"NOT AGAIN": Yes again..... Sounders snatch one late against Sporting Kansas City

SKC left standing with their heads in their hands
after conceding yet another late goal to the Sounders.

By Money Mike


Coming off a 2-2 draw in Philly, the Seattle Sounders closed out their three game road trip in Kansas City. Many exports expected SKC to come away with an easy victory. The Sounders had other plans like eh, I don't know........ scoring another late goal. That's exactly what happened. It looked like the match was going to end scoreless, but deep into stoppage time, Sporting whiffed on an attempted clearance and Djimi Traore made them pay as he scored the winning goal to give the Sounders a 1-0 victory. After an 0-3-2 start, the Sounders have picked up 7 points during this road stretch and are starting to turn things around in this early part of the season. The Sounders return home for a Saturday afternoon match against the San Jose Earthquakes. The Rave Green have a major score to settle with them, having lost the last four meetings between the two.

In the opening seconds of the game, Michael Gspurning was immediately put to the test. Zach Scott failed to clear the ball out of his own half and Jacob Peterson looked to take advantage by hitting one inside the far post, but Gspurning got down, made the save and held on before C.J. Sapong had any chance at a rebound.

In the 13th minute, Sporting tried to catch the Sounders off guard. Peterson Joseph took the corner and rather than swinging the ball into the box, he elected to play it short to Josh Gardner who slid the ball through to Graham Zusi. The idea was right, but Zusi took a heavy touch which allowed Brad Evans to get a foot to it, but Peterson Joseph stepped up and tried a curling shot to the far corner, but he didn't quite get enough bend on it.

In the 22nd minute, Seattle Sounders should've had a penalty. Zach Scott took a long throw in from the near side. His throw in just missed the head of Brad Evans and bounced off the arm of Ike Opara right in front of the goal, but nothing was given. And why not? Opara raised his arm up, the ball bounced off his arm....... Can somebody explain to me how that is not a penalty? Seconds later, play was stopped after some yelling from the Sounders bench. Referee Geoff Gamble ran over to the bench and I thought he ejected one of the Sounders assistant coaches because one of them got up immediately and argued, but it just so happened that it was backup goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann who was dismissed. Now I've never seen anything like that before. Normally if a referee goes over to eject somebody, it would be one of the coaches, but a bench player? I've never seen that. Now for those of you who are confused with the rules regarding somebody getting sent off from the bench, it's just like a player getting a red card. They're ejected from the game and are suspended for the next game. The only difference here is that Seattle doesn't have to play with 10 men because the player sent off of course, was on the bench. Another thing to add to this is now Seattle doesn't have a backup goalkeeper for the match this Saturday against the Earthquakes. So it looks like they're gonna bring in Doug Herrick who's currently contracted by the MLS League-Wide Reserve Goalkeeper Pool, which means any team can bring him up for a game if needed. Some of you remember him from last season with the Sounders U23. There's also a guy by the name of Brad Stuver who is also contracted by the MLS reserve pool, but it's likely to be Doug Herrick who will be called into the squad as an emergency backup to Michael Gspurning for this Saturday. I think this is the third time that the Sounders have had to bring in a keeper from the reserve pool. First couple weeks of the 09' season, they had to bring in Ben Dragavon to the fold when Chris Eylander was banged up and he actually came on in a match against Kansas City after Kasey Keller was sent off. The other guy they brought in was Alex Horwath in 2010. That guy didn't make an appearance however.

Alright enough talk about the goalkeeper situation, let's move to the 26 minute. The Sounders hadn't created many opportunities in this game, but they had one here. Mario Martinez chipped the ball to Brad Evans from about 20 yards out. Evans chested the ball down and tried to volley it with his left foot, but it was a weak attempt and didn't look like it was gonna test Jimmy Nielsen had it been on target.

A minute later, Nielsen nearly got caught wrong footed. Mario Martinez took the free kick from outside the penalty area, well within his shooting range. He curled the ball low and around the wall and I thought it was going in but the ball wasn't hit far enough from the goalkeeper and Nielsen got down and made the save.

Now we're gonna fast forward all the way to the 80th minute. The Seattle backline has been put under a lot of pressure all game long. Graham Zusi tried to work a give and go with Claudio Bieler, but the pass was to far for him. However, the Sounders had some trouble clearing the ball away and the attack wasn't over. Chance Myers let the ball bounce to him before he can settle and whip in a long ball into the area looking for Kei Kamara (yes, he's back from his loan stint with Norwich City). Djimi Traore got a head to it, but right to Claudio Bieler who volleyed it well wide. I think that was their first shot attempt of the second half despite all the pressure they put on the Sounders back line.

A couple minutes later, Kei Kamara took on Leo Gonzalez from the near side and sent a low driven ball into the area where he had C.J. Sapong lurking, but his cross was too close to Michael Gspurning.

