Obafemi Martins' first goal gives the Sounders their first win of the season

Obafemi Martins' 27th goal, the difference as the
Sounders finally get on the win column.

By Money Mike


I wasn't planning on blogging again until May, but that's changed now because of the fact that the Seattle Sounders are finally off the mark this season (their winless run had nothing to do with my absence). Last Saturday, the Sounders traveled to Colorado looking for their first win of the year, and they got it. The Sounders defeated the Colorado Rapids 1-0 on the lone goal by Obafemi Martins who scored his first goal for the Rave Green since his move from Levante last month. The Sounders have a bye week this week and then they get ready for a pretty difficult month of May. They hit the road again to take on the Philadelphia Union on the 4th of May. Then they head travel Sporting Park for a midweek match with Sporting Kansas City. Following that, they return home for a pair of home matches against the San Jose Earthquakes and FC Dallas before they hit the plane to LA for a Western Conference finals rematch against the Galaxy. And I believe they have a U.S. Open Cup match to close out the month. So there's not a lot of matches like last year, but again it'll be a bit of a challenge for the Rave Green.

In the Opening minutes of the match, Colorado had the first look at goal. DeAndre Yedlin's pass was given away in the Sounders half. Dillon Powers fed Hendry Thomas who decided to have a go from a long long way out, but the ball sailed high and wide. Thomas tried another long range effort from a similar position later on in the half, but couldn't find the target on that one either.

In the 27th minute, the Sounders broke the deadlock. Brad Evans found DeAndre Yedlin, who had a lot of room to run on the near side. Yedlin fed the ball to Lamar Neagle who whipped in a low cross which went behind Obafemi Martins. The ball bounced to Steve Zakuani who poked the ball back to Shalrie Joseph for a first timed shot which was saved by Clint Irwin, but right to Obafemi Martins who cut the ball to his right and calmly slid the ball past Irwin for his first Sounders goal to give the Rave Green a 1-0 lead.

A couple minutes later, the Sounders could've made it 2-0, but the crossbar came to Colorado's rescue. Colorado got caught on the counter as Obafemi Martins slid the ball to Lamar Neagle, who took one touch to get past Chris Klute and tried to go top corner upper v and instead struck the crossbar. Unlucky there, Neagle did everything right on the play. Clint Irwin was beat. Just unlucky is the only way to describe that. On the other side, Chris Klute was lucky that Neagle didn't go down because he did grab a hold of his jersey and he was the last defender, so if Neagle went down, I'm pretty sure the referee would've called a foul and Klute would've been shown a Red Card for clear denial of a goalscoring opportunity.

In the 55th minute, Colorado came and inch away from equalizing. Danny Mwanga fed Dillon Powers who turned and had a go with his left foot and just missed wide. Michael Gspurning was screened on the play and I don't think he had a chance at making the save. As for Dillon Powers, he's been impressive so far in his rookie season. A few weeks ago, he scored a beauty against the Portland Timbers and now coming close to getting his second of the year.

Five minutes later, Colorado had probably the best chance of equalizing and couldn't make it count. Hendry Thomas played a beautiful diagonal ball to the near side for Brian Mullan to curled the ball in with his left foot to the far post for Atiba Harris who flicked it off the bar and Danny Mwanga was right there and somehow he couldn't head home the rebound as Michael Gspurning got down and made the save.

In the 85th minute, the Sounders were once again saved by the goalpost. Brian Mullan whipped in another beautiful to the far post, this time for an unmarked Kamani Hill who volleys it off the post and the Sounders dodge another bullet.

Now onto the 92nd minute, the Rapids had one more last chance on a free kick. Jamie Smith chipped the ball to the far post for Drew Moor who got up well and directed his header towards got, Michael Gspurning was right there to make the save and that was the last opportunity the Rapids have had and the Sounders hold on for their first win, defeating the Rapids 1-0.


Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Obafemi Martins 1 (Unassisted) 27'


Misconduct summary:

Colorado Rapids - Dillon Powers (caution; foul) 41'

Seattle Sounders FC - Djimi Traore (caution; foul) 67'

Seattle Sounders FC - Leonardo Gonzalez (caution; time wasting) 84'


Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning; DeAndre Yedlin, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Djimi Traore, Leonardo Gonzalez; Brad Evans, Osvaldo Alonso, Shalrie Joseph, Steve Zakuani (Alex Caskey 70'); Obafemi Martins (Mauro Rosales 61'), Lamar Neagle (Marc Burch 89')

Colorado Rapids - Clint Irwin; Brian Mullan, Marvell Wynne (Shane O'Neill 55'), Drew Moor, Chris Klute; Nick LaBrocca (Kamani Hill 45'), Hendry Thomas, Dillon Powers, Tony Cascio (Jamie Smith 77'); Atiba Harris, Danny Mwanga

Montreal Impact steal one in Seattle

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders came into the season opener without a few key players. Adam Johansson, David Estrada and Patrick Ianni were out injured. Lamar Neagle was left out of the lineup. Djimi Traore was left on the bench. And Ozzie Alonso and Marc Burch were suspended. So I expected play to be a little sloppy on the part of the Sounders, but I did not expect a result like this. On Saturday, the Montreal Impact came to CenturyLink Field and stunned the crowd of 38,998 in attendance as they defeated the Seattle Sounders 1-0. The Sounders had some chances in this game, but they couldn't deliver and with the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinal on the road at Tigres coming up a couple days from now, Seattle needs to correct their mistakes and correct them fast. Since both legs of the Champions League are this Wednesday and next Tuesday, the Sounders next match in league play won't be until March 16 at home and their opponent happens to be the Portland Timbers.

