Sounders acquire D.C. United defender Marc Burch in the Re-Entry Draft

By Money Mike

The Seattle Sounders and the Vancouver Whitecaps swapped Re-Entry Draft spots prior to the draft, so my thoughts after hearing that were that they were actually thinking about drafting somebody. I'm still waiting for information about the trade with the Whitecaps, wondering if a player being traded was part of the deal or not. But instead of picking 14th, the Sounders were first in line in the second stage of the Re-Entry Draft and they wasted no time picking up Marc Burch who spent the last five seasons with D.C. United. The Sounders also lost a couple of forwards who were just completely worthless on this team, Nate Jaqua to the New England Revolution and Pat Noonan to the LA Galaxy.

Marc Burch was drafted in 2006 by the Los Angeles Galaxy in the second round. He actually began his career as a forward. He made three appearances for LA before being traded to the Columbus Crew on July 11, 2006. In his short stint with Columbus, he made seven appearances. On April 4, 2007, Burch was traded form Columbus to D.C. United where he was converted from a striker to a left back and he became an asset to D.C.'s backline. In 07', Burch made 18 appearances with one goal and three assists. From 08-09', he made 54 appearances, tallying another goal and five assists. In February of 2010, Burch suffered damage to his right foot and was out until July 31st when he made his return against Real Salt Lake and made four consecutive starts before re-aggrevating his foot that resulted in season ending sergery. In 2011, Burch missed half of the season with another injury, but still made 17 appearances with one goal and one assist.

Of course, Seattle lost Nate Jaqua and Pat Noonan in the Re-Entry Draft. Jaqua made 66 appearances for Seattle in League play and scored 9 goals for this team (all in 09'). Noonan wasn't any better, making 21 appearances in his two seasons with Seattle and scoring only one goal.

As for Burch, he still has to agree to terms with the Sounders before he's officially added to the roster, which is more likely to happen than not since they traded picks with Vancouver to get him. It's just a question if he can stay healthy because he had his injury problems in his past two seasons with D.C. United. If he can stay healthy and perform the same way he did with United prior to 2010, I think he'll fit in very well here in Seattle.

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')

Different lineup - Same result for the Seattle Sounders

By Money Mike

With the U.S. Open Cup final just three days away, Sigi Schmid made some changes in his lineup and rested a few of the key players leading up to Tuesday's Cup final match against the Chicago Fire. Despite a few shaky areas in the lineup, the Sounders still managed to come away with all three points, defeating the New England Revolution by a score of 2-1. The Sounders are now 6 points clear of Real Salt Lake for second place and are now just a point away from securing home field advantage in the MLS Cup Quarterfinal. The Sounders return home to Seattle tomorrow morning after a long traveling week to Vancouver, B.C., Guatemala City and Foxborough. My guess is they will have Sunday off and then get back to training on Monday for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup final on Tuesday night at CenturyLink Field. Kickoff time for that match is 7pm on FOX Soccer and will also be aired on 97.3 KIRO FM. The Sounders will look to become the first team since the New York Greek-Americans to win their third consecutive U.S. Open Cup title.

New England thought they had a goal in the opening minutes of the game. Benny Feilhaber's free kick was headed out of the area by a Seattle defender. Ryan Guy headed it back into the danger area and it fell to Milton Caraglio who headed it into the far post, but the offside flag was up. The replay however showed that the assistant referee got that wrong and that should've been the opening goal for the New England Revolution. In the 20th minute, Ryan Guy's delivery found 16-year old Diego Fagundez from point blank range who just tucked his shot wide of Kasey Keller's left. Three minutes later, Fagundez spun away from Patrick Ianni and Seattle were caught on a 2 on 1 break. Fagundez fed it across to a wide open Ryan Guy who took one touch and was denied by the veteran Kasey Keller. That one touch may have eluded Ryan Guy. New England started the game brightly for the first 35 minutes of the game. The only Sounders player who looked lively in the early stages of the game was David Estrada.

In the 35th minute, the young lad who the Revs are very high on, opened up the scoring in this match. Benny Feilhaber sent in a brilliant cross off the corner kick to the middle of the danger area and the man getting on the end of it was Diego Fagundez, coming in unmarked to head home his second professional goal in his fourth professional appearance. New England is very very high on this young kid, only 16-years old. He scored on his MLS debut on August 6th against Chivas USA. He will become more of a threat in years to come. If he gets a lot of playing time next season, he could end up hitting the 10 goal mark, or close to it. I may be bluffing here, but as Arlo White said, this guy has a great future as a footballer.

The lead however lasted only a minute and a half. In the 36th minute, it's the red hot Fredy Montero once again. After an error on Ryan Cochrane's attempted clearance, Montero pounced on the ball and curled it into the far corner for his team leading 10th goal of the year.

In the 48th minute, it was Montero once again. David Estrada's effort was deflected by a Revolution defender. The ball fell to Nate Jaqua who chested it to Fredy Montero who toe poked it past Matt Reis and into the back of the goal for his third brace of the season and oh yes.... to give Seattle the lead. And that goal turned out to be the difference as Seattle sweeps New England in the season series winning 2-1 in both matches.

The Sounders return home for their final homestand of the season with four matches in all compititions and let me say it again. The first of the four will be on Tuesday against the Chicago Fire in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup final and I will be there to catch it. They get back to MLS action on Saturday October 8th against former Sounder Sebastien Le Toux and the Philadelphia Union.

Scoring summary:

New England Revolution - Diego Fagundez 2 (Benny Feilbaber 5) 35'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero 10 (unassisted) 36'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero 11 (Nate Jaqua 2) 48'

Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero (caution; Reckless tackle) 28'

New England Revolution - Milton Caraglio (caution; Reckless tackle) 84'

Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller; Roger Levesque, Zach Scott, Patrick Ianni, Tyson Wahl; David Estrada, Erik Friberg (Osvaldo Alonso 79'), Servando Carrasco, Alvaro Fernandez (Lamar Neagle 46'); Nate Jaqua, Fredy Montero (Mike Fucito 68')

New England Revolution - Matt Reis; Kevin Alston, Ryan Cochrane (Darius Barnes 68'), A.J. Soares, Chris Tierney; Ryan Guy, Shalrie Joseph, Benny Feilhaber, Monsef Zerka (Pat Phelan 69'); Milton Caraglio, Diego Fagundez

Fredy Montero weaves his magic with two second half goals. Sounders win 3-1.

By Money Mike

The Seattle Sounders sent their 1,500 traveling fans home happy after deafeating the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1 in the final game at Empire Field. The final game drew 21,000 people total for the game, and if my memory isn't screwed up with this one, the first goal at Empire Field was scored by Eric Hassli and the last goal was scored by one of our own, Fredy Montero who came away with his second brace of the season and is now sitting at 9 goals to go with his 8 assists. With the win, Seattle re-takes second place in the Western Conference over Real Salt Lake who still have another game in hand between them and the Sounders.

Vancouver got off to a good start in the first half. In the 12th minute, Camilo sent in a low left foot ball into the middle of the area and found Mustapha Jarju making a run into the area. Jarju got a touch on it with the outside of his right boot, but just wide of Kasey Kellers goal. Jarju was signed during the midseason point as Vancouver's second Designated Player. He has still yet to score his first goal for the club, and he came close about 3 or 4 times on my count, but he's looked dangerous all game.