Now lets fast forward deep into stoppage time. Remember the stoppage time goal by Mike Fucito in 2010? Or the one by Jeff Parke in 2011? Hell, what about the two stoppage time goals by Mauro Rosales and Lamar Neagle later on in 2011 at Sporting Park? Well, in the final seconds of stoppage time (more time was added because of an injury delay), the Sounders burn them again. Zach Scott rather than throwing it long towards goal, he purposefully threw it short to Brad Evans who flicked the ball across and after Aurelien Collin whiffed on his attempted clearance which would've ended the game there, the ball bounced to Djimi Traore who turned and smashed it home and the Sounders steal one from Sporting Kansas City yet again. There were a few appeals that Traore touched it with his hand, but if the referee called handball on that play, then he should've called handball on Opara. Also, Traore didn't touch the ball with his hand, it bounced off his knee. So if any of you think that was a handball, you better go back and watch it over and over again. Nothing was called anyway, the goal stood and the Sounders win 1-0.


Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Djimi Traore 1 (Unassisted) 94'+


Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Marcus Hahnemann (dismissed; dissent) 24'

Sporting Kansas City - Ike Opara (caution; foul) 45'

Sporting Kansas City - Aurelien Collin (caution; foul) 91'+


Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning; Zach Scott, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Djimi Traore, Leonardo Gonzalez; Brad Evans, Osvaldo Alonso, Servando Carrasco, Mario Martinez (Alex Caskey 93'+); Eddie Johnson, David Estrada (Mauro Rosales 85')

Sporting Kansas City - Jimmy Nielsen; Chance Myers, Aurelien Collin, Ike Opara, Josh Gardner (Seth Sinovic 75'); Benny Feilhaber (Claudio Bieler 66'), Oriol Rosell, Peterson Joseph; Graham Zusi, C.J. Sapong, Jacob Peterson (Kei Kamara 73')

Sounders ready to do battle with RSL in the Playoffs again

By Money Mike


The MLS regular season is over so now it's time to turn our attention to where it really counts, the MLS Cup playoffs. The Seattle Sounders and Real Salt Lake faced off against eachother in last years MLS Cup quarterfinal. RSL won the first leg 3-0 and Seattle won the second leg 2-0. Unfortunately, that second leg win wasn't enough to keep their MLS Cup title hopes alive as Salt Lake advanced 3-2 on aggregate. Tomorrow, it will be a rematch between the Sounders and RSL. The first leg kicks off at 7pm and will be aired regionally on ROOT Sports, locally on KONG-TV and nationally on the NBC Sports Network. The Sounders are well overdue to advance in the playoffs and perhaps this could be the year for that to happen. Since their nine game winless run in the middle of the season, the Sounders have gone 8-3-5 the rest of the way leading up to the playoffs.


Injury report:

Real Salt Lake - Salt Lake has three defenders currently on the injured list.  Chris Schuler and Nat Borchers are dealing with quad strains and Jamison Olave is dealing with a strained left hamstring.  Borchers and Olave are listed as probable and Schuler is listed as questionable.  Another player that's dealing with a quad strain is midfielder Ned Grabavoy.  He might be good to go, but I haven't heard anything yet.  Right now he's listed as probable.  Lastly, Paulo Junior has a contusion in his right foot and is also listed as probable.

Seattle Sounders FC - For the Rave Green, of course rookies Andrew Duran and Babayele Sodade are out.  Leonardo Gonzalez has a strained right hamstring and Patrick Ianni has a right calf strain.  Both have been working their way back, but they have been ruled out for tomorrow's match.  Lastly, this is what's been concerning the entire Sounder nation all week.  Eddie Johnson left late in the first half of sunday's 1-0 loss to the LA Galaxy.  The MRI showed that he suffered a left adductor strain.  He hasn't been ruled out of tomorrow night's match, at least not yet, but there's a chance he will not play in the first leg.  Right now, EJ is listed as questionable.


Who will start if Johnson isn't available?

We've had to deal with the same situation last season with Mauro Rosales.  At least we won't have to worry about him this time.  Again, there is a pretty good chance that Eddie Johnson will not play tomorrow.  If that is the case, head coach Sigi Schmid has plenty of options on the bench with David Estrada, Sammy Ochoa, Steve Zakuani and Mario Martinez.  Estrada and Zakuani are both working to get back to full fitness, Ochoa has struggled to find that breakout moment and Martinez has had trouble settling in because of international duty.  There's a pool on Seattle Times that is also asking who should start and the results are pretty even.

In my opinion, I'd go with creativity here, so I think Mauro Rosales should push up front and Mario Martinez should get the start on the right hand side.  He's been in big matches like these before (but then again, everybody has), he handles the pressure very well, he looked pretty good in the Champions League and we saw what he did for Honduras in their World Cup Qualifying match against Canada.  So I think this match will be an opportunity for him to prove, not that he's happy to be here, but that he want's to be here and that he belongs here.  Of course that's who I think should start, but my guess is that Ochoa will probably the one that will get the nod up front with Fredy Montero.

Right now, anything but a win in the first leg for the Sounders will not work at all.  The lads are at home in the opening match of the playoffs, so here's there opportunity to come right at Real Salt Lake and put them under a ton of pressure.  If the Sounders can win by at least two goals, given the fact that RSL has struggled to score, I think this will put Salt Lake in a heap of trouble.  They have the home field in the first leg, so they have to make the most of it if they want any chance of advancing in the playoffs.

