Super Bowl Update

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders came out on top yet again and are now just one point back of Real Salt Lake first place in the Western Conference. Led by two second half goals from Fredy Montero, the Sounders came away with their fifth straight win as they defeated FC Dallas 2-0 to extend their record to 7-1-1 (22 points). Speaking of Real Salt Lake, the Sounders return home this Saturday to face RSL in a huge Western Conference matchup. Remember last year, these two teams met in the MLS Cup quarterfinal and just like the first two seasons, the Sounders couldn't get past the quarterfinal round. They lost the first leg 3-0 and in the second leg, they did very well to rally back but not good enough as they lost 3-2 on aggregate. The Sounders have a shot at payback as they battle RSL this Saturday in a battle for first place in the Western Conference.

In the first half, FC Dallas looked like the better side and they nearly broke loose after a few big chances. In the seventh minute, Fabian Castillo used his speed to get past Zach Scott to the endline and he decided to go for goal from an impossible angle and he hit side netting. That was a little selfish from Castillo because he had Jackson and Scott Sealy in support and also had Jair Benitez trailing on the play. Castillo is an exciting young player but as exciting as he is, he tends to hog the ball rather than pass to his teammates like in this match where he did that quite a few times. I think this is where he'll get better in years to come.

In the 17th minute, the Sounders should've had a goal. After Dallas got caught on the counter attack, Eddie Johnson played the ball out wide to Andy Rose who squared it across for Mauro Rosales who's shot was right at Kevin Hartman. Rosales then followed up and hit the post before FC Dallas could clear the ball out of danger. I really do not understand how Dallas survived that. In reality, those chances go in almost 99.99% of the time. FC Dallas got lucky there.

In the 39th minute, the Sounders were lucky not to find themselves a goal down. Fabian Castillo, who has given Zach Scott all kinds of problems in this game, sent in a cross towards Andrew Jacobson who headed the ball back across for an unmarked Scott Sealy who directed his header towards goal and Bryan Meredith got up well and deflected the shot off the crossbar. Sealy had a chance at a rebound, but he spilled it and Meredith pounced on the ball. Not only was Zach Scott tested in this match, left back Marc Burch had a tough go against Jackson. There was one play where Burch dragged Jackson to the ground because if he hadn't, Jackson would've been clear of the defense and more than likely would've given Dallas the lead but Burch dragged him down and picked up a yellow card.

With just over 20 minutes to go, the Sounders broke the deadlock. Cordell Cato brushed Hernan Pertuz aside and sent in a low cross for Fredy Montero. Montero then beat two defenders and ripped his shot past Kevin Hartman and in at the near post. Three minutes later, Montero wasn't done. Alex Caskey sent in a low cross and the ball deflected to Montero for a diving header to double Seattle's advantage and cap off their fifth straight win.


Observations:

Bryan Meredith picked up his second consecutive clean sheet since taking over for the injured Michael Gspurning who could make his return next Saturday for Seattle's Cascadia Derby match against the Vancouver Whitecaps at BC Place. He was kept busy all match as the defense looked like they were not on the same page a few times in this game but Bryan Meredith has done a terrific job between the pipes and that should really boost his confidence for Saturdays match against Real Salt Lake. So far, Meredith has gone 225 minutes without conciding a goal and will have to continue doing that for at least 90 more minutes.

Cordell Cato came on with 25 minutes to go in the game and I thought he did very well on his debut. Hopefully we see out there quite a bit this season. He has a ton of potential and he did show a bit of that last night. During the offseason when he was interviewed on soundersfc.com, he said this is his only year with the Sounders, but I think he's going to stay here in Seattle for a while. With what he's shown, I don't see why Cato doesn't deserve a spot on this team in the future.

Another great performance by the Sounders and with a big match coming up against a team that knocked them out of the playoffs last season, they got to feel hungry for revenge. Hopefully the Sounders can pull it off against Real Salt Lake and not only picked up their sixth straight win, but take over first place in the Western Conference.


Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero 2 (Cordell Cato 1) 68'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero 3 (Alex Caskey 2) 71'


Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Marc Burch (caution; foul) 30'

Seattle Sounders FC - Jeff Parke (caution; foul) 42'

FC Dallas - George John (caution; foul) 57'

Seattle Sounders FC - Zach Scott (caution; foul) 75'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero (caution; foul) 81'


Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Bryan Meredith; Zach Scott, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Marc Burch; Mauro Rosales (Fredy Montero 46'), Andy Rose, Brad Evans (Servando Carrasco 77'), Alex Caskey; David Estrada (Cordell Cato 66'), Eddie Johnson

FC Dallas - Kevin Hartman; Zach Loyd, George John, Matt Hedges, Hernan Pertuz (Ruben Luna 84'); Jackson, Andrew Jacobson, James Marcelin, Jair Benitez; Fabian Castillo, Scott Sealy (Brek Shea 70')

By Money Mike

In a highly anticipated match between two of the hottest Western Conference teams. Most would've thought FC Dallas would come away with a win, if not a draw. The fact was, Seattle had not won a single match in the state of Texas, and the temperature at kick-off was a fucking 106 degrees. But the Seattle Sounders got through all of that, as Mauro Rosales's 15th minute goal and Kasey Keller's last second heroics prove to be the story in their 1-0 victory over FC Dallas. With the win Seattle climbs above Dallas for 2nd place in the West and remain 6 back of LA for the top spot in the West.

Here's how Seattle got their goal. Lamar Neagle wide left looked to have given the ball away, but the ball bounced away from Ugo Ihemelu and to the feet of Fredy Montero who make a good run and led a streaking Mauro Rosales down the right flank. Rosales fired a low shot from 18 yards out to beat Kevin Hartman who was making his 379th MLS appearance which is now the all-time record. Ihemelu was partnered in the center with Zach Loyd in this match because former UW Husky George John was suspended for the match. There were rumors about George John possibly leaving for England to join Blackburn Rovers in the winter. Zach Loyd had to leave the game early after colliding with Fredy Montero and possibly injuring his leg in the process. Head coach Schellas Hyndman was forced to make an early change, bringing in Jeremy Hall, who was acquired in a trade with the Portland Timbers that sent Eric Alexander the other way, to play right back and move Jackson into the center.

Zach Scott made his third straight start at defense. Getting the start at right back over James Riley with a major test, marking the always dangerous Brek Shea. And all he did was make their go-to guy look like a complete Bozo all game long. This guy hasn't been out on the pitch much since the first couple games of the 2009 season and I was expecting Seattle to cut him during the preseason, but now I think he has a spot in this team. I think he played probably his best match of his MLS career.

Jhon Kennedy Hurtado made his first MLS appearance since suffering an MCL Sprain in their match down at Portland against the Timbers on July 10th and nearly doubled Seattle's lead when he headed the ball past Kevin Hartman, but the offside flag was up.

In the 56th minute, the Sounders could've been reduced to ten men, instead, it was Dallas who were reduced to ten men. Daniel Cruz went down just outside the penalty area and it looked like Erik Friberg was going to be shown a second yellow for the challenge, but instead referee Dave Gantar booked Cruz for diving and that was his second yellow of the game so FC Dallas had to play with 10-men the rest of the game. In all honesty I think this referee has just done a horrible job with this game. I think that was a bad decision, but this is MLS. And Dallas now knows what it's like to be victimized.

Dallas desite playing a man down continued to push and in the 94th minute, they came so close to stealing a point in this game. Kasey Keller punched a free kick clear, but the ball fell straight to Bruno Guarda and Seattle looked doomed, but Kasey Keller came up with probably the biggest save of his life because not only did he save that effort, he saved the victory for the Seattle Sounders.

Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Mauro Rosales 4 (Fredy Montero 6) 15'

Misconduct summary:

FC Dallas - Daniel Cruz (caution; Reckless tackle) 3'

Seattle Sounders FC - Erik Friberg (caution; Tactical foul) 6'

FC Dallas - Ugo Ihemelu (caution; Reckless foul) 27'

FC Dallas - Daniel Cruz (caution; Simulation) 56'

FC Dallas - Daniel Cruz (ejection; Second caution) 56'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero (caution; Reckless foul) 60'

Seattle Sounders FC - Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (caution; Tactical foul) 64'

Seattle Sounders FC - Zach Scott (caution; Handball) 94'+

Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller; Zach Scott, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Leonardo Gonzalez; Mauro Rosales, Osvaldo Alonso, Erik Friberg (Brad Evans 63'), Lamar Neagle; Mike Fucito (Pat Noonan 78'), Fredy Montero (Alvaro Fernandez 68')

FC Dallas - Kevin Hartman; Jackson (Fabian Castillo 73'), Ugo Ihemelu, Zach Loyd (Jeremy Hall 25'), Jair Benitez; Marvin Chavez, Daniel Cruz, Daniel Hernandez (Bruno Guarda 81'), Ricardo Villar, Brek Shea; Maicon Santos

By Money Mike

In the final game of three straight matches at Qwest Field. The Sounders were the better side from the first kick to the final whistle, but all the bullshit calls made by Boldomero Toledo plus great goalkeeping by veteran goalkeeper Kevin Hartman resulted in a 1-0 Sounders loss. FC Dallas has now gone 489 minutes without conceding a goal. The last goal Dallas conceded was a 51st minute goal by Landon Donovan in a 2-1 home victory on May 1st.

