By Money Mike
The Sounders started the month on a high note with wins over the LA Galaxy, the Philadelphia Union and FC Dallas. Since then, they have struggled to produce as they are winless in their last four MLS matches. After a long month where the Sounders had to play a total of eight matches, including the U.S. Open Cup, I'm going to look back and give you guys some positives (Bryan Meredith filling in very well in goal) and negatives (lack of finishing and poor defending) from this past month and look ahead to what we have going on for the month of June, including Steve Zakuani's road to recovery.
Positives:
Back on May 2nd against the LA Galaxy, Bryan Meredith came on as a halftime sub for Michael Gspurning after he suffered a hip injury. He was ruled out for 2-3 weeks, but I wasn't surprised that Meredith got the start in goal for the rest of the month. Since filling in, Meredith has done an excellent job as he finished the month with a GAA of 0.92 in six starts and he also has a couple of clean sheets. The Sounders have dealt with their goalkeeping crisis since the end of last season starting with Terry Boss's season ending concussion which also forced him to retire. Josh Ford has been dealing with a few injuries as well and Andrew Weber has had ankle problems that dropped him to the #3 spot in the Depth Chart. I still remember Bryan Meredith making his debut against Monterrey in the final Champions League group stage match and putting together a great performance between the pipes because he just joined the team at the time following Kitsap Pumas PDL Championship run. I've been impressed with this kid and I think he has a great future ahead of him, but unfortunately he won't be in goal much longer when Gspurning returns in a couple of weeks.
I think Fredy Montero has had a solid month for the Sounders and has answered all the stupid and unnecessary critics with four goals and three assists during the month. People have been calling him lazy and I will say that he hasn't been aggressive at the start of the season, but last month was a different story as he really began to challenge the defenders and test the goalkeepers. The Montero/Johnson partnership has had its ups and downs during the month, but I think it will start to take shape as summer rolls around. Montero has been accounted for six of the seven goals Seattle has scored in league play last month.
Negatives:
I'm not sure what to make of this. Last four MLS matches, poor defending and on the other side, poor finishing. This is definitely not the Sounders team we saw at the last half of the 2011 season all the way up to the midweek road match against FC Dallas. On the defensive side, the man who has disappointed me the most is Adam Johansson. He has been caught napping in his last three starts and those three times he got caught, the opposition went ahead and scored. He is 10 times better than that. The coaching staff needs to get in his head, get him fired up or whatever. They need to do something because getting caught in three straight matches is ridiculous. The defense needs to wake up and the offense needs to finish when they get the chance.
Western Conference standings:
1. Real Salt Lake, 9-3-2 (29 pts) GF 22 GA 14 GD 8
2. San Jose Earthquakes, 8-3-3 (27 pts) GF 27 GA 17 GD 10
3. Seattle Sounders FC, 7-3-3 (24 pts) GF 16 GA 9 GD 7
4. Colorado Rapids, 6-6-1 (19 pts) GF 20 GA 18 GD 2
5. Vancouver Whitecaps, 5-3-4 (19 pts) GF 13 GA 14 GD -1
6. Chivas USA, 4-6-3 (15 pts) GF 9 GA 14 GD -5
7. Portland Timbers, 3-5-4 (13 pts) GF 12 GA 15 GD -3
8. FC Dallas, 3-8-4 (13 pts) GF 15 GA 24 GD -9
9. Los Angeles Galaxy, 3-8-2 (11 pts) GF 15 GA 21 GD -6
Look ahead to the month of June:
There's really not much going on this month unlike last month. All we have are four league matches and a couple of U.S. Open Cup matches as well, unless the Sounders end of losing to Cal FC this Tuesday.
Upcoming schedule: June 2012
June 5 vs Cal FC, 7:00pm (soundersfc.com, FOX Soccer)*
June 16 @ Montreal Impact, 4:30pm (KONG TV)
June 20 vs Sporting Kansas City, 7:00pm (KONG TV)
June 24 @ Portland Timbers, 2:00pm (ESPN)
June 30 @ New England Revolution, 4:30pm (KONG TV)
Note: * - U.S. Open Cup match
Now this is huge for the Sounders. Last night Steve Zakuani appeared in a reserve match against the Whitecaps reserves and played a full 45 minutes. It was great to see him back out there as he winds down his long road to recovery from that broken leg he suffered April 23rd of last year. With the struggles the Sounders have gone through late last month and the fact that they have yet to get past the MLS Cup Quarterfinal, having Zakuani back will be a major boost for the Seattle Sounders on their road to MLS Cup 2012.
