Sounders sign German midfielder Christian Tiffert, trade Alvaro Fernandez to the Chicago Fire

By Money Mike


The MLS summer transfer window officially closed today and normally during this period the Seattle Sounders would not make any moves, but not this time. Earlier today, the Sounders made a couple of big moves as they signed German midfielder Christian Tiffert to a DP contract. MLS clubs are allowed only three Designated Players and the prior to the deal, Seattle's three DP's were Fredy Montero, Alvaro Fernandez and Mauro Rosales. To free up that last DP slot, the Seattle Sounders traded Alvaro Fernandez to the Chicago Fire for Allocation Money. Remember Fernandez was originally linked with a loan move to Fredy Montero's former Colombian club Deportivo Cali, but that deal eventually fell through. That looked to be the only move they made, but it appears that 22 year old Honduran international Mario Martinez has signed with the Sounders on loan from Real Espana, but that deal hasn't been confirmed yet. Martinez is currently with the Honduran national team in London for the 2012 Olympics.

When I got up earlier in the morning, I read on Seattle Times that the Sounders reportedly signed Christian Tiffert as a Designated Player which was confirmed at that time by his club 1. FC Kaiserslautern and his agent. Since then I've been keeping track of all the reports regarding this. What the Sounders would do to free up a DP slot. Then about 12:30, the Sounders say the deal wasn't officially done yet which almost makes you wonder if the deal would ever be completed. Then about 1:45, I read a tweet that stated that there was a big trade to announce and it apparently involved the Sounders as they traded Fernandez to Chicago. The former German under-21 international is a talented player, very good on the ball, but he's coming off a disappointing season. Obviously it wasn't just him, 1. FC Kaiserslautern absolutely sucked last season which saw them Relegated from the German Bundesliga.

Alvaro Fernandez has left the team after making 55 league appearances for the Rave Green and scoring 13 goals. When Fernandez joined the team in late July 2010 following the trade of Freddie Ljungberg, Fernandez was almost an unknown because at the start of his career, he's been traveling everywhere looking for a club. I mean, he spent time with seven clubs in his first five seasons of his career and following the World Cup there was a report saying that the Sounders were gonna sign Fernandez and following the Ljungberg trade, the Sounders used a DP tag on him. He didn't get that much playing time late in 2010 however because the Sounders still had a young kid named Sanna Nyassi. In 2011, Fernandez started the first two games but then he was dropped to the bench and a lot of us were beginning to think that his guy is useless, but then we lost Zakuani to a major injury, Fernandez stepped in and scored nine goals which is his career best. 2012, has been a rough year for Flaco, but he did score in his last two matches. Fernandez finishes his Sounders career with two U.S. Open Cup titles in his resume.

I think the Sounders front office did a great job today. Tiffert is a guy who brings leadership to this team, much like Mauro Rosales, considering he was the team captain over at 1. FC Kaiserslautern. Fernandez will be missed in Seattle for sure, but with Zakuani close to 100% and the struggles that Fernandez has gone through, I think the move had to be made.

Sounders monthly rewind: April 2012

By Money Mike


For over a year now, I've been doing a lot of soccer related stuff regarding roster moves, previews/recaps, etc. At the end of each month during the MLS regular season, I plan on doing a rewind on the Sounders. So on the rewind I'm going to be talking about the clubs performance during the entire month, give some positives and negatives, look ahead to the next upcoming month and I'll also throw in some info with the Sounders U23 squad who will kick off their USL Premier Development League campaign on May 11. Most of that however, will relate to the young guys who could end up signing with the Sounders as Homegrown players. The Sounders had three matches this month and came way with two wins and a draw and are now getting ready for a long month of May where they have to play a total of eight matches in all competitions, starting on May 2nd at home against the Los Angeles Galaxy. They have seven league matches as well as a U.S. Open Cup match on May 29th which will be the last match of the month.


Positives:

Eddie Johnson has made significant progress with his form that he, over the last couple of years, has seen dip since he moved to Europe in 2008. It was great to see him score his first Sounders goal last night against the Chicago Fire. I know it was just a tap into an empty net, but it's better to get that first goal out of the way. I think he and Fredy Montero have linked up very well with one another in these last couple of matches since Johnson was inserted into the starting lineup and if Johnson can stay healthy and maintain his form, I think the Montero-Johnson partnership up front will be the most dangerous in MLS.

