Sounders pull off an incredible comeback and come away with a historic CCL Quarterfinal series win

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders came into this game down 1-0 on aggregate and in need of a two goal victory. And that's exactly what happened. Down 1-0 at the half and 2-0 on aggregate, the Sounders came through with three spectacular goals in the second half to defeat Tigres 3-1 in the second leg and 3-2 on aggregate to advance to the CONCACAF Champions League semifinal where they will play Santos Laguna in a rematch of last years Champions League Quarterfinal where Santos punished the Sounders 7-3 on aggregate. Santos defeated the Houston Dynamo 3-1 in their quarterfinal matchup. The Sounders also became the first MLS team to eliminate a Mexican opponent in the knockout stages of the Champions League, which is big for American soccer. Seattle returns to league action this Saturday when they host the Portland Timbers.

The first chance of the game came in the 16th minute when Steve Zakuani fed Eddie Johnson who drifted to the right hand side. Johnson chipped the ball into the penalty area, which took a deflection, but found Sammy Ochoa for a free header that just missed by a yard.

A minute later, Tigres beat the offside trap and nearly made the Sounders pay for it. Jonathan Bornstein, the ex-Chivas USA defender, slid the ball through to Alan Pulido who was kept onside by Djimi Traore. Pulido tried to toe poke the ball into the far corner with the outside of his right foot, but Michael Gspurning got his left hand to it to deflect it wide for a corner. A lot of fans thought Pulido was offside, including myself, but it was actually a good no call by the linesman because he was even with the last defender (Traore) when the ball was played.

In the 23rd minute, the Sounders backline got caught again and this time Tigres capitalized and drew first blood. Bornstein slid the ball forward looking for Alberto Acosta who was battling DeAndre Yedlin for the ball. Acosta brushed Yedlin aside and had time and space to slide the ball across to Elias Hernandez for an easy tap in to put the Liga MX Clausura leaders up 1-0 in the second leg and 2-0 on aggregate. That away goal meant the Sounders would have to score three goals to advance and against a tough Mexican team like Tigres in this stage, coming back with three goals would be a tough task for the Sounders.

Five minutes later, Hernandez nearly made it 3-0 on aggregate. Abraham Stringel chipped the ball forward to Alan Pulido who did very well to hold off Djimi Traore and poke it to Hernandez who gave it a go from outside the area as the momentum carried him away from goal and somehow it nearly snuck in, but Gspurning got a touch on it to deflect off the right post and out for a corner. Off the corner, the ball bounced off the leg of Traore right to Manuel Viniegra from point blank range but he hit it right at Gspurning and the Sounders dodged yet another bullet.

Seattle started to create some chances and in the 35th minute, they came real close to pulling a goal back. Ozzie Alonso fed DeAndre Yedlin on the far side. Yedlin delivered a low ball to the top of the area for Sammy Ochoa who had to reach back with his right foot because cross was behind him. So he reached back to get a foot to it and headed it for Eddie Johnson who turned and quickly struck the ball from 10 yards but the ball drifted just wide of goal. That was a big change right there, and he probably should've scored. But at the same time, it looked like EJ wasn't set as the ball bounced in front of him and it looked more like he struck the ball with a loose foot than his laces.

EJ had another chance in the 35th minute as he fed with a perfectly timed through ball by Zakuani. Johnson looked to slide the ball into the far corner with his left foot, but Tigres goalkeeper Jorge Diaz de Leon got a paw on it to deny him.

In the 45th minute, right on the stroke of halftime, this I believe was the turning point in the match. Referee Elmer Bonilla blew the play dead after Mauro Rosales was fouled. About a couple seconds later, Manuel Viniegra, who was already booked for time wasting, kicks the ball away and the referee doesn't waste anytime showing a second yellow which means he's gone and Tigres had to play the rest of the game with 10 men. The fact that he was already sitting on a yellow card, to do something that would risk getting another yellow like kicking the ball away is just plain stupid. Despite being down a man, Tigres went into the break 1-0 up in the second leg and 2-0 up on aggregate.

The Sounders continued to pour pressure on Tigres in the second half and in the 53rd minute, they got on the board in a big way. Mauro Rosales took the corner kick from the near hash mark, looking near post where Alonso was lurking but it was headed out by Jonathan Espericueta only as far as DeAndre Yedlin who steps up and volleys it low and hard into the right corner from about 30 yards out for his first goal of his professional career and more importantly gave the Sounders some life in the series as they cut the aggregate lead to 2-1.

Seven minutes later, the Sounders found the net again off another beauty from a defender. Mario Martinez, who came on shortly after the goal, was fed by DeAndre Yedlin. Martinez looked to curl the ball in before a Tigres defender came sliding in to cut down the angle, so he cut to his right foot but his touch was too heavy and the ball was cleared by Jonathan Bornstein. However, it wasn't a great clearance as Djimi Traore stepped up and cracked one from 30 yards out and the ball bounced in off the underside of the crossbar for his first Sounders goal and the Sounders leveled it up on aggregate, but Tigres still had the edge on away goals, so Seattle still needed another goal.

They nearly got that third goal two minutes later. DeAndre Yedlin whipped in an early ball for Eddie Johnson, but the ball bounced to Steve Zakuani who settled and fired a shot just over the top of the bar.

Then with 15 minutes to go in the game, the Sounders get that third goal to climb ahead on aggregate. Steve Zakuani found Eddie Johnson making a run down the left and fed him with a perfectly timed through ball. EJ beat the offside trap, raced towards goal and slid the ball underneath Jorge Diaz de Leon and into the far corner from a tight angle to complete the comeback for the Sounders as they rally with three unanswered goals in the second half to defeat Tigres 3-2 on aggragate, making them the first MLS team to eliminate a Mexican opponent in the knockout stages of the CONCACAF Champions League.


Observations:

It was good to see Eddie Johnson get a goal after a rough start to the season. In the opener, he missed a golden opportunity at an equalizer by hitting the crossbar. In the first leg against Tigres on the road, he was kept quiet most of the game as Seattle didn't really attack much in the game. He even struggled a bit in this game, missing a couple of good opportunities in the first half. So hopefully the that goal will get him going. With Fredy Montero gone, he's had to carry the load up front and may continue to carry the load for another week or two until Obafemi Martins finally lands in the Emerald City. The last thing the fans want to see is EJ sucking in 2013 after an outstanding 2012 season. He's already gone through a difficult spell in Europe, so to see him struggle in 2013 would make people think, "that sums up his career." So again, hopefully that goal gets him going, even though it's early.

Unlucky for this man not to get a goal, but all in all I thought Steve Zakuani's performance last night was excellent. His decision making was good. The timing of his passes were good as well. Again, he was unlucky not to get a goal in the match. His shot just sailing over the bar. I don't know about you guys, but I think he's all but re-discovered his old form that he was in prior to his injury.

On the defensive side, I think we're looking at a new and improved backline for the Sounders with DeAndre Yedlin and Djimi Traore. The backline has done a terrific job in the series. Both Jhon Kennedy Hurtado and Djimi Traore seem to be getting along well in the center of defense, I shouldn't have to explain DeAndre Yedlin again, and Leo Gonzalez is in the best form I've seen in the last couple of years. I used to be critical about Gonzalez's one on one defending because it's been terrible, but so far he's done an excellent job, so again I think we're looking at a much improved backline for the Men in Rave Green.