Seattle Sounders FC monthly rewind: May 2012
Lack of finishing haunts the Sounders as they fall 2-0 to the Columbus Crew
By Money Mike
The Seattle Sounders outshot the Columbus Crew, they had more possession, they out dueled their opponent, they completely outplayed Columbus. However there was one problem, they couldn't find the back of the net. Despite all the chances the Sounders created in this game, they struggled to finish and it came back to haunt them as they fell at home to the Columbus Crew by a final count of 2-0. After winning five in a row, the Sounders have came away with only one point in their last three matches and you have to feel that they need to win on the road this Saturday against Chivas USA before their two week break from MLS.
In the 10th minute, Fredy Montero looked to score from a free kick but he hit the wall. The ball bounced to Osvaldo Alonso who cut inside to his right foot and fired a low right foot drive, but it was poorly hit and Andy Gruenebaum easily gathered it up.
So you may think the Sounders looked like the better side, but as head coach Sigi Schmid said after the game, goals change games and in the 15th minute, it was Columbus who got that goal. For the third game in a row, Adam Johansson got caught as Dilly Duke whipped in a very good cross to the far post and Justin Meram made a great run behind Johansson and headed the ball inside the right post for his third goal in as many matches. Johansson had to leave the match later on after picking up a hamstring injury. Let's just hope it's not too serious and hope to see him back on the pitch on June 16th following their two week break, but Johansson has struggled these last three matches. He's been getting caught out of position and should be held responsible for three of the five goals Seattle has conceded in these last three games.
The Sounders looked to get one back in the 18th minute. Marc Burch found Brad Evans at the top of the penalty area, but his header wasn't enough to trouble Andy Gruenebaum.
In the 33rd minute, David Estrada curled the ball near post for Eddie Johnson. However, Johnson didn't have much of an angle and his shot went well wide of goal. A few minutes later, Ozzie Alonso had a go from distance, but he couldn't hit the target.
In the dying seconds of the first half, Seattle nearly came through with the equalizer that surely would've changed the momentum of this game. Adam Johansson chipped the ball into the area for David Estrada. Estrada turned and sent in a cross to the far post for Alvaro Fernandez who was unmarked but his header was inches wide.
In the 51st minute, once again Seattle came close. David Estrada tried to feed an overlapping Adam Johansson, but the ball bounced awkwardly for him. Johansson was able to control it and play it back to Estrada who got his right foot around the ball and found Fredy Montero who shrugged off Carlos Mendes and fired it low on goal, but somehow Andy Gruenebaum kept that one out. Four minutes later, Estrada once again found Fredy Montero who was played onside by the Columbus Crew defense. Montero struck the ball low and hard again, but goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum was equal to the task once again.
In the 76th minute, Columbus delivered the knockout punch. After the Sounders struggled to clear the ball out of their own half, the ball bounced nicely for Emilio Renteria who caught goalkeeper Bryan Meredith off his line and went for goal from a long way out. Meredith got a hand to it, but it was too late. Renteria scored what's surely a candidate for Goal of the Week and like I said earlier the Sounders are going to rue not being able to finish their chances in this match. The Sounders have already lost three matches at home this season, which is a bit of a problem. When you're one of the top teams in MLS, you have to take advantage of those home matches and these last couple home matches, the Sounders have struggled to produce.
Observations:
I'm hoping the MLS disciplinary committee doesn't suspend Ozzie Alonso for Saturdays match against Chivas USA. There was one play where he came in two footed while challenging for the ball right in front of the referee, but the referee didn't give anything. Alonso did receive a yellow card later on in that match for infringement but I'm pretty sure the league is going to review that two footed challenge. There's a chance he could be banned for the next match, but we don't know for sure. We haven't heard anything regarding that, so as of right now Alonso is available for the away match on Saturday, but late in the match Alonso had difficulty controling his temper.
Bryan Meredith got the start again in goal for the Sounders for the injured Michael Gspurning who is expected to return on June 15th. He's done very well filling in for Gspurning has been out with a hip injury, but the second goal conceded was all on him because of the fact that he was off his line. These last couple of games have been tough for Bryan Meredith because the backline has struggled and because Meredith has been caught out of position a couple of times. He needs to communicate with his backline and make sure they're all on the same page in their next match because it looks like that'll be his last start before Michael Gspurning makes his return.