Speaking of Montero, I did mention he has had his ups and downs this season. He well overdue to score his first goal of the season. Despite the fact he still hasn't scored, I think he was a little more aggressive this month getting forward a lot more than he did at the start of the season. I've said this over and over again and I'll continue to say it. Montero will end his scoring drought soon.

The Sounders so far have done a great job defensively, shutting their opponents down and are tied for the fewest goals allowed with only three goals conceded. Ozzie Alonso is ranked as the best holding midfielder in MLS and he showed that against DC United, Colorado and Chicago after making some huge defensive plays to deny the opposition any chance of scoring. Jeff Parke is also doing a great job since he was re-inserted into the starting 11 after sitting on the bench the first two games of the season. The back line needed improvement during the offseason and so far, I haven't seen any real problems with this team defensively, not to mention the injuries.

After the beating the Sounders got from Santos Laguna earlier this season in the Champions League. Fans for some reason were criticizing new goalkeeper Michael Gspurning, saying he would never fit in with this team. I wonder if all of them are going to take back those critics after the start he's having. He has three shutouts this season, he has a goals against average underneath one and he has an 84% save percentage. So all this crap about Gspurning not being good enough should've ended right before the start of the MLS campaign because he is a solid goalkeeper and he's proved that so far in this young season.


Negatives:

The real problem I'm having with so far regarding the Sounders are the injuries. The first week of the season was completely brutal. Mauro Rosales who suffered two left knee sprains at the end of last season, suffered a right knee sprain after he took a shot intentionally from Toronto FC rookie Aaron Maund and he was out through April 14th. Adam Johansson suffered an injury during practice and was also ruled out through April 14th. Alonso took a shot from one of the TFC players during the opener, but luckily he hasn't missed any action. Of course we have Eddie Johnson, who missed the last couple weeks of training camp and started both legs of the Champions League Quarterfinal on the bench. He came on in the first leg and didn't seem to have any problems. Same with the second leg, but then he suffered a strained hip flexor. It's great to see that Johansson, Rosales and Johnson are back on the pitch now, but when you are out there without you're key players, things can get pretty rough for you and your team, but the Sounders just like last year, were able to get through it.


Western Conference standings:

1. San Jose Earthquakes, 19 pts (6-1-1), GF 15 GA 6 GD 9
2. Real Salt Lake, 19 pts (6-3-1), GF 16 GA 11 GD 5
3. Vancouver Whitecaps FC, 14 pts (4-2-2), GF 7 GA 6 GD 1
4. Seattle Sounders FC, 13 pts (4-1-1), GF 8 GA 3 GD 5
5. Colorado Rapids, 12 pts (4-4-0), GF 12 GA 10 GD 2
6. FC Dallas, 12 pts (3-3-3), GF 10 GA 12 GD -2
7. Los Angeles Galxy, 10 pts (3-3-1), GF 11 GA 11 GD 0
8. Chivas USA, 9 pts (3-5-0), GF 4 GA 9 GD -5
9. Portland Timbers, 7 pts (2-5-1), GF 9 GA 13 GD -4


Look ahead to May:

Like I said this is going to be a long month with seven MLS matches scheduled for the Sounders. Overall in the month of May, the Sounders are 3-5-8. To me, this is a huge month for the Sounders because they've struggled in the May as you can tell by the record, but also because this is the only month where they have to play more than about 4-5 matches like they normally do in a month. So I think Sigi Schmid will be switching his lineup around every match this month. Which means Mauro Rosales could be left out of the squad for a couple of these matches, but of course this is my thought. Looking at their upcoming opponents, this is where the Sounders can really improve on their 3-5-8 record in the month of May.

Upcoming schedule, May 2012:

May 2 vs Los Angeles Galaxy, 7:00pm (KONG TV)
May 5 vs Philadelphia Union, 1:30pm (NBC Sports Network)
May 9 @ FC Dallas, 5:30pm (KONG TV)
May 12 vs Real Salt Lake, 7:00pm (KING 5)
May 19 @ Vancouver Whitecaps FC, 2:00pm (KONG TV)
May 23 vs Columbus Crew, 7:00pm (KONG TV)
May 26 @ Chivas USA, 7:30pm (KING 5)

Aside from MLS, we also have the Sounders U23s who will kick off their USL Premier Development League campaign on May 11th. The Premier Development League is where mostly college players spend their summer gaining some work experience during their collegiate offseason, but the league also features over age players as well. Right now the Sounders U23 have about 6-7 players on their roster that have been in their youth program including Sean Okoli (Wake Forest University), DeAndre Yedlin (University of Akron), Darwin Jones (University of Washington) and Nick Palodichuk (Duke University). These players as well as a few others are eligible to sign with the Sounders as a Homegrown player. Sean Okoli was rumored to become Seattle's first Homegrown signing in 2011, but instead he decided to play college soccer at Wake Forest University. I still think Okoli will sign as a Homegrown player as well as Yedlin, Jones and Palodichuk. With what the Sounders U23 has on their roster, the future is definitely bright for the MLS club who are already enjoying success.