In the 18th minute, Kasey Keller came off his line and punched the ball out of the penalty area off a corner kick and collided with Michael Boxall in the process. The attack wasn't over though, Davide Chiumiento got the ball back into the box and ball somehow fell to Boxall, but he was denied on a one on one opportunity as Keller got down very well and made a huge stop on what was a sure goal.

Four minutes later, the home side broke through. Eric Hassli's no look ball found Davide Chiumiento, who just dodged the offside trap by about an inch before cutting the ball back for Camilo to tap the ball past Keller for the opening goal. There were a couple appeals for offside when the ball was played through to Chiumiento, but he looked even. I think either Jeff Parke or Jhon Kennedy Hurtado who played him onside. Camilo was offside when the ball was played to his teammate and when Chiumiento played the ball back to him, he was still offside. I think I need to look at the FIFA laws of the game because I don't know how Camilo wasn't offside on this part of the play.

Vancouver nearly doubled their advantage in the 25th minute. Former Sounder Peter Vagenas showed his guide by hitting a penetrating ball to send Jarju through on goal but the angle prooved to be too acute for the Gambian striker as he dragged his shot wide of the far post.

That's around the time when the Sounders woke up, and it wasn't long until they came back and equalized. In the 32nd minute, the Sounders launched a counterattack. Fredy Montero, after receiving a pass from Nate Jaqua, took the initial shot on goal that was parried away by Joe Cannon. The ball fell to Alvaro Fernandez who found himself with a clear shot on goal in the 18-yard box. Jay DeMerit slid in to block the shot, but the ball his hands and referee Jair Marrufo pointed to the penalty spot. I was expecting DeMerit to be sent off as well, but he was only shown a yellow card. None the less, Brad Evans who was 2 for 2 on PK's this season and just as he did the first two times, he sent the goalkeeper the wrong way and converted with ease.

In the second half, the Sounders got off to a fast start. Ozzie Alonso hit a low drive that forced a save from Joe Cannon. A minute later, Lamar Neagle hit a thunderus shot from outside the box that cannoned off the crossbar.

Mustapha Jarju came close to opening up his account a couple of times, first getting the ball caught in his feet after finding himself through on goal, then about a minute later he could only manage a weak shot on Keller after a nice piece of buildup play.

In the 63rd minute, it was Fredy Montero stealing the show. The Colombian took advantage of a poor cross from Jay DeMerit before taking a clever touch to fool his marker and floating one into the top left corner. That was one of the best goals I've seen from him in his Sounders career. It was surely the best goal I've seen from him this season. He was not done yet, four minutes later he made the captain look like an idiot again. Montero had a go from well out of the area which took a slight deflection off Jay DeMerit, and the Jabulani ball dipped over Joe Cannon and into the back of the net.

It was nice to see this guy finally make his MLS debut. Sammy Ochoa came on as a substitute for Nate Jaqua and I thought he did very well out there. He nearly got his first for the Rave Green after his header was denied by the post. The Sounders have been denied about 3 or 4 times by the post in this game. He's right now at the point where he's not 100% just yet, but at a point where he can come off the bench for the last 20-30 minutes of the match like he did last night. The fact is, Estudiantes Tecos didn't even give him a chance to show what he could do. And with the poor depth we have up front, with O'Brian White injured and both Nate Jaqua and Pat Noonan sucking ass again, I hope that he is 100% by the start of the playoffs, and the Sounders for sure will have a bye week in the playoffs, which would give them plenty of time.

The Sounders will once again step out of MLS play and into the Champions League. Tuesday night, they head to Guatemala to face Comunicaciones where they can book their place in the Quarterfinal with at least a draw.

Scoring summary:

Vancouver Whitecaps - Camilo 9 (Davide Chiumiento 9, Eric Hassli 2) 22'

Seattle Sounders FC - Brad Evans 5 (penalty kick) 32'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero 8 (unassisted) 64'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero 9 (Brad Evans 3, Leonardo Gonzalez 2) 67'

Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Brad Evans (caution; Dissent) 31'

Vancouver Whitecaps - Jay DeMerit (caution; Handball) 32'

Vancouver Whitecaps - Eric Hassli (caution; Unsporting behavior) 70'

Vancouver Whitecaps - Jeff Parke (caution; Unsporting behavior) 77'

Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller; Zach Scott, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Leonardo Gonzalez; Alvaro Fernandez (David Estrada 79'), Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans, Lamar Neagle; Fredy Montero, Nate Jaqua (Sammy Ochoa 66')

Vancouver Whitecaps - Joe Cannon; Jonothan Leathers (Jeb Brovsky 46'), Jay DeMerit, Michael Boxall, Jordan Harvey; Davide Chiumiento, Peter Vagenas, Gershon Koffie, Camilo; Eric Hassli (Long Tan 81'), Mustapha Jarju (Shea Salinas 58')

Sounders defeat San Francisco FC 2-0, advance to the group stage of the Champions League

By Money Mike

The Seattle Sounders, coming into the second leg down 1-0, needed to win by two, and the easiest way to do that was to avoid conceding an away goal. And that is exactly what they did. Alvaro Fernandez and Nate Jaqua came through for the Sounders as they defeated San Francisco FC in the 2nd leg 2-0 and they will proceed to the Group Stage of the CONCACAF Champions League after a 2-1 aggrigate series win. The winner of this matchup (which we know now is the Sounders) was drawn into Group D with Monterrey (Mexico), Comunicaciones (Guatemala), and C.S. Herediano (Costa Rica) who also advanced from the Preliminary round.

You won't believe this number here. The Sounders outshot San Francisco 34-5 from the first kick to the final whistle.

The First blood came in minute number 41. Leo Gonzalez made an overlaping run from the back and whipped in a very good cross to the middle of the area and found Alvaro Fernandez unmarked and Big Man Fernandez headed the ball off the far post and in the goal to give the Sounders a 1-0 lead in the 2nd leg and level the series up at 1-1.

The Sounders came close late in normal time to put this game and the series away. Fredy Montero, who has really stepped his game up this past month, just barely shot wide of the near post off a free kick. Not long after, goalkeeper Miguel Torres came up to stop Nate Jaqua of a breakaway chance.

In stoppage time, Mauro Rosales whipped in a cross, Torres looked like he got a punch on it. The ball came to Fredy Montero who had loads of time to settle and get a shot away but the ball just sailed high over the bar.

In the 8th minute of extra time, the Sounders broke the deadlock on aggrigate. Alvaro Fernandez rather than trying to put the ball away with his left, squared the ball across and the ball fell to Nate Jaqua who took one touch and then roofed it into the goal to give the Sounders the lead in the series and it turned out to be the winner after it was all said and done.

Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Alvaro Fernandez (Leonardo Gonzalez, Fredy Montero) 41'

Seattle Sounders FC - Nate Jaqua (Alvaro Fernandez, Mauro Rosales) 98'

Misconduct summary:

San Francisco FC - Roberto Brown (caution; Reckless foul) 46+'

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso (caution; Reckless foul) 60'

Seattle Sounders FC - Mauro Rosales (caution; Handball) 61'

San Francisco FC - Johann de Avila (caution; Reckless tackle) 63'

Seattle Sounders FC - Erik Friberg (caution; Dissent) 110'

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller (caution; Dissent) 110'

Lineups:

San Francisco FC - Miguel Torres; Luis Olivardia, Roberto Cohen, Edgardo Panezo (Jefrey Diaz 102'), Martin Gomez, Rolando Algandona; Manuel Torres, Eybir Bonaga; Johann de Avila, Amir Waite (Freddy Arizala 85'), Roberto Brown

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller; James Riley, Jeff Parke, Zach Scott, Leonardo Gonzalez; Mauro Rosales, Osvaldo Alonso, Erik Friberg (Servando Carrasco 112'), Alvaro Fernandez (Lamar Neagle 111'); Pat Noonan (Nate Jaqua 68'), Fredy Montero

Manchester United just too much for the Sounders

By Money Mike

In front of a crowd of 67,052, Manchester United score 6 second half goals and spank the Seattle Sounders by a score of 7-0. This is the only friendly match the Sounders have this season. There was quite a bit of Red in support of Manchester United. There are still match day scarfs from last nights match available to purchase online at soundersfc.com. As a matter of fact, you can still purchase scarves from previous friendly matches against Chivas de Guadalajara, Boca Juniors and of course they're still selling the scarves from 09' against Chelsea and Barcelona. The only matchday scarf I have is from July 28th of last year when the Colorado Rapids came to town. That was the match I went to. I didn't get one from the April 9th game against Chicago which was the fifth game of the 2011 season. The only time you'll expect me to purchase another one is if I'm attending an international friendly match or maybe a Champions League match (if they sell them during that time).

As you can see on the picture, they brought the Premier League trophy out on to the field as both teams entered the XBOX Pitch at CenturyLink Field. Now this was weird. I know they're a big club and all, but I didn't see Barcelona do that in 09' following their La Liga title. But captain Nemanja Vidic carried the trophy out onto the pitch with his walking buddy.

United opened up the scoring in the 15th minute. Patrice Evra made a run from his left back spot and was found by Ashley Young. Evra sent in a drivin cross and somehow the ball fell to Michael Owen for the opening goal.

Now this is one thing you Sounder fans don't understand, and that is player development. Why the hell would Sigi Schmid leave his first team out there in the 2nd half of a friendly match just because they were down 1-0? Comeon that's just stupid. Of course he would put in Michael Tetteh, David Estrada, Mike Seamon, Miguel Montano, etc.

In the 49th minute, a beautiful ball by Nani found Mame Biram Diouf who made one touch to get around backup goalkeeper Terry Boss, then settled, then tapped the ball into an empty net to make it 2-0.

In the 51st, again it was Nani who was the provider. This time he set up Wayne Rooney who ripped the ball into the top corner. Rooney wasn't done there, he added another goal in the 69th minute, rolling the ball into the top corner. Rooney wasn't done there, he was found off a driven cross by Gabriel Oberton in the 72nd minute for his 3rd goal of the game, also known as a hat trick. Oberton would get on the scoresheet in the 88th minute and that's how the friendly would end.

The Sounders resume competitive play on July 26th when they head to Panama for the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League preliminary round against San Francisco F.C.

Scoring summary:

Manchester United - Michael Owen (Patrice Evra, Ashley Young) 15'

Manchester United - Mame Biram Diouf (unassisted) 49'

Manchester United - Wayne Rooney (Nani) 51'

Manchester United - Wayne Rooney (unassisted) 69'

Manchester United - Park Ji-Sung (Wayne Rooney) 71'

Manchester United - Wayne Rooney (Gabriel Oberton) 72'

Manchester United - Gabriel Oberton (unassisted) 88'

Lineups:

Manchester United - Anders Lindegarrd (Ben Amos 46'); Rafael da Silva, Nemanja Vidic (Jonny Evans 56'), Rio Ferdinand, Patrice Evra (Fabio da Silva 56'); Nani (Gabriel Oberton 56'), Anderson, Ryan Giggs (Park Ji-Sung 46'), Ashley Young (Michael Carrick 66'); Michael Owen (Mame Biram Diouf 46'), Federico Mecheda (Wayne Rooney 46')

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller (Terry Boss 46'); James Riley (David Estrada 73'), Jeff Parke (Michael Tetteh 64'), Patrick Ianni (Taylor Graham 64'), Leonardo Gonzalez (Zach Scott 46'); Mauro Rosales (Servando Carrasco 46'), Osvaldo Alonso (Brad Evans 46') (Mike Seamon 64'), Erik Friberg (Pat Noonan 46') (Mrisho Ngassa 76'), Alvaro Fernandez (Lamar Neagle 46') (O'Brian White 76'); Roger Levesque (Nate Jaqua 46') (Miguel Montano 76'), Fredy Montero (Mike Fucito 46')

Sounders defeat LA 3-1 in the U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinal

By Money Mike

In front of 4,322 at the Starfire Sports Complex in Takwila, the Seattle Sounders faced off with the Los Angeles Galaxy in the U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinal and pretty much a replica of last years Quarterfinal matchup with LA, the Sounders come away with a win.

The Sounders, with the win, advance to the U.S. Open Cup semifinal against FC Dallas. That match will take place on August 30 at Starfire.

In the 4th minute, the Sounders struck early. After hitting the post a minute ago, Nate Jaqua was sent behind the defense off a Pat Noonan through ball and he calmly slotted it inside the far post. It was Jaqua's 8th career goal in Open Cup play (7 of them with the Sounders).

In the 25th minute, Jaqua was involved in the 2nd Sounders goal. I don't what the hell this guy was thinking. Defender A.J. DeLaGarza gave the ball right to Jaqua who quickly fed it to Fredy Montero who cut the ball to his left foot and put away his third goal in two matches to double Seattle's lead at 2-0. The Sounders could've been up 4-0 or 5-0 up to that point, but they just couldn't capitalize on their chances, most of them coming from Jaqua and in the 40th minute, LA pulled one back. Adam Cristman finished a cross from Chris Birchall at the front of the net.

On the stroke of halftime, Birchall almost came away with one for himself, but Terry Boss made the save.

In the 74th minute, the LA back line got caught off another through ball. After some work on the ball, Alvaro Fernandez sent one through for Lamar Neagle who made a diagonal run through the penalty area to score. That goal prooved to be the knock out punch for the Galaxy as the Sounders once again, win a U.S. Open Cup match.

The Sounders get back to work in MLS as they return home to face that fucker who broke Steve Zakuani's leg on purpose............ yes I'm talking about Brian Mullan. He's gonna be there along with the Colorado Rapids on Saturday. That match will be shown live on FOX Soccer Channel, if you don't have that channel, sucks for you.

Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Nate Jaqua (Pat Noonan) 4'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero (Nate Jaqua) 25'

Los Angeles Galaxy - Adam Cristman (Chris Birchall) 40'

Seattle Sounders FC - Lamar Neagle (Alvaro Fernandez) 74'

Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso (caution; Tactical foul) 22'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero (caution; Unsporting behavior) 54'

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

Los Angeles Galaxy - Paolo Cardozo (caution; Reckless tackle) 59'

Seattle Sounders FC - Mike Fucito (caution; Delaying a restart) 90'

Lineups:

Los Angeles Galaxy - Josh Saunders; Bryan Jordan, A.J. DeLaGarza, Gregg Berhalter, Todd Dunivant; Chris Birchall, Michael Stephens, Juninho (Jovan Kirovski 78'), Landon Donovan (Hector Jimenez 75'); Paolo Cardozo (Miguel Lopez 64'), Adam Cristman

Seattle Sounders FC - Terry Boss; Zach Scott, Jeff Parke, Patrick Ianni, Leonardo Gonzalez; Pat Noonan (Erik Friberg 64'), Osvaldo Alonso, Alvaro Fernandez, Lamar Neagle; Nate Jaqua (Roger Levesque 71'), Fredy Montero (Mike Fucito 79')

Ozzie Alonso's go ahead goal short lived as Eric Hassli's volley salvages a 2-2 draw for Vancouver

By Money Mike

In a wild last 10 minutes of the game, the Sounders, down 1-0, get an equalizer from Mauro Rosales to tie the match at 1. Then four minutes later, Ozzie Alonso takes advantage of a turnover and lashes a low left foot drive to put the Sounders up 2-1. But then a minute later, a turnover in the Sounders area by Jhon Kennedy Hurtado gave the Frenchman Eric Hassli a chance to make one touch and volley it over Kasey Keller off the far post and in the back of the net to salvage a 2-2 draw for the Whitecaps. No real changes in the standings except for one with Colorado pulling into a tie for 3rd place in the Western Conference after a late winner in stoppage time on the road against the Portland Timbers.

