In the 25th minute, the Timbers struck first. The problem was, they scored in their own net. Ozzie Alonso took control of the ball from midfield. Adam Johansson made a darting run from his right back position. Alonso threaded the ball through and Christian Tiffert made a nice dummy and Johansson had plenty of space to cross after Rodney Wallace tried to break up the play with a sliding tackle and the Swedish international played the ball across looking for Fredy Montero and Mamadou Danso kicked the ball into his own net and the Sounders took a 1-0 lead after an own goal by Futty.

Three minutes later, the Sounders doubled their lead. Brad Evans delivered a very good ball to the middle and right there was Eddie Johnson, unmarked and he made the most of it as he slid the ball home on a half volley for his 14th goal of the season and the Sounders jumped out to 2-nil lead with two quick goals. As for Eddie, he has really improved his form throughout the year since returning to MLS after a dreadful spell in Europe. And earlier today Eddie Johnson was called up to the U.S. national team for their crucial World Cup qualifying matches on the road against Antigua and Barbuda on Friday and at home next Tuesday against Guatemala. I'll talk a little more about that later.

A minute later, the Sounders nearly made it 3-0. Mauro Rosales fed the ball to Eddie Johnson, who then poked the ball to Fredy Montero after he saw there was no room to turn and shoot. Montero took a couple of small touches and went for the floater and Donovan Ricketts got a hand to the ball to deflect it off the post. Did these guys not prepare themselves for this match (the Timbers)? Do they not remember that they've played against this guy before? He's scored three times against this team, they should know that they can not give Fredy Montero that kind of space, because he'll burn you in a blink of an eye.

Nearing the end of the first half, Portland looked to pull one back. Diego Chara poked the ball back to Franck Songo'o, who saw that he had room to shoot and decided to have a crack at goal and was just inches wide.

In the 61st minute, the Sounders would extend the lead to 3-0. A long throw in by Brad Evans found the head of Eddie Johnson who flicked the ball to Fredy Montero who's flick was denied by Donovan Ricketts. The Timbers struggled to clear the ball out of danger and Fredy Montero put home the rebound for his 13th of the season. Both EJ and Montero have now combined for 27 goals this season. And that would turn out to be the final score of the match as the Men in Rave Green sent 98% of the fans home happy with as they struck three times and came away with three points.


Observations:

People have been buzzing about this tifo for quite a while now. As you can see on this picture, it doesn't have the full tifo. I do have a shot of this tifo on my mobile phone, but it's not a great picture. One because my phone is crap and two I was in the nosebleed section. This was shared on the FOX Soccer fan page on facebook (that was the first pic I saw since coming home from the match) and we had a bunch of morons from England saying the same B.S. as always (hopefully you know what I mean).

I was really impressed with performance from start to finish from the lads. Down in Portland, they had a lead in that game and were outplayed since. They were outplayed against San Jose and were outplayed against Vancouver. And although the numbers favored the Timbers, you have to say the Sounders were the better side in this game. This is what we want with the playoffs looming.

As for me, my perfect record in attending Sounders matches rolls on. Since they moved to MLS, I've been to six Sounder matches and they've won all six of them. I've been to a few before that when they were in the USL, and they've drawn and lost a couple during that stretch. And there was no doubt I enjoyed being part of it. Mainly because the entire stadium was packed. CenturyLink Field is a great venue for soccer and the U.S. soccer federation needs to think about making this place a possible venue for any future USA matches. As for you folks out there. If you haven't gone to a Sounders match at all, I would suggest you get your tickets to one of the last two remaining matches on October 17th or the 21st. You would have to be an idiot to deny that Seattle is the greatest Soccer City in America.


Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Own goal (Mamadou Danso) 25'

Seattle Sounders FC - Eddie Johnson 14 (Brad Evans 4) 28'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero 13 (unassisted) 62'


Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Christian Tiffert (caution; foul) 69'

Portland Timbers - Diego Chara (caution; foul) 72'


Lineups:

Portland Timbers - Donovan Ricketts; Lovel Palmer, David Horst, Mamadou Danso (Eric Brunner 68'), Rodney Wallace; Sal Zizzo (Mike Fucito 46'), Jack Jewsbury, Darlington Nagbe (Eric Alexander 78'), Diego Chara, Franck Songo'o; Bright Dike

Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning; Adam Johansson, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Leonardo Gonzalez (Marc Burch 77'); Mauro Rosales (Andy Rose 87'), Osvaldo Alonso, Christian Tiffert (David Estrada 88'), Brad Evans; Eddie Johnson, Fredy Montero

Sounders and Timbers each come away with a point after a 1-1 draw in Portland

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders will have to wait another week to clinch a spot in the playoffs for the fourth straight year. On Saturday, the Sounders made their second trip to Jeld-Wen Field this season and came away with a valuable point as they drew 1-1 with their arch rivals the Portland Timbers. As for the Cascadia Cup, the Sounders do retain the Cup for now. Had the Sounders lost the match, then the Timbers would've won the Cup and a couple members of the Emerald City Supporters would've had to walk across the field and hand the Cup over to the Timbers Army (I wonder how that would feel. Surrendering the Cup on their ground).

There wasn't much action early on in the match. In the 10th minute, Fredy Montero got through Rodney Wallace and Kosuke Kimura after juggling the ball a few times and chipped the ball the far post for Eddie Johnson but Hayner Mosquera got in the way. Portland struggled to clear the danger. Ozzie Alonso found Andy Rose on the far side. Rose tried to play the ball to the near post for Steve Zakuani but Mosquera got in the way again. The ball fell to Alonso for a half volley, but he didn't strike it cleanly and it went wide left.