In the 18th minute, Montreal had a chance to go up 1-0 and probably should've gone up 1-0. Andrea Pisanu spotted the run of Marco Di Vaio and fed him with a perfectly timed through ball in the box. Di Vaio got in behind Zach Scott and Jhon Kennedy Hurtado but he put a little too much under the ball and shot it over the bar.

In the 24th minute, the Sounders had an opportunity of their own to break the deadlock. Again, the passing was sloppy on both ends of the pitch and teams struggling to clear the ball out of their own area. Felipe Martins looked to clear the ball from danger but Jhon Kennedy Hurtado stepped in to head the ball to Andy Rose whose touch was a little heavy. Felipe slid in to win the ball back, but Rose fed the ball to the near side for Mario Martinez who looked and curled the ball to the near post for Eddie Johnson who got past Matteo Ferrari, but he flicked the ball wide of Troy Perkins's right hand side.

Five minutes later, EJ had another opportunity. Justin Mapp's misplaced pass gave Mauro Rosales a chance to catch Montreal on the counter. Rosales rolled the ball to Johnson on the right side of the box. Johnson waited for support before cutting inside and trying to curl his shot into the corner, but it was too far central and easily gathered by Troy Perkins.

In the 35th minute, the Sounders get caught on the counter and the Impact take full advantage of it and open the scoring. Marco Di Vaio found Felipe who had time and space to look up and he lifted the ball up for Davy Arnaud who settled the ball in front of him and chipped it over the head of Michael Gspurning and in the back of the net to put the Impact ahead 1-0. Just poor play on that one from Andy Rose, Zach Scott and Jhon Kennedy Hurtado. Hurtado was late trying to get back, Scott overcommits by pushing up and closing down Felipe and nobody picks up Arnaud. Just shocking defending on that play.

Just over four minutes into the second half, Montreal had a big chance to go up by two. Patrice Bernier sent Sanna Nyassi in behind the defense with the great through ball. Just as Nyassi was getting ready to strike, he starts to lose control. However, the Sounders still couldn't get it away as Zach Scott and Michael Gspurning collide in the box. Marco Di Vaio stepped in with the net empty trying to make it 2-0, but DeAndre Yedlin got back to get in the way of that shot to keep it a one score game.

In the 64th minute, the Sounders dodged another bullet. Sanna Nyassi worked a give and go with Marco Di Vaio on the near side. Nyassi made a good run forward and whipped in a very good cross for a diving header from Davy Arnaud, but the ball bounced back into play from the crossbar and the score remained 1-0.

A minute later, Seattle were denied by the frame. Mario Martinez slid the ball to Eddie Johnson at the top of the area, who poked the ball back to Brad Evans for a first timed shot that beat Troy Perkins, but the left post comes to Montreal's rescue this time.

With just under 10 minutes to go in normal time, Seattle had a golden opportunity to level the match. Eddie Johnson fed Leo Gonzalez who made an overlapping run from his left back position. Gonzalez chipped the ball to the near post for Alex Caskey who flicked the ball for Eddie Johnson who strikes the ball off the crossbar from point blank range. I'm still having difficulty figuring out how he couldn't score from that position, but that's what the outcome of that chance was and Seattle come away empty handed in the opening match of the 2013 season.


Observations:

DeAndre Yedlin impressive in his debut with the Sounders.

I was a little surprised to see this kid in the lineup for this match, but DeAndre Yedlin got the start and I gotta say I was really impressed with his performance. Yedlin remember played a year in the Sounders FC Youth academy and was signed back in January as the first homegrown player in club history after two seasons at Akron. Normally at 19-years old when you make your debut for your hometown club, you end up feeling a lot of pressure and struggle to handle it. But he didn't feel any pressure, he took his debut like it's another game. His passing was good. One on One defending, excellent. Despite all that, I'm still not quite satisfied that he should be an everyday starter at right back because on the attacking end, his crosses weren't great and on the defensive side of the ball, there were times when Sanna Nyassi beat him especially the first couple of minutes where Nyassi got in behind him and both were pulling eachothers jerseys. If Nyassi went down under that, I think the referee would've called a foul and Yedlin probably would've been sent off. But based on what I've seen out of him, he'll only get better as he gains more minutes and he will be a future starter on this team for sure.

Asside from DeAndre's performance, the Sounders attacking game was, ya know...... not good. First of all, someone on Seattle Times called Zakuani a One Trick Pony. I don't know who said that, and I don't care, but that's got to be the most bullshit comment I've ever heard or read or whatever. The wide play however, was very poor, the crosses were weak, and the guys are just getting caught out of position. Rosales needs to move back to the right side of midfield where he's most effective and they need to push Zakuani up front with EJ and move Martinez to the left side of midfield. They need to change something attacking wise until they finally get another striker.

Ya know.... first game, they lost. Big deal. Look, I'm not happy with the defeat myself, but there's absolutely no reason to panic. These guys off and on have hit a brick wall, but they find ways to bounce back and win games. So this team will bounce back from this loss, no doubt. We've got a long long way to go this season. 34 games. This was the first game, so now we have 33 games to go.