Disappointing result from Sigi Schmid and the rest of the coaching staff. This was a match that most of the folks would've expected this team to win, but shit like this have happened everywhere and will always happen and you just have to deal with it. I mean, I've dealt with it, but I will tell you it's painfull. lol. Bottomline is, this loss won't hurt the team that much. It's still early, there's a lot of matches to go. When we get to June, I believe that's where the Sounders will take off and really start to dominate the rest of the way during the season.
Scoring summary:
Columbus Crew - Justin Meram 3 (Dilly Duka 1, Emilio Renteria 1) 15'
Columbus Crew - Emilio Renteria (unassisted) 76'
Misconduct summary:
Columbus Crew - Dilly Duka (caution; foul) 47'
Columbus Crew - Carlos Mendes (caution; foul) 71'
Seattle Sounders FC - Marc Burch (caution; foul) 85'
Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso (caution; persistant infringement) 88'
Lineups:
Columbus Crew - Andy Gruenebaum; Sebastian Miranda, Carlos Mendes, Josh Williams, Nemanja Vukovic; Dilly Duka (Tony Tchani 57'), Danny O'Rourke (Kevan George 44'), Eddie Gaven, Cole Grossman, Justin Meram (Bernardo Anor 80'); Emilio Renteria
Seattle Sounders FC - Bryan Meredith; Adam Johansson (Jhon Kennedy Hurtado 61'), Jeff Parke, Zach Scott, Marc Burch; David Estrada (Andy Rose 78'), Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans, Alvaro Fernandez (Mauro Rosales 61'); Fredy Montero, Eddie Johnson
Local hero Lamar Neagle breaks out with three as the Sounders stomp Columbus 6-2
By Money Mike
In the 16th minute, the Sounders added another. After a nice turn in the box by Mike Fucito, the ball struck the hands of defender Rich Balchan in the penalty area and referee Baldomero Toledo pointed to the spot. Mauro Rosales, who also played a fantastic game, stepped up to take the penalty and he burried it inside the right post to make it 2-0. Rosales then ran over to the fans with their banner that says "VIVA ROSALES" as you can see on this picture.
In the 40th minute, things just got better and better for the Men in Rave Green. Mauro Rosales sent in a short cross and Mike Fucito made the Columbus defense pay for standing around as he rounded the goalkeeper and put away the forth goal for the Sounders. It was Fucito's fifth goal in all compitions this season and his first in MLS since April 17, 2010 when he scored a late winner over Sporting Kansas City. This guy's been in and out of the starting lineup with Sigi Schmid trying to find a replacement for O'Brian White, who by the way just underwent a second blood clot surgery. My guess is Fucito will be dropped to the bench again after the Sounders acquired forward Samuel Ochoa yesterday.
The only major highlight for the Columbus Crew, came in the 59th minute of the match. After a miscue, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado took down Emilio Renteria in the box and the referee pointed to the spot. Hurtado was lucky not to be shown a straight red card for the challenge. Jeff Cunningham, who coming into the game was sittin' on 133 career MLS goals, tied with Jamie Moreno, was given the green light by head coach Robert Warzycha to try and break the All-time MLS goalscoring record. Cunningham stepped up and calmly converted the PK into the left corner of Kasey Keller for his 134th career MLS goal which makes him the all-time leading goalscorer in Major League Soccer history.
Seattle Sounders FC vs Columbus Crew preview. Sounders with a chance to pull within three points of LA for 1st place.
By Money Mike
Coming off a memerable 1-0 win on the road against Monterrey in the CONCACAF Champions League, the Seattle Sounders return home, looking to cap off a big week with a big win as they take on the Columbus Crew this afternoon. Kickoff time is at 1pm and will be televised on KONG-TV and I believe it will also be shown live on ROOT Sports outside the Seattle area. With the Supporters Shield and home field advantage on the line this late in the season, you have to think that every game is a must win for the Men in Rave Green. The Sounders of course have had a big week on the pitch and in the front office. On tuesday, Seattle traveled south of the border to Monterrey and pulled off a 1-0 upset win over the CONCACAF Champions. And just yesterday in the front office, the Sounders swapped Allocation ranking spots with the Chicago Fire and traded their third-round pick of the 2012 MLS draft to acquire former US under-20 international Samuel Ochoa, so now they won't have to worry about trying to gamble for players by the trade deadline on September 15th.