We've just kicked off our fifth season and already we've had a lot of memorable moments, historic moments, etc. From the very first match in 2009, to the away victory in Monterrey in 2011, the three-peat in the U.S. Open Cup, the playoff series win over Real Salt Lake in 2012 and now last night becoming the first MLS team to eliminate a Mexican opponent in the Champions League. I was at this game, I lost my voice, but it was all worth it because I got to see this team make history and I'm looking forward to the rest of the season. I think it's gonna be one hell of a ride.


Scoring summary:

Tigres de la UANL - Elias Hernandez (Alberto Acosta, Jonathan Bornstein) 23'

Seattle Sounders FC - DeAndre Yedlin (Unassisted) 53'

Seattle Sounders FC - Djimi Traore (Unassisted) 60'

Seattle Sounders FC - Eddie Johnson (Steve Zakuani) 75'

* Seattle Sounders FC advance 3-2 on aggregate


Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Eddie Johnson (caution; argument) 14'

Tigres de la UANL - Jorge Diaz de Leon (caution; time wasting) 35'

Tigres de la UANL - Manuel Viniegra (caution; time wasting) 37'

Tigres de la UANL - Manuel Viniegra (caution; kicking the ball away) 45'

Tigres de la UANL - Manuel Viniegra (ejection; second yellow) 45'

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

Tigres de la UANL - Elias Hernandez (caution; foul) 81'

Seattle Sounders FC - Steve Zakuani (caution; time wasting) 82'

Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning (caution; time wasting) 86'


Lineups:

Tigres de la UANL - Jorge Diaz de Leon; Abraham Stringel (Josue Aguilar 87'), Hugo Rodriguez, Alonso Zamora, Jose Rivas (Jonathan Espericueta 45'); Alberto Acosta (Taufic Guarch 61'), Manuel Viniegra, Jesus Duenas, Elias Hernandez, Jonathan Bornstein; Alan Pulido

Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning; DeAndre Yedlin, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Djimi Traore, Leonardo Gonzalez; Mauro Rosales (Mario Martinez 54'), Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans (Andy Rose 27'), Steve Zakuani (Marc Burch 83'); Sammy Ochoa, Eddie Johnson

Sounders ready to do battle with RSL in the Playoffs again

By Money Mike


The MLS regular season is over so now it's time to turn our attention to where it really counts, the MLS Cup playoffs. The Seattle Sounders and Real Salt Lake faced off against eachother in last years MLS Cup quarterfinal. RSL won the first leg 3-0 and Seattle won the second leg 2-0. Unfortunately, that second leg win wasn't enough to keep their MLS Cup title hopes alive as Salt Lake advanced 3-2 on aggregate. Tomorrow, it will be a rematch between the Sounders and RSL. The first leg kicks off at 7pm and will be aired regionally on ROOT Sports, locally on KONG-TV and nationally on the NBC Sports Network. The Sounders are well overdue to advance in the playoffs and perhaps this could be the year for that to happen. Since their nine game winless run in the middle of the season, the Sounders have gone 8-3-5 the rest of the way leading up to the playoffs.


Injury report:

Real Salt Lake - Salt Lake has three defenders currently on the injured list.  Chris Schuler and Nat Borchers are dealing with quad strains and Jamison Olave is dealing with a strained left hamstring.  Borchers and Olave are listed as probable and Schuler is listed as questionable.  Another player that's dealing with a quad strain is midfielder Ned Grabavoy.  He might be good to go, but I haven't heard anything yet.  Right now he's listed as probable.  Lastly, Paulo Junior has a contusion in his right foot and is also listed as probable.

Seattle Sounders FC - For the Rave Green, of course rookies Andrew Duran and Babayele Sodade are out.  Leonardo Gonzalez has a strained right hamstring and Patrick Ianni has a right calf strain.  Both have been working their way back, but they have been ruled out for tomorrow's match.  Lastly, this is what's been concerning the entire Sounder nation all week.  Eddie Johnson left late in the first half of sunday's 1-0 loss to the LA Galaxy.  The MRI showed that he suffered a left adductor strain.  He hasn't been ruled out of tomorrow night's match, at least not yet, but there's a chance he will not play in the first leg.  Right now, EJ is listed as questionable.


Who will start if Johnson isn't available?

We've had to deal with the same situation last season with Mauro Rosales.  At least we won't have to worry about him this time.  Again, there is a pretty good chance that Eddie Johnson will not play tomorrow.  If that is the case, head coach Sigi Schmid has plenty of options on the bench with David Estrada, Sammy Ochoa, Steve Zakuani and Mario Martinez.  Estrada and Zakuani are both working to get back to full fitness, Ochoa has struggled to find that breakout moment and Martinez has had trouble settling in because of international duty.  There's a pool on Seattle Times that is also asking who should start and the results are pretty even.

In my opinion, I'd go with creativity here, so I think Mauro Rosales should push up front and Mario Martinez should get the start on the right hand side.  He's been in big matches like these before (but then again, everybody has), he handles the pressure very well, he looked pretty good in the Champions League and we saw what he did for Honduras in their World Cup Qualifying match against Canada.  So I think this match will be an opportunity for him to prove, not that he's happy to be here, but that he want's to be here and that he belongs here.  Of course that's who I think should start, but my guess is that Ochoa will probably the one that will get the nod up front with Fredy Montero.

Right now, anything but a win in the first leg for the Sounders will not work at all.  The lads are at home in the opening match of the playoffs, so here's there opportunity to come right at Real Salt Lake and put them under a ton of pressure.  If the Sounders can win by at least two goals, given the fact that RSL has struggled to score, I think this will put Salt Lake in a heap of trouble.  They have the home field in the first leg, so they have to make the most of it if they want any chance of advancing in the playoffs.

Sounders defeat Caledonia AIA 3-1; Close in on a second straight Champions League Quarterfinal birth

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders have inched closer to a second straight CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinal birth. Last night, the Sounders defeated Caledonia AIA 3-1 and are only one win away from clinching a place in the Quarterfinal stage of the Champions League. The Sounders next Champions League match won't be until September 19th when they travel to Honduras to take on C.D. Marathon. Both these teams have faced eachother twice in the group stage of the 2010-11 Champions League. The first meeting was in Honduras with Marathon coming out on top 2-1. The second match was here in Seattle with the Sounders returning the favor and winning 2-0.

In the 10th minute of the match, the Sounders should've been a goal up. Mario Martinez was making his first competitive start for the Sounders and he whipped in a great cross to the far post for a free header from Sammy Ochoa, but his header was saved by Glenroy Samuel as it bounced off his face.

In the 25th minute, Caledonia failed to clear the danger and they gave the ball away in their own area as Ozzie Alonso stepped in and from about 19 yards away fired his shot low and hard with his left foot, but it didn't trouble the goalkeeper and it was an easy save for Samuel.

In the 36th minute, Michael Gspurning found himself under a bit of pressure. Kareem Joseph whipped in a high lofted ball to the far post which started to dip as it came down, and Gspurning had to punch the ball away because there was a player ready to head the ball into the goal or at least put home the rebound if he had any chance.

