Sounders come away with nothing this time, lose 1-0 to San Jose

By Money Mike


After winning their first two matches of the season the Seattle Sounders came into this match with alot of confidence, but sometimes confidence isn't good enough. The Sounders found themselves on the losing end, falling 1-0 to the San Jose Earthquakes. The Sounders hit the road next Saturday in the nations capital as they face D.C. United who are coming off their first win of the season, defeating FC Dallas 4-1. It was a poorly played game from both sides and the Sounders deserved no more than a point out of this, but a horrible PK decision midway through the first half made sure that didn't happen. Seattle will have to shake this one off and turn their attention to their match next Saturday at D.C.

Seattle did start of brightly in the early minutes. In the 10th minute after San Jose struggled to clear the ball out of danger, Osvaldo Alonso stepped and sent in a driven ball to the middle of the penalty area for Fredy Montero who just headed it over the top.

In the 17th minute, San Jose nearly caught the Sounders on the break. Chris Wondolowski found Steven Beitashour making a brilliant overlapping run from the back. Beitashour whipped in a short cross which bounced to the far post for Steven Lenhart who forced a save from Michael Gspurning who then pounced on the ball and held on to prevent Chris Wondolowski from putting home the rebound.

Now as I said on my preview, Alvaro Fernandez was fined for embellishment in last weeks match. The MLS Disciplinary Committee better fine Steven Lenhart as well for this crap in the 23rd minute. Marc Burch stuck his leg out and there was very little to no contact on the play. It was a clear dive by Lenhart but referee Mark Kadlecik decides to point to the penalty spot and award a PK to the Quakes. I hate making excuses here but that was a horrible call by the referee. I'm just getting sick and tired of the fact that referee's end up deciding the game.

Chris Wondolowski stepped up to take the PK for San Jose. Michael Gspurning has made some key penalty saves during his career. However, Wondo overpowered him and put it inside the right post for his fourth of the season and to give San Jose the lead in Seattle.

In the 35th minute, Zach Scott, who got the start again at right back for the injured Adam Johansson, sent in a cross into the six yard box where four Sounder players were waiting. The ball found the head of Alonso who headed it just wide of the near post.

The Sounders continued to push at the start of the second half. In the 51st minute, Osvaldo Alonso found David Estrada who turned, got away from Sam Cronin and had a go from about 25 yards away, but it didn't really test goalkeeper Jon Busch. Estrada who scored four goals in his first two matches was really quiet in the first half and trying to get it going in the second half.

Six minutes later, the Quakes nearly capitalized on a mistake. Servando Carrasco gave the ball away to Sam Cronin who stepped away from Patrick Ianni, but just missed wide as he looked to slot into the far corner.

In the 83rd minute, Fredy Montero and Sammy Ochoa liked up very well on this play and Montero looked to curl this one into the far corner but Jon Busch came up huge yet again. That was just about the last real opportunity for the Sounders as the breaks just weren't going their way like they were last match.


Scoring summary:

San Jose Earthquakes - Chris Wondolowski 4 (penalty kick) 24'


Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso (caution; foul) 6'

Seattle Sounders FC - Christian Sivebaek (caution; Persisten infringement) 47'+

San Jose Earthquakes - Rafael Baca (caution; foul) 64'

San Jose Earthquakes - Steven Lenhart (caution; Time wasting) 64'

Seattle Sounders FC - Zach Scott (caution; foul) 81'

San Jose Earthquakes - Alan Gordon (caution; foul) 83'


Lineups:

San Jose Earthquakes - Jon Busch; Steven Beitashour, Victor Bernardez, Justin Morrow, Ramiro Corrales (Jason Hernandez 46'); Marvin Chavez (Simon Dawkins 89'), Sam Cronin, Rafael Baca, Shea Salinas; Steven Lenhart (Alan Gordon 67'), Chris Wondolowski

Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning; Zach Scott, Patrick Ianni, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (Jeff Parke 46'), Marc Burch; Christian Sivebaek (Sammy Ochoa 62'), Osvaldo Alonso, Servando Carrasco (Alex Caskey 74'), Alvaro Fernandez; David Estrada, Fredy Montero

David Estrada's hat trick seals a 3-1 win in the season opener

By Money Mike


Seattle's third year pro out of UCLA celebrated his first MLS goal. As a matter of fact, he celebrated two more. With Eddie Johnson out with a hip flexor injury, David Estrada was asked to partner up again with Fredy Montero, and he delivered in a big way. Estrada became the third player to record a hat trick in Sounders FC history and even better, the Sounders got off to a three point start in their new season by defeating Toronto FC 3-1. The Sounders have put their disappointing Champions League loss behind them and in front of their home crowd have picked up where they left off last season, scoring goals.

Estrada got it rollin' in the 18th minute. After some fancy footwork from Alvaro Fernandez that led to a collision between Ty Harden and Richard Eckersley, Fernandez sent a low ball to the near post for Estrada. Now at first it looked like Terry Dunfield broke up the attack, but Estrada was able maintain possession, dribble it around Milos Kocic and slot it home. It was a scrappy goal, but who cares? It counts all the same, 18 minutes gone and the Sounders were up 1-0.

In the 25th minute, TFC suffered a big blow. David Estrada had a breakaway opportunity, but their captain Torsten Frings broke up the attack from behind and forced a corner. However, Frings ended up hurting himself in the process and he had to leave the match early.

In the 51st minute, after linking up well with Alvaro Fernandez, Marc Burch sent David Estrada behind the TFC defense and calmly placed it perfectly past Milos Kocic to make it 2-0 Sounders.

Estrada was in the best form out of all the players on this team coming out of the preseason and he has shown that in this match, scoring his 2nd of the match and third in all competitions this season. After seeing limited playing time in 2010 and 2011, will this be the start of something new for David Estrada and the Seattle Sounders?

Toronto FC got one back in the 62nd minute on a curling ball to the far corner from Ryan Johnson who rediscovered his goalscoring touch since being traded to Toronto from San Jose last season. However it was short lived and one more time, it was David Estrada. After a give and go with Alvaro Fernandez, Estrada popped into the penalty area and slammed home his third goal of the match to complete his hat trick and the Sounders 3-1 victory over Toronto in the opener.


Observations:

Once again, another sellout at CenturyLink Field just as always. The Fanbase here in Seattle continues to grow and grow every year. Tonight we had 38,709 in attendance after they opened up the Hawks Nest and for 90 minutes the crowd got behind the team in full voice and just as always, proved that Seattle is the #1 Soccer City in the U.S. and as long as this continues, that will never ever change. The fans are always out here doing their part to prove that soccer is a big deal in Seattle.

After watching David Estrada's career night, I start to wonder when Eddie Johnson recovers from his hip flexor injury what do you do? Do you keep Eddie on the bench for a while? Do you still bench David Estrada? Do you put Estrada in an attacking midfield possession? So many options for Estrada, but he is proving to be a difference maker for the Seattle Sounders.

I'm very happy about the win, it was a great performance after a rough trip to Mexico during the midweek, but Seattle came into this game like they were ready to play and they get the three points.


Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - David Estrada 1 (unassisted) 18'

Seattle Sounders FC - David Estrada 2 (Marc Burch 1, Alvaro Fernandez 1) 51'

Toronto FC - Ryan Johnson 1 (Miguel Aceval 1) 62'

Seattle Sounders FC - David Estrada 3 (Alvaro Fernandez 2) 63'


Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso (caution; Persistent Infringement) 26'

Seattle Sounders FC - Patrick Ianni (caution; Foul) 53'

Toronto FC - Aaron Maund (caution; Foul) 93'+


Lineups:

