Not this time for the Sounders; Sporting Kansas City win the 2012 U.S. Open Cup final

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders since joining Major League Soccer, have won three straight U.S. Open Cup titles in 2009, 2010 and 2011 and last night had a chance to become the first ever team to win four Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup titles in a row, but it just wasn't to be. The Sounders and Sporting Kansas City battled it out all night long, but in the end it was Sporting Kansas City who lifted the trophy. The Sounders fell to Sporting Kansas City fell 3-2 on penalties which ended their three year title run. It was a physical battle between both sides from start to finish with a few controversial decisions but the bottomline is, KC are the new U.S. Open Cup Champions and for the Sounders, if they want to qualify for their fourth straight CONCACAF Champions League they're gonna have to do it the hard way by winning the Supporters Shield (finishing 1st overall in the regular season) or by reaching the MLS Cup final.

Kansas City enjoyed a good spell of possession early on and in the 12th minute, Kei Kamara got around Zach Scott and got off a tough shot. But his effort sailed high and wide.

In the 24th minute, Kamara had another chance at goal and this time he game the Sounders a real scare. After some lousy ball movement in the middle of the field, Graham Zusi poked the ball to Kamara who had lots of room. Zach Scott didn't come over to pressure him so Kamara gave it a go and the ball dipped over the head of Michael Gspurning, but the bar saved Seattle. Looking at the replay, the shot may have been deflected by Andy Rose, but you can not give Kei Kamara any space outside the area because he can really hit those shots out there.

About five minutes later, the Sounders nearly had a set piece opportunity and nearly made it count. Mauro Rosales, who has really turned his game around after a slow start, sent in an outswinger to the middle for Eddie Johnson for a downward header just outside the six yard area, but Jimmy Nielsen got down in time to deny Johnson who has 11 goals in all competitions and seven of those have been off his head. Johnson has become a primary target in the box in these situations.

Five minutes later, EJ had another big opportunity to give the Sounders the lead in the final. Zach Scott dispossessed Kei Kamara and found Eddie Johnson in the middle of the field. Seth Sinovic tried to side in and break up the play, but Johnson spun around and here's another area where Johnson is dangerous as he took on Lawrence Olum in a one on one situation. Johnson made a nice cut to get away from Olum and looked for the far corner, but the shot just went wide of Jimmy Nielsen's right hand side.

In the 38th minute, Seth Sinovic turned past Mauro Rosales and had a go from distance and most of the Sporting KC supporters thought that was in, but it hit side netting.

On the stroke of halftime, Kansas City had another good chance of taking the lead. Chance Myers looked to curl the ball into the area, but Jhon Kennedy Hurtado headed the ball away. The attack wasn't over yet, Kei Kamara picked up the ball and played it back out wide to Myers who curled it back into the area for Graham Zusi who was bunched up pretty good in the box. Zusi pushed the ball back to Roger Espinoza for a first timed shot, but it was hit right at Michael Gspurning.

In the 82nd minute, the Sounders were whistled for handball in the box and referee Ricardo Salazar pointed to the penalty spot. Seth Sinovic played a good ball forward for Teal Bunbury on the near side. Bunbury cut the ball to his right foot and looked to chip it for Graham Zusi and they were saying that Zach Scott played the ball with his hand. I've been looking at the replay and I couldn't see where the handball took place and I don't understand how the referee saw that, because he was behind the defender. I mean, Zach Scott had his back turned on the referee so I don't get how he saw that. Kei Kamara stepped up for Sporting Kansas City and calmly slotted the ball past Michael Gspurning to put the home side up 1-0 with over six minutes to go plus stoppage time.

That lead was cut short however because in the 86th minute, the Sounders equalized. Mauro Rosales took the free kick and curled the ball toward the back post and found Zach Scott who was unmarked and Scott headed the ball inside the far corner. Jimmy Nielsen was froze on that play, didn't have a chance at that and the Sounders come right back and tie this baby up at one. The match went to extra time because this is a cup final. There wasn't much action in extra time due to tired legs on both sides so the final was decided by PK's.