A few minutes later, Alex Caskey took the corner kick for the Sounders. Glenroy Samuel came out and tried to punch the ball away and the ball bounced to Marc Burch at the far post. Burch looked to take advantage of the goalkeeping mistake but his shot was blocked as Caledonia had four guys on the line to clear the ball away.

In the 45th minute, the Sounders found the breakthrough. Zach Scott made a run forward from his right back position and worked a give and go with Sammy Ochoa, although it was nearly broken up after Ochoa nearly had trouble controlling the ball. Scott got the return as squared the ball across to the near post for Alex Caskey to tap it in for his third goal in all competitions this season and the Sounders took the lead in Trinidad 1-0.

About five minutes into the second half, Caledonia should've pulled level. There was nice through ball played into the area. I don't know who played that ball, I think it might have been Stephan David. Anyway, there was a ball played through and Cornelius Stewart got onto it, but somehow he put it wide.

In the 60th minute, the Sounders doubled their lead and looked to be walking away with all three points. Fredy Montero picked up the ball from Ozzie Alonso and made a nice cut to get past Radanfah Abu Bakr before laying the ball off to Sammy Ochoa. Ochoa received the ball, settled and from the top of the penalty area ripped his shot into the top left hand corner to make it 2-0 in favor of the visitors.

That was until the 67th minute when Caledonia were awarded a penalty. There was a chip into the penalty area that was intended for Jamaal Gay and Zach Scott appeared to have pulled him down in the area. Referee Javier Santos pointed to the spot immediately, but I didn't think there was enough for that to be a penalty. I thought Gay went down rather easily there. Much like in MLS, CCL officiating has been controversial to say the least. And just like the first Champions League match, Kareem Joseph stepped up to the spot and took the honors for Caledonia AIA and he put his kick inside the left post to cut the Sounders lead in half.

The Sounders responded quickly however and in the 69th minute, they would add a third goal. Alex Caskey made a nice move to get away from Aubrey David and squared the ball across toward the near and Fredy Montero was right there once again to add to his goalscoring tally in all competitions this season and that was the decisive goal for the Sounders as they defeated Caledonia 3-1.

The Sounders turn their attention back to MLS play on Sunday as they head to Frisco to take on FC Dallas.  The Sounders have come away victorious in their last two visits and will look to make it three in a row at FC Dallas Stadium as they chase the San Jose Earthquakes for the Supporters Shield.  Kickoff time is 4pm and will be televised on KONG-TV.


Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Alex Caskey (Zach Scott, Sammy Ochoa) 45'

Seattle Sounders FC - Sammy Ochoa (Fredy Montero) 60'

Caledonia AIA - Kareem Joseph (penalty kick) 67'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero (Alex Caskey) 69'


Misconduct summary:

Caledonia AIA - Walter Moore (caution; foul) 17'

Caledonia AIA - Densil Theobald (caution; foul) 29'

Caledonia AIA - Jamaal Gay (caution; foul) 71'

Caledonia AIA - Radanfah Abu Bakr (caution; foul) 87'


Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning; Zach Scott, Patrick Ianni, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Marc Burch; Mario Martinez (Cordell Cato 29'), Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans, Alex Caskey; Sammy Ochoa (Christian Tiffert 86'), Fredy Montero (Leonardo Gonzalez 74')

Caledonia AIA - Glenroy Samuel; Aubrey David, Nuru Abdullah Muhammad, Radanfah Abu Bakr, Walter Moore; Kareem Joseph, Densil Theobald, Stephan David, Cornelius Stewart (Conrad Smith 72'); Jamaal Gay (Abdallah Phillipsa 84'), Kerlon Ferguson (Trevin Caesar 63')

Fredy Montero's Hat Trick leads the Sounders to a 6-2 beat down of Chivas USA

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders showed once again that they are a dangerous second half team. On Saturday, to know that this guy is the greatest goalscorer in the club's young MLS history, it's hard to believe that this is the first hat trick of Fredy Montero's career as he struck three times in the Sounders 6-2 blowout win over Chivas USA at the Home Depot Center. With the win, the Sounders climb into second place ahead of Real Salt Lake who knocked the Sounders out of the playoffs last season. If the regular season were to come to an end last weekend, the Sounders and RSL would face eachother again in the Western Conference semifinals with RSL hosting the first leg.

Chivas USA found some openings early on in the match. In the third minute, former LA Galaxy player Tristan Bowen who was making his first start of the season for Chivas was found on the near side with some space. Bowen worked a give and go with Nick Labrocca and looked to strike the ball on goal, but the angle was tight so instead he threaded the ball through to Miller Bolanos who tried to place his shot into the far corner, but instead he hit it straight at Michael Gspurning.

Two minutes later, Miller Bolanos played in a low ball toward the near post for Juan Agudelo who tried to direct it into the far corner, but the final outcome of that was another missed opportunity.

The Sounders first opportunity of the game didn't come until the 10 minute mark and they had no problem making it count. Eddie Johnson flicked the ball on for Fredy Montero who brought the ball down and played an excellent through ball to Brad Evans who got in behind James Riley and Evans calmly slotted the ball into the far corner for his second goal of the season and the Sounders took an early 1-0 lead.

In the 15th minute, Chivas USA had another opportunity to score. After a giveaway, Ante Jazic worked a give and go with Agudelo on the far side before whipping in a good cross for Casey Townsend to got in front of Jhon Kennedy Hurtado but he couldn't head the ball on target. There were so many openings on both side of the field all game long. As for Casey Townsend, he should've scored there. He was in perfect position to head the ball home and he ends up missing it. This is why Chivas USA have scored the fewest goals in the league.

In the 27th minute, Chivas loses possession and the Sounders pour down field in a counter attack and make them pay. Christian Tiffert sent Brad Evans in behind with a brilliant long ball. Evans was looking to try and score another goal, but James Riley tracked back and didn't give him any chance at that and had to wait for support. And he got it as he played the ball back to Mauro Rosales who slid the ball through to Fredy Montero and the Colombian did the rest as he turned and hit it low and hard into the far corner to double Seattle's lead with his ninth goal of the season and his 12th in all competitions. As for Mauro Rosales, remember in mid June he began to struggle on the right hand side and he only had a goal and two assists at the time? It's been a different story since than, that assist on Montero's goal was his 11th in 2012 and there was still more to come later on in the game.

What do I mean by later you ask? Well, let's say the 34th minute when he sets up Fredy Montero again for another goal. Fredy Montero picked up the ball from the near side and he stumbles a little bit and loses his footing, but he did very well to use his strength and maintain possession before James Riley could break up the play. The Sounders worked the ball around outside the area before Mauro Rosales played another excellent through ball to Montero who was all alone and Montero chipped the ball over Dan Kennedy and in to make it 3-0. That goal also put Montero into double figures yet again with his 10th league goal of the season.

A couple minutes later, Chivas USA were awarded a penalty kick. Juan Agudelo chipped the ball to the near post looking for Casey Townsend. Now as Townsend was about to volley the ball goalwards, I thought at first he caught one of the defenders with a high boot. I don't know why, I just did. But Townsend never made contact with any defender, and the ball apparently came off the hand of Jeff Parke and referee Jose Carlos Rivero pointed to the penalty spot. Juan Agudelo stepped up and calmly slotted the ball low into the right corner, sending Michael Gspurning the wrong way to cut the Sounders lead to 3-1.

