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

Sounders pull off an incredible comeback and come away with a historic CCL Quarterfinal series win

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders came into this game down 1-0 on aggregate and in need of a two goal victory. And that's exactly what happened. Down 1-0 at the half and 2-0 on aggregate, the Sounders came through with three spectacular goals in the second half to defeat Tigres 3-1 in the second leg and 3-2 on aggregate to advance to the CONCACAF Champions League semifinal where they will play Santos Laguna in a rematch of last years Champions League Quarterfinal where Santos punished the Sounders 7-3 on aggregate. Santos defeated the Houston Dynamo 3-1 in their quarterfinal matchup. The Sounders also became the first MLS team to eliminate a Mexican opponent in the knockout stages of the Champions League, which is big for American soccer. Seattle returns to league action this Saturday when they host the Portland Timbers.

The first chance of the game came in the 16th minute when Steve Zakuani fed Eddie Johnson who drifted to the right hand side. Johnson chipped the ball into the penalty area, which took a deflection, but found Sammy Ochoa for a free header that just missed by a yard.

A minute later, Tigres beat the offside trap and nearly made the Sounders pay for it. Jonathan Bornstein, the ex-Chivas USA defender, slid the ball through to Alan Pulido who was kept onside by Djimi Traore. Pulido tried to toe poke the ball into the far corner with the outside of his right foot, but Michael Gspurning got his left hand to it to deflect it wide for a corner. A lot of fans thought Pulido was offside, including myself, but it was actually a good no call by the linesman because he was even with the last defender (Traore) when the ball was played.

In the 23rd minute, the Sounders backline got caught again and this time Tigres capitalized and drew first blood. Bornstein slid the ball forward looking for Alberto Acosta who was battling DeAndre Yedlin for the ball. Acosta brushed Yedlin aside and had time and space to slide the ball across to Elias Hernandez for an easy tap in to put the Liga MX Clausura leaders up 1-0 in the second leg and 2-0 on aggregate. That away goal meant the Sounders would have to score three goals to advance and against a tough Mexican team like Tigres in this stage, coming back with three goals would be a tough task for the Sounders.

Five minutes later, Hernandez nearly made it 3-0 on aggregate. Abraham Stringel chipped the ball forward to Alan Pulido who did very well to hold off Djimi Traore and poke it to Hernandez who gave it a go from outside the area as the momentum carried him away from goal and somehow it nearly snuck in, but Gspurning got a touch on it to deflect off the right post and out for a corner. Off the corner, the ball bounced off the leg of Traore right to Manuel Viniegra from point blank range but he hit it right at Gspurning and the Sounders dodged yet another bullet.

Seattle started to create some chances and in the 35th minute, they came real close to pulling a goal back. Ozzie Alonso fed DeAndre Yedlin on the far side. Yedlin delivered a low ball to the top of the area for Sammy Ochoa who had to reach back with his right foot because cross was behind him. So he reached back to get a foot to it and headed it for Eddie Johnson who turned and quickly struck the ball from 10 yards but the ball drifted just wide of goal. That was a big change right there, and he probably should've scored. But at the same time, it looked like EJ wasn't set as the ball bounced in front of him and it looked more like he struck the ball with a loose foot than his laces.

EJ had another chance in the 35th minute as he fed with a perfectly timed through ball by Zakuani. Johnson looked to slide the ball into the far corner with his left foot, but Tigres goalkeeper Jorge Diaz de Leon got a paw on it to deny him.

In the 45th minute, right on the stroke of halftime, this I believe was the turning point in the match. Referee Elmer Bonilla blew the play dead after Mauro Rosales was fouled. About a couple seconds later, Manuel Viniegra, who was already booked for time wasting, kicks the ball away and the referee doesn't waste anytime showing a second yellow which means he's gone and Tigres had to play the rest of the game with 10 men. The fact that he was already sitting on a yellow card, to do something that would risk getting another yellow like kicking the ball away is just plain stupid. Despite being down a man, Tigres went into the break 1-0 up in the second leg and 2-0 up on aggregate.

The Sounders continued to pour pressure on Tigres in the second half and in the 53rd minute, they got on the board in a big way. Mauro Rosales took the corner kick from the near hash mark, looking near post where Alonso was lurking but it was headed out by Jonathan Espericueta only as far as DeAndre Yedlin who steps up and volleys it low and hard into the right corner from about 30 yards out for his first goal of his professional career and more importantly gave the Sounders some life in the series as they cut the aggregate lead to 2-1.