Scoring summary:

Montreal Impact - Davy Arnaud 1 (Felipe Martins 1) 35'


Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Brad Evans (caution; foul) 17'

Montreal Impact - Andrea Pisanu (caution; foul) 64'


Lineups:

Montreal Impact - Troy Perkins; Hassoun Camara (Dennis Iapichino 84'), Matteo Ferrari, Alessandro Nesta, Jeb Brovsky; Andrea Pisanu (Calum Mallace 69'), Patrice Bernier, Felipe Martins, Justin Mapp (Sanna Nyassi 45'); Davy Arnaud, Marco Di Vaio

Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning; DeAndre Yedlin, Zach Scott, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Leonardo Gonzalez (Servando Carrasco 84'); Mario Martinez, Andy Rose (Alex Caskey 62'), Brad Evans, Steve Zakuani (Sammy Ochoa 69'); Mauro Rosales, Eddie Johnson

2013 Seattle Sounders FC season preview

By Money Mike


It has been a long offseason for the Seattle Sounders with players leaving and new faces arriving, which of course happens every year. But with their leading goalscorer gone, how will the Sounders fare in the year 2013? I'll talk a little bit about that as I preview the Seattle Sounders 2013 season. The Sounders are coming off their first trophyless season since joining MLS in 2009. Last season, they reached their fourth straight U.S. Open Cup final only to lose to Sporting Kansas City on penalties and they also reached the Western Conference final for the first time but that was the farthest they would go in 2012 as they would lose to the LA Galaxy 4-2 on aggregate. Also because they didn't win a trophy in 2012, they won't be competing in the 2013-14 CONCACAF Champions League. So, since there's no Champions League for the Sounders this season (other than the 2012-13 Champions League Quarterfinal and beyond, should they advance), head coach Sigi Schmid won't have to shuffle the lineup around as much as last year because of depth and long travel. He won't have to deal with that.

As far as the offseason is concerned, the Sounders have brought in some veteran guys, a couple of draft picks, a homegrown player and also a local favorite made his return to the Emerald City. At the same time, they lost a couple of key players. Defender Jeff Parke was traded to the Philadelphia Union back in early December, and Fredy Montero was loaned out to Millonarios for the entire season but he signed a contract extension with the Sounders prior to the move so he should be back in 2014. Earlier this offseason, the Sounders were expected to sign Honduran defender Wilmer Crisanto. However, for some reason the deal fell through. Somebody reported that the deal for Crisanto fell through because there weren't any international roster spots available, which was bullshit because the Sounders had four international slots available at the time. Now another slot has been occupied and another was traded to the Montreal Impact as part of the deal that brought Lamar Neagle back to Seattle. The Sounders also brought in former Mali international defender Djimi Traore, was part of Liverpool's UEFA Champions League winning side in 2005, former New England Revolution captain Shalrie Josphn, defenders Eriq Zavaleta and Dylan Remick and they also signed DeAndre Yedlin as their first homegrown player. Of course, we're expecting Nigerian forward Obafemi Martins to be signed as a designated player at some point but one designated player would have to go in order for that to happen and after much speculation, it looks like it'll be Christian Tiffert. Now it's a question of how strong this years team is compared to last years? Will year five be the year the Sounders bring an MLS Cup to Seattle?


Sounders 2013 roster:

1. GK - Michael Gspurning
2. DF - DeAndre Yedlin (HGP)
3. MF - Brad Evans
4. DF - Patrick Ianni
5. DF - Adam Johansson
6. MF - Osvaldo Alonso
7. FW - Eddie Johnson
8. DF - Marc Burch
10. MF - Mauro Rosales (DP; Captain)
11. FW - Steve Zakuani
12. DF - Leonardo Gonzalez
13. MF - Christian Tiffert (DP)^
14. MF - Alex Caskey
15. MF - Mario Martinez
16. FW - David Estrada
20. DF - Zach Scott
21. MF - Shalrie Joseph (DP)
22. DF - Eriq Zavaleta (GA)
23. MF - Servando Carrasco
24. GK - Marcus Hahnemann
25. MF - Andy Rose
26. FW - Sammy Ochoa
27. MF - Lamar Neagle
29. GK - Josh Ford
30. DF - Andrew Duran
33. DF - Dylan Remick
34. DF - Jhon Kennedy Hurtado
50. DF - Djimi Traore

Notes:
^ - Could be gone before the start of the season

HGP - Homegrown Player
DP - Designated Player
GA - Generation Adidas


Offseason moves:

Acquisitions:

January 11, 2013 - DeAndre Yedlin (University of Akron; Sounders U23) - Homegrown player
January 17, 2013 - Eriq Zavaleta (Indiana University) - MLS SuperDraft 1st rd. (10th overall)
January 17, 2013 - Dylan Remick (Brown University; Worcester Hydra) - MLS SuperDraft 2nd rd. (35th overall)
January 27, 2013 - Lamar Neagle (Montreal Impact) - Trade
February 19, 2013 - Shalrie Joseph (Chivas USA) - Trade
February 23, 2013 - Djimi Traore (Olympique de Marseille) - Free transfer

Departures:

December 3, 2012 - Mike Seamon (Pittsburgh Riverhounds) - Option Declined
December 3, 2012 - Andrew Weber (Phoenix FC Wolves) - Option Declined
December 3, 2012 - O'Brian White - Option Declined
December 7, 2012 - Jeff Parke (Philadelphia Union) - Trade
December 14, 2012 - Cordell Cato (San Jose Earthquakes) - Option Declined (traded to San Jose on March 1, 2013)
December 14, 2012 - Bryan Meredith (IK Brage) - Option Declined
December 14, 2012 - Daniel Steres (Ventura County Fusion) - Option Declined
December 14, 2012 - Michael Tetteh - Option Declined
February 26, 2013 - Babayele Sodade - Released


I'm just ready for the season to start. Even though Montero is gone, I still think Seattle is one of the teams to beat in MLS this year. They've had a great preseason, winning the Desert Diamond Cup in Tucson. The new guys have come in and worked their asses off all preseason. Not that it matters heading into the regular season because that's where it really counts. I really don't have much to explain here. I'm just sick and tired of waiting for the season to start. Will 2013 be the year? We'll have to find out.