Hope you guys enjoyed reading the April 2012 edition of the Sounders monthly rewind. Hopefully, I gave you guys enough detail about this team and their performance. This is something new for me, doing a rewind every month during the regular season, but I hope I gave enough detail on this one. If not, sorry, there wasn't much to talk about for the month of April.

Sounders hold off Fire for a 2-1 win

By Money Mike


After scoring just one goal in the last three matches, the Sounders found their goalscoring shoes Saturday night as they came away with a 2-1 road win over the Chicago Fire.  The Sounders with the win are 4-1-1 on the year and are now preparing for a long month of may where they have to play nine matches in all competitions.  The Fire are now winless in seven games against the Sounders and have conceded five goals in their last three matches since newcomer Arne Friedrich was inserted into the starting 11 after an injury to Cory Gibbs and are winless in three games against winning teams this season.

Chicago had control and looked good the first 10-15 minutes of the game keeping possession, testing the goalkeeper, set pieces, etc.  In the third minute, Gonzalo Segares found Dominic Oduro unmarked in the six yard area but Oduro couldn't direct his header on frame.  10 minutes later, Patrick Nyarko sent Oduro away but Jeff Parke did very well to get back and force Oduro out wide and in the end, no real challenge for goalkeeper Michael Gspurning.  A minute later, Chicago continued to press and nearly made Seattle pay.  Pavel Pardo found Patrick Nyarko out wide, Nyarko then stepped past Leo Gonzalez and sent in a low cross which rolled all the way to Daniel Paladini for an open look at goal but Ozzie Alonso, who has got to be the best holding midfielder in MLS, got his body in the way and denied Paladini a chance to break the deadlock.

The Sounders chance didn't come until the 20th minute off the match. Mauro Rosales, who missed four games due to a knee injury, drew a free kick from the near side of the pitch and it was the Captain who took the free kick and found Jeff Parke for the header, but it sailed wide to the left of Chicago goalkeeper Sean Johnson.  In the 27th minute, Fredy Montero came just a whisker of breaking his scoring draught.  Leo Gonzalez's long throw in to the box came off the chest of Eddie Johnson back to Gonzalez.  Leo had time to settle and whip in a good cross toward the near post and found Fredy Montero who directed his header towards goal and had Sean Johnson beat, but it was just a fraction too high.  A few minutes later, Montero tested Johnson from distance and the wind made it difficult for the third year goalkeeper, but he got his fist to it.

In the 38th minute, the Sounders opened the scoring and Arne Friedrich's struggles defensively continue. Ozzie Alonso sent Eddie Johnson behind the fire defense, but he was forced out wide so he waited for help and got support from David Estrada.  After receiving the ball from Johnson, Estrada made a cut inside the penalty area and it looked like tried to force one towards goal.  It was a weak shot, but it deflected off Arne Friedrich and rolled inside the near post.  They originally scored it as an Own goal on Friedrich, but at halftime they changed the ruling and credited the goal to David Estrada which gave him five goals this season in MLS play. However, after the game they decided to change it back to an Arne Friedrich own goal. So David Estrada still has four goals.

In the second half, things went pretty quiet for both clubs until the 60th minute. Eddie Johnson struggled a bit to maintain possession of the ball but he was able to play it out wide to Marc Burch who whipped in a good cross to the six yard area for Montero who miss timed his jump. The ball however found Eddie Johnson for the header, but the post saved Chicago there. Seattle came so close to doubling their lead. Three minutes later Chicago thought they had an equalizer. Sebastian Grazzini floated the ball into the area and was headed by a Seattle player. The ball fell to Marco Pappa who ripped it trough, however Dominic Oduro was in an offside position with his back against the goalkeeper and the goal was waved off.

With over 25 minutes to play, the Sounders doubled their lead. Fredy Montero took the free kick from about 30 yards away and just missed Eddie Johnson, however goalkeeper Sean Johnson spilled it and Eddie Johnson tapped the ball into an empty net for his first Sounders goal and made it 2-0 Sounders. It's been a tough last couple of years for Johnson, but it's better to get that first goal out of the way and surely that goal will boost his confidence.