We're gonna fast forward to the 38th minute now. Rodney Wallace fed the ball to Franck Songo'o who has been a pain in the ass for the Sounders back line all game long, here's one of the reasons why. Songo'o cut inside to his right foot and gave a rip from outside the area and it was parried away by Michael Gspurning. That was the first time that the Timbers tested the Austrian goalkeeper in this match. The Sounders can't let Franck Songo'o cut inside to his right foot because that's where he's dangerous.

In the 44th minute, Sal Zizzo had a shot blocked by Jeff Parke and cleared out of the box by Brad Evans. However, the clearance fell right to Jack Jewsbury who gave it a go but the ball bounced wide of Gspurning's right hand post.

In the 51st minute, the Timbers suffered a big blow. Goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts, who was acquired last month by the Timbers from the Montreal Impact in exchange for Troy Perkins, collided in the box with Eddie Johnson as he was challenging for the ball. Here's what happened, Zakuani fed Andy Rose who then sent in a low cross toward the near post for Fredy Montero who just missed getting a head on it, otherwise it probably would've been a goal. Ricketts came off his line and punch the ball away and while doing so, he collides with EJ. Ricketts has been dealing with injurys since he joined MLS in 2009. Of course in the 2009 MLS Cup final against Real Salt Lake here in Seattle, he was subbed out after suffering a right hand injury. He missed half of last season with a broken wrist. Now in this match, I remember in the first half intermittently he was holding on to his left arm. He did stay in the match for a few more minutes, but all signs showed that he had to come out and he was replaced by Joe Bendik in the 57th minute.

Seconds later, Bendik was tested immediately and beaten. On the restart, goalkeeper Michael Gspurning booted the ball long down field. The ball found Fredy Montero who chested the ball down, turned and struck it beautifully over the head of Joe Bendik and into the net for his 12th of the season and the Sounders took a 1-0 lead at Jeld-Wen Field.

In the 78th minute, I don't know what happened on this play but the bottomline is the Portland Timbers leveled this match at one. Jack Jewsbury curled the ball out toward the near post and found Rodney Wallace unmarked. Now again, I'm trying to figure out what the hell happened here. I've been looking at this over and over again. From what I saw, the header bounced off Leo Gonzalez who was covering the far post. Michael Gspurning was trying to pounce on it, but Gonzalez just as he was trying to clear the ball just kicked the ball into his own net. This could've been ruled an own goal on Leo and MLS can still go back and change the scoring on that. The only thing that matters though is that the goal counted and the Timbers leveled this match at one.

Now onto the second minute of stoppage time, the Timbers nearly stole one late. Jack Jewsbury took the corner again, this time an inswinger. This one was intended for David Horst, who scored against Seattle in the last meeting between these two, but the ball fell to Bright Dike and he struck the ball off the post and Adam Johansson alertly cleared the ball out of danger. Everybody thought that was in. Michael Gspurning had no chance at that one, but the post saved the Sounders on that one and the game ends in a 1-1 draw.

The Sounders head to Honduras to take on Marathon on Wednesday knowing that a win will earn them a spot in the Champions League Quarterfinal. Eddie Johnson is suspended for Saturdays home match against the San Jose Earthquakes for Yellow Card accumulations so he will make the trip to Honduras. Mauro Rosales and Christian Tiffert will not make the trip to Honduras however because they are dealing with injuries. However, there's a chance that they'll recover in time for the San Jose match. We need those guys out there, we're getting to a point where we can't afford to lose a key player to injury that could potentially rule them out for the playoffs.


Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero 12 (Michael Gspurning 1) 57'

Portland Timbers - Rodney Wallace 1 (Jack Jewsbury 4) 78'


Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Eddie Johnson (caution; foul) 26'

Seattle Sounders FC - Mario Martinez (caution; foul) 79'


Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning; Adam Johansson, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Leonardo Gonzalez; Brad Evans (Marc Burch 78'), Osvaldo Alonso, Andy Rose, Steve Zakuani (Mario Martinez 70'); Eddie Johnson, Fredy Montero

Portland Timbers - Donovan Ricketts (Joe Bendik 57'); Kosuke Kimura, Hayner Mosquera, David Horst, Rodney Wallace; Darlington Nagbe, Jack Jewsbury, Diego Chara; Sal Zizzo (Kalif Alhassan 83'), Bright Dike, Franck Songo'o (Danny Mwanga 72')

Sounders FC monthly rewind: June 2012

By Money Mike


So I've been a couple days late with my work here because I just got re-settled after spending four days in California because my sisters dance team was performing at Disneyland and also I had a lot of studying to do. So for those of you waiting for my EURO 2012 recap, I'll get on it as soon as possible when I get the time. Right now, I'm gonna give you guys a rewind of Seattle's difficult month of June. Of course I'm going to give my positives (this was difficult) and negatives (Parke and Hurtado) about the month and take a look ahead to the month of July and I'm also gonna give my thoughts on the transfer period as the summer transfer window opened up last Wednesday.


Positives:

It was a little difficult finding some positives for this past month because the Sounders still have not won a league match since May 9th and now the team that started 7-1-1 is now 7-5-5. One positive that I'll throw out is that they we're able to keep their win streak in the U.S. Open Cup alive on the road against the top team in the league, the San Jose Earthquakes who have been in great form all season and the Sounders went over there and came away with a 1-0 win on a goal by Cordell Cato to advance to the U.S. Open Cup Semifinal against Chivas USA on July 11th at Starfire. Also from what I've seen, I think Mauro Rosales is starting to produce as he picked up a couple of assists these last three games. One last positive is that we are getting healthy which is a good thing, especially on defense with Adam Johansson who looked pretty good last Saturday unlike his last three matches.


