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

By Money Mike


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Scoring summary:

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

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

Caledonia AIA - Kareem Joseph (penalty kick) 67'

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


Misconduct summary:

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

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

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

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


Lineups:

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

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

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

By Money Mike


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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Observations:

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

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

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


Scoring summary:

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

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

Seattle Sounders FC - Andy Rose (unassisted) 43'

Caledonia AIA - Kareem Joseph (penalty kick) 50'


Misconduct summary:

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

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


Lineups:

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

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

Sounders FC monthly rewind: June 2012

By Money Mike


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


Positives:

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


Negatives:

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


Western Conference Standings:

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


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

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

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

Upcoming schedule

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

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

Sounders 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 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 and Chivas USA finish all square 1-1

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders were coming off a very disappointing 2-0 loss at home Wednesday night to the Columbus Crew and really needed to find a way to keep that from happening again. The way they played on Saturday, Seattle possibly could've came away with all three points but instead they settled for a 1-1 draw at the Home Depot Center against a new look Chivas USA side. The Sounders will now have a two week break from MLS play. They still have a U.S. Open Cup match this Wednesday down at Starfire against the Atlanta Silverbacks and another one on June 5th should they advance with a win over Atlanta. The Sounders currently sit in third place in the Western Conference with a record of 7-3-3 (24 points).

In the 31st minute, former Sounder James Riley played a long crossfield ball to the near side for Ryan Smith. Now here's the problem, Mauro Rosales was all the way back defending because Zach Scott who was supposed to be defending Smith on these plays was in a central defensive position. Smith took advantage of that and maneuvered around Rosales and sent in a low ball to the near post for Alejandro Moreno, but Jeff Parke was there as well to knock it out of play for a corner kick. Parke has been criticised lately about his defending, but he answered all critics in this match and made some great defensive plays.

In the 39th minute, Fredy Montero sent David Estrada in behind the Chivas USA defense and it looked he had all the time and space to either get a cross in or go for goal himself, but James Riley got back and broke of the attack. That was five yards that Riley made up. Estrada is another guy that has been criticised lately. I understand Eric Wynalda was discussing this on FSN West and I have to agree with him on this part. The reason Estrada has stuggled is because of his lack of pace. So far, he's lacking still and he doesn't have the closing speed and hopefully he'll continue to work on that as the season goes on.

Two minutes later, Alvaro Fernandez headed the ball on for Marc Burch to made an excellent run from the back. However he didn't have much of an angle for a shot or a cross and the ball was easily gathered by Chivas goalkeeper Dan Kennedy.

At the end of the first half, the Sounders had the best opportunity to take the lead going into the locker room. Fredy Montero got away from John Valencia and tried to find David Estrada, but the ball was deflected by Danny Califf right to Mauro Rosales who misses a golden opportunity. I don't know how much Rosales knew about it, but that was the best chance of the half for either side.

In the 57th minute, first blood went to the Goats. Peter Vagenas, another former Sounder, found James Riley on the near side with loads of space. Riley curled the ball toward the near post. Now it looked like Bryan Meredith was going to punch this one clear, but Juan Agudelo snuck right in front of him to head that one into the far corner to give Chivas USA a 1-0 lead. Agudelo's first professional goal came against the Sounders while he was playing for the New York Red Bulls and now in his second game for his new club, he repeats the trick and scores his first goal for Chivas USA against the Seattle Sounders.

In the 61st minute, the Sounders would come right back and tie it up. Shortly after coming on, Alex Caskey makes an immediate impact as he curled in a low ball right into the mixer and all David Estrada had to do was get a toe to the ball and that's exactly what he did as he made a run around John Valencia and poked the ball home for his fifth goal of the season. As for Caskey, that was his third assist of the season and I got to tell you he's outperforming Alvaro Fernandez so far this season. If Fernandez doesn't pull his head out soon, he could lose his starting job.

In the 90th minute, Eddie Johnson made a run all the way to the end line before trying to square the ball for Cordell Cato, but Cato couldn't get a foot on it. The ball bounced to Andy Rose for a first timed shot, but it was cleared away by Danny Califf. Had he not cleared the ball, it probably could've been a goal at the same time Kennedy may have had that covered, but the bottomline is Seattle couldn't find the breakthrough and come away with only a point.


Scoring summary:

Chivas USA - Juan Agudelo 1 (James Riley 2, Peter Vagenas 1) 57'

Seattle Sounders FC - David Estrada 5 (Fredy Montero 3, Alex Caskey 3) 61'


Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Andy Rose (caution; foul) 20'


Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Bryan Meredith; Zach Scott, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Marc Burch; Mauro Rosales, Andy Rose, Brad Evans, Alvaro Fernandez (Alex Caskey 61'); David Estrada (Cordell Cato 78'), Fredy Montero (Eddie Johnson 73')

Chivas USA - Dan Kennedy; James Riley, Danny Califf, John Valencia (Rauwshan McKenzie 66'), Ante Jazic; Laurent Courtois, Peter Vagenas, Ryan Smith (Cesar Romero 88'); Juan Agudelo, Jose Erick Correa (Blair Gavin 76'), Alejandro Moreno

Fredy Montero leads the Sounders to a fifth straight win

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders came out on top yet again and are now just one point back of Real Salt Lake first place in the Western Conference. Led by two second half goals from Fredy Montero, the Sounders came away with their fifth straight win as they defeated FC Dallas 2-0 to extend their record to 7-1-1 (22 points). Speaking of Real Salt Lake, the Sounders return home this Saturday to face RSL in a huge Western Conference matchup. Remember last year, these two teams met in the MLS Cup quarterfinal and just like the first two seasons, the Sounders couldn't get past the quarterfinal round. They lost the first leg 3-0 and in the second leg, they did very well to rally back but not good enough as they lost 3-2 on aggregate. The Sounders have a shot at payback as they battle RSL this Saturday in a battle for first place in the Western Conference.