Kei Kamara stepped up first for Sporting KC. Kamara went to the left side this time and Michael Gspurning was unlucky here because he guess right and got both hands to the ball, but it found the net and Sporting led 1-0. Brad Evans took the Sounders first attempt and went to the left side as well, sending goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen the wrong way. So it was 1-1 after round one.

In the second round, Roger Espinoza took the second PK attempt for Sporting. Espinoza went for placement and tried to slide the ball inside the left post, but Michael Gspurning guessed correctly and made the save. It was an awful penalty by Espinoza. With a chance to put Seattle in the driver's seat, Marc Burch stepped up to take Seattle's second penalty and he made no mistake as he powered it right down the middle and it was advantage Seattle. 2-1 Sounders after two rounds.

In round three, Matt Besler went for KC and he scored off the top of the crossbar. For the Sounders, Ozzie Alonso stepped up, looking to keep the advantage on his team's side but he skied his shot over the bar. I liked idea by Alonso, he got his foot behind the ball and struck it as hard as he could, but he got too far under it. So it was 2-2 after three rounds. It remained 2-2 after four rounds after both teams failed to convert their attempts.

In the fifth round, referee Ricardo Salazar makes another questionable decision. Paulo Nagamura stepped up to take the penalty and tried to go for the right corner and Michael Gspurning palmed it wide, but Salazar said that Gspurning jumped off his line early and he ordered the kick to be re-taken. Nagamura stepped up again and went for the other side and this time he converted. So now it was all up to Eddie Johnson to convert this pk and extend the shootout, but EJ got well under the ball and skied it over the top and Sporting Kansas City walked away as new U.S. Open Cup Champions.

It was a bit unfortunate for the Sounders to lose in the U.S. Open Cup. It was a hard fought battle. I thought the back line did very well. Michael Gspurning of course did very well in net for the Sounders. The Sounders have to put this loss behind and get ready for an even bigger match at San Jose against the Earthquakes. Hopefully by matchday, the lads are well rested and fully prepared for that one. Congrats to Sporting KC for winning the Open Cup title.


Scoring summary:

Sporting Kansas City - Kei Kamara (penalty kick) 84'

Seattle Sounders FC - Zach Scott (Mauro Rosales) 86'


Penalty summary:

Sporting Kansas City - Kei Kamara (GOAL; 1-0)

Seattle Sounders FC - Brad Evans (GOAL; 1-1)

Sporting Kansas City - Roger Espinoza (SAVED; 1-1)

Seattle Sounders FC - Marc Burch (GOAL; 1-2)

Sporting Kansas City - Matt Besler (GOAL; 2-2)

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso (MISS; 2-2)

Sporting Kansas City - Graham Zusi (MISS; 2-2)

Seattle Sounders FC - Christian Tiffert (SAVED; 2-2)

Sporting Kansas City - Paulo Nagamura (GOAL; 3-2)

Seattle Sounders FC - Eddie Johnson (MISS; 3-2)

* Sporting Kansas City win 3-2 on Penalties


Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso (caution; dissent) 4'

Seattle Sounders FC - Mauro Rosales (caution; foul) 57'

Seattle Sounders FC - Patrick Ianni (caution; foul) 73'

Seattle Sounders FC - Zach Scott (caution; foul) 93'

Seattle Sounders FC - Patrick Ianni (caution; foul) 118'

Seattle Sounders FC - Patrick Ianni (ejection; second yellow) 118'


Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning; Zach Scott, Patrick Ianni, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Leonardo Gonzalez; Mauro Rosales, Osvaldo Alonso, Andy Rose (Christian Tiffert 69'), Alex Caskey (Brad Evans 69'); Eddie Johnson, Fredy Montero (Marc Burch 105')

Sporting Kansas City - Jimmy Nielsen; Chance Myers, Lawrence Olum, Matt Besler, Seth Sinovic (Michael Harrington 100'); Graham Zusi, Julio Cesar, Paulo Nagamura, Roger Espinoza; Kei Kamara, Teal Bunbury (C.J. Sapong 88')