Super Mario sends the Sounders to the Western Conference final

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders have finally gotten the monkey off their back. Last night, the Rave Green came into the second leg of the Western Conference semifinals knowing that they needed to win in order to avoid a fourth straight early round exit, and that's exactly what they did. The Sounders defeated Real Salt Lake 1-0 at Rio Tinto Stadium on a stunner in the late stages of the game by Mario Martinez to advance to the Western Conference final where they will meet the Defending MLS Cup Champion Los Angeles Galaxy. The Conference final will also be a Home-and-Away series with the first leg taking place this Sunday at 6pm at the Home Depot Center and the second leg next Sunday at 6pm at CenturyLink Field.

In the 10th minute, Alvaro Saborio sent Ned Grabavoy in behind with a nice ball. The angle was tight however, and Michael Gspurning had the near post covered all the way and made an easy save.

Eight minutes later, RSL had a better look at goal. As a matter of fact, they had an opportunity that they should've capitalized on. Kenny Mansally delivered a great ball into the middle of the area. Paulo Jr. looked to have been offside at the time of the delivery, but he should've scored. There is no excuse for missing a golden opportunity like that one right there. Again, Mansally put that ball right where it needed to be and Paulo Jr. at the last second loses his concentration and let's it bounce off his knee and wide of target.

In the 31st minute, the Sounders had a free kick opportunity from a dangerous position. Everyone thought Fredy Montero was going to take the kick, but instead he stepped over the ball and forced the RSL wall to break which gave Mario Martinez a clear shot on goal and Nick Rimando who was the hero in the first leg, comes up huge once again as he got a fingertip to the ball to direct it off the crossbar. The Sounders had so many opportunities back in the first game and if it hadn't been for Rimando, the Sounders probably would've had at least four or five goals up to that point.

10 minutes later, RSL had a free kick opportunity of their own. Javier Morales stepped up and curled the free kick over the wall but it was too central and didn't test Michael Gspurning. That was the last opportunity of the half and the score remained as you were at 0-0.

Less than 30 seconds into the second half, the Sounders were denied again. Seattle worked the ball out wide to Christian Tiffert who whipped in a low ball into the area. An attempted clearance by Kyle Beckerman was fluffed at and the ball bounced to Brad Evans for a first time hit and Nick Rimando got down and parried it away.

On to the 61st minute of the match, the Sounders dodged a huge bullet on a free kick. RSL are a dangerous set piece team with big guys like Saborio, Olave, Borchers, etc. Javier Morales's free kick was aimed at Borchers and the ball almost bounced all the way into the net as Michael Gspurning alertly parried the ball away. Seconds later, Kyle Beckerman chipped the ball back into the box for Borchers, but Adam Johansson had him contained all the way and Borchers couldn't control the ball properly.

With 15 minutes to go, another RSL chance goes begging. Eddie Johnson's pass for Brad Evans was too hot to control and Seattle lost possession in their own area. Ned Grabavoy fed the ball to Fabian Espindola who poked it back to Saborio for a first time shot from about 20 yards away, but he didn't get enough power on it and Michael Gspurning made yet another save.

In the 81st minute, the deadlock was finally broken and it was the Men in Rave Green who got the goal. Ozzie Alonso stepped in to intercept a pass from Jamison Olave. Brad Evans worked a give and go with Eddie Johnson in the midfield to get the attack going for Seattle. Evans fed the ball to Fredy Montero in the middle of the field and about a few yards outside the box. Montero then chipped the ball to the far side for Mario Martinez who catches it on a half volley with his left foot and scores and absolute beauty to give the Sounders a 1-0 advantage. Martinez was given the start after Mauro Rosales was ruled out with an injury and what a time for him to get his first Sounders FC goal.

In the 89th minute, Michael Gspurning comes up with a big save. Javier Morales's cross to the near post found the head of Alvaro Saborio who directed it goalwards and Gspurning stood his ground and punched the ball over the bar. The Sounders had everyone back defending the rest of the way. Five minutes were added on to the end of the second half. The Sounders had an opportunity at one point in stoppage time to get a second from Eddie Johnson but he didn't get enough power on his shot. With about two and a half minutes left in stoppage time, another big defensive play help prevent yet another opportunity at an equalizer. Jonny Steele's cross deflects off the head of Adam Johansson toward the six yard area and Jhon Kennedy Hurtado stepped in and got a foot to the ball, otherwise Alvaro Saborio and Nat Borchers were there to tap the ball in the back of the net. That was the last chance of the match and the Seattle Sounders hang on and advance to the Western Conference final for the first time in franchise history.