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

Lack of finishing haunts the Sounders as they fall 2-0 to the Columbus Crew

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders outshot the Columbus Crew, they had more possession, they out dueled their opponent, they completely outplayed Columbus. However there was one problem, they couldn't find the back of the net. Despite all the chances the Sounders created in this game, they struggled to finish and it came back to haunt them as they fell at home to the Columbus Crew by a final count of 2-0. After winning five in a row, the Sounders have came away with only one point in their last three matches and you have to feel that they need to win on the road this Saturday against Chivas USA before their two week break from MLS.

In the 10th minute, Fredy Montero looked to score from a free kick but he hit the wall. The ball bounced to Osvaldo Alonso who cut inside to his right foot and fired a low right foot drive, but it was poorly hit and Andy Gruenebaum easily gathered it up.

So you may think the Sounders looked like the better side, but as head coach Sigi Schmid said after the game, goals change games and in the 15th minute, it was Columbus who got that goal. For the third game in a row, Adam Johansson got caught as Dilly Duke whipped in a very good cross to the far post and Justin Meram made a great run behind Johansson and headed the ball inside the right post for his third goal in as many matches. Johansson had to leave the match later on after picking up a hamstring injury. Let's just hope it's not too serious and hope to see him back on the pitch on June 16th following their two week break, but Johansson has struggled these last three matches. He's been getting caught out of position and should be held responsible for three of the five goals Seattle has conceded in these last three games.

The Sounders looked to get one back in the 18th minute. Marc Burch found Brad Evans at the top of the penalty area, but his header wasn't enough to trouble Andy Gruenebaum.

In the 33rd minute, David Estrada curled the ball near post for Eddie Johnson. However, Johnson didn't have much of an angle and his shot went well wide of goal. A few minutes later, Ozzie Alonso had a go from distance, but he couldn't hit the target.

In the dying seconds of the first half, Seattle nearly came through with the equalizer that surely would've changed the momentum of this game. Adam Johansson chipped the ball into the area for David Estrada. Estrada turned and sent in a cross to the far post for Alvaro Fernandez who was unmarked but his header was inches wide.

In the 51st minute, once again Seattle came close. David Estrada tried to feed an overlapping Adam Johansson, but the ball bounced awkwardly for him. Johansson was able to control it and play it back to Estrada who got his right foot around the ball and found Fredy Montero who shrugged off Carlos Mendes and fired it low on goal, but somehow Andy Gruenebaum kept that one out. Four minutes later, Estrada once again found Fredy Montero who was played onside by the Columbus Crew defense. Montero struck the ball low and hard again, but goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum was equal to the task once again.

In the 76th minute, Columbus delivered the knockout punch. After the Sounders struggled to clear the ball out of their own half, the ball bounced nicely for Emilio Renteria who caught goalkeeper Bryan Meredith off his line and went for goal from a long way out. Meredith got a hand to it, but it was too late. Renteria scored what's surely a candidate for Goal of the Week and like I said earlier the Sounders are going to rue not being able to finish their chances in this match. The Sounders have already lost three matches at home this season, which is a bit of a problem. When you're one of the top teams in MLS, you have to take advantage of those home matches and these last couple home matches, the Sounders have struggled to produce.


Observations:

I'm hoping the MLS disciplinary committee doesn't suspend Ozzie Alonso for Saturdays match against Chivas USA. There was one play where he came in two footed while challenging for the ball right in front of the referee, but the referee didn't give anything. Alonso did receive a yellow card later on in that match for infringement but I'm pretty sure the league is going to review that two footed challenge. There's a chance he could be banned for the next match, but we don't know for sure. We haven't heard anything regarding that, so as of right now Alonso is available for the away match on Saturday, but late in the match Alonso had difficulty controling his temper.

Bryan Meredith got the start again in goal for the Sounders for the injured Michael Gspurning who is expected to return on June 15th. He's done very well filling in for Gspurning has been out with a hip injury, but the second goal conceded was all on him because of the fact that he was off his line. These last couple of games have been tough for Bryan Meredith because the backline has struggled and because Meredith has been caught out of position a couple of times. He needs to communicate with his backline and make sure they're all on the same page in their next match because it looks like that'll be his last start before Michael Gspurning makes his return.

Disappointing result from Sigi Schmid and the rest of the coaching staff. This was a match that most of the folks would've expected this team to win, but shit like this have happened everywhere and will always happen and you just have to deal with it. I mean, I've dealt with it, but I will tell you it's painfull. lol. Bottomline is, this loss won't hurt the team that much. It's still early, there's a lot of matches to go. When we get to June, I believe that's where the Sounders will take off and really start to dominate the rest of the way during the season.