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')

Sounders get set to kickoff their U.S. Open Cup campaign against the Atlanta Silverbacks

By Money Mike


Already seven MLS teams have been eliminated in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The Seattle Sounders will hope they don't become the eighth MLS team to be knocked out as they host NASL club Atlanta Silverbacks tomorrow at the Starfire Sports Complex in Takwila at 7:30pm. The Sounders of course have won three straight U.S. Open Cup titles and are looking to make it four, but it sure as hell won't be an easy task. Especially the way things have gone so far in the third round as seven MLS clubs including Real Salt Lake and the Los Angeles Galaxy have been eliminated. This match was originally scheduled to be played to Atlanta, but the Sounders and the Silverbacks agreed to move the match to Seattle.

It's been four years since these two sides last met. As a matter of fact, the year before, both Seattle and Atlanta met eachother in the 2007 USL First Division Championship which took place at Starfire and Seattle crushed the Silverbacks 4-0 to win the title. A month later, Seattle was awarded an MLS franchise. Now when you look back at that time, a lot of folks haven't heard much about the Sounders and I didn't start following the Sounders until 2005 and soccer wasn't really that big a deal at the time. The popularity level dropped since MLS kicked off its history in 1996 and someone like me who has played soccer for a couple of years, it's really disappointing. Since 07', the popularity level of Soccer in America reached new heights. I mean, this past Saturday the USA-Scotland match in Jacksonville drew a big crowd and believe it or not, the majority of the fans were USA fans. So it's been a while since we've seen the Sounders and the Silverbacks square off.

One thing to keep in mind is that Sigi Schmid won't use his original starting 11 at this stage. We might see a few starters in the 11 as well as some reserve players. So I'm guess we'll see guys like Andrew Duran getting the start. Christian Sivebaek looks like he'll get the start as well. I'm expecting Bryan Meredith to get the start in net although I wouldn't rule out Andrew Weber. This is my guess of course.

This will be the last of Seattle's eight game stretch in the month of May. After a stretch of four straight MLS matches without a win, the Sounders will look to end with month with a win in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and get ready for the month of June where they only have four MLS matches scheduled. The Sounders won't be back to business in MLS play until June 16th when they travel to face the Montreal Impact. Up until that point, they have the Atlanta Silverbacks to deal with tomorrow and if they win this one, then they'll have another Open Cup match on June 5th. They also have a reserve match this friday at Starfire against the Whitecaps. The reason I bring that up is because Steve Zakuani is expected to play in that one. We've heard so many times that Zakuani was aimimg to make his return sometime during this stretch. Other then those three matches, the Sounders will have a much needed break after a long month.

Sounders become the first team in 42 years to win three straight U.S. Open Cup titles

By Money Mike

Three Years, Three trophies. The Seattle Sounders have done what no MLS team has done before, win three U.S. Open Cup titles in a row, and they have become the first team since the New York Greek-Americans in from 1967-1969 to win three in a row. The Sounders defeated the Chicago Fire by a score of 2-0 after two second half goals by Fredy Montero and Ozzie Alonso and with yet another Cup title, the Sounders have qualified for the 2012-2013 CONCACAF Champions League. The Chicago Fire failed in their bid to join Bethlehem Steel and Maccabi Los Angeles as the only five-time Champions in U.S. Open Cup history. In last years cup final, Seattle broke the attendance record with 31,111 fans. This year, they broke their own record with 35,615 fans in attendance.

Chicago had an early opportunity off a free kick about 30 seconds into the match. Pavel Pardo's delivery found its way to Cory Gibbs who directed his header well wide of Kasey Keller's right hand side.