Negatives:

This was ridiculous. Poor marking from our center backs Jeff Parke and Jhon Kennedy Hurtado which may have cost them a place in the starting lineup. What has happened with Hurtado? This is not the same Jhon Kennedy Hurtado we saw in 2009 up to May 2010 before he suffered a torn ACL, great defender, communicating well with his teammates but that was then. Same with Jeff Parke, what the hell happened? Ever since may, Jeff Parke has sucked and watching him against Portland made me sick to my stomach because his set piece defending was awful, leaving David Horst wide open. Parke's contract with the Sounders is up after this season. I don't know about Hurtado's, but I know Parke's in the final year of his contract and the way he's played a long side Hurtado, he doesn't deserve to stick around any longer. At 30 years of age, this guy should be in his prime or at least close to it. When it came to the negatives in June, Parke and Hurtado were obviously a top that list.


Western Conference Standings:

1. San Jose Earthquakes, 11-4-3 (36 pts), GF 36 GA 24 GD 12
2. Real Salt Lake, 10-6-2 (32 pts), GF 28 GA 21 GD 7
3. Seattle Sounders FC, 7-5-5 (26 pts), GF 21 GA 18 GD 3
4. Vancouver Whitecaps, 7-4-5 (26 pts), GF 18 GA 19 GD -1
5. Colorado Rapids, 7-8-1 (22 pts), GF 24 GA 21 GD 3
6. Los Angeles Galaxy, 6-9-2 (20 pts), GF 25 GA 27 GD -2
7. Chivas USA, 5-7-4 (19 pts), GF 11 GA 18 GD -7
8. Portland Timbers, 5-7-4 (19 pts), GF 16 GA 21 GD -5
9. FC Dallas, 3-9-5 (14 pts), GF 16 GA 26 GD -10


Looking ahead to July + A few thoughts on the Summer transfer period:

So as we know, the summer transfer window for Major League Soccer opened last Wednesday and will remain open through July 27th and there's been a lot of talk these last couple weeks about the possibility of 1. FC Kaiserslautern midfielder Christian Tiffert coming to the Emerald City following a disappointing 2011-12 season in which his club was relegated from the German Bundesliga. The last report I found regarding Tiffert was that he has agreed to personal terms with the Sounders and that the club is currently negotiating transfer fee. So it looks like Tiffert is close to joining the Rave Green.

As for the Sounders. The CONCACAF Champions League is a month away. Looking at what we have this month, we have a couple of big road matches. Tomorrow at Real Salt Lake and one on the 15th against the New York Red Bulls. We also have two games this month against the Colorado Rapids and of course the U.S. Open Cup semifinal next Wednesday against Chivas USA.

Upcoming schedule

July 4 @ Real Salt Lake, 7:00pm (KING 5)
July 7 vs Colorado Rapids, 8:00pm (NBC Sports Network)
July 11 vs Chivas USA, 7:00pm (soundersfc.com)*
July 15 @ New York Red Bulls, 1:00pm (ESPN)
July 18 vs Chelsea FC, 6:30pm (TBD)^
July 28 @ Colorado Rapids, 6:00pm (KONG TV)

Note 1: * - U.S. Open Cup match
Note 2: ^ - Friendly match

Sounders struggles continue as they fall 2-1 to the Timbers

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders still can't find a way to snap their winless streak. The Sounders have now gone seven games without a win after suffering a 2-1 defeat at the hands of their arch rival the Portland Timbers. After starting the season 7-1-1, injuries have really racked up for Seattle along with players doing a poor job communicating with each other. With another pretty big month coming up, it's important that the Sounders end the month on a good note by beating the New England Revolution next Saturday. And let's not forget their Open Cup match on Tuesday against the San Jose Earthquakes.

In the 11th minute, as I said a couple blogs ago set pieces are one of the biggest keys to victory offensively and defensively and the Sounders got lucky here because defensively they sucked on this corner. Franck Songo'o curled the ball out and found the head of David Horst from point blank range and he hit the crossbar and Jack Jewsbury couldn't put home the rebound.

In the 16th minute however, the Timbers would take advantage of some more lousy defending and draw first blood. Steven Smith worked a brilliant give and go with Franck Songo'o on the near side and whipped in a perfectly good ball into the area for Kris Boyd and Andrew Weber was left helpless as Boyd slams it home and the Timbers take a 1-0 lead.

In the 24th minute, Kris Boyd was left unmarked again, this time with a free header and Andrew Weber did enough to punch the ball over the bar. That was twice that Jeff Parke got caught and got away with it.

Straight off the corner kick though Parke gets caught one more time and this time, there was no "get out of jail free" card. Franck Songo'o curled the ball out and found David Horst for a downward header that skips through Andrew Weber and Alex Caskey and into the back of the net and things were going terribly wrong for the Men in Rave Green as they found themselves two goals behind after 25 minutes. I don't understand what has happened to Parke and Hurtado. Both of them just can't seem to communicate with each other very well and have been a major disappointment these last couple of games.

On the stroke of halftime, Ozzie Alonso had a go from a long way out and forced a big save from Troy Perkins. He had too much space on that play and it didn't look like the Timbers read any scouting reports on him, especially the fact that he can hit em' from distance.