Scoring summary:

Columbus Crew - Justin Meram 3 (Dilly Duka 1, Emilio Renteria 1) 15'

Columbus Crew - Emilio Renteria (unassisted) 76'


Misconduct summary:

Columbus Crew - Dilly Duka (caution; foul) 47'

Columbus Crew - Carlos Mendes (caution; foul) 71'

Seattle Sounders FC - Marc Burch (caution; foul) 85'

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso (caution; persistant infringement) 88'


Lineups:

Columbus Crew - Andy Gruenebaum; Sebastian Miranda, Carlos Mendes, Josh Williams, Nemanja Vukovic; Dilly Duka (Tony Tchani 57'), Danny O'Rourke (Kevan George 44'), Eddie Gaven, Cole Grossman, Justin Meram (Bernardo Anor 80'); Emilio Renteria

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

Sounders five game winning streak comes to an end with a 1-0 loss to RSL

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders had an opportunity to climb on top of the Western Conference standings. Instead, the Rave Green failed to register a shot on goal in a poor second half performance and they found themselves on the losing end 1-0 to Real Salt Lake. The Sounders despite the loss still have three games in hand with Salt Lake and they have a chance to pull within a point of the conference leaders this Saturday when they travel to BC Place to take on the Vancouver Whitecaps.

The Sounders got off to a bright start and looked like the better side in the first half. Off a Mauro Rosales corner kick, Jeff Parke nodded the ball down for Fredy Montero as he looked to turn and volley it goalwards but it was broken up by Jamison Olave and headed out of the box by Nat Borchers but not out of danger. The ball bounced to Andy Rose who settled and had a go from the top of the area, but the ball bounced wide of the goal. There were a few appeals from the Sounders about a possible handball in the box, but the referee didn't see anything.

Four minutes later, Mauro Rosales fed an overlapping Adam Johansson who had time and space to send in a cross to the far post. There were four Sounders in the box. Eddie Johnson got up well, but he couldn't get his header on target. Seconds later, Johnson had a player in support after beating three RSL defenders, but instead he went for goal himself and made a complete mess of it.

Salt Lake didn't test Bryan Meredith until the 23rd minute. Luis Gil fed Will Johnson on the left wing. Johnson made a nice cut inside of Adam Johansson and tried to curl his shot into the far corner, but he slipped as he got the shot away and his effort was straight into the hands of Bryan Meredith.

In the second half, Real Salt Lake took advantage of some sloppy passing from the Sounders and broke the dead lock. In the 51st minute, Luis Gil lifted the ball over the top for Fabian Espindola who let the ball bounce in front of him before maneuvering around Adam Johnansson and finding the back of the net with his left foot. Bryan Meredith didn't move a muscle because he had absolutely no chance of making the save after some good movement by RSL and some crappy passing and defending by the Sounders. Espindola made the Sounders backline look bad all match, winning the long balls and outrunning every loose ball like the one against Johansson that led to the goal.

Alvaro Fernandez came on as a sub in the second half for David Estrada who really struggled in this match. In the 60th minute, he had an opportunity to made an impact as he cut to the end line and whipped in a driven cross but it was straight into the arms of Nick Rimando.

Seattle had one more opportunity in the 87th minute. Alex Caskey fed the ball out wide to Cordell Cato who took on Will Johnson and sent in a driven ball into the area for Fredy Montero but Rimando came off his line to punch the ball clear. That's how it was for the Sounders, creating a few chances in the second half, but not able to register a shot on goal. A poor second half performance resulting in a 1-0 loss.


Observations:

Eddie Johnson had his worst game of the season since he joined the Sounders during the offseason. He's been holding on to the ball for long, he took a couple of unnecessary shots on goal when he should've passed the ball to his teammates, and he also picked up an unnecessary yellow card for knocking the ball out of the goalkeepers hands with his head when the keeper had control of it. He's a veteran player. He should understand that when the goalkeeper has full control of the ball with his hands, you have to leave it alone until it's put back into play. Even though his team was trailing and ended up losing, this is not the time to do something stupid like that. Hopefully, he'll get back on track next Saturday.

Fredy Montero also had a rough ass time in this match. He didn't have one real opportunity in this match because his former Deportivo Cali teammate Jamison Olave shut him down. He basically outdeuled Fredy Montero for 90 minutes. He doesn't need to watch any video clips, these two were teammates at Cali so he already knew what Fredy Montero was gonna bring to the table and Olave made sure he brought nothing.

The goal in the 51st minute by Real Salt Lake was the first goal Bryan Meredith conceded in 276 minutes of work since taking over for Michael Gspurning in the second half against the Los Angeles Galaxy. He has started the last three games for the Sounders since Gspurning was ruled out for 2-3 weeks with a hip injury and it's likely he'll get the start again Saturday against the Whitecaps. If he had another good outing against Vancouver, would he take Gspurning's job and become the new starting goalkeeper? Absolutely not. Michael Gspurning will be back in net when he is fully recovered from his hip injury and medically cleared by the doctors, but it looks like Meredith will get at least one more start in net before Gspurning recovers.

Fredy Montero, Eddie Johnson and the Sounders backline weren't the only one's who had poor performances. David Estrada, god damn. It was a long night for him. Tony Beltran didn't feel tested at all against this dude. Estrada is a hard working player and he's doing everything he can to prove he deserves a spot on the roster after rarely seeing any action in 2010 and 2011, but he looked like he was pushing himself too hard and really did not have it in this match. Now one thing I have to disagree on is somebody called David Estrada overrated. Now that makes absolutely no sense to me. Estrada hasn't even played enough to be considered overrated. As bad as he was last Saturday, you can't just go ahead and call somebody overrated when in reality they haven't gotten much media attention and they've recently just jumped on the scene. It doesn't work like that. David Estrada overrated? Eh eh, I don't think so. Personally, I'm not calling him a one hit wonder, but he lacks skill and he's also lacking a bit of confidence. He's probably going to be dropped to the bench when this team is fully healthy.