The Sounders started off bright in the early stages as they've obviously done almost every match this season.

In the 12th minute, Camilo tested Keller from a long way out. The Brazilian intercepted a sloppy pass from Ozzie Alonso and fired away from about 23-yards out (I can't measure it), but it was straight at Keller who punched it away.

Two minutes later, a beautiful ball through by Gershon Koffie found Shea Salinas breaking behind Tyson Wahl, but Salinas just missed wide. Salinas has been a pain all match long for Tyson Wahl. Camilo also played well this match. Another guy that I think caused the Seattle back line problems is Davide Chiumiento. And I think Koffie had a good game.

In the 20th minute, Joe Cannon came out to punch away a corner kick which was taken by Mauro Rosales. Alonso stepped up and volleyed with his left foot, but Joe Cannon was equal to it and he punched the ball over the crossbar.

In the 28th minute, the Whitecaps were awarded a PK. A pass from Jeb Brovsky set up Camilo down the left hand side and his clever cutback led to a foul in the box by Alonso and a penalty kick for Vancouver. Eric Hassli stepped up a calmly chipped the ball right down the middle with Keller diving to his left.

In the second half, the Sounders brought on Nate Jaqua and Miguel Montano to spark the Sounders attack and they nearly came through in the 67th minute but Jeb Brovsky snuffed out the danger with a good challenge.

It didn't take until minute 81' for Seattle to get their goal. Tyson Wahl's left footed cross was aimed towards Nate Jaqua. The ball came off a Whitecaps head and it redirected to Mauro Rosales and with Joe Cannon caught out of position, Rosales took it first time and put it away to tie the match at one. But the Sounders weren't done there.....

In the 84th minute, Brad Evans was tripped up, but the referee didn't call a foul. The Whitecaps however, failed to clear the ball away and Osvaldo Alonso made them pay with a low left foot drive from just outside the penalty area to put the Sounders on the high end of the game.

However, the lead only lasted a minute. The Whitecaps came right back to level the match at 2-2 when Eric Hassli took advantage of a poor pass from Jhon Hurtado and volleyed a dipping shot into the far corner for his second of the game and to erase a victory for the Men in Rave Green.

The Sounders next Saturday hit the road to face Toronto FC at BMO Field, Toronto are coming off a 2-2 draw to the LA Galaxy. The Whitecaps return home to face the Philadelphia Union the same day.

Scoring summary:

Vancouver Whitecaps - Eric Hassli 5 (penalty kick) 29'

Seattle Sounders FC - Mauro Rosales 1 (unassisted) 81'

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso 1 (unassisted) 84'

Vancouver Whitecaps - Eric Hassli 6 (unassisted) 85'

Misconduct summary:

Vancouver Whitecaps - Alain Rochat (caution; Reckless tackle) 46'+

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso (caution; descent) 47'+

Vancouver Whitecaps - Camilo (caution; Reckless tackle) 55'

Vancouver Whitecaps - Jonathan Leathers (caution; Delaying a restart) 71'

Lineups:

Vancouver Whitecaps - Joe Cannon; Jonathan Leathers, Jay DeMerit, Mouloud Akloul, Alain Rochat; Shea Salinas (Bilal Duckett 90'), Gershon Koffie, Jeb Brovsky (Michael Nanchoff 85'), Camilo; Davide Chiumiento (Peter Vagenas 73'), Eric Hassli

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller; James Riley, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Tyson Wahl; Brad Evans, Osvaldo Alonso, Mauro Rosales (Erik Friberg 83), Lamar Neagle (Nate Jaqua 59'); Fredy Montero, Mike Fucito (Miguel Montano 65')

Sounders end Real Salt Lake's 29-game unbeaten streak at Rio Tinto. Win 2-1.

By Money Mike

After picking up only 4 points in their last three matches at Qwest Field, the Seattle Sounders headed to Rio Tinto Stadium and put their disappointing home swing behind and ended another teams long unbeaten run on their home ground. Last night, the Seattle Sounders handed Real Salt Lake their first home loss since May 16, 2009 when the Kansas City Wizards last won at Salt Lake. The Sounders with the win are now 5-4-5 on the year and are sitting at 20 points going into the month of June which is a lot better then last year when they only had 12 points going into June, and yet a lot of you fans are just not getting it because you just continue to make ridiculous statements about Sigi Schmid and Fredy Montero.

The Sounders had a few chances in the first half, with the rain in their face, to take the lead. In the 10th minute, off a corner, the cross from Tyson Wahl found Jeff Parke who got up and flicked it toward the far post but Kyle Beckerman got his own head on it to keep it from going into the net.

In the 18th minute, the Sounders had to make an early change when Alvaro Fernandez went down with a hamstring injury. Fernandez actually suffered it during warm-ups but told Sigi Schmid and the training staff that he was fine and ready to go, but his decision aggravated his injury while he was going after a loose ball with Robbie Russell. So Fernandez was subbed out and replaced by Lamar Neagle.

In the 20th minute, RSL tested Kasey Keller with a couple of long distance efforts from Will Johnson and Jean Alexandre. The most difficult one came from Alexandre when Kasey Keller got a pretty bad jump and had trouble getting to the ball, but he did pounce on it without any issues.

The substitute, Lamar Neagle nearly made an impact at the half-hour mark. Neagle got into space behind the defense and cracked one on frame from just outside the Box, but right into the chest of Nick Rimando. Nate Jaqua also had some good opportunities in the first half but came up short.

In the 48th minute, Salt Lake nearly put themselves in front, Erik Friberg's header landed in the direction of Fabian Espindola who took a couple of touches before cracking a left footed effort from point blank range which took a deflection and Keller parried it wide. Espindola, the majority of the time, has been on the wing taking on James Riley and I tell you what, Riley has had a lot of problems with Espindola in this match.

Keller would come up big again in the 51st minute. Seattle still couldn't get the ball out of danger and they nearly payed for it. After a shot deflected off Patrick Ianni, Jamison Olave pounced on the rebound and got a head on the ball, but Keller came out and got a hand to it to redirect it off the crossbar.

Seven minutes later, Olave turned from a near hero to a goat. Mike Fucito got behind Olave. who was the last defender on that play. Olave reached back through Fucito to get the ball and brought him down and if that wasn't a red card, then I don't know what is. Since he was the last man back there for RSL, the referee had to give a straight red card, which he did and RSL had to play the last half hour with 10 men.