Observations:

I think the Sounders backline deserves a lot of credit. Despite the fact that they were put under a lot of pressure, they were strong enough to hold their ground. Jeff Parke and Jhon Kennedy Hurtado made things really difficult for Alvaro Saborio, Paulo Jr. and also Fabian Espindola who came on as a substitute in the 2nd half. I think people have overlooked this backline saying that they're not that good. They've had a great second half of the season since the return of Michael Gspurning and they have two clean sheets this postseason. So I'm not worried at all about the backline, and I don't think anybody should worry about the backline. They've been solid lately and their confidence must be high leading up to the conference final against LA.

Now, there have been a lot of tweets and Facebook posts regarding Marc Burch's inappropriate gesture which appeared to be directed at RSL midfielder Will Johnson. Nobody could hear what he said, but apparently a few people may have read his lips. He issued an apology to all of MLS earlier today. Here's what he posted on Facebook earlier today.....

"I want to let everyone know that I apologize for my horrific choice of words last night during our match. This is something that is inconsistent with my family values and because of that I am both disappointed and embarrassed by my level of poor judgment. I take seriously my role as a leader in the community and this is completely regrettable and unacceptable. Character matters and I hope through hard work on and off the field to begin earning your respect and trust again."

Personally I'm glad he stood up and apologized for his actions last night. We had a similar situation back in March in a match between Seattle and Houston when Houston midfielder Colin Clark used a homophobic slur which was directed at a Sounders ball boy and was suspended for three matches. I was expecting a two match ban at the least for Burch, but the MLS disciplinary committee hasn't done anything about it which would mean that Burch would be allowed to play this Sunday. I understand this is the playoffs and we can't afford to lose anybody, but honestly I think there should've been a suspension and the fact that there's nothing is a bit shocking because it appears MLS will let him slide.

The Sounders didn't put together their best offensive performance in the second leg, but the only thing that matters is who scored the most goals in a match and just so happened to be the Sounders. What a moment for GM Adrian Hanauer, Head Coach Sigi Schmid, Assistant Coach Brian Schmetzer and the rest of the Sounders FC organization to get their first playoff series win in MLS after early round exits their first three seasons. To go on the road and finally pull it off is a big moment for the Sounders and their fans. Before the start of the second leg, there were hardly any concerns about this team despite drawing the first leg at home because the fans kept believing in this team and that trend has to continue next round. I can't wait for the series, it's going to be a good one and I think the Sounders will be ready to come out give their full 90' like they've always done.


Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Mario Martinez 1 (Fredy Montero 1, Brad Evans 1) 81'

Seattle Sounders FC advance 1-0 on aggregate.


Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso (caution; foul) 51'


Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning; Adam Johansson, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Marc Burch; Christian Tiffert (Andy Rose 73'), Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans, Mario Martinez (Zach Scott 87'); Eddie Johnson, Fredy Montero (David Estrada 89')

Real Salt Lake - Nick Rimando; Tony Beltran (Luis Gil 85'), Nat Borchers, Jamison Olave, Kenny Mansally (Jonny Steele 86'); Ned Grabavoy, Kyle Beckerman, Javier Morales, Will Johnson; Alvaro Saborio, Paulo Jr. (Fabian Espindola 58')

Sounders take down the Timbers 3-0 in front of 66,452

By Money Mike


After clinching a fourth consecutive playoff berth up in Vancouver and with four games remaining in the regular season, it was important that the Seattle Sounders ended their regular season on a high note, starting with a stretch of three straight at home. And what better way to kick off that stretch with a victory over your arch rivals in front of a record crowd. Last night, the Sounders defeated the Portland Timbers 3-0 in front of a record crowd of 66,452. After a somewhat disappointing month of September, the Men in Rave Green bounced back and completely dominated this match on both sides of the ball from start to finish to kick off the final month of the regular season. The Sounders also move up to third place and are three points behind Real Salt Lake for second position in the Western Conference with a game in hand. These two will square off on October 17th at CenturyLink and if the Sounders can win this match, they will move up to second in the Western Conference. This could be a potential quarterfinal matchup in the MLS Cup playoffs, but we don't know for sure. The Sounders still have three games to go before we find out who their opponent will be.

In the 17th minute, Portland fails to capitalize on some miscommunication. Jack Jewsbury's corner found Rodney Wallace unmarked in the middle of the area but he missed wide of Michael Gspurning's left hand side. The problem there was either Jeff Parke or Brad Evans were supposed to cover him, but they were both marking David Horst.

In the 25th minute, the Timbers struck first. The problem was, they scored in their own net. Ozzie Alonso took control of the ball from midfield. Adam Johansson made a darting run from his right back position. Alonso threaded the ball through and Christian Tiffert made a nice dummy and Johansson had plenty of space to cross after Rodney Wallace tried to break up the play with a sliding tackle and the Swedish international played the ball across looking for Fredy Montero and Mamadou Danso kicked the ball into his own net and the Sounders took a 1-0 lead after an own goal by Futty.

Three minutes later, the Sounders doubled their lead. Brad Evans delivered a very good ball to the middle and right there was Eddie Johnson, unmarked and he made the most of it as he slid the ball home on a half volley for his 14th goal of the season and the Sounders jumped out to 2-nil lead with two quick goals. As for Eddie, he has really improved his form throughout the year since returning to MLS after a dreadful spell in Europe. And earlier today Eddie Johnson was called up to the U.S. national team for their crucial World Cup qualifying matches on the road against Antigua and Barbuda on Friday and at home next Tuesday against Guatemala. I'll talk a little more about that later.