After that long stretch of five games in 15 days, the players got a much needed day off from training on Sunday. Since they don't have a midweek match this week, the Sounders will have plenty of time to get settled and prepare for their Rivalry match down in Vancouver against the Whitecaps which will kickoff at 2pm. I'm just going to throw this out right now, it's also the day of the UEFA Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Chelsea. Seattle still has four more games left two play this month before their two week break to start the month of June, with the exception of the U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinal on June 5th if the Sounders advance. They'll travel to Vancouver on Saturday then they'll return home for a Wendesday night match against the Columbus Crew. After that they'll travel to Carson, California to take on Chivas USA (who need to be relocated). After that, they kickoff U.S. Open Cup play on May 29th and they'll find out tomorrow who they'll face.


Scoring summary:

Real Salt Lake - Fabian Espindola 4 (Luis Gil 2) 51'


Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Eddie Johnson (caution; foul) 53'

Real Salt Lake - Alvaro Saborio (caution; foul) 70'


Lineups:

Real Salt Lake - Nick Rimando; Tony Beltran, Nat Borchers, Jamison Olave, Chris Wingert (Chris Schuler 20'); Ned Grabavoy, Kyle Beckerman, Luis Gil (Jonny Steele 75'), Will Johnson; Alvaro Saborio (Yordany Alvarez 81'), Fabian Espindola

Seattle Sounders FC - Bryan Meredith; Adam Johansson (Alex Caskey 82'), Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Marc Burch; Mauro Rosales (Cordell Cato 75'), Osvaldo Alonso, Andy Rose, David Estrada (Alvaro Fernandez 58'); Fredy Montero, Eddie Johnson

Sounders defeat Union 1-0, extend winning streak to four

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders win yet another one. The Sounders could've scored three, four or maybe even five goals but in the end, one goal was enough to walk away with three points as they defeat the Philadelphia Union by a score of 1-0. With the win, the Sounders improve to 6-1-1 (19 points) on the year and are three points back of San Jose and Real Salt Lake who are each tied for first place in the West with 22 points. The Sounders will be back in action on Wednesday as they head to Frisco to take on FC Dallas and then come back home on Saturday to take on Real Salt Lake in what could be a battle for first place in the Western Conference depending on the outcome during the midweek.

In the seventh minute, Ozzie Alonso sent Fredy Montero away (sort of). The ball held up on the field turf for a couple of seconds and Montero was dispossesed by Raymon Gaddis, but stepping in was Andy Rose for a first time shot that was deflected by Danny Califf and Zac MacMath couldn't keep it in play. Off the corner kick, Jeff Parke nodded the ball down for Fredy Montero who turned and tried to slide it in, but he didn't get enough power of the shot and it was cleared off the line by Raymon Gaddis.

In the 19th minute, Patrick Ianni played a very good long ball down the field for Mauro Rosales. Rosales then made a cut inside of Gaddis, played it back to Adam Johansson who whipped in a curler to the back post for Fredy Montero who directed his header towards goal but he had to reach back to get his head on it and therefore Zac MacMath had no trouble making the save.

Seconds later, Andy Rose tried to work a give and go with Alex Caskey, but Caskey's return ball was a poor one and Rose came in late on the challenge with Kai Herdling and referee Ricardo Salazar wasted no time pulling out the yellow card for the 22-year old rookie. 10 minutes later, Rose lost possession again, this time to Freddy Adu and despite already sitting on a yellow card, Rose came in and took out Adu from behind and this looked more of a yellow card than the challenge on Herdling, but Salazar didn't pull out a yellow this time which would've been the second yellow for Rose which would also have brought out the Red Card.

In the 26th minute, Alex Caskey gave the Union a scare. After some sloppy passing, the ball bounced to Mauro Rosales who then played a diagonal ball to the far side for Caskey. He had Marc Burch making an overlapping run, but Caskey instead dribbled his way around Freddy Adu and hit one from 25-yards out, but it drifted wide of Zac MacMath's left hand side, but not by much. 15 minutes later, Sheanon Williams was lost out by Marc Burch. Alex Caskey took possession and fired another shot from outside the area just within 25-yards this time and was parried away by Zac MacMath.

A minute into the second half, the Sounders nearly broke through. Mauro Rosales took the corner kick from the far hash mark and curled it out for Andy Rose who outjumped Keon Daniel and headed it off the crossbar. Zac MacMath was beaten, but the crossbar save the Union because that was bound for the roof of the net which would've capped off a memorable professional debut for Andy Rose despite nearly being sent off in the first half.

