Sounders clinch playoff berth with a 0-0 draw in Vancouver

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders have clinched a playoff berth for a fourth consecutive season since their arrival to Major League Soccer. That spot was secured on Saturday when they went down to Vancouver and battled the Whitecaps to a 0-0 draw. Yes, the Sounders only needed a draw to clinch a playoff spot, but there was no doubt that they wanted to come away with all three points. The Sounders next three games are at home. Starting on Sunday against the rivals from the South, the Portland Timbers. Over 66,000 tickets have been sold for that game. Then they have a week off the following weekend before they prepare for a midweek match on the 17th against Real Salt Lake. Then their last home match of the regular season will take place on Sunday October 21st against FC Dallas before they close out the regular season against the Los Angeles Galaxy on October 28th. So now that they've made the playoffs again, can they finally avoid another early round exit and advance to the Western Conference final? At this point it's not important because there's still four more games to go in the regular season before we can turn our attention to the MLS Cup playoffs.

Seattle did start this match off brightly early on. In the 12th minute, Brad Evans poked the ball to Ozzie Alonso from outside the penalty area for a first timed shot but it went wide of Brad Knighton's right hand side.

A couple minutes later, the Sounders caught the Whitecaps on the counter but just came within a whisker of breaking the deadlock. Barry Robson curled the ball out from the far corner looking for Jay DeMerit but Michael Gspurning punched the ball out of the box, but not quite out of danger. John Thorrington stepped up and looked to strike the ball on goal, but Leo Gonzalez got in the way and Mauro Rosales got the attack going as he found Fredy Montero and the Sounders sprinted back the other way in a four on two break. Montero played the ball back to Rosales who's first timed cross just eluded Brad Evans who got the start at left midfield over Steve Zakuani.

Shortly after, the Vancouver Whitecaps had to go their bench early. John Thorrington has had some injury problems with his right leg over the course of his career in MLS, and he appeared to have re-aggravated his right knee. So the Whitecaps had to use their first of three available substitutes in the 17th minute with Matt Watson coming into the game. Watson was one of four players who followed head coach Martin Rennie to Vancouver from the Carolina RailHawks during the offseason. Things would go from bad to worse for the Whitecaps later on in the half.

In the 30th minute, the Whitecaps missed a golden opportunity to open the scoring. Ozzie Alonso gave the ball straight away to Gershon Koffie in his own area. Koffie then used a little trickery to get away from Alonso and Leo Gonzalez and played in a perfect ball to Darron Mattocks and all he had to do was strike it on goal to give the Caps a 1-0 lead, but he took a split second too long and Jeff Parke slid in to break up the play.

Five minutes later, Koffie had room to shoot from long distance, but his shot went well wide. There wasn't much action early on up to that point, but since then, the game started to open up.

About a couple minutes later, the Sounders got away with what looked like a foul that wasn't called. Not only that, the Whitecaps had make another change. Kenny Miller fed the ball to Darron Mattocks to took one touch to try to get around Jeff Parke and it appeared that Parke dragged Mattocks to the ground just out side the area and Mattocks collided with goalkeeper Michael Gspurning who came off his line to challenge for the ball. Mattocks stayed down immediately holding his right hammy (Hamstring, in case any of you don't know what I mean) while Gspurning got up off the ground limping. If there was a foul, I don't know if Parke would've been sent off because again, Gspurning came out to challenge for the ball. Also, that the foul been given, it would've been a free kick outside the area. The bottomline is, Mattocks got the worst of the collision after suffering a right hamstring injury and the Whitecaps had to go to the bench for the second time in the first half.

A minute into the second half, Camilo Sanvezzo who came on for Darron Mattocks late in the first half, cut inside of Adam Johansson and sent in a low ball towards goal but he didn't get enough power on it and it was easily gathered by Michael Gspurning. Johansson had a lot to prove in this game after a horrible performance last Saturday against the San Jose Earthquakes. He bounced back very well in this match and had a decent performance in this match. It wasn't great, but it was a lot better than last Saturday. Hopefully during the offseason, Johannson will work on that and come into the 2013 season with a little more confidence.