A minute later, the Sounders nearly made it 3-0. Mauro Rosales fed the ball to Eddie Johnson, who then poked the ball to Fredy Montero after he saw there was no room to turn and shoot. Montero took a couple of small touches and went for the floater and Donovan Ricketts got a hand to the ball to deflect it off the post. Did these guys not prepare themselves for this match (the Timbers)? Do they not remember that they've played against this guy before? He's scored three times against this team, they should know that they can not give Fredy Montero that kind of space, because he'll burn you in a blink of an eye.

Nearing the end of the first half, Portland looked to pull one back. Diego Chara poked the ball back to Franck Songo'o, who saw that he had room to shoot and decided to have a crack at goal and was just inches wide.

In the 61st minute, the Sounders would extend the lead to 3-0. A long throw in by Brad Evans found the head of Eddie Johnson who flicked the ball to Fredy Montero who's flick was denied by Donovan Ricketts. The Timbers struggled to clear the ball out of danger and Fredy Montero put home the rebound for his 13th of the season. Both EJ and Montero have now combined for 27 goals this season. And that would turn out to be the final score of the match as the Men in Rave Green sent 98% of the fans home happy with as they struck three times and came away with three points.


Observations:

People have been buzzing about this tifo for quite a while now. As you can see on this picture, it doesn't have the full tifo. I do have a shot of this tifo on my mobile phone, but it's not a great picture. One because my phone is crap and two I was in the nosebleed section. This was shared on the FOX Soccer fan page on facebook (that was the first pic I saw since coming home from the match) and we had a bunch of morons from England saying the same B.S. as always (hopefully you know what I mean).

I was really impressed with performance from start to finish from the lads. Down in Portland, they had a lead in that game and were outplayed since. They were outplayed against San Jose and were outplayed against Vancouver. And although the numbers favored the Timbers, you have to say the Sounders were the better side in this game. This is what we want with the playoffs looming.

As for me, my perfect record in attending Sounders matches rolls on. Since they moved to MLS, I've been to six Sounder matches and they've won all six of them. I've been to a few before that when they were in the USL, and they've drawn and lost a couple during that stretch. And there was no doubt I enjoyed being part of it. Mainly because the entire stadium was packed. CenturyLink Field is a great venue for soccer and the U.S. soccer federation needs to think about making this place a possible venue for any future USA matches. As for you folks out there. If you haven't gone to a Sounders match at all, I would suggest you get your tickets to one of the last two remaining matches on October 17th or the 21st. You would have to be an idiot to deny that Seattle is the greatest Soccer City in America.


Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Own goal (Mamadou Danso) 25'

Seattle Sounders FC - Eddie Johnson 14 (Brad Evans 4) 28'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero 13 (unassisted) 62'


Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Christian Tiffert (caution; foul) 69'

Portland Timbers - Diego Chara (caution; foul) 72'


Lineups:

Portland Timbers - Donovan Ricketts; Lovel Palmer, David Horst, Mamadou Danso (Eric Brunner 68'), Rodney Wallace; Sal Zizzo (Mike Fucito 46'), Jack Jewsbury, Darlington Nagbe (Eric Alexander 78'), Diego Chara, Franck Songo'o; Bright Dike

Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning; Adam Johansson, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Leonardo Gonzalez (Marc Burch 77'); Mauro Rosales (Andy Rose 87'), Osvaldo Alonso, Christian Tiffert (David Estrada 88'), Brad Evans; Eddie Johnson, Fredy Montero

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')

Fredy Montero's Hat Trick leads the Sounders to a 6-2 beat down of Chivas USA

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders showed once again that they are a dangerous second half team. On Saturday, to know that this guy is the greatest goalscorer in the club's young MLS history, it's hard to believe that this is the first hat trick of Fredy Montero's career as he struck three times in the Sounders 6-2 blowout win over Chivas USA at the Home Depot Center. With the win, the Sounders climb into second place ahead of Real Salt Lake who knocked the Sounders out of the playoffs last season. If the regular season were to come to an end last weekend, the Sounders and RSL would face eachother again in the Western Conference semifinals with RSL hosting the first leg.

Chivas USA found some openings early on in the match. In the third minute, former LA Galaxy player Tristan Bowen who was making his first start of the season for Chivas was found on the near side with some space. Bowen worked a give and go with Nick Labrocca and looked to strike the ball on goal, but the angle was tight so instead he threaded the ball through to Miller Bolanos who tried to place his shot into the far corner, but instead he hit it straight at Michael Gspurning.

Two minutes later, Miller Bolanos played in a low ball toward the near post for Juan Agudelo who tried to direct it into the far corner, but the final outcome of that was another missed opportunity.

The Sounders first opportunity of the game didn't come until the 10 minute mark and they had no problem making it count. Eddie Johnson flicked the ball on for Fredy Montero who brought the ball down and played an excellent through ball to Brad Evans who got in behind James Riley and Evans calmly slotted the ball into the far corner for his second goal of the season and the Sounders took an early 1-0 lead.

In the 15th minute, Chivas USA had another opportunity to score. After a giveaway, Ante Jazic worked a give and go with Agudelo on the far side before whipping in a good cross for Casey Townsend to got in front of Jhon Kennedy Hurtado but he couldn't head the ball on target. There were so many openings on both side of the field all game long. As for Casey Townsend, he should've scored there. He was in perfect position to head the ball home and he ends up missing it. This is why Chivas USA have scored the fewest goals in the league.