In the 63rd minute, Raymon Gaddis got caught again and this time, the Sounders made him pay. Fredy Montero played an excellent ball out wide to the captain Mauro Rosales. Gaddis tried to catch back up, but it was too late as Rosales slotted the ball home for his first of the season to give the Sounders a 1-0 lead. You guys need to understand what difference Mauro Rosales makes for the Sounders when he's on the pitch. So far this season, in four matches with Rosales the Sounders have scored eight goals and in four matches without Rosales the Sounders have scored only three times. Last year, the Sounders signed him to a one-year deal after a successful trial and nobody knew what we were going to get out of him, but he came in and really made an impact as he led the team in assists with 13 and now he is one of our Designated Players. No matter how long Rosales will be in Seattle, the Sounder fans will remember him for his commitment and his leadership on and off the pitch.

With five minutes remaining, Eddie Johnson fed Fredy Montero at the top of the box. Montero turned and tried to chip Zac MacMatch, but once again, the crossbar denied the Sounders. That was the last opportunity for either side as the Sounders pick up their fourth straight win including nine points in eight days.


Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Mauro Rosales 1 (Fredy Montero 1) 63'


Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Andy Rose (caution; foul) 18'

Philadelphia Union - Gabriel Gomez (caution; foul) 78'


Lineups:

Philadelphia Union - Zac MacMath; Sheanon Williams, Danny Califf, Carlos Valdes, Raymon Gaddis; Freddy Adu, Michael Farfan (Danny Mwanga 76'), Gabriel Gomez (Josue Martinez 83'), Keon Daniel; Kai Herdling (Brian Carroll 61'), Lionard Pajoy

Seattle Sounders FC - Bryan Meredith; Adam Johansson, Jeff Parke, Patrick Ianni, Marc Burch; Mauro Rosales (Leo Gonzalez 82'), Osvaldo Alonso, Andy Rose (Eddie Johnson 61'), Alex Caskey (Servando Carrasco 92'+); Fredy Montero, David Estrada

Sounders hold off Fire for a 2-1 win

By Money Mike


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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Observations:

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

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

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

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

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


Scoring summary:

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

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

Chicago Fire - Marco Pappa 1 (unassisted) 89'


Misconduct summary:

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

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

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

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

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


Lineups:

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

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

Zach Scott's 63rd minute goal enough for the Sounders to walk away with a win

By Money Mike


The Sounders moved up to third place in the Western Conference earlier this afternoon as they defeated the Colorado Rapids by a score of 1-0. Zach Scott's goal in the 63rd minute snapped the Sounders 305 minute goalless streak. Seattle made a couple of changes to the lineup. Eddie Johnson and Alex Caskey both got their first start with the Rave Green who were still without Mauro Rosales and Adam Johansson. However both of them should make their return when the Sounders travel to Chicago to take on the Fire.

No surprise the Sounders came right at them early in this game. In the 5th minute, Colorado had lots of trouble clearing the ball away and they nearly paid the price. Marvell Wynne gave the ball straight to David Estrada, who quickly found Fredy Montero in the box. Montero then turned, escaped an attempted slide tackle from Drew Moor and went for the far corner but it was beaten away by Matt Pickens. Montero's first half performance was pretty good. Really starting to get in on the attack. However, he's still looking for his first goal of the season. Then again, he struggled in the early stages of 2010 and 2011.

In the 13th minute, a free kick from Alex Caskey found Zach Scott from point blank range, but he directed his header just wide. Scott is really good in the air in these situations. He scored eight goals with the Sounders USL franchise, and he nearly got one there but was inches wide of the left post.

Seconds later, Scott nearly got caught at the other end. After failing to control a high lofted ball from Brian Mullan, Scott lost out to Tony Cascio who tried to chip Michael Gspurning but instead, he fired high over the bar.

In the 33rd minute, the Rapids thought they scored the opening goal. After some poor ball control by Seattle, Tony Cascio chipped the ball forward for Omar Cummings on the far side of the pitch. Cummings made a nice cut to get around two Seattle defenders and fired a low right root drive on goal which forced a save from Michael Gspurning. Brian Mullan was there to pounce on the rebound and tap it in the goal, but the offside flag went up and the goal was waved off. Mullan in his first match in Seattle since the injury he cause to Steve Zakuani has been booed all match by the entire Sounder nation. The fans still haven't forgiven him for what he did to our no. 1 overall draft pick from 2009.

In the 53rd minute, the Sounders won a free kick in a dangerous area. Fredy Montero stepped up and curled it around the wall and just missed wide of Picken's right hand side. Despite his struggles, you can't deny that Fredy Montero is a threat in these situations. About nine minutes later, Montero tested the keeper again. This time forcing Pickens to palm his shot wide for a corner.

In the 63rd minute, first blood went to the Men in Rave Green. After a poor delivery off a corner kick from Alex Caskey about a few seconds ago, he had another chance to get this one right and he did. Caskey driven ball found Zack Scott at the near post and the veteran directed his header to the far post and in the back of the goal to snap the Sounders scoreless streak and even better, give the Sounders a 1-0 lead. It was Scott's first goal of his MLS career.

In the 89th minute, Fredy Montero worked a give and go with Leo Gonzalez. Montero caught Matt Pickens off his line and tried to chip him, but Pickens punched his effort over the bar. He had Sammy Ochoa up with him as well. I think he should poked the ball to Ochoa which would've led to an easy tap in. However one goal proved to be enough for Seattle.