In the first half, FC Dallas looked like the better side and they nearly broke loose after a few big chances. In the seventh minute, Fabian Castillo used his speed to get past Zach Scott to the endline and he decided to go for goal from an impossible angle and he hit side netting. That was a little selfish from Castillo because he had Jackson and Scott Sealy in support and also had Jair Benitez trailing on the play. Castillo is an exciting young player but as exciting as he is, he tends to hog the ball rather than pass to his teammates like in this match where he did that quite a few times. I think this is where he'll get better in years to come.

In the 17th minute, the Sounders should've had a goal. After Dallas got caught on the counter attack, Eddie Johnson played the ball out wide to Andy Rose who squared it across for Mauro Rosales who's shot was right at Kevin Hartman. Rosales then followed up and hit the post before FC Dallas could clear the ball out of danger. I really do not understand how Dallas survived that. In reality, those chances go in almost 99.99% of the time. FC Dallas got lucky there.

In the 39th minute, the Sounders were lucky not to find themselves a goal down. Fabian Castillo, who has given Zach Scott all kinds of problems in this game, sent in a cross towards Andrew Jacobson who headed the ball back across for an unmarked Scott Sealy who directed his header towards goal and Bryan Meredith got up well and deflected the shot off the crossbar. Sealy had a chance at a rebound, but he spilled it and Meredith pounced on the ball. Not only was Zach Scott tested in this match, left back Marc Burch had a tough go against Jackson. There was one play where Burch dragged Jackson to the ground because if he hadn't, Jackson would've been clear of the defense and more than likely would've given Dallas the lead but Burch dragged him down and picked up a yellow card.

With just over 20 minutes to go, the Sounders broke the deadlock. Cordell Cato brushed Hernan Pertuz aside and sent in a low cross for Fredy Montero. Montero then beat two defenders and ripped his shot past Kevin Hartman and in at the near post. Three minutes later, Montero wasn't done. Alex Caskey sent in a low cross and the ball deflected to Montero for a diving header to double Seattle's advantage and cap off their fifth straight win.


Observations:

Bryan Meredith picked up his second consecutive clean sheet since taking over for the injured Michael Gspurning who could make his return next Saturday for Seattle's Cascadia Derby match against the Vancouver Whitecaps at BC Place. He was kept busy all match as the defense looked like they were not on the same page a few times in this game but Bryan Meredith has done a terrific job between the pipes and that should really boost his confidence for Saturdays match against Real Salt Lake. So far, Meredith has gone 225 minutes without conciding a goal and will have to continue doing that for at least 90 more minutes.

Cordell Cato came on with 25 minutes to go in the game and I thought he did very well on his debut. Hopefully we see out there quite a bit this season. He has a ton of potential and he did show a bit of that last night. During the offseason when he was interviewed on soundersfc.com, he said this is his only year with the Sounders, but I think he's going to stay here in Seattle for a while. With what he's shown, I don't see why Cato doesn't deserve a spot on this team in the future.

Another great performance by the Sounders and with a big match coming up against a team that knocked them out of the playoffs last season, they got to feel hungry for revenge. Hopefully the Sounders can pull it off against Real Salt Lake and not only picked up their sixth straight win, but take over first place in the Western Conference.


Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero 2 (Cordell Cato 1) 68'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero 3 (Alex Caskey 2) 71'


Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Marc Burch (caution; foul) 30'

Seattle Sounders FC - Jeff Parke (caution; foul) 42'

FC Dallas - George John (caution; foul) 57'

Seattle Sounders FC - Zach Scott (caution; foul) 75'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero (caution; foul) 81'


Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Bryan Meredith; Zach Scott, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Marc Burch; Mauro Rosales (Fredy Montero 46'), Andy Rose, Brad Evans (Servando Carrasco 77'), Alex Caskey; David Estrada (Cordell Cato 66'), Eddie Johnson

FC Dallas - Kevin Hartman; Zach Loyd, George John, Matt Hedges, Hernan Pertuz (Ruben Luna 84'); Jackson, Andrew Jacobson, James Marcelin, Jair Benitez; Fabian Castillo, Scott Sealy (Brek Shea 70')

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 reportedly sign 19-year old Cordell Cato

By Money Mike



Well there's no confirmation of this deal, but according to Trinidad and Tobago Express, it looks like the Seattle Sounders have or will sign Trinidad and Tobago U20 international Cordell Cato who was on trial with the Sounders last summer. Right now, I found five sources regarding this move. The Sounders are set to have a three day combine in Trinidad and Tobago from January 2-4 and I would assume that Cato will attend the combine. If the deal is confirmed, Cato will join the Sounders on a one-year contract with an option of an additional two years and will be listed as a Developmental player for the Seattle Sounders. Again, I have found five links regarding this deal which has yet to be confirmed. This would be the Sounders third signing this offseason and I would expect a few more to be made when the International Transfer Window for this winter opens in January.

Cato's agent Evans Wise, a former MLS player, told reporters that they still need to complete some final documents as well as a medical before the deal can be made official. Sounders GM Adrian Hanauer and Technical Director Chris Henderson said pretty much the same thing along the lines, saying that nothings official yet.

Hopefully this deal will be completed soon. Of course it's only a one-year developmental contract, but I think Cato will stick around longer than that. He's an exciting young player with a ton of potential. I mean, I haven't seen him, but Hanauer has seen him, Henderson has seen him and the coaching staff have seen him play obviously because he was on trial, so they know a lot more than I do, but hearing what Cato brings, I think he's gonna be an exciting player to watch in the future. I'll have more information about this deal soon when it's officially completed.