Injury report:
Columbus Crew - Alright, we got a big list right here for the visitors. Starting with this man. He started the season with the Red Bulls, then was traded to Toronto FC in Week 3, and now here he is with the Columbus Crew via another damn trade. Tony Tchani when he was with Toronto, he didn't make the trip to Seattle because he was suspended. This time, the reason for not making the tip for this weekends matchup is because he's wounded. A right knee inflammation is what's keeping him out, I don't think he's even made his Columbus debut yet. Eddie Gaven (Right lower leg contusion) and backup goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum (Fractured right thumb) are also out. Shaun Francis and Korey Veeder are listed as doubtful. Rounding out the list are Emilio Renteria, Rich Balchan and Jeff Cunningham who are listed as probable.
Seattle Sounders FC - For the Sounders, Steve Zakuani, well according to Josh Mayers on Seattletimes, he may be done for the season. Right now I'm not going to confirm anything, except that Brian Mullan is a douche. Mike Seamon has an ankle problem so he is out. O'Brian White, what the hell is going on? He was supposed to be back last month, but something must be going terribly wrong with this guy. It doesn't look like he has fully recovered because he's not returning at least for this match. And finally rounding out the list, Patrick Ianni with a strained hammy. He is listed as probable.
Suspensions:
So one player has to watch this game from the press box, thank god it's not a Sounders player. Julius James has been booked too many times. So the Columbus defender is suspended for this afternoons matchup because of caution accumulations.
Other notes:
- New boy Sammy Ochoa doesn't look like he'll make his debut for the Seattle Sounders tomorrow. Accoring to the Sounders webside, Ochoa is expected to join the team next week. So there's a chance he could make his debut on tuesday in the U.S. Open Cup semifinal against FC Dallas.
- Now this is off topic with the Columbus Crew match. Should the Sounders win the semifinal on tuesday, they will host the final on October 4th at CenturyLink Field against either the Chicago Fire or the Richmond Kickers.
Key matchups:
Alvaro Fernandez vs Sebastian Miranda - Fernandez has become one of the most valuable members of the team. Leading the Sounders with 8 goals in all compatitions. He'll be challenged by the Crew's right back who is second on his team in minutes played this season.
Tom Heinemann vs Jhon Kennedy Hurtado - Heinemann was Lamar Neagle's strike partner last season with the Charleston Battery. This time he's Andres Mendoza's strike partner with the Columbus Crew. He's only 24 years of age and he's improving as an MLS player. He'll be a handful for the Columbian.
Sounders draw 1-1 at Columbus
By Money Mike
After watching their six game unbeaten streak slip away in D.C. on Wednesday, the Seattle Sounders had to make a lot of changes in their lineup on Saturday against Columbus and they leave Columbus Crew stadium with a point after finishing level with the Columbus Crew, 1-1.
Sigi Schmid said before the game that Fredy Montero really had to step his game up, and that's what he did in the seventh minute...........
In the seventh minute, Erik Friberg sent in a cross from 35-yards to the center of the box, and Fredy Montero slipped between Crew defenders Chad Marshall and Julius James and flicked the pass into the back of the goal as Will Hesmer was coming off his line to try to clear it. Not a smart move in Hesmer's part. It was Montero's 2nd goal of the season and his 24th of his Sounders career.
Columbus had a great chance to equalize in the 32nd minute. Dilly Duka's header sent Robbie Rodgers on the break, Kasey Keller came off his line and stopped Rodgers as he tried to slide it past the goalkeeper, but Keller used to right foot to deny him.
In the 67th minute, the Crew were awarded a penalty when Chad Marshall was pulled down by Patrick Ianni on a corner kick which was taken by Eddie Gaven. Emilio Renteria stepped up to the spot and placed the shot right down the middle as Keller dived to his left. It was Keller's 2nd penalty he's faced this season. The first PK he faced was in the 2nd match of the season against the Red Bulls when he denied Thierry Henry from the spot.
Columbus had some chances to pull off a victory. In the first minute of stoppage time, Kasey Keller came up with another huge stop, denying Andres Mendoza's free-kick from 23-yards out.
The Sounders (now 3-3-4) return home for a stretch of three straight home matches, starting next Saturday against the Portland Timbers, that match kicks off at 8pm.