Seven minutes later, the Sounders found the net again off another beauty from a defender. Mario Martinez, who came on shortly after the goal, was fed by DeAndre Yedlin. Martinez looked to curl the ball in before a Tigres defender came sliding in to cut down the angle, so he cut to his right foot but his touch was too heavy and the ball was cleared by Jonathan Bornstein. However, it wasn't a great clearance as Djimi Traore stepped up and cracked one from 30 yards out and the ball bounced in off the underside of the crossbar for his first Sounders goal and the Sounders leveled it up on aggregate, but Tigres still had the edge on away goals, so Seattle still needed another goal.

They nearly got that third goal two minutes later. DeAndre Yedlin whipped in an early ball for Eddie Johnson, but the ball bounced to Steve Zakuani who settled and fired a shot just over the top of the bar.

Then with 15 minutes to go in the game, the Sounders get that third goal to climb ahead on aggregate. Steve Zakuani found Eddie Johnson making a run down the left and fed him with a perfectly timed through ball. EJ beat the offside trap, raced towards goal and slid the ball underneath Jorge Diaz de Leon and into the far corner from a tight angle to complete the comeback for the Sounders as they rally with three unanswered goals in the second half to defeat Tigres 3-2 on aggragate, making them the first MLS team to eliminate a Mexican opponent in the knockout stages of the CONCACAF Champions League.


Observations:

It was good to see Eddie Johnson get a goal after a rough start to the season. In the opener, he missed a golden opportunity at an equalizer by hitting the crossbar. In the first leg against Tigres on the road, he was kept quiet most of the game as Seattle didn't really attack much in the game. He even struggled a bit in this game, missing a couple of good opportunities in the first half. So hopefully the that goal will get him going. With Fredy Montero gone, he's had to carry the load up front and may continue to carry the load for another week or two until Obafemi Martins finally lands in the Emerald City. The last thing the fans want to see is EJ sucking in 2013 after an outstanding 2012 season. He's already gone through a difficult spell in Europe, so to see him struggle in 2013 would make people think, "that sums up his career." So again, hopefully that goal gets him going, even though it's early.

Unlucky for this man not to get a goal, but all in all I thought Steve Zakuani's performance last night was excellent. His decision making was good. The timing of his passes were good as well. Again, he was unlucky not to get a goal in the match. His shot just sailing over the bar. I don't know about you guys, but I think he's all but re-discovered his old form that he was in prior to his injury.

On the defensive side, I think we're looking at a new and improved backline for the Sounders with DeAndre Yedlin and Djimi Traore. The backline has done a terrific job in the series. Both Jhon Kennedy Hurtado and Djimi Traore seem to be getting along well in the center of defense, I shouldn't have to explain DeAndre Yedlin again, and Leo Gonzalez is in the best form I've seen in the last couple of years. I used to be critical about Gonzalez's one on one defending because it's been terrible, but so far he's done an excellent job, so again I think we're looking at a much improved backline for the Men in Rave Green.

We've just kicked off our fifth season and already we've had a lot of memorable moments, historic moments, etc. From the very first match in 2009, to the away victory in Monterrey in 2011, the three-peat in the U.S. Open Cup, the playoff series win over Real Salt Lake in 2012 and now last night becoming the first MLS team to eliminate a Mexican opponent in the Champions League. I was at this game, I lost my voice, but it was all worth it because I got to see this team make history and I'm looking forward to the rest of the season. I think it's gonna be one hell of a ride.


Scoring summary:

Tigres de la UANL - Elias Hernandez (Alberto Acosta, Jonathan Bornstein) 23'

Seattle Sounders FC - DeAndre Yedlin (Unassisted) 53'

Seattle Sounders FC - Djimi Traore (Unassisted) 60'

Seattle Sounders FC - Eddie Johnson (Steve Zakuani) 75'

* Seattle Sounders FC advance 3-2 on aggregate


Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Eddie Johnson (caution; argument) 14'

Tigres de la UANL - Jorge Diaz de Leon (caution; time wasting) 35'

Tigres de la UANL - Manuel Viniegra (caution; time wasting) 37'