Seattle began to press immediately after. In the 2nd minute, Mike Fucito's free kick was intended for Jhon Kennedy Hurtado at the far post, but the delivery was just over his head. A minute later, Seattle won a corner. Lamar Neagle took the corner from the left hash mark and found Jeff Parke who's header was blocked by a Chicago defender, may have been Cory Gibbs with the block but Pavel Pardo was also defending on the play. The ball bounced right back to Parke who had another chance at it, but all he could do was get a toe poke on it and the ball was easily gathered by Sean Johnson.

Sounders weren't done yet. In the 5th minute, after some great ball movement, Alvaro Fernandez made a good run against Marco Pappa who was back defending after Gonzalo Segares was caught out of position and whipped in a good ball to Mike Fucito in the penalty area, but the opportunity in the end came to nothing.

In the 7th minute, Lamar Neagle out jumped Dan Gargan and nodded it into the penalty area for Fucito who caught it on the volley with his left foot and forced a terrific kick save from Johnson after Josip Mikulic got caught not paying any attention to the third year man out of Harvard University.

In the 10th minute, the Fire nearly snatched an early goal. Daniel Paladini got it free to Marco Pappa while Ozzie Alonso was applying pressure. Pappa, who scored a hattrick away at Real Salt Lake in one of last weeks midweek matches, unloaded off his left foot which took a deflection and just sailed wide to the left of Keller.

Things got a little quiet since that opportunity until the 39th minute when Marco Pappa made a cut into the middle and unloaded with his left foot again which was deflected as well and almost got caught wrong footed by the deflection but he was able recover and make the save.

In the 44th minute, Gonzalo Segares gave the ball away to Mike Fucito in a dangerous area. Fucito was forced wide by Josip Mikulic and couldn't get a shot away, instead, be back healed the ball to Alvaro Fernandez for a first timed shot and Sean Johnson was forced to make another save. The Sounders nearly broke through just before the break. Fredy Montero after dribbling away from Pavel Pardo made a cut to the middle and got off what looked like a weak right footed effort, but the shot somehow nearly went in as it hit the post (the goalkeepers best friend). The ball bounced off Mike Fucito but he couldn't get anything on it and it went out of play. Montero beat four Chicago players by the look of things. Dribbling away from Pardo Pardo, Patrick Nyarko couldn't get back in time to break up the opportunity and both Logan Pause and Josip Mikulic just stood around and left a gap for Montero to shoot at. Both teams went into the locker room scoreless at halftime, but it could've been 4-0 Sounders after all of that.

In the Second half, the Sounders took out Alvaro Fernandez after he suffered a head injury and that's the last thing you want to hear this late in the season. He was replaced by Erik Friberg and I was quite surprised by the move and didn't know why because I was in the stands, but turned out to be a good sub, Friberg did very well in the second half. In the 53rd minute, Seattle once again was denied by the goalpost. Leo Gonzalez's long throw found Lamar Neagle just outside the box. Neagle directed his header brilliantly to the path of Mike Fucito and the little guy jumps up and lobs it over Sean Johnson at the far post, but the post yet again keeps Chicago from falling behind in the early stages of the second half. And this has happened a lot, especially big clubs, that even if you have 10, 20 or even 30 opportunities and you're unable to capitalize on them, it could come back to haunt you and with an hour gone and another half hour to go in the match, we were sort of at the point where something like that could happen.

Chicago struggled mightily to create any opportunity in the second half and they had to make a change defensively in the 61st minute. Rookie Jalil Anibaba came in to replace Josip Mikulic and my guess the reason for this switch was that he may picked up an injury after an attempted sliding challenge to dispossess one of the Sounder players. He made the challenge and I don't remember if there was a foul called or the referee signaled for a throw in. But Mikulic stayed down on the turf and I don't know what the hell the Emerald City Supporters were chanting. The stadium was too loud, but from what I heard, it sounded like they were chanting "LET HIM DIE". Again, I couldn't hear what they actually said, but it was somewhere at that line.