Observations:

Fredy Montero and sort of an up and down performance in this match. I understand this guy wants to score goals, to help his team try to win and all that, but he needs to quit acting as a playmaker, get forward and test the backline. He's a good young player, but often times, he's been a little too cute on the ball and try to make plays all by himself which will never work in the game of soccer, unless you're Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, but Fredy is nowhere near their caliber. It's early in the season and he is way overdue for his first goal of the season, but this is a team game and his second half performance was somewhat disappointing. Hopefully after the bye week, Montero can turn things around on the road in Chicago and I think he'll step his game up. Like I said earlier, the early stages of the season is where he isn't really at his best, but then as the season rolls along, he starts to heat up.

The Sounders made a couple of lineup changes in this match. Alvaro Fernandez was left out of the lineup. Alex Caskey got the start in place of him. Eddie Johnson also made his first start and David Estrada was move to right midfield. Despite outshooting the Rapids 18-4, the Sounders weren't on the right page due to those lineup changes and they had only 40% of the possession all match. You need to be on the right page at all times.

It was a lot of fun catching another game in person. The problem though is I forgot my Camera so that shot from the upper deck was taken on my phone which is basically why it's not a great picture. I remember my very first Sounders game was that USL Championship game in 2005 and at that time, we didn't have this many fans. All the fans were on the east side of that picture. Since the Sounders became an MLS franchise I've been to five of their matches so far. Three of them were MLS matches, the U.S. Open Cup final last year and earlier this year, I saw their CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinal match against Santos. So this match is the second I've gone to this year.

Despite all the terrible passing and the lack of possession and all that. This is a good win for the Sounders because they now move to third place in the Western Conference standings and are only five points behind Real Salt Lake with a couple of games in hand. RSL lost earlier to Sporting Kansas City 1-0 and this is no joke people, Sporting KC is 6-0 so far in this young season. Anyway, it was important that this team got back on track after failing to score the past couple of weeks.


Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Zach Scott 1 (Alex Caskey 1) 63'


Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Eddie Johnson (caution; foul) 47'

Seattle Sounders FC - Zach Scott (caution; foul) 49'

Colorado Rapids - Brian Mullan (caution; foul) 87'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero (caution; Dissent) 87'


Lineups:

Colorado Rapids - Matt Pickens; Kosuke Kimura, Marvell Wynne, Drew Moor, Luis Zepata; Brian Mullan, Martin Rivero, Jeff Larentowicz, Jaime Castrillon (Kamani Hill 69'), Tony Cascio (Andre Akpan 83'); Omar Cummings

Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning; Zach Scott, Jeff Parke, Patrick Ianni, Leo Gonzalez; David Estrada, Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans, Alex Caskey (Marc Burch 75'); Fredy Montero (Roger Levesque 91'+), Eddie Johnson (Sammy Ochoa 66')

Sounders nearly snatch one late, but settle for a draw

By Money Mike


In 2011 the Sounders had the best road record in MLS. In the first road match of the season, it was an evenly played game on both sides from start to finish and in the end the Sounders came close to stealing all three points in the final second of the match, but sometimes close isn't good enough as this match ended in a goalless draw. The Sounders are now 2-1-1 on the year with still a couple games in hand with the Western Conference in this young season. The team looked better than last week with the return of a couple of key players, however they were still without Adam Johansson, Mauro Rosales and Steve Zakuani. Johansson and Rosales are expected to return to the lineup next week when the Sounders return home to face Colorado while Zakuani is expected to return within a month or two.

The Sounders didn't really test D.C. United goalkeeper Joe Willis until the 22nd minute when Fredy Montero gave it a go from about 19-yards out, but it was right into the arms of Willis. Montero has still yet to score this first goal of the season, but he's looked more lively these last couple of games and will surely break through soon.

A minute later, Seattle nearly found themselves a goal behind. Nick DeLeon made a nice cut toward the endline and sent in a low driven ball to the near post for Hamdi Salihi who had Michael Gspurning beaten, but the crossbar denied D.C. the lead and Salihi's first D.C. goal.

In the 34th minute, Seattle had probably the best chance of the match. Alvaro Fernandez took the corner which was headed out. Ozzie Alonso stepped up and volleyed it back into the area which found the head of Fredy Montero who was onside, but his header just missed wide of the far post. It didn't look like Fredy was expecting it at all.

Eddie Johnson came on in the 66th minute of the match for his MLS debut for the Rave Green and nearly made an impact. Zach Scott sent in a good cross for Johnson who got up high, but couldn't direct it on target.

With just over 15 minutes to go, D.C. came close to breaking the deadlock. Chris Pontius, who scored twice against us in one of our home matches in 2010 (not three), got around Zach Scott and worked a give and go with Maicon Santos before missing the far corner. Nick DeLeon tried to follow up, but the ball rolled out of play.

Five minutes later, Seattle failed to clear and the ball fell through to Maicon Santos who couldn't get a clear shot on target and was easily saved by Michael Gspurning. Gspurning had a great night in goal for the Sounders especially on set pieces and long throw-in's on his way to his second clean sheet of the season.

In the final minute of stoppage time, Seattle came so close to snatching a late goal. Just seconds after coming on against his old club. Marc Burch followed up on a long range effort from Ozzie Alonso, but he was denied by the crossbar.