The Sounders started off bright in the opening minutes, but in the 17th minute, the defense ends up getting caught on the break.

After Seattle was dispossessed, Brek Shea's vertical run from midfield was met perfectly by Andrew Jacobson who slid the through the defense to Shea who beat Jeff Parke and calmly placed it past Kasey Keller and into the far corner for his 4th goal of the season and an early 1-0 FC Dallas lead.

Seattle nearly pulled one back in the 18th minute, but Erik Friberg's attempt was cleared by Zach Loyd.

In the 42nd minute, Fredy Montero chipped a pass into the area for Mauro Rosales who was able to chest the ball down and strike it with his right foot, but Kevin Hartman stood his ground and kept the ball in front of him.

In the second half, Dallas had a shot to go up by two but the attack broke down when Brek Shea's attempted pass to Fabian Castillo was poorly executed.

In the 64th, a long throw in found the head of Mike Fucito, but Kevin Hartman tipped his effort off the crossbar. Fucito had a chance on the rebound but Hartman came up big again.

The Sounders after picking up only 4 points in their last 3 home matches now head to Real Salt Lake on Saturday. On the other side, FC Dallas look to keep their clean sheet streak alive as they travel to Houston to take on the Dynamo.

Scoring summary:

FC Dallas - Brek Shea 4 (Andrew Jacobson 2) 17'

Misconduct summary:

FC Dallas - George John (caution; Delaying a restart) 44'

Seattle Sounders FC - Zach Scott (caution; Unsporting behavior) 82'

Lineups:

FC Dallas - Kevin Hartman; Jackson, George John, Ugo Ihemelu, Zach Loyd; Marvin Chavez (Ricardo Villar 89'), Daniel Hernandez, Andrew Jacobson, Eric Alexander (Bobby Warshaw 74'), Brek Shea; Fabian Castillo (Ruben Luna 64')

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller; Zach Scott, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Leonardo Gonzalez; Erik Friberg, Mauro Rosales (Lamar Neagle 83'), Osvaldo Alonso, Alvaro Fernandez (Roger Levesque 64'); Fredy Montero (Nate Jaqua 75'), Michael Fucito

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders get ready for their final match of three straight at home as they play host to the runners-up from last years MLS Cup, FC Dallas. Last year, these two teams came away level pegging the two times they faced each other. The first match down at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco ended 2-2 after some controversy that led to a game tying PK Goal at the end of stoppage time. The next match at Qwest Field ended 1-1 after David Ferreira, who went on to win MVP, equalized off a left foot volley. Seattle are 1-0-3 against Dallas and are looking to head to Salt Lake with a 2-0-1 homestand.


Injury report:

FC Dallas - Edson Edward has a right knee ACL tear and he is out. Speaking of the MVP David Ferreira, he has a fractured ankle and he is gonna be out for a long time. Bryan Leyva has an ankle injury and he is also out. The guys listed as questionable are Jiar Benitez, Maykel Galindo, and Milton Rodriguez.

Seattle Sounders FC - For Seattle, of course, no Zakuani and no O'Brian White. Brad Evans is questionable. Erik Friberg is now listed as probable. And Mauro Rosales is no longer on the injured list.


Key matchups:

Fabian Castillo vs Jhon Kennedy Hurtado - Ferreira maybe gone for a while but Dallas have another weapon. Fabian Castillo, the youngest Designated Player in MLS History, only 18-years of age. He comes in from Deportivo Cali where he made 18 appearances and scored 3 goals and so far this season with FC Dallas, he has made 9 appearances and scored 2 goals. With MVP Ferreira gone, it's going to be Castillo who will test his fellow Colombian.

Marvin Chavez vs Tyson Wahl - I like this matchup here between Chavez and Wahl. Chavez is very good at creating goals and Tyson Wahl has done very well defensively since taking over for Leo Gonzalez and he also provides an attacking option for the Sounders.

Fredy Montero vs George John - Here's another good matchup, Fredy Montero, who is still due for a breakout game and former Washington Husky George John. I think now is the best time for Montero to bring his A Game, and all of it, against George John. This matchup should determine the result.