In the 77th minute, the Chicago back line had so many difficulties clearing the ball way. James Riley's cross towards Fredy Montero was headed away by Jalil Anibaba. The ball however fell to Erik Friberg who fed Riley with a nice lead pass. Riley's cross found Montero for a header that was cleared off the line by Anibaba. Ozzie Alonso out jumped Daniel Paladini and got a head to it, directing to Lamar Neagle, who nodded it down for Mike Fucito who had a go from about 18-yards away, but it was Anibaba getting the way again. Jeff Parke stepped in to the Chicago half and touched it on to James Riley who chipped it back in. Fredy Montero did very well to use his strength and chest it down to Brad Evans for a left footer, but doing all the work to deny the Sounders again was Jalil Anibaba and Seattle won a corner. And usually in these circumstances, it's the goalkeeper that yells at his defenders for not clearing the ball away, but Anibaba was the guy yelling at his teammates and he had every right to be angry because he was doing all the dirty work for goalkeeper Sean Johnson while the other defenders were just standing around being lazy.

After all that, I sensed a goal coming for the Sounders, and I told few people that it's coming and guess what? 30 seconds later, straight from a set play, the Sounders got their goal. Erik Friberg's outswinger from the near hash mark found Jeff Parke who directed his header towards the far post and forced another Sean Johnson as he went down and got his right hand to it and right there at the door step was Fredy Montero to knock it into the back of the net and the Sounders finally broke through with just over 12 minutes to go and the stadium erupted as Fredy Montero knocked home his 16th goal in all compititions this season.

Chicago made to attack minded substitutions, bringing in Diego Chaves in the 80th minute and Sebastien Grazzini in the 85th, but that didn't help at all. In stoppage time, Seattle switched to the possession game to kill time off the clock. Fredy Montero took it to the end line and with 3 red shirts around him, he did very well to keep it in play and Lamar Neagle fed it to Ozzie Alonso who had other ideas besides keeping the ball away from Chicago, he made sure Chicago had no chance of getting back into the game at all. Alonso made a brilliant cut to force Marco Pappa to slip and fall. He then dribbled around Sean Johnson who collided with teammate Patrick Nyarko while trying to recover and slotted the ball into an empty net to put this game beyond reach and cap off an Emerald City 3-peat for the Seattle Sounders.

The Sounders have had quite a history of playing big matches and winning trophies. Back in the NASL days they made it to the Championship and fell short, most notabally to the New York Cosmos who had Pele at the time and then the NASL folded and the Sounders are out of business for a few years. They got back on the field in 1994 after the USL was formed and they won 4 USL titles. Them USL team folded in 2008 after an MLS team a bought in Seattle to begin play at the start of the 2009 season. And the week when we had to vote for a name, which was just before the start of our final USL season in April of 08', there were three candidates and the Sounders were not one of the three. Instead, the three were Seattle FC, Seattle Republic and Seattle Alliance, and I can tell a lot of us were unhappy with that. Then about a day later, they decided to add a write in, which was fair enough for me, but the concern was that what the folks, who never heard of the Sounders that time, would write in. The name, Seattle Sounders, had to be name of the MLS team, otherwise the history of Soccer in Seattle, in my opinion, is ruined. So I chose the write in and voted Seattle Sounders. And right off the back, Seattle has had an MLS team for three years now, they've made the playoffs all three of those years and they already have three trophies.

The game I went to earlier this season was also against the Chicago Fire which ended with the Sounders coming out on top 2-1 and getting their first game of the season. I also mentioned that it was the best match I've seen. SCREW THAT!! The U.S. Open Cup final was the best match that I've seen with my own eyes now. Prior to this match, I was at home, waiting for a while before we left for the match and I was shaking a bit, and my heart was pounding off and on because this was a huge match. We parked about a couple miles from Safeco Field at about 6:25 and a lot of fans were still making their way to the stadium. I was following the crowd who were on the streets or the sidewalks. When you're following a crowd, there's an easy chance you could end of getting lost for a little bit. There was a rediculus fan running to the match like he was gonna be late for kickoff and he ended up losing his energy and he didn't even make it to Safeco Field. For people that didn't attend, because the game was on FOX Soccer, I wonder what the result was between people watching the game and people heading to SeaTac because of the fact that Amanda Knox landed in Seattle somewhere at the time of kickoff for the final. After the game and the trophy presentation, the team shops in Seattle were still open and they were already selling the 3-peat t-shirts. The first shop we went to, all they had left was a Double XL. Sure I'll buy one, lol. We tried another shop and all they had was small. So no luck on buying a shirt, but then later I looked online to see if they had it available and they were available to pre-order for $20 so maybe I will get a shirt soon. But I enjoyed every single minute of the game.

Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero (unassisted) 77'

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso (Lamar Neagle) 96'+

Misconduct summary:

Chicago Fire - Patrick Nyarko (caution) 27'

Chicago Fire - Daniel Paladini (caution) 37'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero (caution) 90'

Chicago Fire - Jalil Anibaba (caution) 90'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero (caution) 90'

Lineups:

Chicago Fire - Sean Johnson; Dan Gargan (Sebastian Grazzini 85'), Josip Mikulic (Jalil Anibaba 61'), Cory Gibbs, Gonzalo Segares; Marco Pappa, Logan Pause, Pavel Pardo, Daniel Paladini (Diego Chaves 80'), Patrick Nyarko; Dominic Oduro

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller; James Riley, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Leonardo Gonzalez; Alvaro Fernandez (Erik Friberg 46'), Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans, Lamar Neagle; Mike Fucito (Roger Levesque 91'+), Fredy Montero

2011 U.S. Open Cup Championship preview: Seattle Sounders FC vs Chicago Fire

By Money Mike



Well, it's come down to this. The Seattle Sounders, looking to become the first team since the New York Greek-Americans to win three straight U.S. Open Cup titles. The Chicago Fire, looking to win their fifth U.S. Open Cup title. A crowd of about 35,000 are expected at CenturyLink Field for the 2011 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final. The Sounders are coming off a 2-1 win in MLS play on the road against the New England Revolution in which they rested most of their original starters. They started Fredy Montero though, and the Colombian netted two goals on Saturday night to bring his goal total to 11 goals on the season. The match tomorrow will be broadcasted live on FOX Soccer and aired on radio at News Talk 97.3 KIRO FM. I won't have to watch on TV or listen because I will be at this game giving my Full 90'.


Seattle's road to the final:

Previous results:
June 28 - Seattle Sounders 2-1 Kitsap Pumas (USL PDL)
July 13 - Seattle Sounders 3-1 Los Angeles Galaxy
August 30 - Seattle Sounders 1-0 FC Dallas

The Sounders survived a bit of a scare in the Round of 16 against USL Premier Development League club Kitsap Pumas, but they were able to hold on and walk away with a 2-1 victory. Mike Fucito scored two goals in that game and was named player of the round. Former #1 draft pick and USL Sounder Nik Besagno pulled one back for the Pumas, but it was not enough. Bryan Meredith who is currently with the Sounders was playing for the Pumas at the time. Kitsap went on to win their first USL Premier Development League Championship. Next up was the LA Galaxy. LA came off a 2-1 win in their Round of 16 matches against USL Pro club Los Angeles Blues. Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena put in some big names in the starting 11 for this one like Landon Donovan, A.J. DeLaGarza, Chris Birchall, Juninho, Michael Stephens and Paolo Cardozo. The Sounders had some big names in their lineup as well, including Fredy Montero. After it was all said and done, it was the Sounders winning by 3 goals to 1 as Nate Jaqua, Fredy Montero and Lamar Neagle found the back of the net. Then it was FC Dallas up next at Starfire on August 30th. Former Washington Husky defender George John made the trip with Dallas after his move to English Premier League club Blackburn Rovers fell through. That made no difference at all because it was the Sounders defeating FC Dallas 1-0 after a beautiful left footed curling effort from Fredy Montero. And now mark it down, October 4, 2011, 7pm. The start of Seattle's title defense. Will Chicago pick up their 5th U.S. Open Cup title, or will there be an Emerald City 3-peat?