Tigres de la UANL - Manuel Viniegra (caution; kicking the ball away) 45'

Tigres de la UANL - Manuel Viniegra (ejection; second yellow) 45'

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

Tigres de la UANL - Elias Hernandez (caution; foul) 81'

Seattle Sounders FC - Steve Zakuani (caution; time wasting) 82'

Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning (caution; time wasting) 86'


Lineups:

Tigres de la UANL - Jorge Diaz de Leon; Abraham Stringel (Josue Aguilar 87'), Hugo Rodriguez, Alonso Zamora, Jose Rivas (Jonathan Espericueta 45'); Alberto Acosta (Taufic Guarch 61'), Manuel Viniegra, Jesus Duenas, Elias Hernandez, Jonathan Bornstein; Alan Pulido

Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning; DeAndre Yedlin, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Djimi Traore, Leonardo Gonzalez; Mauro Rosales (Mario Martinez 54'), Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans (Andy Rose 27'), Steve Zakuani (Marc Burch 83'); Sammy Ochoa, Eddie Johnson

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.

Sounders ready to do battle with RSL in the Playoffs again

By Money Mike


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


Injury report:

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

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


Who will start if Johnson isn't available?

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

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

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

Sounders and Timbers each come away with a point after a 1-1 draw in Portland

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders will have to wait another week to clinch a spot in the playoffs for the fourth straight year. On Saturday, the Sounders made their second trip to Jeld-Wen Field this season and came away with a valuable point as they drew 1-1 with their arch rivals the Portland Timbers. As for the Cascadia Cup, the Sounders do retain the Cup for now. Had the Sounders lost the match, then the Timbers would've won the Cup and a couple members of the Emerald City Supporters would've had to walk across the field and hand the Cup over to the Timbers Army (I wonder how that would feel. Surrendering the Cup on their ground).

There wasn't much action early on in the match. In the 10th minute, Fredy Montero got through Rodney Wallace and Kosuke Kimura after juggling the ball a few times and chipped the ball the far post for Eddie Johnson but Hayner Mosquera got in the way. Portland struggled to clear the danger. Ozzie Alonso found Andy Rose on the far side. Rose tried to play the ball to the near post for Steve Zakuani but Mosquera got in the way again. The ball fell to Alonso for a half volley, but he didn't strike it cleanly and it went wide left.

We're gonna fast forward to the 38th minute now. Rodney Wallace fed the ball to Franck Songo'o who has been a pain in the ass for the Sounders back line all game long, here's one of the reasons why. Songo'o cut inside to his right foot and gave a rip from outside the area and it was parried away by Michael Gspurning. That was the first time that the Timbers tested the Austrian goalkeeper in this match. The Sounders can't let Franck Songo'o cut inside to his right foot because that's where he's dangerous.

In the 44th minute, Sal Zizzo had a shot blocked by Jeff Parke and cleared out of the box by Brad Evans. However, the clearance fell right to Jack Jewsbury who gave it a go but the ball bounced wide of Gspurning's right hand post.

In the 51st minute, the Timbers suffered a big blow. Goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts, who was acquired last month by the Timbers from the Montreal Impact in exchange for Troy Perkins, collided in the box with Eddie Johnson as he was challenging for the ball. Here's what happened, Zakuani fed Andy Rose who then sent in a low cross toward the near post for Fredy Montero who just missed getting a head on it, otherwise it probably would've been a goal. Ricketts came off his line and punch the ball away and while doing so, he collides with EJ. Ricketts has been dealing with injurys since he joined MLS in 2009. Of course in the 2009 MLS Cup final against Real Salt Lake here in Seattle, he was subbed out after suffering a right hand injury. He missed half of last season with a broken wrist. Now in this match, I remember in the first half intermittently he was holding on to his left arm. He did stay in the match for a few more minutes, but all signs showed that he had to come out and he was replaced by Joe Bendik in the 57th minute.

Seconds later, Bendik was tested immediately and beaten. On the restart, goalkeeper Michael Gspurning booted the ball long down field. The ball found Fredy Montero who chested the ball down, turned and struck it beautifully over the head of Joe Bendik and into the net for his 12th of the season and the Sounders took a 1-0 lead at Jeld-Wen Field.