Two minutes later, Gspurning nearly got beat from distance. Alain Rochat locked his ankles and struck the ball brilliantly with his laces and Gspurning alertly got a left arm to it. The movement of the ball nearly fooled the Austrian goalkeeper as he saw the ball drifting toward his right hand post, but then it started knuckling and Gspurning nearly ran past it.

With over 10 minutes to go in the match, the Sounders could've been up 1-0 had there not been a defender covering the near post. Christian Tiffert took the corner from the near side and found Jeff Parke in the middle of the penalty area for a half volley which was on target and looked to have had goalkeeper Brad Knighton beat, but fortunately for him, Lee Young-Pyo was there to clear the ball off the line.

There was a lot more drama late in the match, especially in the final minute of stoppage time, first in the Whitecaps area. Christian Tiffert curled the ball toward the back post which was behind Fredy Montero, but Montero used his strength to bring the ball down, turn and strike on goal. However the ball drifted away from goal.

You thought that was the last chance of the game, eh eh, not so fast. In the final seconds, the Whitecaps quickly sprinted back the other wide and Camilo missed what was probably the biggest opportunity of his young career. Barry Robson's cross found Kenny Miller would couldn't direct his header goalwards, but the ball found Camilo at the far post and he's put his shot just wide. At his caliber, he usually has no problem putting those away and he probably should've put this one away, but he didn't and the Sounders dodged a huge bullet and came away a point which was all they need to secure a place in the MLS Cup playoffs.

The Sounders wanted the three points, even though they only needed one to get into the playoffs. With the next three at home, it's important that the Sounders take advantage of the home field because home field advantage in the second leg is the key. We're looking at a matchup against either the LA Galaxy or Real Salt Lake should we finish second or third in the Western Conference standings. If they finish fourth, they would have to face Vancouver or Dallas in a wild-card matchup at home, with the winner facing San Jose in the MLS Cup quarterfinal and I'm pretty sure that is something the Sounders wouldn't want.

This team should be able to finish above fourth place at the least, but either way when it comes time for the playoffs, they can't afford to lose anybody to injury. Remember, Mauro Rosales suffered a sprained right knee in the final regular season match of 2011 which ruled him out of the MLS Cup quarterfinal against RSL and that proved costly to the team. That can't happen again, you gotta have your big guys out there at all costs. The Sounders are well overdue to advance out of the Quarterfinal. In 2009, they could've had at least three or four goals against Houston and they ended up losing 1-0 in extra time. Both Seattle and Houston had the best defense in the league, tied to the fewest goals conceded with 29. In 2011, well I think you already know. Losing the first leg 3-0, doesn't mean that you don't have a chance of coming back. If anybody remembers the 2005 UEFA Champions League final, Liverpool was down 3-0 to A.C. Milan but they came back with three second half goals and went on to win the final on PK's. I don't think the Sounders will find themselves in this situation again this postseason. If there was anytime for the Sounders to advance, perhaps this will be it.


Scoring summary:

NONE


Misconduct summary:

Vancouver Whitecaps - Jordan Harvey (caution; foul) 49'

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


Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning; Adam Johansson, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Leonardo Gonzalez; Mauro Rosales (Steve Zakuani 70'), Osvaldo Alonso, Christian Tiffert, Brad Evans (Andy Rose 74'); Eddie Johnson, Fredy Montero

Vancouver Whitecaps - Brad Knighton; Lee Young-Pyo, Andy O'Brien, Jay DeMerit, Jordan Harvey; Gershon Koffie, Alain Rochat, Barry Robson, John Thorrington (Matt Watson 17'); Kenny Miller, Darron Mattocks (Camilo Sanvezzo 42')

Montero and EJ power the Sounders past the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-0

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders bounced back from a difficult week and came away with a huge win against their Cascadia Cup rivals from the North. On Saturday, the Sounders defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-0 in front of 55,718 fans at CenturyLink Field in Seattle. Fredy Montero continued his scoring streak as he found the net for the third straight game and has scored four goals in his last five matches. Eddie Johnson's goalscoring frenzy also continued as he picked up his team leading 11th goal of the season.