In the 27th minute, Chivas loses possession and the Sounders pour down field in a counter attack and make them pay. Christian Tiffert sent Brad Evans in behind with a brilliant long ball. Evans was looking to try and score another goal, but James Riley tracked back and didn't give him any chance at that and had to wait for support. And he got it as he played the ball back to Mauro Rosales who slid the ball through to Fredy Montero and the Colombian did the rest as he turned and hit it low and hard into the far corner to double Seattle's lead with his ninth goal of the season and his 12th in all competitions. As for Mauro Rosales, remember in mid June he began to struggle on the right hand side and he only had a goal and two assists at the time? It's been a different story since than, that assist on Montero's goal was his 11th in 2012 and there was still more to come later on in the game.

What do I mean by later you ask? Well, let's say the 34th minute when he sets up Fredy Montero again for another goal. Fredy Montero picked up the ball from the near side and he stumbles a little bit and loses his footing, but he did very well to use his strength and maintain possession before James Riley could break up the play. The Sounders worked the ball around outside the area before Mauro Rosales played another excellent through ball to Montero who was all alone and Montero chipped the ball over Dan Kennedy and in to make it 3-0. That goal also put Montero into double figures yet again with his 10th league goal of the season.

A couple minutes later, Chivas USA were awarded a penalty kick. Juan Agudelo chipped the ball to the near post looking for Casey Townsend. Now as Townsend was about to volley the ball goalwards, I thought at first he caught one of the defenders with a high boot. I don't know why, I just did. But Townsend never made contact with any defender, and the ball apparently came off the hand of Jeff Parke and referee Jose Carlos Rivero pointed to the penalty spot. Juan Agudelo stepped up and calmly slotted the ball low into the right corner, sending Michael Gspurning the wrong way to cut the Sounders lead to 3-1.

In the 56th minute, Chivas USA let yet another chance slip away. Juan Agudelo played the ball back to Nick LaBrocca who whipped the ball in first time and getting up was Tristan Bowen for a snap down header which bounced just wide.

In the 64th minute, Chivas were able to finish their chance and what was once a 3-0 Sounder lead has now become a 3-2 Sounder lead. Tristan Bowen fed the ball to the near side for Miller Bolanos. Bolanos had a bit of space to decide whether to pass the ball or strike it from distance. He had Ante Jazic making an overlapping run, but Bolanos decided to go for it alone as he cut inside of Jeff Parke and struck the ball low and hard and it skipped underneath Michael Gspurning and into the back of the goal to make it a one goal game. So things started to look pretty interesting in this match as Chivas USA looked like they were down and out earlier in the game before they scored two unanswered goals to get back in this match.

That is until the 67th minute when Seattle restored their two goal lead and began to pull away from there. Mauro Rosales was once again the set up man as he played another brilliant ball to Fredy Montero. Montero avoided the sliding challenge from John Valencia and rifled his shot into the far corner to complete his hat trick and more importantly to extend Seattle's lead to 4-2. Montero is the fourth Sounders player to record a hat trick in the clubs young history. Blaise Nkufo did it on the road against the Columbus Crew in 2010, Lamar Neagle did at home in 2011 which was also against the Columbus Crew, of course David Estrada did it against Toronto FC in the Opener back in March and now Fredy Montero finally joins that list with three impressive goals against Chivas USA.

The Sounders weren't done there. In the 80th minute, the Sounders put together a lot of passes in this move as they worked the ball out wide to Christian Tiffert who looked and curled the ball near post for Sammy Ochoa and the big man got in on the act with a terrific header to make it 5-2 Seattle.

The Sounders would get one more in the 91st minute. Fredy Montero waited for support and chipped the ball into the area looking for Mario Martinez who was making a run toward the far post and Ante Jazic headed the ball into his own net to make it 6-2 and that's how it would end.

The Sounders road trip continues. Right now they're in Trinidad and Tobago preparing for their Champions League match tomorrow against Caledonia AIA. After that they will head to head to FC Dallas Stadium this Sunday to, well take on FC Dallas. Their confidence should be really high right now the way they've played lately. As for Mario Martinez, if you never heard of him, he's a Honduran international who joined the team on loan from Real Espana following the Olympics. This was his debut match for the Sounders, coming on in the 78th minute. In his short time on the pitch, I thought his movement on the ball was good, he's a good passer, he's got a great vision and he's a fast paced athlete. I think the Sounders need to get Martinez completely involved in these late stages as the Sounders get set for another playoff run.


Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Brad Evans 2 (Fredy Montero 5) 10'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero 9 (Mauro Rosales 11) 27'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero 10 (Mauro Rosales 12) 34'

Chivas USA - Juan Agudelo 2 (penalty kick) 38'

Chivas USA - Miller Bolanos 2 (Tristan Bowen 1) 64'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero 11 (Mauro Rosales 13) 67'

Seattle Sounders FC - Sammy Ochoa 1 (Christian Tiffert 1, Brad Evans 3) 80'

Seattle Sounders FC - Own goal (Ante Jazic) 91'+


Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso (caution; foul) 54'

Chivas USA - Miller Bolanos (caution; off the ball foul) 93'+


Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning; Adam Johansson, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Leonardo Gonzalez; Mauro Rosales (Mario Martinez 78'), Osvaldo Alonso, Christian Tiffert (Steve Zakuani 84'), Brad Evans; Eddie Johnson (Sammy Ochoa 73'), Fredy Montero