In the 78th minute, I don't know what happened on this play but the bottomline is the Portland Timbers leveled this match at one. Jack Jewsbury curled the ball out toward the near post and found Rodney Wallace unmarked. Now again, I'm trying to figure out what the hell happened here. I've been looking at this over and over again. From what I saw, the header bounced off Leo Gonzalez who was covering the far post. Michael Gspurning was trying to pounce on it, but Gonzalez just as he was trying to clear the ball just kicked the ball into his own net. This could've been ruled an own goal on Leo and MLS can still go back and change the scoring on that. The only thing that matters though is that the goal counted and the Timbers leveled this match at one.

Now onto the second minute of stoppage time, the Timbers nearly stole one late. Jack Jewsbury took the corner again, this time an inswinger. This one was intended for David Horst, who scored against Seattle in the last meeting between these two, but the ball fell to Bright Dike and he struck the ball off the post and Adam Johansson alertly cleared the ball out of danger. Everybody thought that was in. Michael Gspurning had no chance at that one, but the post saved the Sounders on that one and the game ends in a 1-1 draw.

The Sounders head to Honduras to take on Marathon on Wednesday knowing that a win will earn them a spot in the Champions League Quarterfinal. Eddie Johnson is suspended for Saturdays home match against the San Jose Earthquakes for Yellow Card accumulations so he will make the trip to Honduras. Mauro Rosales and Christian Tiffert will not make the trip to Honduras however because they are dealing with injuries. However, there's a chance that they'll recover in time for the San Jose match. We need those guys out there, we're getting to a point where we can't afford to lose a key player to injury that could potentially rule them out for the playoffs.


Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero 12 (Michael Gspurning 1) 57'

Portland Timbers - Rodney Wallace 1 (Jack Jewsbury 4) 78'


Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Eddie Johnson (caution; foul) 26'

Seattle Sounders FC - Mario Martinez (caution; foul) 79'


Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning; Adam Johansson, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Leonardo Gonzalez; Brad Evans (Marc Burch 78'), Osvaldo Alonso, Andy Rose, Steve Zakuani (Mario Martinez 70'); Eddie Johnson, Fredy Montero

Portland Timbers - Donovan Ricketts (Joe Bendik 57'); Kosuke Kimura, Hayner Mosquera, David Horst, Rodney Wallace; Darlington Nagbe, Jack Jewsbury, Diego Chara; Sal Zizzo (Kalif Alhassan 83'), Bright Dike, Franck Songo'o (Danny Mwanga 72')

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')

Over 60,000 fans expected as the Sounders clash with the LA Galaxy

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders get set to square off against the Los Angeles Galaxy in a crucial Western Conference matchup at CenturyLink Field. Kickoff time is tomorrow night at 6pm and it will be televised nationally on ESPN2. We're expecting over 60,000 fans to be in attendance for this one as the MLS playoff race begins to heat up in the Western Conference and the Sounders are in need of a big win to pick up a bit of ground on Real Salt Lake and the San Jose Earthquakes, who they will meet next Saturday in San Jose. Last time the Sounders and the Galaxy met was back on May 2nd here in Seattle. The Sounders came out on top 2-0 with goals from Eddie Johnson and Fredy Montero. The Galaxy have bounced back from their slow start to the season and are currently 5th in the Western Conference, so this is a much different LA side than we saw earlier in the year.


Injury report:

Los Angeles Galaxy - For LA, Edson Buddle had surgery on his right knee so it's pretty obvious that he won't take any part of this game. Leonardo is also out, he has inflammation on his right knee. Kyle Nakazawa is having back spasms so he's listed as questionable. The rest of the players that are listed as questionable are Andrew Boyens, Todd Dunivant, Dan Keat and Omar Gonzalez.

Seattle Sounders FC - For the Sounders, some big news regarding this. Steve Zakuani is no longer on the injured list so it looks like he's fully healed and ready to go. Unfortunately, the guys that aren't fully healed and ready to go are David Estrada and Babayele Sodade.


What to look out for in this game:

- So I'm not going to throw out any key matchups for this one, so I'm just gonna give you guys a few things to keep an eye on here. Yesterday as many of you may have heard, Christian Tiffert did get his P-1 visa so he is eligible to play tomorrow against the Galaxy. Sigi said during practice that Tiffert will not start tomorrow vs LA, but he will be available off the bench.