Toronto FC - Milos Kocic; Richard Eckersley, Ty Harden (Danny Koevermans 46'), Miguel Aceval, Logan Emory; Terry Dunfield, Torsten Frings (Aaron Maund 25'), Luis Silva; Nick Soolsma, Ryan Johnson, Eric Avila (Joao Plata 57')

Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning; Adam Johansson, Patrick Ianni, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Marc Burch; Mauro Rosales (Roger Levesque 79'), Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans, Alvaro Fernandez (Christian Sivebaek 65'); David Estrada (Servando Carrasco 87'), Fredy Montero

2012 Seattle Sounders FC season preview

By Money Mike


OK, now that the CONCACAF Champions League is out of the way (even though it was disappointing), I think it's time that we start previewing the 2012 MLS season. Now the Seattle Sounders, I gotta tell you, they've made so many big moves this offseason. Probably more than the last two seasons combined and just about all of them were very good moves, but there was one surprise move as well. Last season, this team got off to a slow start, but then June came around and they started to click into gear. At one point, they picked up 9 points in 8 days and just took off from there in all competitions including the U.S. Open Cup and the Champions League. Last few games however, they looked pretty weak defensively and that proved to a factor as they were eliminated in the MLS Cup quarterfinal again.

The focus during the offseason was looking for a couple of outside backs and also a new goalkeeper because of the fact that Kasey Keller played his final season in 2011. In the end, they acquired Austrian goalkeeper Michael Gspurning, Swedish right back Adam Johansson and former D.C. United left back Marc Burch. They also drafted Creighton University defender Andrew Duran in the first round of the MLS SuperDraft. So now that they officially have everything put into place, you have to say that this is one of the teams to beat in Major League Soccer. We already know the Sounders can score goals because they led the league in that category, it's just a question if their backline is a lot better than last year. And there's no doubt it is. Yes, they're gonna have a couple of bad games this season, like last night against Santos, but right now, this is the only Seattle team that goes out there and wins big games and I can tell you, they're tired of only winning the U.S. Open Cup. Right now, they're aiming to win the MLS Cup.

Sounders 2012 roster:

1. GK - Michael Gspurning
3. MF - Brad Evnas
4. DF - Patrick Ianni
5. DF - Adam Johansson
6. MF - Osvaldo Alonso
7. FW - Eddie Johnson
8. DF - Marc Burch
10. MF - Mauro Rosales (captain)
11. FW - Steve Zakuani
12. DF - Leonardo Gonzalez
13. FW - O'Brian White
14. MF - Michael Tetteh
15. MF - Alvaro Fernandez
16. FW - David Estrada
17. FW - Fredy Montero
19. FW - Babayele Sodade
20. DF - Zach Scott
21. FW - Cordell Cato
22. MF - Mike Seamon
23. MF - Servando Carrasco
24. FW - Roger Levesque
25. MF - Andy Rose
26. FW - Sammy Ochoa
27. MF - Alex Caskey
28. MF - Christian Sivebaek
29. GK - Josh Ford
30. DF - Andrew Duran
31. DF - Jeff Parke
33. GK - Andrew Weber
34. DF - Jhon Kennedy Hurtado
35. GK - Bryan Meredith


Offseason moves:

Acquisitions:

December 7, 2011 - Michael Gspurning (Skoda Xanthi) - Free transfer
December 12, 2011 - Marc Burch (D.C. United) - Re-entry Draft
December 29, 2011 - Adam Johansson (IFK Goteborg) - Free transfer
January 11, 2012 - Christian Sivebaek (FC Midtjylland) - Undisclosed
January 18, 2012 - Cordell Cato (Defence Force)- Undisclosed
February 17, 2012 - Eddie Johnson (Montreal Impact) - Trade
March 1, 2012 - Andrew Duran (Creighton University) - MLS SuperDraft, 1st rd.
March 1, 2012 - Babayele Sodade (UAB) - MLS SuperDraft, 2nd rd.
March 2, 2012 - Andrew Weber (San Jose Earthquakes) - Out of contract
March 13, 2012 - Alex Caskey (Charleston Battery) - Free transfer
March 13, 2012 - Andy Rose (UCLA) - MLS Supplemental Draft, 1st rd.*

*Contract rights acquired from Real Salt Lake for Leone Cruz.