Through the first 10-15 minutes, the Whitecaps looked like they were the better side from the kickoff. In the 6th minute, Darron Mattocks tried to play a through ball to Kenny Miller who got in behind Jeff Parke and Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, but Michael Gspurning came all the way out to meet it. The ball fell to Dane Richards who tried it from a long way out with Gspurning way off his line, but he missed wide. Richards was making his sixth appearance for the Whitecaps since coming over from the New York Red Bulls for former Sounder Sebastien Le Toux.

In the 19th minute of the match, the Sounders troubled goalkeeper Joe Cannon. Eddie Johnson had possession of the ball on the right hand side. Johnson cut inside to with left foot after a couple of step overs and gave it a go from outside the area and Joe Cannon just punched it over the bar, but it was close to going into his own net.

A couple minutes later, the Sounders gave the ball away in their own half and Kenny Miller played a great through ball to Darron Mattocks in the penalty area, but he pulled his shot wide of the far post. Both Miller and Mattocks combined well in this game, causing a few problems here and there.

Shortly after, the Sounders had another great opportunity. Leo Gonzalez made a nice turn to get away from Dane Richards and Lee Young-Pyo who were double teaming him. Gonzalez fed the ball to the top of the area for Mauro Rosales. Rosales pushed the ball to the right side of the area to Brad Evans just as he was being dragged to the ground by Carlyle Mitchell and I think this is where Evans should've tried to hit the ball first time with his left foot because he had a defender tracking back and cutting down the angle. Instead, Brad Evans let the ball drop to his right foot and forced a save from Joe Cannon.

In the 50th minute of the match, the Sounders gave the Whitecaps another scare. Jeff Parke chipped the ball into the Whitecaps area. Eddie Johnson chested the ball down for Ozzie Alonso for a first timed hit from a long way out and Joe Cannon got down and deflected his shot wide.

In the 64th minute, the deadlock was broken and it was Fredy Montero who opened the scoring shortly after coming off the bench. Mauro Rosales floated the ball into the box for Jeff Parke who chested the ball to Montero and the Colombian international poked the ball inside the far corner for his eight goal of the season and the Sounders took a 1-0 lead. So once again, Montero came on and answered all the unnecessary critics regarding his performance on the pitch.

With three minutes left in the contest, the Sounders put the game out of reach. Ozzie Alonso played a brilliant long ball to the near side for Brad Evans who was all alone on the right hand side. Evans made no mistake on this play as he slid the ball across and Eddie Johnson was there, making a run to the far post for an easy tap in and the Sounders put their Open Cup final defeat against Kansas City and their heartbreaking 2-1 loss on the road to San Jose behind them and get three points against their Cascadia rivals.

Now, I just want to apologize to all of you for not keeping you guys up to date on the Gold Medal run for the U.S. women's soccer team during the 2012 Olympics. I had a lot going on that was more important than this, so I just want to make sure you guys understand. Also I'm gonna be taking a break from blogging for a little while, so I'm not gonna cover the Sounders-Chivas USA game this weekend.


Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero 8 (Jeff Parke 1, Mauro Rosales 10) 64'

Seattle Sounders FC - Eddie Johnson 11 (Brad Evans 2, Osvaldo Alonso 2) 87'


Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (caution; foul) 58'

Vancouver Whitecaps - Gershon Koffie (caution; foul) 91'+


Lineups:

Vancouver Whitecaps - Joe Cannon; Lee Young-Pyo, Andy O'Brien, Carlyle Mitchell, Alain Rochat; Dane Richards, Jun Marques Davidson (John Thorrington 89'), Gershon Koffie, Camilo Sanvezzo (Russell Teibert 74'); Kenny Miller, Darron Mattocks (Atiba Harris 89')

Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning; Adam Johansson (Zach Scott 79'), Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Leonardo Gonzalez; Brad Evans, Osvaldo Alonso, Christian Tiffert, Alex Caskey (Fredy Montero 61'); Mauro Rosales (Andy Rose 88'), Eddie Johnson

Fredy Montero comes through with a late goal to salvage a point in Vancouver, 2-2 draw

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders were looking to bounce back from their 1-0 defeat against RSL. Instead, they were a couple minutes away from losing their second straight match for the first time since their 0-2 start last season. However a late goal from Fredy Montero made sure that didn't happen and the Sounders came away with a point after a 2-2 draw with the Vancouver Whitecaps. The Sounders are now 7-2-2 on the year after that draw and remain in third place, one point behind San Jose for second and three points behind Real Salt Lake for first.