In the 89th minute, Chicago pulled one back. Marco Pappa's corner went straight in to the back of the net as the wind became a factor in this one. The Fire had the wind at their backs in the second half and Michael Gspurning had a tough time especially with this one as it dipped over him and in off the far post. However, Seattle did manage to hold on and get the three points.


Observations:

- David Estrada got the start at left midfield and I thought he did pretty well out there at times and other times, I wasn't sure he felt comfortable in that position.  He got the start out there mainly because Mauro Rosales made his return and Alvaro Fernandez wasn't fit to go for this match.  I've been impressed with his form so far in this young season.  After only making 6 appearances in his first two seasons with Seattle, he's worked a lot on improving his game during the offseason and head coach Sigi Schmid said that he came into the season with the best form than anybody else on this team and after watching him play, there's no way you can deny the fact that he has a bright future with this team and I hope that US national team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann will keep and eye out on him.

- The windy conditions really played a factor in this match. The wind blew Right to Left all match long and the wind was at Chicago's backs for the second half. I remember a couple weeks ago, there was a huge thunderstorm during their match against the Houston Dynamo and the referee decided to call the match early rather than suspend it for a second time. There were no thunderstorms however in this one so the referee didn't have to suspend or call the game early, but this is why they call it the Windy City.

- After the final whistle, tempers started to flare between the two sides.  Ozzie Alonso and Jalil Anibaba went at it after there was a challenge in the box that the referee decided not to call a penalty on and I think that may have been between Alonso and Anibaba.  Whatever it was, they went at it and a brawl broke out between the two sides.  Even if the game is over, the referee needs to keep the players under control.  The players are lucky that the referee didn't issue a card to anybody and I believe the MLS disciplinary committee is going to take a good look at his during midweek.

- The Sounders close out the month of April on a winning note. Now they have to hop back on the plane and head back to Seattle and start preparing for their match on Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Galaxy and with the struggles that LA have gone through, maybe this is where the Sounders can possibly get their first win at home against the Galaxy in MLS play. They did beat LA on their home ground in 2009 and also defeated LA in the U.S. Open Cup at the Starfire Sports Complex in 2010 and 2011, but their is no excuse this time. The Sounders need to protect their fortress against LA and come away with all three points. It's going to be a big month and I think it'll be the key to how well the Sounders will fare against their Western Conference foes in the race for the top spot in the West.

- I just got an update earlier about the scrap between Ozzie Alonso and Jalil Anibaba after the final whistle. Anibaba apparently was issued a red card and will be suspended for Chicago's next match along with head coach Frank Klopas. We could see more disciplinary action from the MLS disciplinary committee later this week after they review this match.


Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Own goal (Arne Friedrich) 39'

Seattle Sounders FC - Eddie Johnson 1 (Jhon Kennedy Hurtado 1) 67'

Chicago Fire - Marco Pappa 1 (unassisted) 89'


Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - David Estrada (caution; Time wasting) 60'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero (caution; Dissent) 91'+

Chicago Fire - Marco Pappa (caution; Dissent) 91'+

Seattle Sounders FC - Eddie Johnson (caution; Time wasting) 92'+

Chicago Fire - Jalil Anibaba (straight red; Fight) 97'+


Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning; Adam Johansson, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Leo Gonzalez; Mauro Rosales (Marc Burch 51'), Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans, David Estrada; Fredy Montero, Eddie Johnson (Sammy Ochoa 92'+)

Chicago Fire - Sean Johnson; Dan Gargan, Arne Friedrich, Jalil Anibaba, Gonzalo Segares; Patrick Nyarko, Logan Pause (Marco Pappa 61'), Pavel Pardo, Sebastian Grazzini (Rafael Robayo 80'), Daniel Paladini (Frederico Puppo 72'); Dominic Oduro

Fresh off a bye week the Seattle Sounders head to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Fire

By Money Mike


After a much needed week off the Seattle Sounders return to action much healthier than they were the last three to four weeks. After missing the last four games, both Mauro Rosales and Adam Johansson are set to make their return this Saturday as the Seattle Sounders invade Toyota Park to face the Chicago Fire in a U.S. Open Cup Championship rematch. Both teams come into this one with games in hand in their respective conferences. The new look Fire are off to a 2-1-2 start in the early stages of the season and earlier this week they brought back forward Chris Rolfe who began his career with the club from 2005-09 before spending the last three seasons in Denmark with AaB Fodbold. Unfortunately there's a chance Rolfe may not play this weekend for Chicago because right now he's dealing with a sprained left ankle.