Departures:

November 2, 2011 - Kasey Keller - retired
November 23, 2011 - James Riley (Montreal Impact) - Expansion Draft*
November 23, 2011 - Tyson Wahl (Montreal Impact) - Trade
December 2, 2011 - Terry Boss - retired
December 2, 2011 - Taylor Graham - retired
December 7, 2011 - Miguel Montano (Montreal Impact) - Out of contract
December 12, 2011 - Erik Friberg (Malmo FF) - Undisclosed
December 12, 2011 - Nate Jaqua (New England Revolution) - Re-entry Draft
December 12, 2011 - Pat Noonan (Los Angeles Galaxy) - Re-entry Draft
February 17, 2012 - Mike Fucito (Montreal Impact) - Trade
February 17, 2012 - Lamar Neagle (Montreal Impact) - Trade
March 14, 2012 - Amadou Sanyang (Charleston Battery) - Undisclosed

* Immediately traded from Montreal to Chivas USA for Justin Braun and Gerson Mayen.


Keys to the season:

My keys for this season, starting with the Toronto match on Saturday, leave the Champions League loss behind and continue to play your game. I can't blame any of this on the coach, we had to push forward, we had to come at them, but Santos was able to find our weakness and they are able to take advantage of it. Look, Santos is a very good team, they're unbeaten at home this season, they've completely dominated the Champions League as well. One bad loss does not mean that we have a bad team, and yet we have a bunch of ignorant fans that are stupid enough to push the panic button before the start of our MLS campaign. Play your game, and your game only.

Another key, defensively the backline needs to tighten up. Last season, the opposition found some openings and almost 90% of the time, they took advantage of it. Hurtado has looked a little sluggish, but remember last season he returned from a season ending ACL injury he suffered in 2010. As for Leo Gonzalez, this guy has disappeared. His one on one defending has been absolutely pathetic. He better step it up, otherwise bench him and start Marc Burch. As a matter of fact, I think that would be the best option because I think Burch is a better one on one defender than Gonzalez. Bottomline is, if you want to get past the first round of the playoffs, don't give your opponents any good looks at goal. If they can do a better job, which I think they will, than we'll make it out of the first round for sure and perhaps make it to the MLS Cup final. No reason not to believe we can't do it this year.

Seattle Sounders come into this season with a much different look.

By Money Mike

Well we've had another long and busy offseason, but we're only five weeks away from getting back to business again. Sorry I'm two weeks late with this article. A couple weeks ago, I let my mother borrow my laptop and she ends up breaking my power cord. I was hoping to get a new one in the next couple of days, but instead I had to wait until last night to get a new power cord, but now that I have it, I'm gonna give you guys my personal opinion on this team regarding how they are on paper compared to last year, are they better defensively, are they one of the top contenders for the Supporters Shield, the MLS Cup, etc. Lately, the MLS website has been all over the Los Angeles Galaxy, talking about how unstoppable they're gonna be this season (that's what they think, lol!) because Edson Buddle back as well as Landon Donovan, Robbie Keane, Mike Magee and David Beckham is staying in LA for another two years.

As for the Seattle Sounders, well, it's been a busy offseason. The primary focus this offseason was getting a new goalkeeper as well as two outside backs. The Sounders found all three by acquiring goalkeeper Michael Gspurning, right back Adam Johansson and left back Marc Burch and following the departure of Erik Friberg, they added a little depth in the midfield with the addition of Christian Sivebaek and Cordell Cato.