In the 8th minute, Seattle got caught on the counter as Sebastien Le Toux sent Omar Salgado away. The 18-year old got to the ball before Ozzie Alonso could clear, but his touch was poor and Bryan Meredith came off his line to cover.

Three minutes later, the Whitecaps got on the board. Omar Salgado sent Alain Rochat away down the left hand side, and with Adam Johansson overcommiting Rochat had time and space to run at the Seattle defense. As he approached the Seattle goal, he had Darren Mattocks and Sebastien Le Toux in support along with Gershon Koffie and Lee Young-Pyo trailing on the play but because Jeff Parke didn't come to challenge, Rochat did all the dirty work alone and he slotted the ball inside the right post to give the Whitecaps a 1-0 lead.

In the 32nd minute, Alain Rochat went long for Omar Salgado. Salgado brushed Jeff Parke aside and looked to snap the ball across and inside the far post, but he missed wide of target. I think the referee blew the whistle though for the challenge on Jeff Parke, but I didn't see anything wrong with the challenge. It was shoulder to shoulder and just poor defending by Parke. Jeff Parke actually had a poor defensive outing all match.

Eight minutes later, more from Rochat as he dispossessed Mauro Rosales and waited a couple of seconds before getting Darron Mattcks in behind the defense. Mattocks looked to slot the ball inside the far post, but he didn't get enough bend on it and it just went wide. Once again it was Jeff Parke getting caught. Fortunetly, the Sounders dodged another bullet and the score remained 1-0. The Sounders did have a couple of shot of their own in the first half, but none of them were on target. The way the back line has played, it could've been worse.

That would change however. A minute into the second half, the Sounders quickly pulled level. Fredy Montero chipped the ball out wide for Mauro Rosales. The Argentine had time to settle before whipping in a very good cross to the far post for Eddie Johnson who rose up and headed the ball back across and inside the right post to tie this match at 1-1. It was important that Johnson had to bounce back from a poor performance last Saturday at home and the easiest way of doing that was to get a goal and that was what Eddie Johnson did as he headed home his third goal of the season.

In the 82nd minute, the Whitecaps climbed back ahead. Camilo took the free kick from the near side. He curled it to the middle of the area and it bounced inside the far post. At first it looked like Gershon Koffie got a touch on it, but it wasn't the case. Nobody touched it in the box and Camilo got credited with his third goal of the season and his second against the Seattle Sounders and more importantly put the Sounders ahead 2-1.

However, in the 90th minute the Sounders came from behind again. Eddie Johnson headed the ball forward to Fredy Montero and from 20 yards out, the Colombian hesitated and curled the ball around two Whitecaps defenders and in to the back of the net as goalkeeper Joe Cannon had absolutely no clue on where the ball was because he had two defenders in his way. No chance to make the save and Seattle comes away with a point.


Scoring summary:

Vancouver Whitecaps - Alain Rochat 1 (Omar Salgado 1) 12'

Seattle Sounders FC - Eddie Johnson 3 (Fredy Montero 2, Mauro Rosales 2) 47'

Vancouver Whitecaps - Camilo Sanvezzo 3 (unassisted) 82'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero 4 (Eddie Johnson 1) 90'


Misconduct summary:

Vancouver Whitecaps - Gershon Koffie (caution; foul) 84'

Vancouver Whitecaps - Camilo Sanvezzo (caution; foul) 93'+


Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Bryan Meredith; Adam Johansson, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Marc Burch (Zach Scott 85'); Mauro Rosales, Osvaldo Alonso, Alex Caskey (Andy Rose 45'), Alvaro Fernandez (David Estrada 72'); Fredy Montero, Eddie Johnson

Vancouver Whitecaps - Joe Cannon; Lee Young-Pyo, Martin Bonjour, Jay DeMerit, Alain Rochat; Gershon Koffie, Jun Marques Davidson, Davide Chiumiento (Camilo Sanvezzo 80'); Sebastien Le Toux, Darren Mattocks (Eric Hassli 64'), Omar Salgado (John Thorrington 74')