Last time these two clubs met was back on October 4, 2011 at CenturyLink Field in a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Championship match where the Sounders of course came out on top with a 2-0 win to claim their third consecutive Open Cup title, something that has never been done in over 40 years.  The Sounders are 4-0-3 all time against Chicago including that Open Cup Final victory and will look to extend their unbeaten run against them this Saturday and more importantly take advantage of the games in hand with the Western Conference.  The match will kickoff at 5:30pm and will be aired live on KONG TV and people outside the Seattle area can catch this live on ROOT Sports.  This is the only meeting this season between the two and the Sounders will look to make sure that it goes their way.

This will be the 100th match in MLS history for the Seattle Sounders.  March 19, 2009.  That's when it all began.  Over 32,000 in attendance to see the Sounders first ever match against the New York Red Bulls and they went home happy after the Sounders defeated the Red Bulls 3-0.  From then on, Seattle didn't look back.  In 09' however, the playoff race in the West as well as the battle for the top seed in the West was really tight.  The Sounders finished third in the West, but only a point shy of the LA Galaxy and the Houston Dynamo.  Looking at the current roster, I think we still have nine players from the inaugural season on the current roster for 2012 including Fredy Montero, Ozzie Alonso and Steve Zakuani.  That was 2009 though, right now this is the 2012 season.  I still can't believe that tomorrow's match will be their 100th.  That's how quickly time has flown by.


Injury report:

Seattle Sounders FC - OK, for the Sounders, Josh Ford, Andrew Weber, Michael Tetteh, Steve Zakuani and Babayele Sodade are all ruled out. Alvaro Fernandez has been dealing with a right quad strain and it doesn't look like he will feature in tomorrow's match. Finally, as I mentioned earlier Adam Johansson and Mauro Rosales are expected to make their return after missing the last four games.

Chicago Fire - For the Fire, Cory Gibbs is out with a torn meniscus in his right knee. Steven Kinney has tendinitis on the posterior side of his right tibia and he is out as well. Kinney has not appeared in an MLS match since October 23, 2010. Last but not least, Chris Rolfe who re-joined the club earlier this week may not feature tomorrow night after picking up a sprained left ankle.


Key to this match:

Last match, this team really struggled to keep possession of the ball. You have to make sure everybody is on the right page because the main reason they gave the ball away so much was because they waited too long to pass the ball to their teammate and they find themselves in an offside position. Hopefully with Rosales and Johansson back, that area will improve. The lineup changes may have been the reason. Alex Caskey getting his first start as well as Eddie Johnson. David Estrada getting the start at right midfield. Whatever it was, hopefully it gets fixed tomorrow.

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 and Fire finish scoreless.

By Money Mike

The Seattle Sounders who continue to struggle through injuries finish scoreless with the Chicago Fire. The draw gives them 4 points out of 6 in their 2 game road trip, which is not bad after picking up only 4 points out of 12 at home against Portland, KC and Dallas. I think the story of this one was the bad call by that dumbass referee Terry Vaughn. I lost track of when the foul took place. I know it was in the second half but I lost time. Kasey Keller drop kicked the ball down the field because he saw Fredy Montero down there. Montero spun away from Logan Pause who started to lose his balance. Pause was trying to drag Montero down to the ground to stop a breakaway opportunity which would've resulted in a straight red card, but he went down easily and the referee called a foul on Montero, who didn't even touch Logan Pause. As I've said before, this league has the most fucked up referee's ever. Every Sounders match that Terry Vaughn has took charge of, he has made calls that have cost the Sounders a win, like that one play for example because not only did that cost us a big opportunity which would've resulted in a goal by a player who has been criticised for his lack of scoring, which is a poor way to judge a players performance, but it also cost us a win against a team that was on a 9 match winless streak coming into this match.

The Sounders nearly got on the board early in the match. In the 6th minute, Mauro Rosales chipped the ball to the back post and found Lamar Neagle unmarked for a header but Sean Johnson stood his ground and did very well to keep it out. The Sounders continued to test the keeper early on, Lamar Neagle again in the 9th minute from the left of the penalty area tried to curl a shot to the back post, but Johnson parried it over the crossbar as it started to dip over his head.