Scoring summary:
Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero (Erik Friberg) 7'
Columbus Crew - Emilio Renteria (penalty kick) 67'
Misconduct summary:
Seattle Sounders FC - Servando Carrasco (caution; Retaliation) 38'
Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero (caution; Reckless tackle) 44'
Seattle Sounders FC - Leonardo Gonzalez (caution; Reckless tackle) 53'
Seattle Sounders FC - Alvaro Fernandez (caution; Reckless tackle) 64'
Columbus Crew - Sebastian Miranda (caution; Reckless foul) 75'
Seattle Sounders FC - Roger Levesque (caution; Reckless tackle) 90'
Lineups:
Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller; James Riley, Jeff Parke, Patrick Ianni, Leonardo Gonzalez; Erik Friberg (Nate Jaqua 66'), Osvaldo Alonso, Servando Carrasco, Alvaro Fernandez (Lamar Neagle 89'); Roger Levesque, Fredy Montero (Michael Fucito 84')
Columbus Crew - William Hesmer; Sebastian Miranda, Chad Marshall, Julius James, Rich Balchan, Rich Balchan; Dilly Duka (Andres Mendoza 61'), Kevin Burns (Emmanuel Ekpo 73'), Dejan Rusmir, Robbie Rodgers, Eddie Gaven; Emilio Renteria
Previewing Seattle Sounders FC vs Columbus Crew + A look ahead to the CONCACAF Gold Cup in June
By Money Mike
The Seattle Sounders take on the Columbus Crew this Saturday in their last road match before they return home for a stretch of three straight home games against the Portland Timbers, Sporting Kansas City and FC Dallas. The Sounders are come head to Columbus after losing to D.C. United on Wednesday 2-1 which also ended Seattle's 6-game unbeaten streak as Charlie Davies and Josh Wolff combined on both the goals and each coming away with a Goal and an Assist. Seattle got the goal from the Penalty Spot which was converted by Brad Evans but it wasn't enough. On the other side, Columbus is sitting on a 6-game unbeaten streak right now after defeating our rivals from the north, the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1. They're a tough team to score against and at the same time, they don't score that many goals, so this looks like a pretty evenly side affair.
Injury report:
Seattle Sounders FC - Well of course, O'Brian White and Steve Zakuani are out and Pat Noonan is probable. One player to add to that list, Mauro Rosales. Now, I don't know what happened here, they said he suffered a hamstring injury, but I don't know when that happened. However with the lineup changes Sigi Schmid will make, one of which will be keeping Mauro Rosales out for this match.
Columbus Crew - For the Screwed up Crew (lol!!), we have Danny O'Rourke out with left knee surgery and Josh Williams out with right hip labral tear. Shawn Francis has a strained left hamstring and is listed as questionable. Last but not least, Tommy Heinemann is listed as probable after having to deal with a Right pes anserine bursitis.
Key matchups:
Emilio Renteria vs Jeff Parke - We need Jeff Parke out there, I don't understand why the hell he was kept on the bench these last couple of games, when there was really no need to bench him. The way Renteria's been playing, benching Parke for the third game in a row would definetely not be a smart move.
Fatigue vs Depth - This team has just been banged up. Ever since the Zakuani injury you've had to switch a bunch of things around, especially with O'Brian White out as well. Where's Lamar Neagle, where's David Estrada, where's Mike Fucito, where's Montano? You have a bunch of young players who are ready to show that they deserve to be on this team.
Key to victory:
Three words: QUIT! STANDING! AROUND!
There's no way in hell that you'll win a game when you have 9-10-11 players in your own area backing away from the ball and not going after it. That's just extremely stupid. They did that against New York and lost because of it. Quit standing around and go after the ball.
Look ahead to the Gold Cup:
Now I know it's a little early but the Gold Cup is just around the corner and the international teams are preparing their roster's for the tournament which kicks off on the 5th and ends on the 25th. Mexico already has their roster set up for the Gold Cup and the player to look out for on that team is...... and believe me I don't need any help with the answer. The player to watch for Mexico...... Manchester United forward, Javier Hernandez aka "Chicharito. Here's a player who I thought wasn't really gonna do much for United because he joins the team from Chivas de Guadalajara on July 1st and the fact that the Premier League is a lot tougher than the Mexican League. But I was wrong, so far Chicharito excelled in his first year with Manchester United scoring 12 goals in 25 appearances in the Premier League and 19 goals in 42 appearances in all compititions in 2010-2011, so yeah he's definitely a player to watch for Mexico. The New York Red Bulls are gonna spend the majority of June, practicing, traveling, all that stuff, without Rafa Marquez after he was added to the Mexican side.
The United States hadn't announced anything with their squad yet, I'm guessing Brad Evans will be left out this year. O'Brian White, unless he can recover quickly, looks like he will be left out of the Jamaican squad and Leo Gonzalez, I don't think will be added to Costa Rica's squad. Again, we'll find out sooner or later.