In the 71st minute, the Sounders took advantage of the straight red and opened the scoring. Off a corner from Tyson Wahl, Nate Jaqua headed the ball down to Fredy Montero who managed to push it to Patrick Ianni at the doorstep for the tap in to put the Men in Rave Green up 1-0.

Real Salt Lake continued to pour pressure on the Sounders for an equalizer, but in the 84th minute, they end up conceding a 2nd goal. Lamar Neagle received a pass from Tyson Wahl and curled a right footed shot over Nick Rimando and into the far upper 90 for his first goal for the Seattle Sounders. Remember, the Sounders signed Neagle in 2009, but he never played for them that year. He signs with the Charleston Battery in 2010 and scores 12 goals in 19 matches for them. Then he moves to IFK Mariehamn and scores 2 goals in 5 matches. He returned to Seattle for a preseason trial and he just continued to score goals during the preseason so the Sounders had to sign him and now in his 6th appearance for the Sounders, he scores his first MLS goal and even better, he puts the Sounders up 2-0.

With two minutes to go, Salt Lake pulled one back. A throw in from 17-year old Luis Gil found Nelson Gonzalez in the box and the Argentine spun away from Patrick Ianni and slotted the ball past Kasey Keller into the far post. Keller was unhappy with Patrick Ianni after that one and why wouldn't he be unhappy? Looking at the replay, what the fuck was Ianni doing? Trying to trip Gonzalez and draw a penalty? Just being lazy? Either way, there is no excuse for letting him get by you for an easy goal. This is why you have defenders and luckily for Patrick Ianni, that was the only goal Real Salt Lake would get because they came close to coming away with an equalizer in stoppage time just like last year. If that were to happen, they would've been talking about that one play and Ianni would've been a goat for that one mistake. The Sounders now head to Chicago to take on the Fire. In the first meeting between the Sounders and the Fire, and of course I was at that one, the Sounders took all three points with a 2-1 win. The Fire are still looking for their first win since their 3-2 win at home against Sporting Kansas City on March 26th, and I'll talk more about the matchup when I preview the matchup next weekend.

Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Patrick Ianni 1 (Fredy Montero 4, Nate Jaqua 1) 71'

Seattle Sounders FC - Lamar Neagle 1 (Tyson Wahl 2) 84'

Real Salt Lake - Nelson Gonzalez 1 (Luis Gil 1) 88'

Misconduct summary:

Real Salt Lake - Will Johnson (caution; Reckless foul) 27'

Real Salt Lake - Jamison Olave (ejection; Denied Goal Scoring opportunity (foul)) 58'

Real Salt Lake - Chris Wingert (caution; Reckless foul) 65'

Seattle Sounders FC - James Riley (caution; Dissent) 81'

Seattle Sounders FC - Tyson Wahl (caution; Reckless foul) 90'

Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller; James Riley, Jeff Parke, Patrick Ianni, Tyson Wahl; Erik Friberg (Roger Levesque 80'), Brad Evans, Osvaldo Alonso, Alvaro Fernandez (Lamar Neagle 18'); Mike Fucito (Fredy Montero 69'), Nate Jaqua

Real Salt Lake - Nick Rimando; Robbie Russell (Nelson Gonzalez 76'), Jamison Olave, Nat Borchers, Tony Beltran; Andy Williams (Luis Gil 86'), Kyle Beckerman, Will Johnson, Ned Grabavoy; Jean Alexandre (Chris Wingert 62'), Fabian Espindola

Jeff Parke comes through with a late winner against Sporting KC.

By Money Mike


Coming off a disappointing result last week, a draw against a last placed team would've been disastrous for the Seattle Sounders, but in stoppage time, Jeff Parke came up with a clutch goal in the 92nd minute when the Sounders needed it most and for the 2nd straight year, Sporting Kansas City come to Qwest Field and give up a game-winning goal in stoppage time as the Sounders defeated KC 1-0. With the win, Seattle moves into a three-way tie for second place with Portland and FC Dallas with 17 points.

Sporting looked dangerous in the first couple minutes of the match, in the 5th minute had a go with his weak right foot. A low drive that was knocked down by Kasey Keller who then held on to the rebound that Omar Bravo miss-hit.

In the 20th minute, Mauro Rosales earned a free header off the Alvaro Fernandez cross, but his effort went over the crossbar. That was one of two good chances in the first half for the Sounders, the other chance was Rosales setting up Osvaldo Alonso who struck the ball first time with his left foot, but he just put a bit too much air under it.

The Seattle backline did very well shutting down Omar Bravo. And Teal Bunbury, who played college soccer with Steve Zakuani at the University of Akron, didn't do much either. Speaking of Zakuani, he was in attendance for the match along with O'Brian White.

Michael Fucito, a second-half sub, nearly burned Kansas City with another late goal again after receiving a pass from Nate Jaqua but his shot was well blocked by Matt Besler. And a lot of fans were heading to the exits thinking that the Sounders weren't going to putt it off, but in the 92nd minute, they were wrong.....

A corner kick from the left of Jimmy Nielsen, was sent into the middle of the penalty area and Jeff Parke who outjumped the Kansas City defenders and directed a header inside the far post for a late goal and the Sounders first ever home win in the month of May.

Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Jeff Parke 1 (Tyson Wahl 1) 92+'

Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Alvaro Fernandez (caution; Delaying a restart) 44'

Sporting Kansas City - Ryan Smith (caution; Dissent) 49'

Seattle Sounders FC - Servando Carrasco (caution; Tactical foul) 51'

Seattle Sounders FC - Mauro Rosales (caution; Reckless tackle) 64'

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso (caution; Tactical foul) 84'

Lineups:

Sporting Kansas City - Jimmy Neilsen; Michael Harrington, Aurelien Collin, Matt Besler, Roger Espinoza; Davy Arnaud, Craig Rocastle, Ryan Smith (Chance Myers 86'); Kei Kamara, Teal Bunbury (C. J. Sapong 73'), Omar Bravo (Graham Zusi 76')

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller; James Riley, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Tyson Wahl; Servando Carrasco (Nate Jaqua 55'), Osvaldo Alonso, Alvaro Fernandez, Mauro Rosales (Michael Fucito 69'); Fredy Montero (Patrick Ianni 93+'), Roger Levesque

Futty's goal sends the Timbers home with a point.

By Money Mike


In front of of 36,593 fans at Qwest Field, the Seattle Sounders saw their 1-0 lead slip away after a 65th minute goal by Mamadou "Futty" Danso off a Jack Jewsbury free kick as the first Sounders-Timbers rivalry match in MLS ended all square at 1-1. The Sounders were without Zakuani, O'Brian White, Mauro Rosales and Erik Friberg was a late scratch for this match. And I didn't like who they had on the bench. Three defenders? Really? Also, where's David Estrada, where's Michael Tetteh, where's Miguel Montano......why are they not giving the young players a chance to play? You draft Estrada in the first round and so far he's only made four appearances, you draft Michael Tetteh who is a very talented young midfielder and he's never made the bench in any of the matches? What the hell is going on here? You're team is banged up with key injuries, you're putting in weak players like Zach Scott, Nate Jaqua, and Leo Gonzalez has also been inconsistent. Look, I'm not saying Sigi has to go, I'm saying the man needs to pull his damn head out and put the young guys, that have worked their ass off everyday, on the 18-man squad and get them on the damn field. I was unhappy about who has on the squad for this match.

Portland had the better chances in the first half, the best one coming from Kenny Cooper who's left footed strike from outside the area was easily saved by Kasey Keller.