In the 53rd minute, Alonso made a cut to his right foot and tested the keeper again, trying to go for the far corner. But again, Troy Perkins was equal to it.

In the 58th minute, the Sounders would find an answer and cut the Timbers lead in half. Zach Scott found Eddie Johnson on the right side. Johnson brushed off David Horst and was looking to square the ball across for Fredy Montero, but Futty Danso cut down the angle. Instead, Johnson cut to his left foot and curled a shot inside the far corner for his fifth goal of the season.

In the 90th minute, the Rivalry starts heating up as tempers flare from both teams. The Sounders had the ball in the Timbers area and looked to continue attacking, but referee Ricardo Salazar stopped play because it looked like Fredy Montero shoved David Horst, who went down easily. This after Horst and Eddie Johnson were right in each others face. Just after the whistle had blown, there was pushing and shoving everywhere. Futty started to go at it with Johnson and then right from behind, Lovel Palmer threw on elbow at Johnson. After all the scrap was cleaned up, it was Fredy Montero and Lovel Palmer who got sent off. This is the third straight game in which a Sounder player has been shown a red card. So we all know that Montero and Palmer will be suspended for their next match, unless appealed. But it looks like there could be more suspensions handed out. Things have gotten out of control for the Sounders once again, especially after another disappointing result.


Scoring summary:

Portland Timbers - Kris Boyd 5 (Steven Smith 1) 16'

Portland Timbers - David Horst 1 (Franck Songo'o 1) 25'

Seattle Sounders FC - Eddie Johnson 5 (Zach Scott 1) 58'


Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Brad Evans (caution; off the ball foul) 18'

Portland Timbers - Diego Chara (caution; foul) 43'

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso (caution; foul) 48'

Portland Timbers - Kalif Alhassan (caution; foul) 53'

Portland Timbers - Steven Smith (caution; foul) 73'

Portland Timbers - Jack Jewsbury (caution; time wasting) 90'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero (ejection; fighting) 92'+

Portland Timbers - Lovel Palmer (ejection; fighting) 92'+


Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Andrew Weber; Zach Scott, Jeff Parke (Patrick Ianni 42'), Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Marc Burch; Brad Evans (Andy Rose 46'), Osvaldo Alonso, Mauro Rosales, Alex Caskey (Cordell Cato 75'); Eddie Johnson, Fredy Montero

Portland Timbers - Troy Perkins; Jack Jewsbury, David Horst, Mamadou Danso, Steven Smith; Kalif Alhassan (Sal Zizzo 54'), Darlington Nagbe, Diego Chara, Franck Songo'o (Lovel Palmer 78'); Kris Boyd, Mike Fucito (Danny Mwanga 66')

Cascadia Rivals set to clash in Portland

By Money Mike


Still looking to end their winless run, the Seattle Sounders head south of the border for a massive Cascadia Clash tomorrow afternoon against the Portland Timbers. Kickoff time is 2pm on ESPN, shortly after the conclusion of the England-Italy match in EURO 2012 (unless it goes to extra time). Last year the Sounders defeated the Timbers on their home turf 3-2, rallying back twice with two goals from Fredy Montero and then a game winner by Osvaldo Alonso. They'll have to get past them again tomorrow on the road if they want to snap their six game winless streak.


Players to watch:

Fredy Montero - The Portland Timbers backline will have to keep their eyes out for Montero. Again, last year he scored twice against them at Jeld-Wen Field and he will be looking to silence the Timbers Army again tomorrow. Right now with four goals on the year, Montero will have an opportunity to add to his tally, but to do that, he and Eddie Johnson will have work together to wear down this weak Timbers backline who are going to be without Hanyer Mosquera, Eric Brunner and Rodney Wallace. But as we all know, they can't do it all alone.

Mauro Rosales - Like I said on my previous recap, the Sounders need to stick with Mauro Rosales in the center of midfield because as I said last time, despite only picking up a point against Sporting KC they actually played a lot better than they did the previous five games since they moved Evens to the right and Rosales to the center. I've been starting to get annoyed with Montero acting as a playmaker which in all honesty he's not. That role is why we brought back Mauro Rosales to begin with and up to the Sporting KC game, he hasn't really done much. Keep him in the center and let him create.

Kris Boyd - In case any of you don't know this fact by now, Kris Boyd is the all time leading goalscorer in Scottish Premier League history with 164 and the Timbers are lucky to have him especially after all the speculation during the offseason that he was going to the Houston Dynamo and I was surprised to see him go to Portland. Anyway, the Sounders backline needs to shut him down I think in order to get the win because he's pretty much the only goalscorer they have right now. I mean Danny Mwanga just joined the team, Jose Adolfo Valencia is out with possibly a season ending injury and former UW Husky Brent Richards hasn't been given any real opportunity yet.


Injury report:

Seattle Sounders FC - For the Sounders, David Estrada, Babayele Sodade and Michael Gspurning are out. Steve Zakuani is listed as questionable, but I expect him to be on the 18 man squad. Adam Johansson has been upgraded to questionable. He's been out the last three matches after straining his right hammie against the Columbus Crew. And also, I would've included Christian Sivebaek but he's been waived by the club.

Portland Timbers - For the other team, there's really nothing here except that Eric Brunner and Rodney Wallace are out. Danny Mwanga has a contusion on his left quad, but I don't think it'll keep him out for this one.


Suspensions:

Seattle Sounders FC - Alvaro Fernandez is suspended for Seattle after a red card last match against Sporting Kansas City.