- With Zakuani no longer being on the injured list, I would assume that he is going to be in the squad tomorrow. Zakuani made his return from injury on July 7 against the Colorado Rapids, making his first appearance since April 23, 2011, against the Rapids when he suffered a double fracture on his left leg.

- There have been questions these last few days about whether or not Eddie Johnson and Fredy Montero can co-exist up front for the Sounders. Remember, Montero started on the bench during the Sounders home match against the Rapids and away to New York. That can't happen against LA, they both need to start up front. Fredy Montero and Eddie Johnson both need to co-exist. The Sounders are gonna need a lot from them against LA.

The Sounders have had a great week of preperation for this one. They know that they are facing a different LA team than they did earlier on in the season. It should be a great match. Hopefully the Sounders can come out on top and get the three points. If the match ends in a draw, fine but the Sounders are prepped and ready to clash with LA in front of a crowd of at least 60,000.

Sounders end their drought, defeat the Rapids 2-1

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders finally got a win that they desperately needed. Saturday night, a crowd of 39,060 at CenturyLink Field saw first hand, the return of their fan favorite Steve Zakuani who made his first appearance since April 23, 2011 when he suffered a fractured leg and more importantly, the Sounders bringing an end to their nine game winless run. The Sounders got their first win since May 9th as they defeated the Colorado Rapids 2-1 to improve to 8-5-6 (30 points). Keep in mind, the Sounders have been a great second half team these past couple of seasons.

The Sounders had all the possession early on and they nearly made it count in the 8th minute. Eddie Johnson played a brilliant high lofting ball to the left side for Alvaro Fernandez. Flaco brought the ball down off his chest cleanly and he was in a good position to hit it with his left foot, but he decided to cut the ball to his right foot and try to curl his shot to the far corner and it was saved by Matt Pickens after it took a bit of a deflection.

Two minutes later, they had another opportunity. Marvell Wynne gave the ball straight away to Mauro Rosales in his own area. Rosales waiting for an overlap from Eddie Johnson before playing it to him. Johnson was forced into a tight angle and tried to sneak the ball inside the near post, but Pickens again tipped it wide for a corner.

The Sounders continued to dominate this match and they came close again in the 14th minute, but not close enough. After a give and go with Alvaro Fernandez, Marc Burch went long for Eddie Johnson who brought the ball down at the top of the penalty area and tried to put it away with a half volley, but he took about a second too long and fired his shot wide of Pickens's left hand side.

The Rapids didn't have a real opportunity until the 24th minute. Ozzie Alonso gave the ball away in his own area to Conor Casey. Support came from Jamie Smith and Martin Rivero. Casey fed Rivero on the near side for a first timed shot that hit the side of the net.

Colorado didn't have anymore real opportunities in the first to take the lead. The Sounders continued to pour men forward and put all the pressure on the opposition in their half of the field and wear down the back four. In the 35th minute, the Rave Green nearly came up with something out of nothing. Jamie Smith was dispossessed in his own area by Adam Johansson. He was looking for a free kick, but there was definitely not enough contact for it to be a free kick. Alonso poked the ball back to Johansson who had time to look for options. The Swedish international decided to whip in a cross to the far post. Right there was Alvaro Fernandez for a looping header which looked at first like it didn't have a chance, but in the end, it was just a fraction too high.

In the 51st minute, Mauro Rosales whipped in another dangerous ball, this time off a free kick, intended for Alvaro Fernandez but the ball bounced towards goal and Matt Pickens had to be alert and tip the ball wide for another Sounders corner kick. Seconds later, off the corner kick, the Sounders would find the break through. Mauro Rosales's outswinger found a wide open Alvaro Fernandez who's header skipped underneath Matt Pickens and in for his first league goal of the 2012 season and the Sounders took a 1-0 lead.

The Rapids looked to hit back a couple minutes later. Jeff Larentowicz had time and space from about 30 yards away and he decided to give it a go and Bryan Meredith had to do everything he can to punch the ball away. In case anybody didn't even notice on that shot, there was quite a bit of movement on the ball.

In the 64th minute, the Sounders doubled their lead off another set piece. Mauro Rosales took the corner kick again, this time an inswinger from the far side, toward the near post and Matt Pickens was trying to go up and gather the ball but his teammate Drew Moor got in his way so he punched the ball instead, but not out of danger. Andy Rose was looking to head the ball back across for Fernandez, but Jeff Larentowicz got in the way to head the ball, but he headed the ball straight to Patrick Ianni. Ianni poked the ball out wide to Rosales who curled the ball back in toward the far post and right there to head the ball in for his eighth goal of the season was Eddie Johnson who was left wide open and Matt Pickens had no chance of stopping that one.