In the 56th minute, Chivas USA let yet another chance slip away. Juan Agudelo played the ball back to Nick LaBrocca who whipped the ball in first time and getting up was Tristan Bowen for a snap down header which bounced just wide.

In the 64th minute, Chivas were able to finish their chance and what was once a 3-0 Sounder lead has now become a 3-2 Sounder lead. Tristan Bowen fed the ball to the near side for Miller Bolanos. Bolanos had a bit of space to decide whether to pass the ball or strike it from distance. He had Ante Jazic making an overlapping run, but Bolanos decided to go for it alone as he cut inside of Jeff Parke and struck the ball low and hard and it skipped underneath Michael Gspurning and into the back of the goal to make it a one goal game. So things started to look pretty interesting in this match as Chivas USA looked like they were down and out earlier in the game before they scored two unanswered goals to get back in this match.

That is until the 67th minute when Seattle restored their two goal lead and began to pull away from there. Mauro Rosales was once again the set up man as he played another brilliant ball to Fredy Montero. Montero avoided the sliding challenge from John Valencia and rifled his shot into the far corner to complete his hat trick and more importantly to extend Seattle's lead to 4-2. Montero is the fourth Sounders player to record a hat trick in the clubs young history. Blaise Nkufo did it on the road against the Columbus Crew in 2010, Lamar Neagle did at home in 2011 which was also against the Columbus Crew, of course David Estrada did it against Toronto FC in the Opener back in March and now Fredy Montero finally joins that list with three impressive goals against Chivas USA.

The Sounders weren't done there. In the 80th minute, the Sounders put together a lot of passes in this move as they worked the ball out wide to Christian Tiffert who looked and curled the ball near post for Sammy Ochoa and the big man got in on the act with a terrific header to make it 5-2 Seattle.

The Sounders would get one more in the 91st minute. Fredy Montero waited for support and chipped the ball into the area looking for Mario Martinez who was making a run toward the far post and Ante Jazic headed the ball into his own net to make it 6-2 and that's how it would end.

The Sounders road trip continues. Right now they're in Trinidad and Tobago preparing for their Champions League match tomorrow against Caledonia AIA. After that they will head to head to FC Dallas Stadium this Sunday to, well take on FC Dallas. Their confidence should be really high right now the way they've played lately. As for Mario Martinez, if you never heard of him, he's a Honduran international who joined the team on loan from Real Espana following the Olympics. This was his debut match for the Sounders, coming on in the 78th minute. In his short time on the pitch, I thought his movement on the ball was good, he's a good passer, he's got a great vision and he's a fast paced athlete. I think the Sounders need to get Martinez completely involved in these late stages as the Sounders get set for another playoff run.


Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Brad Evans 2 (Fredy Montero 5) 10'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero 9 (Mauro Rosales 11) 27'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero 10 (Mauro Rosales 12) 34'

Chivas USA - Juan Agudelo 2 (penalty kick) 38'

Chivas USA - Miller Bolanos 2 (Tristan Bowen 1) 64'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero 11 (Mauro Rosales 13) 67'

Seattle Sounders FC - Sammy Ochoa 1 (Christian Tiffert 1, Brad Evans 3) 80'

Seattle Sounders FC - Own goal (Ante Jazic) 91'+


Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso (caution; foul) 54'

Chivas USA - Miller Bolanos (caution; off the ball foul) 93'+


Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning; Adam Johansson, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Leonardo Gonzalez; Mauro Rosales (Mario Martinez 78'), Osvaldo Alonso, Christian Tiffert (Steve Zakuani 84'), Brad Evans; Eddie Johnson (Sammy Ochoa 73'), Fredy Montero

Chivas USA - Dan Kennedy; James Riley, John Valencia, Bobby Burling, Ante Jazic; Tristan Bowen (Jose Erick Correa 69'), Shalrie Joseph, Nick LaBrocca, Miller Bolanos; Juan Agudelo, Casey Townsend (Juan Pablo Angel 86')

Sounders open up Champions League Group play with a 3-1 win over Caledonia AIA

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders kicked off another big month on a good note. Last night, the Sounders kicked off CONCACAF Champions League group play on a winning note as they defeated Caledonia AIA of Trinidad and Tobago 3-1 at home. With a huge home match on Sunday against the Los Angeles Galaxy and an Open Cup final match next Wednesday at Sporting Kansas City, that win should boost the teams confidence as we near the late stages of the 2012 MLS season.

In the opening minute of the match, the Sounders nearly scored on a set piece opportunity. Alex Caskey took the corner kick from the far side and found Andy Rose at the near post, but his header just sailed high. A few minutes later, the Sounders had another corner and Caskey this time found Jeff Parke at the near post, but again the header was a little too high.

In the 19th minute, the Sounders opened up their 2012-13 Champions League account. Cordell Cato on the far side was looking to play the ball into the box, but he put too much under his cross and it went through the box. However, Alex Caskey was over on the near side to pick the ball up and he played the ball back into the mixer which rolls to Sammy Ochoa just outside the six yard box and Ochoa sides the ball inside the near post with his left foot to put the Sounders ahead 1-0.

A couple minutes later, Caledonia had a chance to pull level. Jamaal Gay slid the ball across to Kareem Joseph who had plenty of space on the left side of the box. With Marc Burch backtracking, Joseph hesitated before cutting to his right foot and shooting for the far corner, but Andrew Weber got a piece of it to keep it out.

In the 30th minute, the Sounders doubled their lead. Cordell Cato made a nice cut inside and sent Andy Rose away down the right hand side with a brilliant through ball and Rose slid the ball right across to the six yard area where Fredy Montero was there for an easy tap in for his eighth goal in all competitions this season and more importantly to put the Sounders ahead 2-0. Seconds later, Ozzie Alonso took the ball away and had a go from distance which forced a save from Glenroy Samuel.

With just over two minutes to go till halftime, Seattle would add a third goal. Ozzie Alonso slid the ball into the box, Alex Caskey let the ball roll to Fredy Montero who turned and tried to curl his shot into the far side which forced a save from Samuel, but right there were both Andy Rose and Sammy Ochoa going for the same ball. Originally I thought Ochoa got a touch to it, but the replay showed that it was Andy Rose who got the goal to put the Sounders ahead 3-0.

Five minutes into the second half, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado got whistled for a foul in the box and Caledonia were awarded a PK. A long throw in was intended for Jamaal Gay in the box and Hurtado had his arms around him as he tried the clear the ball away. Normally the officials don't see those in the box so I was a little surprised that the referee saw that, but he saw it and he pointed to the spot which I believe was the correct decision. Kareem Joseph stepped up to take the PK and he went top right as Andrew Weber guessed incorrectly and Caledonia got on the board in this match. However they couldn't create any real chances in the second half and the Sounders walk away 3-1 winners in the Champions League Group opener.


Observations:

Despite his little creativity here and there during the match, I don't think Cordell Cato had the best of matches as a Seattle Sounder. I can think of at least 30 times Cato went up against former Charlotte Eagle Walter Moore down the right hand side. In the early minutes of the match Cato quickly opened the flood gates and outperformed Walter Moore, but as the game progressed Moore got his number and began to shut him down, not letting him get a shot on goal, not letting him play in an easy cross. In the Champions League, no matter how good or bad you are, how much potential you have or how good or bad the opposition is, you got play with a bit of consistency and I didn't see that from Cato.