Portland Timbers - Hanyer Mosquera will be serving the first of his three match ban and that will be a big big blow for the Timbers back line who are already with Brunner and Wallace.

Sounders rally to defeat the Timbers 3-2

By Money Mike

On the day the United States women's national team defeated Brazil on Penalties to move on the FIFA Women's World Cup, the Seattle Sounders come to Portland and strike 3 times against the Portland Timbers to win the match 3-2 and move into second place and are still 4 points back of the Los Angeles Galaxy who they will face in the Quarterfinal of the U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday at Starfire Sports Complex in Takwila. It was a great day for soccer not only for the Sounders, but for the entire nation as well with the U.S. Women moving onto the Semifinals against France on Wednesday at 8:30am.

In the 32nd minute, public enemy #1 Roger Levesque (Timber fans hate him) got open with a run of the left side but rather than using that space to try to slot one past the keeper Troy Perkins, he decides to cross it to the top of the box for Fredy Montero but the Portland backline had that covered.

Six minutes later, Alvaro Fernandez snuck behind Portland's defense to a clear look at goal but Troy Perkins came off his line to cut down the angle for the Uruguayan international.

Just seconds into the second half, the opening goal went to Rose City FC. Kalif Alhassan went wide of the Seattle's defense and slid a pass into the danger area for Jorge Perlaza who was jostling for possession with Jeff Parke and the ball deflected off Parke and in for an own goal and a 1-0 Portland lead.

In the 57th minute, Seattle answered with a free-kick goal by the Colombian, Fredy Montero. It was his 4th goal of the Season, all have come on the road in 2011.

In the 69th minute, Seattle found themselves on the bottom end again. Jorge Perlaza was freed by a brilliant entry pass from fellow countryman Diego Chara. Perlaza's shot glanced off Tyson Wahl and past the diving Kasey Keller for the goal.

Seattle responded five minutes later. Lamar Neagle put in a cross from the left hand side. Midfielder Mauro Rosales brought it down on the right side to set up an easy tap in from Fredy Montero of all people to tie the match up again at 2-2.

In the 81st minute the Timbers would end up losing a player. Midfielder Lamar Neagle was tackled from behind by Eric Brunner in the box, breaking up a breakaway chance for the Seattle Sounders and referee Jorge Gonzalez quickly reached into his back pocket and showed Brunner the red card. Ozzie Alonso stepped up to take the PK for the visiting team. Coming into this game he was 0 for 1 on PK's for the Sounders, missing one last year in a Champions League match at Saprissa, but Alonso went to the right side, just out of Perkins's reach to give the Sounders the lead for good. The Sounders unbeaten streak lives on, as well as Portland misery at home since they won their first 5 home matches.

Scoring summary:

Portland Timbers - Own goal (Jeff Parke) 46'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero 4 (unassisted) 57'

Portland Timbers - Jorge Perlaza 4 (Diego Chara 1) 69'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero 5 (Mauro Rosales 5, Lamar Neagle 1) 74'

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso 3 (Penalty kick) 83'

Misconduct summary:

Portland Timbers - James Marcelin (caution; Reckless foul) 56'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero (caution; Shirt Removal) 58'

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso (caution; Reckless foul) 63'

Seattle Sounders FC - Mauro Rosales (caution; Unsporting behavior) 78'

Portland Timbers - Eric Brunner (ejection; Denied Scoring chance (foul)) 81'

Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller; James Riley, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (Patrick Ianni 56'), Tyson Wahl; Mauro Rosales, Osvaldo Alonso, Erik Friberg, Alvaro Fernandez (Lamar Neagle 66'); Roger Levesque, Fredy Montero

Portland Timbers - Troy Perkins; Steve Purdy, Eric Brunner, Mamadou Danso, Rodney Wallace; James Marcelin, Diego Chara, Jack Jewsbury, Darlington Nagbe (Sal Zizzo 64'), Kalif Alhassan; Jorge Perlaza (Kenny Cooper 75')

Previewing Round 2 of the Sounders-Timbers MLS Rivalry

By Money Mike:


The Seattle Sounders are preparing for their 2nd Rivalry match against the Portland Timbers at Jeld-Wen Field in Portland. On May 14, these two sides finished with a point each after a 1-1 draw at Qwest Field (now named CenturyLink Field). Alvaro Fernandez broke the deadlock in the 52nd minute with a low left foot drive to put the Sounders up 1-0. But then in the 65th minute Jack Jewsbury hooked up with Futty Danso off a free-kick once again to salvage a point for the Timbers. The Sounders need to avoid mental mistakes if they want to get this win, which would put them in 2nd place all by themselves after FC Dallas lost 2-0 to Real Salt Lake.


Injury report:

Seattle Sounders FC - Some changes here for the Seattle Sounders. O'Brian White started practicing with the team following the LA match. He won't be on the squad today against Portland, but Sigi Schmid says he might at least be available off the bench next Saturday at home against the Colorado Rapids...... you know, the team with that dumb fuck named Brian Mullan. As for Brad Evans, what the hell is going on with this dude? I don't see him playing against Portland.

Portland Timbers - Alright for Rose City FC. Big blow defensively, Rodney Wallace has a left knee injury and he is out. Bright Dike has been out with a ruptured achillies tendon on his right ankle, he's now listed as questionable along with David Horst. Defenders Jeremy Hall and Futty Danso, Midfielders Adam Moffit and Peter Lowry and Goalkeeper Troy Perkins are listed as probable.