The Sounders had an opportunity just before halftime. A free kick from just outside the penalty area by Fredy Montero who curled it over the wall, but it didn't get enough bend on it and hit the side of the net. Some fans thought it was in after the saw the net move.

In the 52nd minute, Seattle broke through. Roger Levesque chipped the ball the top of the area for Fredy Montero. The Colombian outjumped two Portland defenders and flicked the ball out wide to Alvaro Fernandez, who had time to settle before ripping a left footed shot past Troy Perkins inside the near post for his third goal of the season and to give Seattle a 1-0 lead.

The Seattle backline did very well to shut down Kenny Cooper and Jorge Perlaza, but in the 65th minute, there was one thing that they didn't do well. Last week in Portland, Jack Jewsbury's free kick found the head of the big man Futty Danso for the only goal against the Philadelphia Union. And in minute 65, in the same position, the two combined again........

Jewsbury's chipped the ball into the danger area. Kasey Keller came off his line to punch the ball clear, but Futty beat Keller to the ball and headed it into the back of the goal for his second goal in as many matches. It was also Portland's 12th goal of 2011, and their 8th off a set play which leads MLS. Oh and that was the last of the goals.

Seattle will hit the pitch again next Saturday as they host Sporting Kansas City who have not played a home match yet this season. Their first 10 games are on the road, this is the 8th of the 10 games. And you can tell it's been rough, they won the season opener down at Home Depot Center against Chivas USA with goals by rookie C. J. Sapong and two from the Mexican legend Omar Bravo, but since then, they've only managed a point and that was down at Vancouver against the Whitecaps where they blew a 3-0 lead. And the injury to Bravo is prooving costly to Kansas City as well. And I'll talk more about that when I preview that match.

Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Alvaro Fernandez 3 (Fredy Montero 3, Roger Levesque 1) 52'

Portland Timbers - Mamadou Danso 2 (Jack Jewsbury 4) 65'

Lineups:

Portland Timbers - Troy Perkins; Jeremy Hall, Eric Brunner, Mamadou Danso, Rodney Wallace; Darlington Nagbe (Sal Zizzo 61'), Jack Jewsbury, Diego Chara, Kalif Alhassan; Kenny Cooper, Jorge Perlaza (Ryan Pore 84')

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller; James Riley, Patrick Ianni, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Tyson Wahl; Brad Evans (Roger Levesque 42'), Osvaldo Alonso, Servando Carrasco, Alvaro Fernandez; Fredy Montero, Nate Jaqua (Lamar Neagle 79')

I'm getting sick and tired reading all the stupid comments from Seattle fans after poorly played games:

So I've read a bunch of comments that a lot of you people made about the match via Facebook, Seattle Times, etc.. and as much as I understand how upset you are, the fact that you deserve better from the team, you Seattle fans, and I'm not afraid to say this. You Seattle fans are just downright stupid. I mean, I'm upset about the result too, but this shit is going way to far. All the comments like "Rivalry??? More like book club", "Pathetic excuse for professional athletes" (What a dumbass comment), "The Sounders are the new Mariners. As long as the seats are filled, go ahead and rool out a crappy play" (This makes no sense), "total clown show, I'm embarrased that the Sounders represent Seattle" (What the fuck?!!)............

These people make stupid comments and you give them a thumbs up. Look, all you Seattle people need to chill the hell out and not make a bunch of stupidass comments like these comments from people who know absolutely nothing about soccer. Again I know how disappointed you guys are about the draw, but I'm more disappointed at you guys for all the negativity.

Sounders pound Toronto FC 3-0. Extend unbeaten streak to 6 matches.

By Money Mike


With Steve Zakuani out, it was Brad Evans who stepped in with two goals and an assist as the Seattle Sounders shutout Toronto FC 3-0. The Sounders fans paid tribute to Zakuani by raising their #11 signs in the 11th minute and also chanting his name. The Sounders were also without O'Brian White who had blood clot surgery on his leg and Mauro Rosales was also left out of the 18-man squad. Toronto FC, coming off a win in the Canadian Championship, are now winless in 6 straight matches as they had a couple holes to fill with injuries and also with Tony Tchani suspended.

Seattle struck early in the 9th minute when Alvaro Fernandez, who replaced Zakuani at left midfield got on the end of a Brad Evans cross, unmarked, to head the ball home for his 2nd goal of the season to give the Sounders an early 1-0 lead and they never looked back.

Toronto had a chance to equalize before the break when Alan Stevanovic's ball nearly resulted in a breakaway goal for Javier Martina, but his effort was blocked at the last minute by Tyson Wahl.

In the first minute of the second half, Fernandez's cross in the box fell to Fredy Montero, and with Adrian Cann backing away, Montero tried a curler with the outside of his right boot toward the far post but Stefan Frei made a terrific diving stop to deny him. A couple minutes later, a driven ball by Nate Jaqua found the foot of Brad Evans from point blank range but Frei came up huge again as Evans went for power with his left foot. TFC still had work to do though. Alvaro Fernandez's cross was headed out of the penalty area by Dicoy Williams but the ball fell to James Riley for a thumper that just grazed the top of the crossbar.

In the 52 minute, the Sounders would find the back of the net again. Fredy Montero found Brad Evans streaking behind the defense and Evans made no mistake, he hit it first time, into the far post for his 2nd of the season and he wasn't done yet. In the 75th minute, the Sounders were awarded a penalty. Erik Friberg's corner came off the hand of Mikael Yourrasowsky and referee Ricardo Salazar pointed to the penalty spot. Brad Evans then stepped up and slotted the PK into the right corner of the net to cap off a well deserved 3-0 win for the men in Rave Green as they are now unbeaten in their last six matches since starting the year 0-2 and have also won 3 of their last 4 matches.

Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Alvaro Fernandez (Brad Evans, James Riley) 9'

Seattle Sounders FC - Brad Evans (Fredy Montero, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado) 52'

Seattle Sounders FC - Brad Evans (penalty kick) 75'

Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso (caution; Persistant infringement) 45'

Toronto FC - Julian de Guzman (caution; Reckless tackle) 54'

Lineups:

Toronto FC - Stefan Frei; Dan Gargan, Dicoy Williams, Adrian Cann, Danleigh Borman; Julian de Guzman (Nathan Sturgis 57'), Maicon Santos (Mikael Yourrasowsky 46'), Jacob Peterson; Javier Martina, Alan Gordon, Alen Stevanovic (Matt Gold 62')

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller; James Riley, Patrick Ianni, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Tyson Wahl; Brad Evans, Osvaldo Alonso, Erik Friberg (Servando Carrasco 80'), Alvaro Fernandez; Nate Jaqua (Roger Levesque 72'), Fredy Montero (Michael Fucito 66')

Sounders finally get their first win of the season, 2-1 over the Chicago Fire

By Money Mike

The Seattle Sounders, after a rough first 4 games with the season with 2 losses and 2 draws, find an answer to all critics and defeat the Chicago Fire 2-1 in front 36,233 at Qwest Field. With Fredy Montero missing the second straight match after having surgery on his right wrist, Sigi Schmid went with a 4-3-3 formation with O'Brian White partnering up with Steve Zakuani and Mauro Rosales.