I did see it from rookie Andy Rose however. The former UCLA Bruin on his Champions League debut looked to be the best player in this match. From the start of kickoff to the final whistle, this guy brought it 120% in this game, never looked back and he gets awarded with a goal and two assists. This guy has gone from a Supplemental Draft selection to possibly to candidate for MLS Rookie of the Year. He has a great future ahead of him.

With the change of the format for the 2012-13 CONCACAF Champions League, with eight groups of three and the winner of each group advancing, the pressure in the first match of group play is usually on the home team.Seattle took it to their opponents and got a much deserved win to kick off the month of August. The question is can they play with that same enthusiasm against an LA Galaxy side that has been on a roll lately? That's for everybody to find out on Sunday.


Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Sammy Ochoa (Andy Rose, Alex Caskey) 19'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero (Andy Rose, Cordell Cato) 30'

Seattle Sounders FC - Andy Rose (unassisted) 43'

Caledonia AIA - Kareem Joseph (penalty kick) 50'


Misconduct summary:

Caledonia AIA - Keyon Edwards (caution; foul) 39'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero (caution; dive) 56'


Lineups:

Caledonia AIA - Glenroy Samuel; Aubrey David, Radanfah Abu Bakr, Nuru Abdullah Muhammad, Walter Moore; Kareem Joseph, Stephan David, Keyon Edwards, Trayon Bobb (Trevin Caesar 58'); Jamaal Gay (Sheldon Holder 83'), Conrad Smith (Cornelius Stewart 58')

Seattle Sounders FC - Andrew Weber; Brad Evans, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Marc Burch; Cordell Cato, Osvaldo Alonso (Servando Carrasco 46'), Andy Rose, Alex Caskey (Leo Gonzalez 75'); Sammy Ochoa, Fredy Montero (Adam Johansson 92'+)

Sounders explode with five second half goals to defeat Cal FC 5-0

By Money Mike


Unlike the Portland Timbers last week, the Seattle Sounders had no problem at all with Cal FC. The Sounders put up a five spot on the amateur side and advanced to the Quarterfinal of the U.S. Open Cup with a 5-0 win. The Sounders will face the San Jose Earthquakes in the Quarterfinal on June 26th (although it could be moved to June 27th) at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco. I doubt San Jose will agree to move the match to Starfire like Atlanta did back in the third round. The Sounders won't be back in action until June 16th when they travel to the Stade Saputo in Montreal and face the Montreal Impact who currently have four former Sounder players on the team. Those four are Miguel Montano, Lamar Neagle, Sanna Nyassi and Tyson Wahl. They also had Mike Fucito at one point before they traded him to the Portland Timbers.

The Sounders were knocking on the door early in the match. In the 6th minute, Alex Caskey made a cut and had support from the trailing Andy Rose. Caskey fed Rose who settled and cracked one from distance and a slight deflection just forced his shot wide. Rose who scored his first Sounders goal last week against the Atlanta Silverbacks was looking to make it two goals in two games, but he just missed wide.

In the 17th minute, Cal FC had an opportunity off a corner kick. Diego Barrera rolled the ball to the top of the penalty area for Danny Barrera who took a crack at it, but it was easily saved by Bryan Meredith. Danny Barrera is one of four Cal FC players who have had tryouts with the Seattle Sounders these last couple of years. The other three were goalkeeper Derby Carillo, who a couple years ago during his stint with Seattle got pranked on April Fools Day along with a couple other rookies. Mike Randolph and Jesus Gonzalez also tried out for the Rave Green.

In the 31st minute, the Sounders came close again. Zach Scott's long throw in was headed back to the top of the area by Fredy Montero. Waiting in that area was Alex Caskey who cracked on first time and again it was deflected wide. I don't know if Derby Carillo got a touch to that one, but my guess was he may have been beat on that play had the ball not taken a deflection. Off the corner kick the ball bounced to Sammy Ochoa at the six yard area, but Ochoa couldn't tap it in.

In the 42nd minute, Sammy Ochoa got on the end of a cross from Marc Burch. However, Derby Carillo comes up with a big save to deny a breakthrough for the Sounders.

Five minutes into the second half, the Seattle Sounders would finally break the deadlock. Fredy Montero had a go from 19 yards out which was blocked by Albero Navarro in the box. But there's a little problem here because it hit Navarro's arm and he's not a goalkeeper so therefore, the referee calls a handball and points to the penalty spot. Ozzie Alonso stepped up to take the PK with an opportunity to give the Sounders the lead. He went to the goalkeepers right hand side and Derby Carillo read it perfectly and got a touch on it, but he didn't get enough of the touch to keep the ball out of the net and the Sounders drew first blood in the 50th minute.

In the 57th minute, the Sounders looked to double their advantage on Cal FC. Off a quick free kick Marc Burch sent the ball long into the penalty area for Andy Rose. The rookie from UCLA then headed the ball back across for Sammy Ochoa who went for the Bicycle Kick, but the ball went beyond everything. Ochoa looked to pick up where he left off last Tuesday against Atlanta where he had two goals. He had a chance on picking up his third of the tournament but it didn't work with that effort, even though it was a good one.

A minute later Seattle would double their advantage. Jhon Kennedy Hurtado booted the ball to midfield. Sammy Ochoa got up and won the ball as he flicked it for Cordell Cato who made a brilliant move to get away from two Cal FC defenders as sprinted towards the penalty area. Cato then looked and slid the ball across beautifully for Fredy Montero to put it away and extend the Sounders lead to 2-0.

The Sounders weren't done there. In the 63rd minute, they would add a third goal. Fredy Montero's corner kick found Sammy Ochoa again from point blank range and his header was punched off the line by Derby Carillo. Cal FC failed to help their goalkeeper by clearing the ball out of danger and Alex Caskey took advantage of it and headed the ball in. Unfortunately for him, he didn't get credit with the goal because his header hit Andy Rose's face before it went in so he got credited with an assist and Andy Rose got credited with his second goal in as many matches.

Seattle still wasn't done. In the 68th minute, Fredy Montero took the free kick from the far side. It looked at first it was going to be a cross for Sammy Ochoa, and it may have actually been an attempted cross. The ball was curled in toward the near post for Ochoa who was in an offside position and at first I thought he got a touch to it, but apparently he didn't. Both the referee and the linesman discussed the situation and in the end, it was ruled a goal for Montero which made it 4-0.

Two minutes later, the Sounders would bag one more. This one made SportsCenter's Top 10 plays yesterday. Alex Caskey rolled the ball to Ozzie Alonso and from 30 yards out, Alonso hits a half-volley over the head of Derby Carillo and into the net to make it 5-0 Sounders and that's how it ended.


Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso (PK) 50'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero (Cordell Cato) 58'

Seattle Sounders FC - Andy Rose (Alex Caskey) 63'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero (unassisted) 68'

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso (Andy Rose) 70'


Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso (caution; Reckless tackle) 19'

Seattle Sounders FC - Sammy Ochoa (caution; Unsporting behavior) 45'

Cal FC - Richard Menjivar (caution; Reckless tackle) 74'


Lineups:

Cal FC - Derby Carillo; Alberto Navarro, Hector Espinosa (Paulo Ferreira-Mendez 76'), Mike Randolph, Richard Menjivar; Jesus Gonzalez, Eder Arreola (Pedro Ferreira-Mendez 60'), Pablo Cruz (Alex Caceres 65'), Artur Aghasyan; Danny Barrera, Diego Barrera

Seattle Sounders FC - Bryan Meredith; Zach Scott, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Marc Burch; Cordell Cato, Osvaldo Alonso (Servando Carrasco 75'), Andy Rose, Alex Caskey; Sammy Ochoa (Roger Levesque 73'), Fredy Montero (David Estrada 81')

Sounders look to end Cal FC's dramatic Open Cup run

By Money Mike


It has been a hell of a run in the U.S. Open Cup for Cal FC, but now they need to find a way to get past the Seattle Sounders tonight at Starfire. This match will be televised nationally on FOX Soccer and will also be streamed live on soundersfc.com. Some fans have felt a little nervous about this match. In the first round, Cal FC got past the Kitsap Pumas 3-1. In the second round, they pounded the Wilmington Hammerheads 4-0. And of course in the third round, they pulled off a huge upset by defeating the Portland Timbers 1-0 in extra time at Jeld-Wen Field. The Sounders of course are coming off a 5-1 win over the Atlanta Silverbacks. Andy Rose and Alex Caskey each cashed in with their first Sounders goal, Ozzie Alonso picked up his first goal of the season and Sammy Ochoa scored two.


What to watch out for in this match:

I won't have much to say on this article. What I would look for is the Sounders to continue to attack for 90 minutes and really wear down the Cal FC backline. This has been my key to victory 24/7, and it's once again my key to victory. I'd much rather lose to the Earthquakes or the Minnesota Stars rather than Cal FC. Well actually, I'd rather not lose at all but hopefully you guys understand my point that a win by Cal FC over the Sounders would be a major upset. Time for the Sounders to make sure that doesn't happen.

Sounders advance with a 5-1 rout over the Atlanta Silverbacks

By Money Mike


16 MLS teams kicked off their U.S. Open Cup campaign in the third round this week. However, half of the pack got knocked out. The other half, including the Seattle Sounders, advanced to the fourth round. The Seattle Sounders advanced after a 5-1 beatdown over the Atlanta Silverbacks last night in front 3,703 fans at Starfire. The Sounders will face Cal FC next Tuesday at Starfire after they upset the Portland Timbers at their home ground with a 1-0 win in extra time. Had the Timbers won that match as everyone would've expected, Seattle would've traveled down to Portland and faced the Timbers in the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup. That also would've been the third time in the last four years that Portland hosted an Open Cup match against Seattle.

The Sounders tested the Atlanta Silverbacks backline straight from the opening kickoff. Cordell Cato won that battle for the ball with Jose Burciaga, Jr. and poked the ball for Sammy Ochoa. Ochoa turned and had a go from about 25 yards out, but no problem for goalkeeper Joe Nasco to make the save.

In the 19th minute, the Sounders had a great opportunity to go ahead. Cordell Cato took on former UW Husky Raphael Cox who had a torrid time in this match. Cato squared the ball across low for Eddie Johnson from about 12 yards away, but Johnson skied it over top of the bar. I'm not sure how much of a chance Johnson had in putting that one away because he had to reach out for that ball with his left foot. It almost looked like he stumbled a little bit while trying to put that away, but a big chance there for Eddie Johnson who has struggled these last couple of weeks.

In the 21st minute, Danilo Turcois backheeled the ball to Raphael Cox for a first timed shot that sailed over the bar. Turcois, who represented Honduras at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, looked like he was used as a playmaker in this match for the Atlanta Silverbacks.

In the 36th minute, this could easily have been a straight red card had the referee or the linesman spotted this one. Joe Nasco collided with teammate Jose Burciaga, Jr. which gave Ozzie Alonso a try from the half way line. Nasco did get back and punch it wide, but it looked like he was outside the penalty area. If a goalkeeper handles the ball outside the box, that's an automatic red card. I think he was lucky that the referee didn't call anything.

In the 43rd minute, Alex Caskey tried his luck from 19 yards out and forced another save from Joe Nasco. The Sounders have tested Nasco from all cylindars the entire match and made things tough for him.

Shortly after, the Sounders struck first. Eddie Johnson headed the ball across to Jeff Parke who then chested the ball down at the top of the area and the man standing there was Andy Rose and the rookie from UCLA hits it first time into the left corner to give the Seattle Sounders a well deserved 1-0 lead over the NASL side. Joe Nasco didn't have a chance at this one. We've seen Osvaldo Alonso strike those from outside the area as well as Alex Caskey but I wouldn't forget about Andy Rose. It's great to see that we're getting a lot of production from the midfield.

In the 47th minute, the Sounders doubled their advantage. Cordell Cato, who had an excellent performance, sent Ozzie Alonso in behind with only the keeper to beat and Alonso slotted it inside the far corner for his first of the season.

Six minutes later, Atlanta pulled one back. Shane Moroney came forward from his right back spot and fed Reinaldo Navia at the top of the area. Navia struck the ball first time low into the right corner to cut the Sounders lead to one. That was until Alex Caskey came right back and scored his first Sounders goal and more importantly, to restore Seattle's two goal lead.

In the 63rd minute, the Sounders started running away with this match. After a turnover in the midfield by the Silverbacks, the Sounders stormed back the other way and Ozzie Alonso fed Sammy Ochoa who was able to keep him self onside and smash the ball inside the left post to make it 4-1 Sounders. Ochoa was not done there. In the 66th minute, David Estrada looked to get in on the act as his shot from the top of the penalty area was blocked by Martyn Lancaster, but Sammy Ochoa was right there to follow up and curl his shot into the far corner to put the icing on the cake in this third round U.S. Open Cup match.


Observations:

It was good to see Ozzie Alonso get some minutes in this one since he was banned for two matches in MLS play. I'm expecting him to get the start again next Tuesday in Seattle's fourth round matchup against Cal FC, who of course stunned the Portland Timbers at Jeld-Wen Field. Alonso is considered to be one of the best if not the best holding midfielder in Major League Soccer and he did very well holding the fort last night and also picking up a goal. He's a great all around athlete and rarely have I seen him have a bad game.

Sammy Ochoa had a two goal night which was the first of his career. Despite his performance, the MLS and U.S. Open Cup are two different levels and I'm not sure Ochoa at the level to start MLS matches just yet. Ochoa does have the potential to score a lot of goals and he did show that against the Atlanta Silverbacks, but remember he spent about 5-6 years with Estudiantes Tecos in Mexico where he got almost little to no playing time so his form still needs a little work. Eddie Johnson has been dealing with the same situation during his time in Europe, but Johnson has more experience than Ochoa has and his work rate is much higher than Ochoa's. I do think Ochoa will be around for a while and I do think he's going to be a starter in the future. Again, he has the potential to score a lot of goals.

Another good turnout at the Starfire Sports Complex by the Sounders FC Supporters despite the debate this past week about this match being moved from Atlanta to Seattle. Here's the point though, sure Atlanta would've sold this match out had they not agreed to move the match to Seattle but the fact is Atlanta is a crappy Sports City and they would not even come close to helping out in terms of increasing the growth of American Soccer. Which is why they won't be getting an MLS team. It won't happen anytime soon at least.