With just over 10 minutes to go in the match, the Rapids pulled a goal back. After Alex Caskey gave the ball away in his own area, the Rapids re-grouped. Jaime Castrillon fed the ball to Luis Zepata on the near side. Zepata took one touch and it looked like he was gonna try one from distance, but he went for the cross to the far post and found Omar Cummings who made a good run toward the far post and he put the ball away with a half volley to cut the Sounders lead in half. This one was on Patrick Ianni because he didn't pay attention to Cummings when he made that run.

Five minutes later, the Rapids thought they equalised, but the officials didn't think so. The Sounders had difficulties clearing the ball away. The ball fell to Jeff Larentowicz, who dribbled around Alex Caskey and sent in a ball to the far post and it snuck in, but the offside flag went up because the linesman claimed that Omar Cummings got a touch to it. I've been looking at the replay over and over again and it looked to me like Cummings did get a foot on the ball and he was in an offside position when Larentowicz played the ball in.

Seconds later, you could hear the roar from a mile away which meant only one thing, the return of Steve Zakuani. The no. 1 overall draft pick from 2009, Steve Zakuani came on in the 85th minute as he made his long awaited return since April 23 of last year when he suffered a fractured tibia and fibula following a dangerous two footed challenge from Brian Mullan. Having him back is really big for this team as the season progresses. Remember this past offseason, Sigi Schmid didn't expect him to be back until late 2012 if not the 2013 season, but I didn't buy that, I thought he was gonna come back sooner and now he's back. So now what's next for Zak? It's simple, work his way back into the starting 11. He did get a few touches late in the match which is good.

In the final seconds of stoppage time, the Sounders nearly let another one slip away. Tony Cascio played in a low left footed ball to the near post which got away from Omar Cummings. The ball fell to Castrillon, who played the ball back to the top of the area for a first timed shot from Martin Rivero and it just flew over the bar. After going nine games without a win, the last thing the Sounders want is to blow a two goal lead late and have their winless run extended to 10 games, but the Sounders were able to hang on and win 2-1.


Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Alvaro Fernandez 1 (Mauro Rosales 5) 52'

Seattle Sounders FC - Eddie Johnson 8 (Mauro Rosales 6) 64'

Colorado Rapids - Omar Cummings 4 (Luis Zapata 1) 79'


Misconduct summary:

Colorado Rapids - Martin Rivero (caution; foul) 41'

Seattle Sounders FC - Eddie Johnson (caution; excessive celebration) 64'


Lineups:

Colorado Rapids - Matt Pickens; Hunter Freeman, Marvell Wynne, Drew Moor, Luis Zapata; Brian Mullan, Martin Rivero, Jeff Larentowicz, Jamie Castrillon (Tony Cascio 84'), Jamie Smith (Omar Cummings 67'); Conor Casey (Edu 67')

Seattle Sounders FC - Bryan Meredith; Adam Johansson, Jeff Parke, Patrick Ianni, Marc Burch; Alex Caskey, Osvaldo Alonso, Andy Rose, Alvaro Fernandez (Cordell Cato 81'); Mauro Rosales (Steve Zakuani 85'), Eddie Johnson (Fredy Montero 72')

Sounders and Sporting KC finish all square in an evenly played match

By Money Mike


The Sounders winless streak now sits at six matches and they are still due to get their first win since May 9th. Last night the Sounders came away with only a point after a 1-1 draw at home against Sporting Kansas City. It was a physical game from start to finish with a few controversial moments in this match. If the Sounders want to end their six match winless run, they'll have to get past their arch rival the Portland Timbers on their home ground this Sunday which will be the first of three straight on the road before they return home for a match on July 7th against the Colorado Rapids.

In the 8th minute, it was the visitors who opened the scoring. Jacob Peterson's long throw in found Aurelien Collin who barely got a piece of the ball with his head. Jeff Parke tried to head the ball clear, but Collin outjumped Zach Scott and flicked the ball back for Peterson for a right footed volley which I think deflected off Ozzie Alonso's foot and inside the far post. Unlucky for the Sounders. Had the shot not been deflected, it might have sailed over the bar or wide of the far post. I don't know, but the deflection went Sporting KC's way and there was nothing goalkeeper Andrew Weber could've done.