Observations:

Neither team played like they deserved to win. Some key players like David Estrada were kept in check. Alvaro Fernandez didn't do much either. As a matter of fact, I think he had a somewhat disappointing night. Especially that one opportunity that was goal bound. A centering pass for David Estrada was an awful one and we've rarely seen that from Fernandez in the early stages of the season. Again, Seattle was still missing some key figures like Mauro Rosales. But they did get Eddie Johnson back after he missed the first three matches of the season due a hip flexor injury he suffered in the Champions League Quarterfinal against Santos Laguna. 

Dwayne De Rosario has been kept quiet all night which is something you rarely see out of him, but the backline of Seattle stood tall and shut down D.C. United's attack force. Salihi still has yet to score his first MLS goal, Maicon Santos couldn't add to his two goals he scored against FC Dallas and both Danny Cruz and Nick DeLeon didn't really do much on the wing for United.

The fact that we were missing Mauro Rosales and Adam Johansson, I think to head to D.C. and get a draw was a pretty good result for this team. It just shows that the Sounders will never back down and once their key players return, this will be a dangerous Sounders team in 2012.


Scoring summary:

NONE


Misconduct summary:

D.C. United - Maicon Santos (caution; foul) 12'

D.C. United - Dejan Jakovic (caution; foul) 30'


Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning; Zach Scott, Jeff Parke, Patrick Ianni, Leo Gonzalez; Roger Levesque, Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans, Alvaro Fernandez (Marc Burch 92'+); David Estrada (Eddie Johnson 66'), Fredy Montero

D.C. United - Joe Willis; Robbie Russell (Chris Korb 74'), Dejan Jakovic, Emiliano Dudar, Daniel Woolard; Danny Cruz (Chris Pontius 59'), Perry Kitchen, Dwayne De Rosario, Nick DeLeon; Hamdi Salihi (Branko Boskovic 72'), Maicon Santos

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

Sounders shutout Houston 2-0

By Money Mike


With Mauro Rosales and Adam Johansson out, Sigi Schmid had to shuffle his lineup around for this match. Those losses didn't seem to be a problem for the Sounders as they shutout the Houston Dynamo 2-0. David Estrada continued his hot start to the season as he scored again. Estrada now has four goals in two MLS matches and five goals in all competitions this season. The Sounders will close out their three game homestand next Saturday against the San Jose Earthquakes.

Houston got off to a good start early in the match. In the 17th minute, Andre Hainault chipped the ball into the box for Brian Ching who flicked it on to Will Bruin for a first timed shot on goal and forced goalkeeper Michael Gspurning to palm the ball over the bar. A minute later, Geoff Cameron, who has been a pain in the ass against the Sounders, had a shot blocked. The attack wasn't done yet. Brad Davis sent in another cross which found his teammate Je-Vaughn Watson, but he couldn't direct his header on target.

In the 23rd minute, the Sounders broke loose. Alvaro Ferandez took the corner from the far hash mark. His outswinger has intended for Roger Levesque, but Geoff Cameron headed the ball out of the penalty area, however the ball fell for David Estrada who volleyed it towards goal and it deflected off Colin Clark and in. At first they credited the goal to Estrada, but then later on they decided to charge Clark with an own-goal and then they changed their mind again and gave the goal to Estrada.

The Sounders doubled their advantage a couple minutes later. In the 25th minute, off another outswinger from "El Flacco", Geoff Cameron manhandles former Dynamo player Patrick Ianni and referee Baldomero Toledo wasted no time pointing to the penalty spot and awarding Seattle with a PK. Brad Evans who was 3 for 3 from the spot last season did the honors and he made no mistake, he got his foot behind the ball and smashed it into the bottom right hand side. Tally Hall did guess the right way, but it was too hot to handle and the Sounders were up 2-0.

In the 53rd minute, Houston tried to find a way back. Will Bruin forced Gspurning to make another save. Bruin headed the ball towards goal and Gspurning got down on the ground and kept the ball in front of him. 15 minutes later, Corey Ashe had a go from outside the box, but the ball drifted well wide of the goal. That was how Houston's night turned out as Seattle came away victorious 2-0.


Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - David Estrada 4 (unassisted) 23'

Seattle Sounders FC - Brad Evans 1 (penalty kick) 26'


Misconduct summary:

Houston Dynamo - Adam Moffat (caution; foul) 35'

Houston Dynamo - Brad Davis (caution; foul) 78'

Seattle Sounders FC - Alvaro Fernandez (caution; argument) 83'


Lineups:

Houston Dynamo - Tally Hall; Andre Hainault (Jermaine Taylor 46'), Geoff Cameron, Bobby Boswell, Corey Ashe; Colin Clark, Adam Moffat, Je-Vaughn Watson (Luiz Camargo 67'), Brad Davis; Will Bruin, Brian Ching (Macoumba Kandji 76')

Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning; Zach Scott, Patrick Ianni, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Marc Burch; Roger Levesque (Leonardo Gonzalez 81'), Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans (Servando Carrasco 61'), Alvaro Fernandez; David Estrada, Fredy Montero (Christian Sivebaek 90')

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