It was good to see the Sounders bounce back from their 4 match winless draught in MLS and get a win here to close out this long month. It's also nice to see that they're going to be at home for the fourth round against Cal FC. An amateur side who beat the Portland Timbers on their home ground. Now that's just sad. I mean really, when was the last time an amateur club beat a Major League Soccer team? I mean really the Sounders got themselves an easy opponent for the fourth round. Trust me, Seattle will be too tough to handle for Cal FC.


Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Andy Rose (Jeff Parke) 44'

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso (Cordell Cato) 47'

Atlanta Silverbacks - Reinaldo Navia (Shane Moroney) 53'

Seattle Sounders FC - Alex Caskey (unassisted) 54'

Seattle Sounders FC - Sammy Ochoa (Osvaldo Alonso) 63'

Seattle Sounders FC - Sammy Ochoa (unassisted) 66'


Misconduct summary:

Atlanta Silverbacks - Reinaldo Navia (caution; late foul) 59'

Seattle Sounders FC - Marc Burch (caution; retaliatory foul) 59'

Atlanta Silverbacks - Jordan Davis (caution; tactical foul) 88'


Lineups:

Atlanta Silverbacks - Joe Nasco; Shane Moroney, Martyn Lancaster, Jose Burciaga, Jr., Raphael Cox; Tony McManus (Jordan Davis 83'), Ciaran O'Brien, Danilo Turcois, Borfor Carr (David Santamaria 70'); Matt Horth (Nico Colaluca 64'), Reinaldo Navia

Seattle Sounders FC - Bryan Meredith; Zach Scott, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Marc Burch; Cordell Cato, Osvaldo Alonso (Servando Carrasco 70'), Andy Rose, Alex Caskey; Eddie Johnson (David Estrada 46'), Sammy Ochoa (Roger Levesque 69')

Zach Scott's 63rd minute goal enough for the Sounders to walk away with a win

By Money Mike


The Sounders moved up to third place in the Western Conference earlier this afternoon as they defeated the Colorado Rapids by a score of 1-0. Zach Scott's goal in the 63rd minute snapped the Sounders 305 minute goalless streak. Seattle made a couple of changes to the lineup. Eddie Johnson and Alex Caskey both got their first start with the Rave Green who were still without Mauro Rosales and Adam Johansson. However both of them should make their return when the Sounders travel to Chicago to take on the Fire.

No surprise the Sounders came right at them early in this game. In the 5th minute, Colorado had lots of trouble clearing the ball away and they nearly paid the price. Marvell Wynne gave the ball straight to David Estrada, who quickly found Fredy Montero in the box. Montero then turned, escaped an attempted slide tackle from Drew Moor and went for the far corner but it was beaten away by Matt Pickens. Montero's first half performance was pretty good. Really starting to get in on the attack. However, he's still looking for his first goal of the season. Then again, he struggled in the early stages of 2010 and 2011.

In the 13th minute, a free kick from Alex Caskey found Zach Scott from point blank range, but he directed his header just wide. Scott is really good in the air in these situations. He scored eight goals with the Sounders USL franchise, and he nearly got one there but was inches wide of the left post.

Seconds later, Scott nearly got caught at the other end. After failing to control a high lofted ball from Brian Mullan, Scott lost out to Tony Cascio who tried to chip Michael Gspurning but instead, he fired high over the bar.

In the 33rd minute, the Rapids thought they scored the opening goal. After some poor ball control by Seattle, Tony Cascio chipped the ball forward for Omar Cummings on the far side of the pitch. Cummings made a nice cut to get around two Seattle defenders and fired a low right root drive on goal which forced a save from Michael Gspurning. Brian Mullan was there to pounce on the rebound and tap it in the goal, but the offside flag went up and the goal was waved off. Mullan in his first match in Seattle since the injury he cause to Steve Zakuani has been booed all match by the entire Sounder nation. The fans still haven't forgiven him for what he did to our no. 1 overall draft pick from 2009.

In the 53rd minute, the Sounders won a free kick in a dangerous area. Fredy Montero stepped up and curled it around the wall and just missed wide of Picken's right hand side. Despite his struggles, you can't deny that Fredy Montero is a threat in these situations. About nine minutes later, Montero tested the keeper again. This time forcing Pickens to palm his shot wide for a corner.

In the 63rd minute, first blood went to the Men in Rave Green. After a poor delivery off a corner kick from Alex Caskey about a few seconds ago, he had another chance to get this one right and he did. Caskey driven ball found Zack Scott at the near post and the veteran directed his header to the far post and in the back of the goal to snap the Sounders scoreless streak and even better, give the Sounders a 1-0 lead. It was Scott's first goal of his MLS career.

In the 89th minute, Fredy Montero worked a give and go with Leo Gonzalez. Montero caught Matt Pickens off his line and tried to chip him, but Pickens punched his effort over the bar. He had Sammy Ochoa up with him as well. I think he should poked the ball to Ochoa which would've led to an easy tap in. However one goal proved to be enough for Seattle.


Observations:

Fredy Montero and sort of an up and down performance in this match. I understand this guy wants to score goals, to help his team try to win and all that, but he needs to quit acting as a playmaker, get forward and test the backline. He's a good young player, but often times, he's been a little too cute on the ball and try to make plays all by himself which will never work in the game of soccer, unless you're Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, but Fredy is nowhere near their caliber. It's early in the season and he is way overdue for his first goal of the season, but this is a team game and his second half performance was somewhat disappointing. Hopefully after the bye week, Montero can turn things around on the road in Chicago and I think he'll step his game up. Like I said earlier, the early stages of the season is where he isn't really at his best, but then as the season rolls along, he starts to heat up.

The Sounders made a couple of lineup changes in this match. Alvaro Fernandez was left out of the lineup. Alex Caskey got the start in place of him. Eddie Johnson also made his first start and David Estrada was move to right midfield. Despite outshooting the Rapids 18-4, the Sounders weren't on the right page due to those lineup changes and they had only 40% of the possession all match. You need to be on the right page at all times.

It was a lot of fun catching another game in person. The problem though is I forgot my Camera so that shot from the upper deck was taken on my phone which is basically why it's not a great picture. I remember my very first Sounders game was that USL Championship game in 2005 and at that time, we didn't have this many fans. All the fans were on the east side of that picture. Since the Sounders became an MLS franchise I've been to five of their matches so far. Three of them were MLS matches, the U.S. Open Cup final last year and earlier this year, I saw their CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinal match against Santos. So this match is the second I've gone to this year.

Despite all the terrible passing and the lack of possession and all that. This is a good win for the Sounders because they now move to third place in the Western Conference standings and are only five points behind Real Salt Lake with a couple of games in hand. RSL lost earlier to Sporting Kansas City 1-0 and this is no joke people, Sporting KC is 6-0 so far in this young season. Anyway, it was important that this team got back on track after failing to score the past couple of weeks.


Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Zach Scott 1 (Alex Caskey 1) 63'


Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Eddie Johnson (caution; foul) 47'

Seattle Sounders FC - Zach Scott (caution; foul) 49'

Colorado Rapids - Brian Mullan (caution; foul) 87'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero (caution; Dissent) 87'


Lineups:

Colorado Rapids - Matt Pickens; Kosuke Kimura, Marvell Wynne, Drew Moor, Luis Zepata; Brian Mullan, Martin Rivero, Jeff Larentowicz, Jaime Castrillon (Kamani Hill 69'), Tony Cascio (Andre Akpan 83'); Omar Cummings

Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning; Zach Scott, Jeff Parke, Patrick Ianni, Leo Gonzalez; David Estrada, Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans, Alex Caskey (Marc Burch 75'); Fredy Montero (Roger Levesque 91'+), Eddie Johnson (Sammy Ochoa 66')

Sounders rally falls short losing 3-2 on aggregate to Real Salt Lake

By Money Mike

The Seattle Sounders were 3-nil down coming into the 2nd leg and in need of a three goal win to force extra time and at least a four goal win to take the series. They ended up with only two as they won the 2nd leg 2-0, however, they fell 3-2 on aggregate which means the 2011 season is over and also Kasey Keller long and memorable career is over. Real Salt Lake will move on to the MLS Cup semifinal against either the LA Galaxy or the New York Red Bulls. For the Sounders, they have still yet to make it past the MLS Cup Quarterfinals. In 2009, they were knocked out by the Houston Dynamo. In 2010, they were knocked out by the Los Angeles Galaxy. Now this year, they were knocked out by Real Salt Lake. It's gonna be tough to come by for a couple of days, but none the less, the Sounders are getting better and better and I believe that they will soon put their hands on an MLS Cup.

The Sounders almost got the breakthrough early on. Erik Friberg's cross was deflected right to Fredy Montero who touched it just wide right of Nick Rimando's goal.

The Sounders had to make two early subs in the first half, bringing on Lamar Neagle and Roger Levesque for Brad Evans and Alvaro Fernandez due to injuries.

The biggest save of the night was defender Tony Beltran clearing Jeff Parke's volley off the line with his head. So many opportunities that could've resulted in a comeback win in the series for the Men in Rave Green.

The Sounders got on the board in the 56th minute. Lamar Neagle sent in a cross for Mike Fucito who was pulled down by Tony Beltran and referee Jair Marrufo wasted no time pointing the penalty spot. Beltran was also booked for the challenge. Ozzie Alonso stepped up to take the penalty for the Seattle Sounders and he would drive it low and right down the middle to put the Sounders on the board in the series, making it 1-0 in the second leg and 3-1 RSL on aggregate.

Five minutes later, the Sounders got another goal. Lamar Neagle first-timed a Fredy Montero pass into the far corner and all the sudden, the Sounders were back in the series. The Sounders continued to attacked all game, but in the end, Real Salt Lake did well enough to hang on and win the series.

Scoring summary (first leg):

Real Salt Lake - Alvaro Saborio (Chris Wingert, Javier Morales) 41'

Real Salt Lake - Alvaro Saborio (Javier Morales) 53'

Real Salt Lake - Ned Grabavoy (unassisted) 88'

Scoring summary (second leg):

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso (penalty kick) 56'

Seattle Sounders FC - Lamar Neagle (Fredy Montero, Osvaldo Alonso) 61'

- Real Salt Lake advances 3-2 on aggregate

Misconduct summary:

Real Salt Lake - Tony Beltran (caution; Tactical foul) 55'

Real Salt Lake - Nick Rimando (caution; Delaying a restart) 56'

Seattle Sounders FC - Roger Levesque (caution; Reckless tackle) 62'

Seattle Sounders FC - Leonardo Gonzalez (caution; Reckless tackle) 92'+

Lineups:

Real Salt Lake - Nick Rimando; Robbie Russell, Chris Schuler, Chris Wingert, Tony Beltran; Andy Williams (Ned Grabavoy 57'), Kyle Beckerman, Javier Morales (Luis Gil 89'), Will Johnson; Fabian Espindola, Alvaro Saborio (Yordany Alvarez 76')

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller; Zach Scott, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Leonardo Gonzalez; Brad Evans (Roger Levesque 21'), Osvaldo Alonso, Erik Friberg, Alvaro Fernandez (Lamar Neagle 14'); Mike Fucito (Sammy Ochoa 76'), Fredy Montero

Sounders close out the regular season on a winning note, 3-1 over Chivas USA.

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders on the last day of the 2011 regular season crush Chivas USA 3-1 at the Home Depot Center. The Sounders finish the regular season with an 18-7-9 record which gives them 63 points and also become the 10th team in history to win 9 road games in a season. Chivas USA ends their season with a record of 8-14-12 which is good for 36 points. The Sounders next week will head to Rio Tinto Stadium to face Real Salt Lake in the 1st Leg of the MLS Cup Quarterfinals. The match will either be played on Saturday or Sunday. The return leg will be on either November 5th or 6th at CenturyLink Field.

Now this is was a scary moment for the Sounders. In the 5th minute, Mauro Rosales, who made his first start since the D.C. United match when he sprained his MCL, looked to have sprained it yet again. 2nd year man, Ben Zemanski came in hard and late on the tackle and picked up a yellow card for the Challenge. Rosales taken off the field on a stretcher and was replaced in the 10th minute by Roger Levesque. A couple minutes later, Rosales got up off the stretcher and walked to the bench under his own power. As far as we know, the injury doesn't look as bad as it first looked on the screen.

Now onto the 53rd minute when the Sounders took the lead after an own goal. After some nice build up by the Men in Rave Green with James Riley and Fredy Montero, Andrew Boyens tried to clear the ball away, however, he accidentally backheeled it into his own net to give the Sounders a 1-0 advantage.

15 minutes later, El Flacco doubled the Sounders lead. Brad Evans, after seeing that both Roger Levesque and Fredy Montero were in an offside position chipped the ball over the defense for Alvaro Fernandez who curled it past Dan Kennedy and into the far corner for his 9th goal in MLS this season and his 11th in all compitions. Five minutes later, it would be Sammy Ochoa's turn to get on the scoresheet with a terrific diving header off a Fredy Montero cross to make it 3-0 Sounders.

Chivas would get a consulation goal in the 83rd minute off a header by Victor Estupinan for his first MLS goal, but that wasn't enough for the goats as the Sounders come away with a 3-1 win.


Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Own Goal (Andrew Boyens) 53'

Seattle Sounders FC - Alvaro Fernandez 9 (Brad Evans 5) 68'

Seattle Sounders FC - Sammy Ochoa 2 (Fredy Montero 9, Roger Levesque 3) 73'

Chivas USA - Victor Estupinan 1 (Andrew Boyens 1, Mariano Trujillo 2) 83'


Misconduct summary:

Chivas USA - Ben Zemanski (caution; Reckless tackle) 5'

Seattle Sounders FC - Roger Levesque (caution; Reckless foul) 40'

Seattle Sounders FC - Brad Evans (caution; Dissent) 79'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero (caution; Lack of Respect for Game) 80'


Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller; James Riley, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Leonardo Gonzalez (Tyson Wahl 81'); Mauro Rosales (Roger Levesque 10'), Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans, Alvaro Fernandez; Fredy Montero, Mike Fucito (Sammy Ochoa 64')

Chivas USA - Dan Kennedy; Zarek Valentin, Heath Pearce (Andrew Boyens 46'), David Junior Lopes, Ante Jazic (Mariano Trujillo 56'); Alejandro Moreno, Blair Gaven, Nick LaBrocca, Ben Zemanski; Juan Pablo Angel (Victor Estupinan 75'), Marcos Mondaini