That lead didn't last long as the Sounders got one back in the 15th minute with a potential goal of the year candidate. Mauro Rosales curled his free kick to the far post, now Patrick Ianni had to come back for it because the cross was drifting behind him. He comes back for it and what does he do? He jumps up and side volleys it into the net to level this match at one. There was absolutely nothing Jimmy Neilsen could do but bitch at his defenders because they did a crappy job defending this set play. Michael Harrington was supposed to be marking Ianni and he got caught at the last second. Set pieces are one of the biggest keys to victory for every team. What a way for Ianni to cap off a return from injury by scoring one of the goals of the year. This was also his 100th MLS appearance of his career.

A minute later, this one should've been a red card. Aurelien Collin took down Mauro Rosales, who looked to have had a breakaway opportunity had he avoided the sliding challenge, and referee Jair Marrufo decided that it was only a yellow card. I don't know if it was because he thought there was another Sporting KC defender in the area and there could've been but that's ridiculous, Rosales would've been clear so that should've been a Red Card. Another thing is Marrufo later on in the match did a horrible job keeping both teams under control. Since that yellow card, Collin has been acting like a damn jackass all game and the referee doesn't do anything about it.

In the 19th minute, the Sounders dodged a huge bullet. Roger Espinoza found Soony Saad making a run in behind Zach Scott and played a good ball in for him. Saad struck it first time from almost a tight angle, but the crossbar saves Seattle from falling behind for the second time in the match.

In the 29th minute, the Sounders nearly made Sporting pay for some crappy defending of their own. Ozzie Alonso found Eddie Johnson who had loads of space. Aurelien Collin was the only player back for KC. Johnson did have Fredy Montero in support, but he went for it himself and just missed wide by inches. Johnson probably should've played the ball to Montero who was onside and perhaps had a better chance at putting the Sounders ahead. On the other side, where were the KC defenders? Why was Johnson given all the time and space on that play? Had the Sounders scored, I think Lawrence Olum would've taken the blame because he overcommited and Alonso read it perfectly and found Eddie Johnson. One thing I might want to ask myself is, why was Lawrence Olum given the start at center half? As far as I know by watching him during his time in the USL, he's been used as a holding midfielder. That's from what I've seen though.

In the 61st minute, the Sounders come close again. Mauro Rosales played an excellent ball to Alex Caskey who was onside and was clear of goal. Caskey was looking to put it inside the left post, but again it just rolls wide.

In the 88th minute, I don't even know what happened or how Jimmy Nielsen spilled this one but a crowd of over 46,000 and most of the viewers in Seattle, KC and other viewers around the nation watching on Direct Kick or MLS Live thought the Sounders snatched another victory against Sporting. Andy Rose's cross found Fredy Montero at the far post. Montero cut to his left foot and I don't know if this was a low cross or if Montero was trying to score, but the ball deflected off Chance Myers and it looked to be an easy gather for Nielsen but he let the ball go through him and it bounced off the far post and cleared by Lawrence Olum before Ozzie Alonso could put home the rebound. A couple seconds later, Zach Scott was booked for shoving C.J. Sapong into the boards and tempers began to flare on both sides.

In the second minute of stoppage time, the Sounders were reduced to 10 men for the second straight match. Alvaro Fernandez looked like he was fouled by Roger Espinoza, but the referee didn't call that and Fernandez retaliates and comes in with a dangerous challenge and Jair Marrufo wasted no time going to his back pocket and giving Flaco a Red Card and that summed up how the Sounders felt about the officiating in this game.


Observations:

I was looking forward to seeing Steve Zakuani make his return for over a year since he suffered a broken leg in the early stages of last season, but Sigi Schmid decided to bring on Alvaro Fernandez instead and a few minutes later he gets sent off. The fact that everybody was excited that Zak was in the 18 man squad, looking forward to his return and then being left on the bench was a little disappointing. At the same time, I think it was the right decision to keep him on the bench because of the way things have gone late in the match.

Here's what Sigi said regarding why he didn't bring in Zakuani....

