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 look to extend their winning streak to four as they take on the Philadephia Union

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders have been on a hot run lately and they will look to keep it going as they host the Philadephia Union this afternoon at 1:30. This match will be televised nationally on NBC Sports Network. The Sounders have won three in a row and are currently third in the Western Conference with 16 points (5-1-1). Today, they'll have a chance to come away with their forth straight win including nine points in the last eight days.

The last time the Sounders and the Union met was back on October 8th of last year. That was the same week the Sounders won their third straight U.S. Open Cup, however the Sounders looked like they were still hungover from that and lost 2-0 after goals from Freddy Adu and Brian Carroll. In his last two visits to Seattle, Adu has been able to find the back of the net. The other time he scored here was back on July 4, 2009 against Grenada in the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup. It does feel like Adu has been in this game long enough that he should be in his prime by now, but get this, he was drafted at the age of 14, and right now he's only 22 years of age so he's nowhere close to his prime. As much as he has struggled since leaving Real Salt Lake for Europe back in 2007, Adu has shown what he can do on the ball, he still has the abillity to fool the defenders. The Sounders central defenders better be on their toes because he'll be ready to attack for 90 minutes.


Injury report:

Philadelphia Union - For Philadelphia, Krystian Witkowski has a concussion and he is out. Roger Torres just recently had surgery on his left knee. Chris Albright has a sprained left big toe and he is out. Gabriel Farfan has a strained left hammie and he is listed as questionable. Brian Carroll has a strained hammie as well, this is his right hamstring however and he is listed as probable.

Seattle Sounders FC - For the Sounders, Josh Ford, Michael Tetteh, Steve Zakuani and Babayele Sodade of course are out. Michael Gspurning was subbed out at halftime in Wednesday's match against the LA Galaxy, he has been ruled out for 2-3 weeks so Bryan Meredith will be in goal during that stretch. Alvaro Fernandez has a right quad strain and he is questionable. Last but not least, Patrick Ianni has low back pain and, is listed as probable.


Suspensions:

Philadelphia - For the Union, the guys that won't he allowed on the pitch because of their stupidity are Michael Farfan who is suspended through next weekend and head coach Peter Nowak who is suspended for this match.

Seattle Sounders FC - NONE


Player to watch:

Bryan Meredith - Playing 45 minutes is one thing. Getting your first MLS start, that's a whole new level. Just when you thought he missed his chance on making the squad at the start of the 2011, Bryan Meredith comes on as a halftime sub for Michael Gspurning on Wednesday night against the LA Galaxy for his MLS debut and looking at his performance in the second half of that match, Meredith's confidence must be growing ahead of the match this afternoon. Can he do it for 90 minutes this time though? Too me, I think he can. He went 90 minutes against Monterrey in the Champions League and did a good job, so he's been there before. It's just a matter of how well he's able to communicate with his defenders.

Sounders fall 2-0 to Philadelphia

By Money Mike



The Seattle Sounders needed a win last night to keep any hope of winning the Supporters Shield alive, or at least a point to officially secure 2nd place in the West. Neither of that happened. The Philadelphia Union who were unbeaten in their last 6 matches have come to Seattle and shut out the Sounders 2-0 at CenturyLink Field. With the Win, the Union have taken over the top spot in a very tight Eastern Conference. For Seattle, the loss means that they'll have no chance of taking over first place in the West and that LA has clinched their second straight Supporters Shield. But here's the problem though, in 14 MLS seasons, only four teams that have won the Supporters Shield have gone on and won the MLS Cup. Only four teams. Seattle still looks like the stronger side heading into the playoffs despite the loss last night.

The game started off slow, with sloppy passing from both sides of the midfield. The best chance in the first half from either side came in the 35th minute from Brad Evans when he latched onto a pull-back from Lamar Neagle, but he got under the ball and skied it over the top of the goal. The Sounders were without their leading goalscorer Fredy Montero who was serving a one game suspension after Yellow Card accumulations. Mauro Rosales was also out with a Sprained MCL that he suffered about three weeks ago in a 3-0 win over D.C. United, there's a chance however the Sounders will get him back next Saturday when the San Jose Earthquakes come to town. Alvaro Fernandez was on the bench after passing a late fitness test after suffering a concussion Tuesday night in the U.S. Open Cup final, but he didn't see any action at all in this one. Pat Noonan and Nate Jaqua both played like crap yet again. Sammy Ochoa barely even had possession of the ball since coming in as a sub in the

The Sounders were forced to make a change defensively. Jeff Parke was taken out at halftime after picking up a head injury and was replaced by Patrick Ianni.

In the 60th minute, the Union broke the deadlock. Gabriel Farfan somehow beat James Riley to the ball before it even crossed the endline. Farfan pulled it back to Freddy Adu who buried it into the top corner.

The Union doubled their lead in the 72nd minute. After the Sounders started to put pressure on the Union back line, they end up getting caught on a counter attack. Brian Carroll sent former Sounder Sebastien Le Toux loose and off to the races. Carroll got the return pass from Le Toux off the outside of his boot, through the retreating Seattle defense. Carroll made a good run toward the endline and tucked the ball away beautifully into the far corner. And that was just about the last highlight of this one.

Next Saturday, the Sounders will host the San Jose Earthquakes at 7:30pm. This will also be Kasey Keller's final regular season home match of his career. Over 55,000 tickets have been sold for the home finale in the 2011 regular season and there are still more available. So if you want to catch him in person at least one last time, I would suggest you get your tickets.

Following this match, the Sounders will close out Champions League group play at home on October 18 against Monterrey as they look to clinch the top spot in the Group which would assure them home field advantage in the second leg of the Champions League Quarterfinal.