In the 7th minute, the Sounders get on the board first. Mauro Rosales sends in a bender into the top of the area and O'Brian White's thumping header from 16-yard beats goalkeeper Sean Johnson who had a terrible jump on that play, thinking that it was gonna be an easy save. It was White's second goal in as many matches. Did I mention earlier this season he was gonna have a breakout year? He came from Toronto where he scored 2 goals in 9 appearances in 2009 and 2 goals in 24 appearances in 2010. He's played in all 5 matches so far and already has 2 goals.

A minute later, Chicago would pick one back. Leo Gonzalez got caught on a give-and-go between Patrick Nyarko and Gaston Puerari. After received the pass from Nyarko, Puerari sent Nyarko away down the right hand side, and the Ghanaian used his speed to get around Gonzalez and send a driven cross into the penalty area for Diego Chaves for an easy tap in to quickly tie the match up at a goal a piece. With that goal, Chaves also became the first Chicago Fire player to score in his first three games.

In the 23rd minute, Sounders had what I believe is their biggest opportunity by far this season. Leo Gonzalez sent in a chip into the penalty area aiming for Rosales, Sean Johnson came out to try to clear, but Rosales got a head on it and Johnson was dead meat but Erik Friberg failed to take advantage of the opportunity as his touch sailed over the bar. He couldn't get a better chance to score his first Sounders goal. But the Sounders would continue to dominate and this time they got a goal two minutes later.

In minute 25, Osvaldo Alonso started the attack by intercepting a pass and playing it out wide to Steve Zakuani who took on Jalil Anibaba. After a give-and-go with O'Brian White, Zakuani got around Anibaba and instead of squaring it to Erik Friberg, he went for goal alone and slotted it past Johnson for his second goal of the season.

Seattle had another opportunity to go up 3-1 from the corner when Mauro Rosales's out swinger found Jeff Parke at the near post, but his header fell straight to the hands of Sean Johnson.

In the Second half, Kasey Keller came up huge on a couple of Chicago Fire opportunities. In the 59th minute, Marco Pappa's free kick hit the wall, James Riley's attempted clearance failed and Diego Chaves had a golden opportunity to take advantage of it but Keller went down and denied a potential equalizing goal. Two minutes later, Chaves's through ball found Gaston Puarari who beat Jhon Kennedy Hurtado but couldn't beat Keller as he made a kick-save to stop Chicago yet again.

In the 75th minute the Chicago Fire got caught on a counter attack, Nate Jaqua's long ball sent Steve Zakuani off to the races, took on Logan Pause. He cut to his left foot and ripped a shot wide as he was aiming for the far corner. With about 5 minutes to go, Nate Jaqua found Servando Carrasco overlapping on the right. Carrasco had a chance to put the game out of reach, but again, no luck. That was just about the last opportunity of the game. With those opportunities the Fire had in the second half, the Sounders could've ended up with a draw or maybe even a loss if Kasey Keller hadn't made those saves, but good or bad, the only thing that counts is the Sounders winning their first match of the year 2-1.

It was really fun catching this match in person, I had pretty good seats, the atmosphere was fantastic, everyone standing for 90 minutes. I mean, ever since November 2007 when they announced that Seattle was going to join MLS, the fan base has just kept on rising. Before then, soccer wasn't really as big in Seattle as it is now, and I hope that doesn't change at all and that the fans continue to attend these matches and Give their full 90'. This is the 2nd match I've seen since they joined MLS. I didn't go to a game in 2009. I went to one last season when Colorado came to town, that one also resulted in a 2-1 win, but I think I enjoyed this match more than the Colorado one. This one was an early season game, the Colorado match was late in the season.

Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - O'Brian White (Mauro Rosales) 7'

Chicago Fire - Diego Chaves (Patrick Nyarko, Gaston Puarari) 8'

Seattle Sounders FC - Steve Zakuani (O'Brian White) 25'

Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - James Riley (caution; Reckless tackle) 32'

Seattle Sounders FC - Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (caution; Reckless tackle) 47+'

Chicago Fire - Dasan Robinson (caution; Reckless foul) 71'

Starting lineups:

Chicago Fire - Sean Johnson; Jalil Anibaba, Dasan Robinson, Cory Gibbs, Gonzalo Segares (Dominic Oduro 83'); Logan Pause, Marco Pappa, Michael Videira, Patrick Nyarko (Orr Barouch 90'); Gaston Puarari, Diego Chaves

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller; James Riley, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Leonardo Gonzalez; Brad Evans, Osvaldo Alonso, Mauro Rosales (Nate Jaqua 64'); Erik Friberg, O'Brian White (Servando Carrasco 81'), Steve Zakuani

Sounders strike twice in a 2-2 draw at San Jose

The Sounders are still due for a win after finishing level at San Jose. Brad Evans and O'Brian White were the goal scorers for the Seattle Sounders in a 2-2 draw with the San Jose Earthquakes. Nothing changed in the standings with all the draws we had this week. Only the LA Galaxy and the Columbus Crew won their matches. The Sounders were without their designated player Fredy Montero, who didn't travel with the team after having a minor wrist surgery.

Seattle nearly broke through in the 3rd minute when Osvaldo Alonso found Steve Zakuani but goalkeeper Jon Busch came out to deflect his attempt wide of the goal.

The Sounders continued to dominate in the early stages and they got on the board first in the 17th minute. Mauro Rosales, who took Montero's place, shook free of Sam Cronin and delivered a good ball at the near post to Brad Evans who beat Chris Leitch to the ball and smashed it home from point-blank range and the Sounders took their first lead of the 2011 season, leading 1-0. San Jose had a great early chance to take the lead earlier in the match when Ramiro Corrales's lead pass found last seasons Golden Boot winner Chris Wondolowski who redirected the ball and broke free for a shot from 16-yards out, dead center, but Kasey Keller made a huge reaction stop with his left hand to deflect it wide. However, Keller had nothing to do in the 32nd minute.

Former Reading F.C. midfielder Bobby Convey threaded a great pass through three defenders and found Simon Dawkins, and the man on loan from Tottenham Hotspur won the race to the ball and placed it neatly past Kasey Keller inside the far post to tie the match up at 1. It was also San Jose's first non-Wondolowski goal in regular season play since September 5.

The Sounders came right back to re-take the lead. Steve Zakuani sent in a high lofted ball into the six-yeard box for O'Brian White, and the third year man out of the University of Connecticut fended off Jason Hernandez for a diving header that left Jon Busch helpless. It was O'Brian White's first goal with the Rave Green. He previously made 33 appearances and scored only 4 goals during his time with Toronto FC.

Keller came up huge again on the stroke of halftime when Tacoma native Joey Gjertsen who sent free from Chris Leitch and his effort was stoned by the veteran goalkeeper.

In the 52th minute, San Jose would level it up again. Khari Stephenson intercepted a pass from Alonso and ripped a shot from 35-yards out that beat Kasey Keller, into the upper 90. And that was how it ended, Sounders-2 San Jose Earthquakes-2.