In the 12th minute, despite starting off strong, Seattle nearly conceded one. Bratislav Ristic found Diego Chaves at the top of the box for a low drive and those shots are most likely to find the back of the net, but this one was shot right at Kasey Keller.

A scary moment in the 23rd minute for the Seattle Sounders. Already with Steve Zakuani, O'Brian White and Alvaro Fernandez out, the last thing the Men in Rave Green want is another injury. A hard tackle from behind by Gonzalo Segares on Mauro Rosales forced play to stop for a couple minutes after Rosales was down the ground with leg pain. It was a clumsy tackle by Segares and he should've been booked for that. I mean, Terry Vaughn....... does he even know the rules? Does he have a learning disability? Or is it because he knows the rules, but all he cares about is getting paid so he decides to fuck it up for everybody? It was a dangerous tackle and Gonzalo Segares doesn't get booked?

The Sounders played with 10 men for about a minute, but Rosales did return to the match and got 66 minutes in before being replaced by Roger Levesque for the remaining 25 minutes.

In the 27th minute, midfielder Corban Bone feed Daniel Paladini, and Paladini smashed a 25-yard shot that look destined for the top left corner but Kasey Keller stretched out to punch it wide. It was a great effort by Paladini who had loads of space and he used that space very well and those are not easy for a goalkeeper to stop because of the movement of the ball and how it starts to dip over them.

Two minutes later, Bone and Paladini hooked up again as Bone sent Paladini in the space for a shot from 20-yards out that went wide to the right of Keller. Then Diego Chaves tested Keller for a one-timed shot that Keller stopped and then was able to recover just before young Cristian Nazarit could get the rebound.

In the second half, both teams were quiet with the opportunities because of poor passing, ill advised shots and also the crappy refereeing from Terry Vaughn. In the 60th minute, the Sounders failed to clear the ball out of their area and Dominic Oduro collected it and fired a low left footer that deflected off defender Jhon Kennedy Hurtado and went wide of the right post.

About six minutes later, from 29-yards out, Fredy Montero curled a free-kick around the wall and Sean Johnson looked to have been beaten, but it just went wide of the right post. That was the last best chance for either side and both teams finished empty handed.

The Sounders, now 5-4-6 on the year, return home for a Rivalry match against another expansion team, the Vancouver Whitecaps. That match will take place on Saturday. I'm gonna preview that one on Thursday because Friday I'm gonna be at the Relay for Life over at Mt. Tahoma High School. The Chicago Fire who are now winless in 10 matches now head to Kansas City who are finally making their home debut in 2011. Yes, Chicago and Kansas City will be opening up Kansas City's new Livestrong Sporting Park on Thursday.

Scoring summary:

None

Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Mike Fucito (caution; Reckless foul) 33'

Seattle Sounders FC - Tyson Wahl (caution; Tactical foul) 36'

Chicago Fire - Diego Chaves (caution; Unsporting Behavior) 46+'

Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller; James Riley, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Tyson Wahl; Mauro Rosales (Roger Levesque 66'), Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans, Lamar Neagle; Mike Fucito (Servando Carrasco 81'), Nate Jaqua (Fredy Montero 54')

Chicago Fire - Sean Johnson; Bratislav Ristic, Yamith Cuesta, Cory Gibbs, Gonzalo Segares; Dominic Oduro, Logan Pause, Daniel Paladini, Corban Bone (Gaston Puerari 67'); Diego Chaves (Patrick Nyarko 54'), Cristian Nazarit (Orr Barouch 78')

Seattle Sounders FC vs Chicago Fire preview

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders kick off the month of June on the road as they invade Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois looking to sweep the Chicago Fire for the second year in a row. Last week, the Seattle Sounders came away with one of their biggest upsets in their history as they put an end to Real Salt Lake's home unbeaten streak with a 2-1 with Patrick Ianni and Lamar Neagle scoring for the Sounders. Lamar Neagle far upper 90 goal went on to win GOAL of the Week. On the other side, Chicago are win-less in their last nine games and are 1-4-6 this season which adds up to 9 points. Last week, they drew 2-2 at home to the San Jose Earthquakes. Gory Gibbs's diving header was the difference as the 6' 1" defender headed home only his second MLS Goal and his 6th of his professional career. The Fire made some moves this week as they sacked their head coach Carlos de los Cobos and in replace they hired their technical director Frank Klopas as their interm head coach. de los Cobos wasn't the only coach fired this week, the Vancouver Whitecaps also decided to part ways with their head coach Teitur Thordarson which I think was harsh. The last meeting between the Sounders and the Fire was back on April 9 at Qwest Field where the Sounders defeated Chicago 2-1 for their 1st win of the season and also the start of Chicago's win-less drought.