What to keep our eyes on for this game:

- I think the biggest factor will be whether or not the key injured players from both sides will be given a go for the final. There's no official word about James Riley and his concussion. Mauro Rosales will be a game time decision tomorrow. On the other side, Sebastian Grazzini has been dealing with a hamstring problem and has been training since the Fire landed in Seattle. Head coach Frank Klopas said there's a chance Grazzini will make the 18-man squad.

- Another factor and this is what the Seattle back line needs to focus on. Who will cover Dominic Oduro? Ever since he was traded from Houston to Chicago, he has put up career highs, making 30 appearances in MLS play and scoring 12 goals in 2,352 minutes of action. Expect him to matchup with Jeff Parke.

Sounders defeat LA 3-1 in the U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinal

By Money Mike

In front of 4,322 at the Starfire Sports Complex in Takwila, the Seattle Sounders faced off with the Los Angeles Galaxy in the U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinal and pretty much a replica of last years Quarterfinal matchup with LA, the Sounders come away with a win.

The Sounders, with the win, advance to the U.S. Open Cup semifinal against FC Dallas. That match will take place on August 30 at Starfire.

In the 4th minute, the Sounders struck early. After hitting the post a minute ago, Nate Jaqua was sent behind the defense off a Pat Noonan through ball and he calmly slotted it inside the far post. It was Jaqua's 8th career goal in Open Cup play (7 of them with the Sounders).

In the 25th minute, Jaqua was involved in the 2nd Sounders goal. I don't what the hell this guy was thinking. Defender A.J. DeLaGarza gave the ball right to Jaqua who quickly fed it to Fredy Montero who cut the ball to his left foot and put away his third goal in two matches to double Seattle's lead at 2-0. The Sounders could've been up 4-0 or 5-0 up to that point, but they just couldn't capitalize on their chances, most of them coming from Jaqua and in the 40th minute, LA pulled one back. Adam Cristman finished a cross from Chris Birchall at the front of the net.

On the stroke of halftime, Birchall almost came away with one for himself, but Terry Boss made the save.

In the 74th minute, the LA back line got caught off another through ball. After some work on the ball, Alvaro Fernandez sent one through for Lamar Neagle who made a diagonal run through the penalty area to score. That goal prooved to be the knock out punch for the Galaxy as the Sounders once again, win a U.S. Open Cup match.

The Sounders get back to work in MLS as they return home to face that fucker who broke Steve Zakuani's leg on purpose............ yes I'm talking about Brian Mullan. He's gonna be there along with the Colorado Rapids on Saturday. That match will be shown live on FOX Soccer Channel, if you don't have that channel, sucks for you.

Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Nate Jaqua (Pat Noonan) 4'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero (Nate Jaqua) 25'

Los Angeles Galaxy - Adam Cristman (Chris Birchall) 40'

Seattle Sounders FC - Lamar Neagle (Alvaro Fernandez) 74'

Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso (caution; Tactical foul) 22'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero (caution; Unsporting behavior) 54'

Seattle Sounders FC - Jeff Parke (caution; Tactical foul) 55'

Los Angeles Galaxy - Paolo Cardozo (caution; Reckless tackle) 59'

Seattle Sounders FC - Mike Fucito (caution; Delaying a restart) 90'

Lineups:

Los Angeles Galaxy - Josh Saunders; Bryan Jordan, A.J. DeLaGarza, Gregg Berhalter, Todd Dunivant; Chris Birchall, Michael Stephens, Juninho (Jovan Kirovski 78'), Landon Donovan (Hector Jimenez 75'); Paolo Cardozo (Miguel Lopez 64'), Adam Cristman

Seattle Sounders FC - Terry Boss; Zach Scott, Jeff Parke, Patrick Ianni, Leonardo Gonzalez; Pat Noonan (Erik Friberg 64'), Osvaldo Alonso, Alvaro Fernandez, Lamar Neagle; Nate Jaqua (Roger Levesque 71'), Fredy Montero (Mike Fucito 79')