I think Seattle definitely one of the top teams that will contend for the MLS Cup title with LA and maybe Real Salt Lake as well. First things first though, we need to get past the quarterfinal. That injury to Mauro Rosales on the last week of the regular season really hurt us in our chance of getting to the Cup final. But that was the past, right now, it's time to move on to the 2012 season. The Sounders look to have everthing in place now with Michael Gspurning between the pipes and Adam Johansson and Marc Burch on defense. Right now the only concern for me is, which of our draft picks will make the team this season?

Currently the roster is sitting at 28 players. Prior to the Supplemental draft, I liked the chances of both of our SuperDraft picks Andrew Duran and Babayele Sodade making the squad, but then the Sounders make four picks in the Supplemental Draft plus trade their rights to Leone Cruz to Real Salt Lake for their Supplemental pick Andy Rose.

I still like Duran's chances, but I don't have much hope for Sodade now because one of our four selections in the Supplemental Draft was Jason Banton from English club Leicester City F.C. Prior to his short stint with Leicester City, Banton spent some time in the Arsenal youth system, then he joined the Blackburn academy in 2008 and stayed there for about three years before spending six months in the Liverpool youth system. He recently made one appearance for Burton Albion during his short loan stint from Leicester City where he made no appearances. You know, I was quite surprised that nobody cashed in on this kid in the MLS SuperDraft. I was expecting him to be taken in the first round. Too me, I think this was a huge pick.

Besides Banton, the Sounders also selected Tim Pontius from UC Santa Barbra, Abdul Aman from the University of Washington, and Wes Feighner from Cal Poly. Aman was just cut from the team a couple of days ago so that leaves us with Banton, Pontius, Feighner, Rose, Duran, Sodade and a few trialists on this team like Andrew Weber, Alex Caskey, Harlinton Gutierres and Ever Alvarado.

Now asside from all of that, I'm pretty sure some of you guys have been keeping track of Steve Zakuani and his road to recovery from that broken leg he suffered in Colorado following a two footed challenge by that Stupid Prick who goes by the name of Brian Mullan. There were times last season when I forgot Zakuani was on this team and I don't know why, because there was absolutely no doubt in my mind or in anyone's mind that he is an important player on this team. I've kept track of his road to recovery and last I heard, he was aiming to return in late may-early june at least sometime during the summer. Of course we have our Designated player Fredy Montero who has scored 34 league goals in this three years here in Seattle and will continue to add to that all season long. Again, the Sounders have everything put in place, our backline looks a lot better than last year, plus we have Michael Gspurning who brings a little more height in goal. For the new players, it's just a matter of getting the hang of playing together.

Sounders sign Danish midfielder Christian Sivebaek

By Money Mike



The Sounders have made yet another move this offseason. Danish midfielder Christian Sivebaek joins the Men in Rave Green after five seasons with FC Midtjylland. With the 23-year old joining the club, the roster as it stands currently sits at 27 players. Remember though, the Sounders are still in talks with Cordell Cato, which would make 28. Now you have two more spots available on your roster. The MLS SuperDraft takes place tomorrow, so the question is do you consider drafting another midfielder, or maybe pick up a forward because the Sounders have enough depth in the midfield and there's very little depth in the forward position.

Sivebaek is the son of former Danish international defender John Sivebaek who played for Manchester United and was part of Denmark's international squad that won the European Championship in 1992. Sivebaek of course began his career in the youth ranks of FC Midtjylland in 2006 at the age of 16 and signed a professional contract two years later. He has made 80 league appearances for Midtjylland and scored 6 times for the club. He's also represented Denmark at the Youth Level, however he has yet to make a senior appearance.


Thoughts on this move:

Once again, I'll give the Sounders front office a thumbs up. He's a good attack minded player that will fit in with this team. This is a much different team compared to last years. One of the reasons of course is because our back line is stronger with outside backs Marc Burch and Adam Johansson joining the Sounders back in December. Everything's just about in place for the Sounders and I'm looking forward to a new season.