Key matchup:

Darlington Nagbe vs Tyson Wahl - Well you're looking at a young playmaker going up against Tyson Wahl in this one. I mean really, have you guys seen his goal last week against Sporting Kansas City, I mean it was everywhere on the news including on Sports Center. Tyson Wahl better keep him from pulling off another goal like that. lol. Seriously though, this is a matchup to look at.

And with all the injury concerns, this is the only matchup to keep an eye on for this one.

Futty's goal sends the Timbers home with a point.

By Money Mike


In front of of 36,593 fans at Qwest Field, the Seattle Sounders saw their 1-0 lead slip away after a 65th minute goal by Mamadou "Futty" Danso off a Jack Jewsbury free kick as the first Sounders-Timbers rivalry match in MLS ended all square at 1-1. The Sounders were without Zakuani, O'Brian White, Mauro Rosales and Erik Friberg was a late scratch for this match. And I didn't like who they had on the bench. Three defenders? Really? Also, where's David Estrada, where's Michael Tetteh, where's Miguel Montano......why are they not giving the young players a chance to play? You draft Estrada in the first round and so far he's only made four appearances, you draft Michael Tetteh who is a very talented young midfielder and he's never made the bench in any of the matches? What the hell is going on here? You're team is banged up with key injuries, you're putting in weak players like Zach Scott, Nate Jaqua, and Leo Gonzalez has also been inconsistent. Look, I'm not saying Sigi has to go, I'm saying the man needs to pull his damn head out and put the young guys, that have worked their ass off everyday, on the 18-man squad and get them on the damn field. I was unhappy about who has on the squad for this match.

Portland had the better chances in the first half, the best one coming from Kenny Cooper who's left footed strike from outside the area was easily saved by Kasey Keller.

The Sounders had an opportunity just before halftime. A free kick from just outside the penalty area by Fredy Montero who curled it over the wall, but it didn't get enough bend on it and hit the side of the net. Some fans thought it was in after the saw the net move.

In the 52nd minute, Seattle broke through. Roger Levesque chipped the ball the top of the area for Fredy Montero. The Colombian outjumped two Portland defenders and flicked the ball out wide to Alvaro Fernandez, who had time to settle before ripping a left footed shot past Troy Perkins inside the near post for his third goal of the season and to give Seattle a 1-0 lead.

The Seattle backline did very well to shut down Kenny Cooper and Jorge Perlaza, but in the 65th minute, there was one thing that they didn't do well. Last week in Portland, Jack Jewsbury's free kick found the head of the big man Futty Danso for the only goal against the Philadelphia Union. And in minute 65, in the same position, the two combined again........

Jewsbury's chipped the ball into the danger area. Kasey Keller came off his line to punch the ball clear, but Futty beat Keller to the ball and headed it into the back of the goal for his second goal in as many matches. It was also Portland's 12th goal of 2011, and their 8th off a set play which leads MLS. Oh and that was the last of the goals.

Seattle will hit the pitch again next Saturday as they host Sporting Kansas City who have not played a home match yet this season. Their first 10 games are on the road, this is the 8th of the 10 games. And you can tell it's been rough, they won the season opener down at Home Depot Center against Chivas USA with goals by rookie C. J. Sapong and two from the Mexican legend Omar Bravo, but since then, they've only managed a point and that was down at Vancouver against the Whitecaps where they blew a 3-0 lead. And the injury to Bravo is prooving costly to Kansas City as well. And I'll talk more about that when I preview that match.

Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Alvaro Fernandez 3 (Fredy Montero 3, Roger Levesque 1) 52'

Portland Timbers - Mamadou Danso 2 (Jack Jewsbury 4) 65'

Lineups:

Portland Timbers - Troy Perkins; Jeremy Hall, Eric Brunner, Mamadou Danso, Rodney Wallace; Darlington Nagbe (Sal Zizzo 61'), Jack Jewsbury, Diego Chara, Kalif Alhassan; Kenny Cooper, Jorge Perlaza (Ryan Pore 84')

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller; James Riley, Patrick Ianni, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Tyson Wahl; Brad Evans (Roger Levesque 42'), Osvaldo Alonso, Servando Carrasco, Alvaro Fernandez; Fredy Montero, Nate Jaqua (Lamar Neagle 79')

I'm getting sick and tired reading all the stupid comments from Seattle fans after poorly played games:

So I've read a bunch of comments that a lot of you people made about the match via Facebook, Seattle Times, etc.. and as much as I understand how upset you are, the fact that you deserve better from the team, you Seattle fans, and I'm not afraid to say this. You Seattle fans are just downright stupid. I mean, I'm upset about the result too, but this shit is going way to far. All the comments like "Rivalry??? More like book club", "Pathetic excuse for professional athletes" (What a dumbass comment), "The Sounders are the new Mariners. As long as the seats are filled, go ahead and rool out a crappy play" (This makes no sense), "total clown show, I'm embarrased that the Sounders represent Seattle" (What the fuck?!!)............

These people make stupid comments and you give them a thumbs up. Look, all you Seattle people need to chill the hell out and not make a bunch of stupidass comments like these comments from people who know absolutely nothing about soccer. Again I know how disappointed you guys are about the draw, but I'm more disappointed at you guys for all the negativity.

Seattle Sounders FC vs Portland Timbers preview. The rivalry unfolds in MLS.