Scoring summary:

Philadelphia Union - Freddy Adu 2 (Gabriel Farfan 2) 60'

Philadelphia Union - Brian Carroll 1 (Sebastien Le Toux 9) 72'


Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Lamar Neagle (caution; Reckless foul) 63'


Lineups:

Philadelphia Union - Zac MacMath; Sheanon Williams, Carlos Valdes, Danny Califf, Gabriel Farfan; Michael Farfan, Brian Carroll, Justin Mapp (Jack McInerney 86'); Freddy Adu (Amobi Okugo 75'), Sebastien Le Toux, Veljko Paunovic (Stefani Miglioranzi 89')

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller; James Riley, Jeff Parke (Patrick Ianni 46'), Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Tyson Wahl; Brad Evans, Osvaldo Alonso, Erik Friberg, Lamar Neagle; Mike Fucito (Nate Jaqua 68'), Pat Noonan (Sammy Ochoa 62')

USA announces their 2011 Gold Cup squad.

By Money Mike


With the CONCACAF Gold Cup now a couple weeks away, some teams have still yet to unveil their squad, while the others are all set and ready to go including the United States national team. USA head coach Bob Bradley earlier today, announced his squad for their friendly match on June 4th against Spain and also for the Gold Cup, and after looking at the squad, I must admit, I'm a little disappointed in his work. Looking at the squad, of course there are players that definitely deserve a spot on the roster like Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, Juan Agudelo, Tim Howard, Carlos Bocanegra, etc. And there are players that I just do not understand why they are on the roster or how they made the roster. I mean, looking at the squad here, you'll understand what I'm talking about here...


United States 2011 Gold Cup squad:

1. Tim Howard (Everton; England)

2. Jonathan Spector (West Ham United; England)

3. Carlos Bocanegra (Saint-Etienne; France)

4. Michael Bradley (Borussia Monchengladbach; Germany)

5. Oguchi Onyewu (A.C. Milan; Italy)

6. Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96; Germany)

7. Maurice Edu (Rangers; Scotland)

8. Clint Dempsey (Fulham; England)

9. Juan Agudelo (New York Red Bulls; MLS)

10. Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy; MLS)

11. Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes; MLS)

12. Jonathan Bornstein (UANL Tigres; Mexico)

13. Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04; Germany)

14. Eric Lichaj (Aston Villa; England)

15. Tim Ream (New York Red Bulls; MLS)

16. Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht; Belgium)

17. Jozy Altidore (Villarreal; Spain)

18. Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake; MLS)

19. Robbie Rodgers (Columbus Crew; MLS)

20. Freddy Adu (Caykur Rizespor; Turkey)

21. Clarence Goodson (Brondby IF; Norway)

22. Benny Feilhaber (New England Revolution; MLS)

23. Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton Wanderers; England)


Players that should've made the squad:

Timmy Chandler:

- I don't get this at all, he's only 21, he now has a starting job at right back with FC Nurnburg. Bob Bradley what the hell did you not like that made you decide to leave him off the squad. He made his debut against Argentina and did very well all around the pitch. He made his second appearance for the U.S. national team against Paraguay, and again, didn't disappoint. Every was expecting him to make the Gold Cup squad and now I look at the list and he is not there.

Alejandro Bedoya:

- This guy graduated from Boston College in 2008, went straight to Europe and quickly earned a starting job at Orebro SK in Sweden. Since he began in 2009, he's made 58 appearances and scored 8 goals for that club. Now, he didn't make the World Cup squad in 2010, and nobody expected him to make it either, but no Gold Cup either?

Teal Bunbury:

- Why is he left out? Another young player that was expected to make the roster and I don't see his name. Teal Bunbury had a good rookie season with Kansas City last year and I know he came back from injury at the start of the 2011 MLS season but he's still having a good year. This guy is very good on the ball, he finds ways to burst through a trap and he has that goalscoring potential. Leaving him off the roster - STUPID MOVE!!

Edson Buddle:

- Why is Buddle left out? Didnt you see him domintate in 2010 while he was with the LA Galaxy? He is a goalscoring threat, and the US team only has three strikers because Bob Bradley just ditched him because he's not thinking straight.


Players who made the squad that absolutely did not deserve a spot:

Jonathan Spector:

- This guy had a crappy 2010-2011 season at West Ham. He was only useful for cup matches because he scored in those matches, but in the League, he sucked. Pretty much the reason why he lost his job at right back and also why he shouldn't be on the U.S. team.

Freddy Adu:

- God damn, this guy is a worthless soccer player. How the fuck did he make the squad. Ever since he left for Europe, it was like, nobody wanted him anymore. Look, in 2004, he gets drated by D.C. United at 14-years of age, he makes 30 appearances and scores 5 goals that year, and everybody started to love him when he was at D.C. from 04'-06'. Get's traded to Real Salt Lake in 2007, but then he opts out of his contract and moves to Europe (TOO DAMN EARLY!!). He signs with Benfica and he just struggles. He gets loaned out to AS Monaco to try to pick up his game, that didn't work. Next season, he's loaned out to Belenenses and he sucked over there, then loaned out to Aris FC, same story, he sucked. Seriously, I can't believe he's on the roster, especially after he's proven to be worthless.

Jonathan Bornstein:

- Here's another guy that doesn't deserve to be on the roster. The last two times he's capped for the United States, he was terrible defensively, and he also keeps giving the ball away. So let me get this straight, you add him on the roster so he can continue to play like shit? If the U.S. wins the Gold Cup, then maybe I'll take back everything I said, but if not, I think it's time Bob Bradley stepped down.