Injury report:

Seattle Sounders FC - Alright let's take a look at the men in Rave Green. One new injury to talk about. Alvaro Fernandez, remember he left last weeks match after straining his left hamstring, he is listed as questionable, but he did not make the trip to Chicago so he out for tonight.

Chicago Fire - For the struggling Fire. Mike Banner has tendinitis on his left achilles tendon and is out. Steven Kinney also has an achilles problem, he'll need more time for his right achilles to heal so he is also out. Marko Maric made his debut on the road at Portland and so far that's the only match he's played because he's been out with a sprained left deltoid. He's still having difficulties recovering from it so he is out for this match as well. Josip Mikulic is also out with a fractured left clavicle. And finally, Patrick Nyarko was listed as doubtful during midweek with a concussion, he's not on the list now.


Key matchups:

Fredy Montero vs Cory Gibbs - I'm expecting Sigi to put Montero back in the lineup. I'm not sure who will partner up front with him, but if he does get the start, I think he's going to be matched up defensively with the veteran defender.

Brad Evans vs Gonzalo Segares - Evans is still leading his team with four goals this season. He'll be matched up against an experienced defender who has the ability to push forward. This is a matchup we should keep our eyes on very closely.

Sounders finally get their first win of the season, 2-1 over the Chicago Fire

By Money Mike

The Seattle Sounders, after a rough first 4 games with the season with 2 losses and 2 draws, find an answer to all critics and defeat the Chicago Fire 2-1 in front 36,233 at Qwest Field. With Fredy Montero missing the second straight match after having surgery on his right wrist, Sigi Schmid went with a 4-3-3 formation with O'Brian White partnering up with Steve Zakuani and Mauro Rosales.

In the 7th minute, the Sounders get on the board first. Mauro Rosales sends in a bender into the top of the area and O'Brian White's thumping header from 16-yard beats goalkeeper Sean Johnson who had a terrible jump on that play, thinking that it was gonna be an easy save. It was White's second goal in as many matches. Did I mention earlier this season he was gonna have a breakout year? He came from Toronto where he scored 2 goals in 9 appearances in 2009 and 2 goals in 24 appearances in 2010. He's played in all 5 matches so far and already has 2 goals.

A minute later, Chicago would pick one back. Leo Gonzalez got caught on a give-and-go between Patrick Nyarko and Gaston Puerari. After received the pass from Nyarko, Puerari sent Nyarko away down the right hand side, and the Ghanaian used his speed to get around Gonzalez and send a driven cross into the penalty area for Diego Chaves for an easy tap in to quickly tie the match up at a goal a piece. With that goal, Chaves also became the first Chicago Fire player to score in his first three games.

In the 23rd minute, Sounders had what I believe is their biggest opportunity by far this season. Leo Gonzalez sent in a chip into the penalty area aiming for Rosales, Sean Johnson came out to try to clear, but Rosales got a head on it and Johnson was dead meat but Erik Friberg failed to take advantage of the opportunity as his touch sailed over the bar. He couldn't get a better chance to score his first Sounders goal. But the Sounders would continue to dominate and this time they got a goal two minutes later.

In minute 25, Osvaldo Alonso started the attack by intercepting a pass and playing it out wide to Steve Zakuani who took on Jalil Anibaba. After a give-and-go with O'Brian White, Zakuani got around Anibaba and instead of squaring it to Erik Friberg, he went for goal alone and slotted it past Johnson for his second goal of the season.

Seattle had another opportunity to go up 3-1 from the corner when Mauro Rosales's out swinger found Jeff Parke at the near post, but his header fell straight to the hands of Sean Johnson.

In the Second half, Kasey Keller came up huge on a couple of Chicago Fire opportunities. In the 59th minute, Marco Pappa's free kick hit the wall, James Riley's attempted clearance failed and Diego Chaves had a golden opportunity to take advantage of it but Keller went down and denied a potential equalizing goal. Two minutes later, Chaves's through ball found Gaston Puarari who beat Jhon Kennedy Hurtado but couldn't beat Keller as he made a kick-save to stop Chicago yet again.