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders get ready to take on their I-5 rivals, the Portland Timbers. The match takes place tomorrow at 8pm on ESPN2. Last week, the Sounders came away with one point after drawing 1-1 at Columbus. Fredy Montero was the goalscorer for the Sounders. On the other side, the Timbers are coming off yet another home win, defeating the Philadelphia Union 1-0. Both teams are coming into this match tied in the standings with 13 points.

Injury report:

Portland Timbers - Alright, for the Scum, we have Bright Dike and Eddie Johnson (not the Eddie Johnson you guys are thinking) with achillies problems. Dike has a ruptured achillies tendon on his right ankle and Johnson has achillies tendonitis and they're both out. Brian Umony has an MCL sprain on his right knee and is listed as questionable.

Seattle Sounders FC - Of course, out for this match are Steve Zakuani and O'Brian White. I got a report saying that they've been discharged from the hospital and could be on the sidelines tomorrow. Mauro Rosales has a strained hamstring and is questionable.

Key matchups:

Kenny Cooper/Jorge Perlaza vs Seattle's back line: The Sounders had a little trouble dealing with these two in the Cascadia Summit, as both of them came away with a goal. Perlaza signed a contract with the Timbers a day later. Those two are gonna partner up front like they've always done and the Sounders have had a week to prepare to shut down Portland's attacking game.

Ozzie Alonso vs Diego Chara: This looks like a real midfield battle with last years Sounders MVP Osvaldo Alonso and Portland's Designated player Diego Chara. This matchup should decide the outcome of this game.

History between these two:

I tell you what, going back to those NASL days with guys like Harry Redknapp, Bruce Rioch, Jimmy McAlister, David Nish and all those ledgends that we had here in Seattle, they know what this rivalry is about, they've been there, they know how much these two downright hate eachother. In 61 meetings, not counting preseason, the Sounders have won 35, Timbers have won 21 and there we're 5 draws. And I'm actually gonna show you all the results.........


May 2, 1975: Timbers - 0 Sounders - 1

July 26, 1975: Timbers - 2 Sounders - 1


August 2, 1975: Sounders - 3 Timbers - 2 (OT)

August 12, 1975: Timbers - 2 Sounders - 1 (OT)*

April 25, 1976: Sounders - 1 Timbers - 0 (OT)

August 7, 1976: Timbers - 0 Sounders - 3

April 30, 1977: Sounders - 3 Timbers - 2

June 11, 1977: Timbers - 3 Sounders - 0

June 10, 1978: Timbers - 0 (2) Sounders 0 (1) (OT)

July 31, 1978: Sounders - 3 Timbers - 2 (OT)

June 9, 1979: Timbers - 2 Sounders - 1

June 30, 1979: Sounders - 5 Timbers - 1

April 30, 1980: Sounders - 1 Timbers - 0

June 14, 1980: Timbers 0 (3) Sounders - 0 (4) (OT)

April 4, 1981: Sounders - 1 (3) Timbers - 1 (2) (OT)

June 13, 1981: Timbers - 2 Sounders - 1

August 15, 1981: Sounders - 1 Timbers - 2 (OT)

April 9, 1982: Sounders - 0 Timbers - 1

July 24, 1982: Timbers - 1 Sounders - 4

July 31, 1982: Sounders - 3 Timbers - 0

August 22, 1982: Timbers - 0 Sounders - 1

May 11, 2001: Timbers - 2 Sounders - 0

May 12, 2001: Sounders - 2 Timbers - 1

July 13, 2001: Sounders - 0 Timbers - 0

July 21, 2001: Timbers - 0 Sounders - 1

May 4, 2002: Timbers - 0 Sounders - 2

May 5, 2002: Sounders - 4 Timbers - 1

June 23, 2002: Timbers - 2 Sounders - 0

July 19, 2002: Sounders - 2 Timbers - 1

May 1, 2003: Timbers - 0 Sounders - 1

May 2, 2003: Sounders - 2 Timbers - 0

May 18, 2003: Sounders - 1 Timbers - 0

August 9, 2003: Timbers - 0 Sounders - 1

August 10, 2003: Sounders - 1 Timbers - 3

August 18, 2003: Timbers - 1 Sounders - 0

May 1, 2004: Timbers - 2 Sounders - 1

May 15, 2004: Sounders - 0 Timbers - 1

July 17, 2004: Sounders - 3 Timbers - 4

July 24, 2004: Timbers - 0 Sounders - 2

September 1, 2004: Timbers - 2 Sounders - 1*

September 5, 2004: Sounders - 2 Timbers - 0*

April 30, 2005: Sounders - 1 Timbers - 2

July 8, 2005: Sounders - 4 Timbers - 2

July 12, 2005: Timbers - 2 Sounders - 0^

August 7, 2005: Timbers - 1 Sounders - 0

August 20, 2005: Timbers - 1 Sounders - 1

September 16, 2005: Timbers - 0 Sounders - 1*

September 18, 2005: Sounders - 2 Timbers - 0*

June 2, 2006: Sounders - 0 Timbers - 0



June 3, 2006: Timbers - 3 Sounders - 1

July 21, 2006: Timbers - 1 Sounders - 2

July 22, 2006: Sounders - 3 Timbers - 1

May 5, 2007: Sounders - 1 Timbers - 0

May 11, 2007: Timbers - 2 Sounders - 2

June 26, 2007: Sounders - 2 Timbers - 1^

August 1, 2007: Sounders - 2 Timbers - 0

April 26, 2008: Timbers - 2 Sounders - 0

May 10, 2008: Sounders - 0 Timbers - 0

August 7, 2008: Timbers - 0 Sounders - 1

July 1, 2009: Timbers - 1 Sounders - 2^

June 30, 2010: Timbers - 1 (3) Sounders - 1 (4) (OT)^

* - Playoff match
^ - U.S. Open Cup match

Prediction:

Why do I bother making a pick for this match. We know what's gonna happen. The Timbers are going to come to Qwest Field and they're going to get their asses whooped. 2-0 Sounders get the win.