Chivas USA - Dan Kennedy; James Riley, John Valencia, Bobby Burling, Ante Jazic; Tristan Bowen (Jose Erick Correa 69'), Shalrie Joseph, Nick LaBrocca, Miller Bolanos; Juan Agudelo, Casey Townsend (Juan Pablo Angel 86')

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

By Money Mike


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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Observations:

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

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

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


Scoring summary:

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

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

Seattle Sounders FC - Andy Rose (unassisted) 43'

Caledonia AIA - Kareem Joseph (penalty kick) 50'


Misconduct summary:

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

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


Lineups:

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

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

Sounders FC monthly rewind: June 2012

By Money Mike


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


Positives:

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


Negatives:

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


Western Conference Standings:

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


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

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

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

Upcoming schedule

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

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

Sounders struggles continue as they fall 2-1 to the Timbers

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders still can't find a way to snap their winless streak. The Sounders have now gone seven games without a win after suffering a 2-1 defeat at the hands of their arch rival the Portland Timbers. After starting the season 7-1-1, injuries have really racked up for Seattle along with players doing a poor job communicating with each other. With another pretty big month coming up, it's important that the Sounders end the month on a good note by beating the New England Revolution next Saturday. And let's not forget their Open Cup match on Tuesday against the San Jose Earthquakes.

In the 11th minute, as I said a couple blogs ago set pieces are one of the biggest keys to victory offensively and defensively and the Sounders got lucky here because defensively they sucked on this corner. Franck Songo'o curled the ball out and found the head of David Horst from point blank range and he hit the crossbar and Jack Jewsbury couldn't put home the rebound.

In the 16th minute however, the Timbers would take advantage of some more lousy defending and draw first blood. Steven Smith worked a brilliant give and go with Franck Songo'o on the near side and whipped in a perfectly good ball into the area for Kris Boyd and Andrew Weber was left helpless as Boyd slams it home and the Timbers take a 1-0 lead.

In the 24th minute, Kris Boyd was left unmarked again, this time with a free header and Andrew Weber did enough to punch the ball over the bar. That was twice that Jeff Parke got caught and got away with it.

Straight off the corner kick though Parke gets caught one more time and this time, there was no "get out of jail free" card. Franck Songo'o curled the ball out and found David Horst for a downward header that skips through Andrew Weber and Alex Caskey and into the back of the net and things were going terribly wrong for the Men in Rave Green as they found themselves two goals behind after 25 minutes. I don't understand what has happened to Parke and Hurtado. Both of them just can't seem to communicate with each other very well and have been a major disappointment these last couple of games.

On the stroke of halftime, Ozzie Alonso had a go from a long way out and forced a big save from Troy Perkins. He had too much space on that play and it didn't look like the Timbers read any scouting reports on him, especially the fact that he can hit em' from distance.

In the 53rd minute, Alonso made a cut to his right foot and tested the keeper again, trying to go for the far corner. But again, Troy Perkins was equal to it.

In the 58th minute, the Sounders would find an answer and cut the Timbers lead in half. Zach Scott found Eddie Johnson on the right side. Johnson brushed off David Horst and was looking to square the ball across for Fredy Montero, but Futty Danso cut down the angle. Instead, Johnson cut to his left foot and curled a shot inside the far corner for his fifth goal of the season.

In the 90th minute, the Rivalry starts heating up as tempers flare from both teams. The Sounders had the ball in the Timbers area and looked to continue attacking, but referee Ricardo Salazar stopped play because it looked like Fredy Montero shoved David Horst, who went down easily. This after Horst and Eddie Johnson were right in each others face. Just after the whistle had blown, there was pushing and shoving everywhere. Futty started to go at it with Johnson and then right from behind, Lovel Palmer threw on elbow at Johnson. After all the scrap was cleaned up, it was Fredy Montero and Lovel Palmer who got sent off. This is the third straight game in which a Sounder player has been shown a red card. So we all know that Montero and Palmer will be suspended for their next match, unless appealed. But it looks like there could be more suspensions handed out. Things have gotten out of control for the Sounders once again, especially after another disappointing result.


Scoring summary:

Portland Timbers - Kris Boyd 5 (Steven Smith 1) 16'

Portland Timbers - David Horst 1 (Franck Songo'o 1) 25'

Seattle Sounders FC - Eddie Johnson 5 (Zach Scott 1) 58'


Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Brad Evans (caution; off the ball foul) 18'

Portland Timbers - Diego Chara (caution; foul) 43'

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso (caution; foul) 48'

Portland Timbers - Kalif Alhassan (caution; foul) 53'

Portland Timbers - Steven Smith (caution; foul) 73'

Portland Timbers - Jack Jewsbury (caution; time wasting) 90'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero (ejection; fighting) 92'+

Portland Timbers - Lovel Palmer (ejection; fighting) 92'+


Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Andrew Weber; Zach Scott, Jeff Parke (Patrick Ianni 42'), Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Marc Burch; Brad Evans (Andy Rose 46'), Osvaldo Alonso, Mauro Rosales, Alex Caskey (Cordell Cato 75'); Eddie Johnson, Fredy Montero

Portland Timbers - Troy Perkins; Jack Jewsbury, David Horst, Mamadou Danso, Steven Smith; Kalif Alhassan (Sal Zizzo 54'), Darlington Nagbe, Diego Chara, Franck Songo'o (Lovel Palmer 78'); Kris Boyd, Mike Fucito (Danny Mwanga 66')