In the 75th minute the Chicago Fire got caught on a counter attack, Nate Jaqua's long ball sent Steve Zakuani off to the races, took on Logan Pause. He cut to his left foot and ripped a shot wide as he was aiming for the far corner. With about 5 minutes to go, Nate Jaqua found Servando Carrasco overlapping on the right. Carrasco had a chance to put the game out of reach, but again, no luck. That was just about the last opportunity of the game. With those opportunities the Fire had in the second half, the Sounders could've ended up with a draw or maybe even a loss if Kasey Keller hadn't made those saves, but good or bad, the only thing that counts is the Sounders winning their first match of the year 2-1.

It was really fun catching this match in person, I had pretty good seats, the atmosphere was fantastic, everyone standing for 90 minutes. I mean, ever since November 2007 when they announced that Seattle was going to join MLS, the fan base has just kept on rising. Before then, soccer wasn't really as big in Seattle as it is now, and I hope that doesn't change at all and that the fans continue to attend these matches and Give their full 90'. This is the 2nd match I've seen since they joined MLS. I didn't go to a game in 2009. I went to one last season when Colorado came to town, that one also resulted in a 2-1 win, but I think I enjoyed this match more than the Colorado one. This one was an early season game, the Colorado match was late in the season.

Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - O'Brian White (Mauro Rosales) 7'

Chicago Fire - Diego Chaves (Patrick Nyarko, Gaston Puarari) 8'

Seattle Sounders FC - Steve Zakuani (O'Brian White) 25'

Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - James Riley (caution; Reckless tackle) 32'

Seattle Sounders FC - Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (caution; Reckless tackle) 47+'

Chicago Fire - Dasan Robinson (caution; Reckless foul) 71'

Starting lineups:

Chicago Fire - Sean Johnson; Jalil Anibaba, Dasan Robinson, Cory Gibbs, Gonzalo Segares (Dominic Oduro 83'); Logan Pause, Marco Pappa, Michael Videira, Patrick Nyarko (Orr Barouch 90'); Gaston Puarari, Diego Chaves

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller; James Riley, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Leonardo Gonzalez; Brad Evans, Osvaldo Alonso, Mauro Rosales (Nate Jaqua 64'); Erik Friberg, O'Brian White (Servando Carrasco 81'), Steve Zakuani

Seattle Sounders FC vs Chicago Fire preview

By Money Mike

The Seattle Sounders get ready for their 5th of 34 matches this season at home against the Chicago Fire. Last year, Seattle swept the season series against the Fire with some late drama. On August 28, it was Fredy Montero leading the team to a 2-1 victory at home. John Thorrington, who now plays for the Vancouver Whitecaps, got the Fire on the board from the penalty spot in the 28th minute of that match, but Montero answered with a 36th minute goal and a 91st minute goal to claim the victory for the Sounders. The Sounders needed more late drama on September 25th to sweep the Fire in 2010. It was Blaise Nkufo's turn to be the hero in the 89th minute of that match with his game winning goal. The Sounders are 2-0-2 so far against Chicago dating back to 2009 and look to keep their unbeaten record in tact against them and also win their first match of the 2011 season.


Injury report:

Chicago Fire - Mike Banner has inflammation on his left achillies tendon and he is out. Steven Kinney is also out with what I believe with a torn right achillies tendon. Gabriel Ferrari with suffering from a right hip flexor strain, he is listed as doubtful. Josip Mikulic with a left quadriceps strain, he's also listed as doubtful.

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero was expected to play, but he has not fully recovered from his right wrist surgery and I think Sigi Schmid is doing the right thing and not rushing Montero back into full fitness. So, Fredy Montero is out. Mike Fucito is listed as questionable with a right ankle sprain. Pat Noonan, Taylor Graham and Josh Ford are listed as probable, not that it matters because neither of them will be on the 18-man squad tomorrow. Finally, Erik Friberg has a flu, the MLS website is saying he will be out and Friberg is saying he feels alot better. Right now, I don't know whether or not Sigi will put him on the pitch.

Key matchups:

Steve Zakuani vs Jalil Anibaba - Right backs always have a tough assignment with Zakuani on the wing, and this is no exception for Anibaba. The rookie out of the University of North Carolina trained with the Sounders last season. This looks a good matchup here.

Patrick Nyarko vs Leonardo Gonzalez - Leo is gonna be tested again on the wing. Nyarko has already drawn seven fouls this season and Gonzalez already has 3 yellow cards this season. I think it's the Ghanaian footballer with the edge over the Costa Rican international. As I said, Gonzalez will be tested a lot in this match.