2011 MLS SuperDraft: Sounders select 5 players

By Money Mike

With the 2011 MLS season upon us, the upcoming rookies had to wait till today to find out where they were gonna end up. A record seven players from the University of Akron were selected in this years MLS SuperDraft, including five of the first eight picks in the first round. The biggest surprise to me was United States U-20 international Omar Salgado selected as the first overall pick by the Vancouver Whitecaps. Here's list of players selected in the MLS SuperDraft.


ROUND 1


1. Vancouver Whitecaps FC: F, Omar Salgado* - U.S. U-20 national team

2. Portland Timbers: M, Darlington Nagbe* - University of Akron

3. D.C. United: M, Perry Kitchen* - University of Akron/U.S. U-20's

4. Chivas USA: D, Zarek Valentin* - University of Akron/U.S. U-20's

5. Philadelphia Union: GK, Zac MacMath* - University of Maryland/U.S. U-20's

6. New England Revolution: D, AJ Soars - University of California

7. Houston Dynamo: D, Kofi Sarkodie* - University of Akron

8. Vancouver Whitecaps FC: M, Michael Nanchoff* - University of Akron
(from Toronto)

9. Chicago Fire: D, Jalil Anibaba - University of North Carolina

10. Sporting Kansas City: F, CJ Sapong - James Madison University

11. Houston Dynamo: F, Will Bruin* - Indiana University
(from Portland via Seattle)

12. Columbus Crew: D, Rich Balcham - Indiana University

13. New York Red Bulls: F, Corey Hertzog* - Penn State University

14. Chivas USA: F, Victor Estupinan - LDU Quito (Ecuador)
(from Real Salt Lake)

15. Columbus Crew: F, Justin Meram - University of Michigan
(from San Jose for Steven Lenhart)

16. Los Angeles Galaxy: M, Paulo Cardozo - Quilmes (Argentina)

17. FC Dallas: D, Bobby Warshaw - Stanford University

18. Colorado Rapids: D, Eddie Adabio - University of North Carolina


ROUND 2

19. Vancouver Whitecaps FC: M, Jeb Brovsky - University of Notre Dame


20. Seattle Sounders FC: M, Michael Tetteh* - UC Santa Barbra
(from Portland)

21. Seattle Sounders FC: D, Juan Leone Cruz - Southern Methodist
(from D.C. United)

22. Portland Timbers: D, Chris Taylor - University of Tulsa
(from Real Salt Lake via Chivas USA)

23. Philadelphia Union: M, Michael Farfan - University of North Carolina

24. New England Revolution: M, Stephen McCarthy - University of North Carolina

25. New York Red Bulls: M, John Rooney - Macclesfield Town (England)
(from Houston)

26. Toronto FC: D, Demetrius Omphroy - University of California

27. Seattle Sounders FC: M, Servando Carrasco - University of California
(from Chicago)

28. Columbus Crew: M, Cole Grossman - Duke University
(from Philadelphia via Kansas City)

29. Seattle Sounders FC: GK, Bryan Meredith - Monmouth University

30. New York Red Bulls: D, Tyler Lassiter - North Carolina State University
(from Columbus)

31. D.C. United: D, Chris Korb - University of Akron
(from New York)

32. Sporting Kansas City: D, JT Murray - University of Louisville
(from Real Salt Lake)

33. San Jose Earthquakes: M, Anthony Ampaipitawong - University of Akron

34. Los Angeles Galaxy: M, Hector Jimenez - University of California

35. FC Dallas: M, Charlie Campbell - University of Louisville

36. Colorado Rapids: M, Colin Givens - Michigan State University


ROUND 3

37. Vancouver Whitecaps FC: D, Bilal Duckett - University of Notre Dame

38. New York Red Bulls: M, Billy Cortes - University of Maryland
(from Portland)

39. New England Revolution: F, Steven Perry - University of Notre Dame
(from D.C. United)

40. Chivas USA: M, Jon Okafor - Brown University

41. Philadelphia Union: F, Levi Houapeu - University of Maryland, Baltimore County

42. New England Revolution: M, Ryan Klinne - Monmouth University

43. Toronto FC: D, Matt Gold - Ohio State University
(from Houston)

44. Toronto FC: M, Efrain Burgos, Jr. - Cal Poly

45. Chicago Fire: F, Jason Herrick - University of Maryland

46. Sporting Kansas City: M, Konrad Warzycha - Ohio State University

47. Seattle Sounders FC: M, Alex Caskey - Davidson College

48. Columbus Crew: M, Bernardo Anor - University of South Florida

49. Toronto FC: M, Joao Plata - LCU Quito (Ecuador)
(from Chicago via New York)

50. D.C. United: GK, Joe Willis - University of Denver
(from LA Galaxy via Real Salt Lake)

51. Chicago Fire: F, Davis Paul - University of California
(from San Jose)

52. Real Salt Lake: M, Jarad vanSchiak - University of Portland
(from LA Galaxy)

53. FC Dallas: D, Scott Gordon - Lynn University

54. New England Revolution: F, Alan Koger - College of William & Mary
(from Colorado)

* Also a member of Generation Adidas