Scoring summary:
Seattle Sounders FC - Brad Evans (Mauro Rosales, Erik Friberg) 17'

San Jose Earthquakes - Simon Dawkins (Ryan Johnson, Bobby Convey) 32'

Seattle Sounders FC - O'Brian White (Steve Zakuani, Osvaldo Alonso) 42'

San Jose Earthquakes - Khari Stephenson (unassisted) 52'

Misconduct summary:

San Jose Earthquakes - Chris Leitch (caution; Reckless Takle) 6'

Seattle Sounders FC - Nate Jaqua (caution; Unsporting Behavior) 71'

Seattle Sounders FC - Leonardo Gonzalez (caution; Delaying a Restart) 80'

Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller; James Riley, Jeff Parke, Patrick Ianni, Leonardo Gonzalez; Erik Friberg (Alvaro Fernandez 46'), Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans, Mauro Rosales (David Estrada 83'), Steve Zakuani; O'Brian White (Nate Jaqua 66')

San Jose Earthquakes - Jon Busch; Chris Leitch (Ike Opara 70'), Jason Hernandez, Brandon McDonald, Ramiro Corrales; Sam Cronin, Simon Dawkins (Scott Sealy 85'), Joey Gjertsen (Khari Stephenson 46'), Bobby Convey; Ryan Johnson, Chris Wondolowski

Zakuani's 80th minute goal ends the Sounders scoring drought in a 1-1 draw with Houston

By Money Mike

After a tough first two games of the season, the Sounders get their first goal and first point of 2011 in a 1-1 draw last night against the Houston Dynamo after an 80th minute goal by Steve Zakuani. It wasn't the result they were looking for, but it's a result they'll take.

Houston could've and should've been reduced to 10 men early in the game when defender Hunter Freeman gave the ball away to Erik Friberg and then pulled him down just outside the penalty area. Freeman was the last man on that play, but rather than sending him off, the referee only showed him a yellow card.

The Sounders continued to pressure the Houston Dynamo backline early in the game. In the 27th minute Erik Friberg's cross found O'Brian White for a header from point-blank range and goalkeeper Tally Hall came up huge for the Dynamo, making an excellent reaction save to stop what would've been the opening goal. Hall came up big again after Kofi Sarkodie's failed clearance sent Steve Zakuani away, but his left foot shot was again denied by the Houston goalkeeper.

Despite being the better side in the first half, the Sounders found themselves down a goal. In the 42nd minute, Lovel Palmer cracked one from 30-yards out which hit the crossbar. The ball fell to Andre Hainalt, who was unable to put a shot on frame, the Sounders failed the clear and the ball fell to Geoff Cameron who unleashed a low drive, which deflected off the foot of Jeff Parke and in the back of the net and Houston headed to their locker room at the break with 1-0 lead.

In the second half, the Sounders continued to throw everybody forward. In the 65th minute, Fredy Montero gave it a go from 36-yards out, but it was easily trapped by Tally Hall. About 8 minutes later, Montero was denied again from 11-yards out. In the 79th minute, Zakuani had another golden opportunity to equalize, but he was dispossesed by his former Akron teammate Kofi Sarkodie. Will that goal ever come for the Sounders? In the 80th minute, it came.

A corner kick from Erik Friberg deflected off the knee of Bobby Boswell to the back post and Steve Zakuani tapped it in to the back of the net to break Seattle's goal-scoring drought. Two minutes later, Seattle had a chance to take the lead but Fredy Montero's shot was again saved by Tally Hall. That was just about the last big chance of the game.

Leo Gonzalez booked for diving in the penalty area, did the referee get that right?:

NOT EVEN CLOSE!! Gonzalez and Zakuani combined very well on this play, it was Andre Hainalt with the challenge. The replay shows that Hainalt clipped Gonzalez and braught him down, that should've been a penalty. That was a horrible decision by the referee.

Scoring Summary:

Houston Dynamo - Geoff Cameron (unassisted) 42'

Seattle Sounders FC - Steve Zakuani (unassisted) 80'

Misconduct Summary:

Houston Dynamo - Hunter Freeman (caution; Tactical foul) 2'

Houston Dynamo - Lovel Palmer (caution; Reckless foul) 30'

Seattle Sounders FC - Patrick Ianni (caution; Reckless foul) 43'

Houston Dynamo - Geoff Cameron (caution; Reckless tackle) 46'

Seattle Sounders FC - Leonardo Gonzalez (caution; Simulation) 73'

Lineups:

Houston Dynamo - Tally Hall; Kofi Sarkodie, Bobby Boswell, Andre Hainalt, Hunter Freeman; Corey Ashe (Danny Cruz 85'), Lovel Palmer, Geoff Cameron, Brad Davis; Will Bruin (Brian Ching 75'), Jason Garey (Cam Weaver 45')

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller; Zach Scott, Patrick Ianni, Jeff Parke, Leonardo Gonzalez; Erik Friberg, Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans (Mauro Rosales 71'), Steve Zakuani; O'Brian White (Nate Jaqua 61'), Fredy Montero

Seattle Sounders FC vs Houston Dynamo preview. Four local boys returning to their hometown.

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders get ready for their third match of the season, friday night against the Houston Dynamo. The Sounders are coming off two 1-0 defeats against the Los Angeles Galaxy and the New York Red Bulls, and are in need of a big response. Meanwhile, the Dynamo are coming off a season opening loss at home to the Philadelphia Union 1-0 thanks to a 5th minute goal by Danny Califf. It was the first time Houston has lost a home opener in their history dating back to 2006. These two teams split the season series last season with Seattle winning 2-0 at Qwest Field on August 8th, thanks to goals by Fredy Montero and Alvaro Fernandez. Houston returned the favor in the final game of the regular season on October 23rd when James Riley's 11th minute goal was soon picked back by goals from Geoff Cameron and former Seattle U RedHawk and USL Sounder, Cam Weaver and came away with a 2-1 win. These two teams need answers!! Cam Weaver isn't the only one returning home. Goalkeeper, Tally Hall who graduated from Gig Harbor High School, Mike Chabala, a Washington Husky and former Gonzaga Bulldog, Brian Ching who also played for the Sounders in the USL make their return to Seattle.


Injury report:

Houston Dynamo - Well, there's really nothing much to talk about here. Calen Carr, who was aquired from the Chicago Fire yesterday in exchange for Dominic Oduro, has a concussion and he is out. Francisco Navas has a strained right hamstring, he is also out. Colin Clark still hasn't played a match for the Dynamo at all yet since being traded from the Colorado Rapids, and it's a question of whether or not he'll debut in this game. A left knee injury lists him as questionable. And Finally, Brian Ching has a strained right hamstring and is listed as probable.

Seattle Sounders FC - For the men in rave green, we have new updates and I promise you, they're good ones. Mike Fucito is still out though with a right adductor strain. Nate Jaqua is expected to suit up for tomorrow's match, but we don't know for sure, he is listed as doubtful. Brad Evans is still recovering from a right hamstring strain, he is also doubtful. Mike Seamon is listed as questionable as he is recovering from right leg neuritis. Pat Noonan is listed as probable with a left adductor strain, don't expect him to make the 18-man squad tomorrow. Last, but not least, Steve Zakuani says he's 100% and ready to go, we'll see if Sigi Schmid will put him in the lineup tomorrow, he's listed as probable.


Key matchup:

Steve Zakuani vs Hunter Freeman: Even though we don't know if Zakuani will start, this is the only key matchup I can think of. Believe me this could be the first time Hunter Freeman will face him and if Zakuani takes him on like, 10+ times, he is going to be under a lot of pressure, I don't think he'll be able to contain him.


Areas Seattle needs to improve on:

Play your game. Which is ATTACK!! ATTACK!! ATTACK!! for 90 minutes. They didn't play that game last saturday against the Red Bulls and thats why I think is the reason they lost. New York came at them all game long because they didn't go after the ball like they were supposted to, and nobody commited forward. There is no excuse for that crap, they need to go after the ball at all times and not let the forwards do all the work in the attacking area.