"It had less to do with Zakuani's length of injury or coming back. I just thought the game last night, the referee really didn't have control of the game; there was a lot of extracurricular activities going on off the ball that weren't called. To put Steve into that sort of game I didn't think was going to be a good situation because there was a lot of reckless abandon, let me put it that way, when people went into tackles. It wasn't so much a reflection of where Steve was at. It was more a reflection of the game. It's not a case of the game being aggressive or physical and that part; he's not going to shy away from that. I'm not worried about it in that sort of game, but I thought it was a game that to be quite honest had gotten out of control."

To be honest here, I think Sigi had a point. The game was completely out of control, especially late in the match with all the pushing and shoving and the fact that the referee didn't do his job and made some poor decisions. As for Aurelien Collin, I've already said enough. That guy's a prick.

I think moving Mauro Rosales to an attacking midfield position was the right move by Sigi. I thought Rosales had his best performance in quite a while. He's been able to make more plays on the ball, put more pressure on the central defenders and he also picked up an assist. Sure it was on a free kick, but still this was his best performance since the Philadelphia game on May 5th in which he scored the only goal of the match. I thought Brad Evans looked good on the right side of midfield, getting a few early touches at the start of the match. I'm still not overly impressed with Evans, but I think he's looked better playing on the right side than in the center. That goes for Mauro Rosales being in the center of midfield than on the right. I think they should stick with this lineup against the Timbers on Sunday because now they were able to find some openings and really put some pressure on the opposition.

I wasn't surprised to see Andrew Weber in goal for the Sounders after Bryan Meredith's struggles in these last couple games and Michael Gspurning not fully recovered yet. There were some nervous moments though, not because this was his first game for the Sounders and his third overall in MLS, but because Sporting Kansas City is a great attacking team with guys like Kei Kamara, Teal Bunbury, C.J. Sapong and Graham Zusi. Of course Kamara, Sapong and Zusi didn't start but they still looked dangerous offensively. Anyway, I thought Weber did a great job making some good saves and communicating with his defense. I'm expecting him to get the nod again this Sunday when the Sounders travel to take on the Timbers.

I wasn't overly happy with just a draw, especially with all the crap going on at the end of the game. At the same time, I think it's a step forward for this team because they looked a lot better offensively and defensively than they did in their last five games. If you're some stupid idiot like some user on SeattleTimes named "Cougforlife2011" who know's absolutely nothing about this team and just says the same ridiculous thing over and over again, "Softest team in MLS", "The front office is worse than the Mariners" (Give me a damn break), than I wouldn't be surprised if you don't agree with me on this. If you don't agree on this, that's fine but at least have a better explanation that what we keep getting with this user on SeattleTimes who can't get his facts straight. This guy is like Joe Queenan from the Wall Street Journal except Queenan trashed American soccer with false information. Anyway, if the Sounders stick with this formation in their next with Rosales in the center of midfield and Evans on the right, I think they'll come away with a better result and put an end to their six game winless streak. One win will surely change things for the Sounders as they look to get back in title contention.


Scoring summary:

Sporting Kansas City - Jacob Peterson 1 (Aurelien Collin 1) 8'

Seattle Sounders FC - Patrick Ianni 1 (Mauro Rosales 3) 15'


Misconduct summary:

Sporting Kansas City - Aurelien Collin (caution; foul) 16'

Sporting Kansas City - Lawrence Olum (caution; foul) 48'

Sporting Kansas City - Jimmy Nielsen (caution; time wasting) 59'

Seattle Sounders FC - Zach Scott (caution; foul) 59'

Seattle Sounders FC - Alvaro Fernandez (ejection; foul) 92'+


Lineups:

Sporting Kansas City - Jimmy Nielsen; Chance Myers, Aurelien Collin, Lawrence Olum, Michael Harrington; Michael Thomas, Peterson Joseph (Graham Zusi 50'), Roger Espinoza; Jacob Peterson (Kei Kamara 65'), Teal Bunbury, Soony Saad (C.J. Sapong 86')

Seattle Sounders FC - Andrew Weber; Zach Scott, Jeff Parke, Patrick Ianni, Marc Burch; Brad Evans (Andy Rose 72'), Osvaldo Alonso, Mauro Rosales (Alvaro Fernandez 80'), Alex Caskey; Eddie Johnson (Sammy Ochoa 80'), Fredy Montero