Super Bowl Update

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.

By Money Mike


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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Observations:

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

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

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


Scoring summary:

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

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

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


Misconduct summary:

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

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


Lineups:

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

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

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders have clinched a playoff berth for a fourth consecutive season since their arrival to Major League Soccer. That spot was secured on Saturday when they went down to Vancouver and battled the Whitecaps to a 0-0 draw. Yes, the Sounders only needed a draw to clinch a playoff spot, but there was no doubt that they wanted to come away with all three points. The Sounders next three games are at home. Starting on Sunday against the rivals from the South, the Portland Timbers. Over 66,000 tickets have been sold for that game. Then they have a week off the following weekend before they prepare for a midweek match on the 17th against Real Salt Lake. Then their last home match of the regular season will take place on Sunday October 21st against FC Dallas before they close out the regular season against the Los Angeles Galaxy on October 28th. So now that they've made the playoffs again, can they finally avoid another early round exit and advance to the Western Conference final? At this point it's not important because there's still four more games to go in the regular season before we can turn our attention to the MLS Cup playoffs.

Seattle did start this match off brightly early on. In the 12th minute, Brad Evans poked the ball to Ozzie Alonso from outside the penalty area for a first timed shot but it went wide of Brad Knighton's right hand side.

A couple minutes later, the Sounders caught the Whitecaps on the counter but just came within a whisker of breaking the deadlock. Barry Robson curled the ball out from the far corner looking for Jay DeMerit but Michael Gspurning punched the ball out of the box, but not quite out of danger. John Thorrington stepped up and looked to strike the ball on goal, but Leo Gonzalez got in the way and Mauro Rosales got the attack going as he found Fredy Montero and the Sounders sprinted back the other way in a four on two break. Montero played the ball back to Rosales who's first timed cross just eluded Brad Evans who got the start at left midfield over Steve Zakuani.

Shortly after, the Vancouver Whitecaps had to go their bench early. John Thorrington has had some injury problems with his right leg over the course of his career in MLS, and he appeared to have re-aggravated his right knee. So the Whitecaps had to use their first of three available substitutes in the 17th minute with Matt Watson coming into the game. Watson was one of four players who followed head coach Martin Rennie to Vancouver from the Carolina RailHawks during the offseason. Things would go from bad to worse for the Whitecaps later on in the half.

In the 30th minute, the Whitecaps missed a golden opportunity to open the scoring. Ozzie Alonso gave the ball straight away to Gershon Koffie in his own area. Koffie then used a little trickery to get away from Alonso and Leo Gonzalez and played in a perfect ball to Darron Mattocks and all he had to do was strike it on goal to give the Caps a 1-0 lead, but he took a split second too long and Jeff Parke slid in to break up the play.

Five minutes later, Koffie had room to shoot from long distance, but his shot went well wide. There wasn't much action early on up to that point, but since then, the game started to open up.

About a couple minutes later, the Sounders got away with what looked like a foul that wasn't called. Not only that, the Whitecaps had make another change. Kenny Miller fed the ball to Darron Mattocks to took one touch to try to get around Jeff Parke and it appeared that Parke dragged Mattocks to the ground just out side the area and Mattocks collided with goalkeeper Michael Gspurning who came off his line to challenge for the ball. Mattocks stayed down immediately holding his right hammy (Hamstring, in case any of you don't know what I mean) while Gspurning got up off the ground limping. If there was a foul, I don't know if Parke would've been sent off because again, Gspurning came out to challenge for the ball. Also, that the foul been given, it would've been a free kick outside the area. The bottomline is, Mattocks got the worst of the collision after suffering a right hamstring injury and the Whitecaps had to go to the bench for the second time in the first half.

A minute into the second half, Camilo Sanvezzo who came on for Darron Mattocks late in the first half, cut inside of Adam Johansson and sent in a low ball towards goal but he didn't get enough power on it and it was easily gathered by Michael Gspurning. Johansson had a lot to prove in this game after a horrible performance last Saturday against the San Jose Earthquakes. He bounced back very well in this match and had a decent performance in this match. It wasn't great, but it was a lot better than last Saturday. Hopefully during the offseason, Johannson will work on that and come into the 2013 season with a little more confidence.

Two minutes later, Gspurning nearly got beat from distance. Alain Rochat locked his ankles and struck the ball brilliantly with his laces and Gspurning alertly got a left arm to it. The movement of the ball nearly fooled the Austrian goalkeeper as he saw the ball drifting toward his right hand post, but then it started knuckling and Gspurning nearly ran past it.

With over 10 minutes to go in the match, the Sounders could've been up 1-0 had there not been a defender covering the near post. Christian Tiffert took the corner from the near side and found Jeff Parke in the middle of the penalty area for a half volley which was on target and looked to have had goalkeeper Brad Knighton beat, but fortunately for him, Lee Young-Pyo was there to clear the ball off the line.

There was a lot more drama late in the match, especially in the final minute of stoppage time, first in the Whitecaps area. Christian Tiffert curled the ball toward the back post which was behind Fredy Montero, but Montero used his strength to bring the ball down, turn and strike on goal. However the ball drifted away from goal.

You thought that was the last chance of the game, eh eh, not so fast. In the final seconds, the Whitecaps quickly sprinted back the other wide and Camilo missed what was probably the biggest opportunity of his young career. Barry Robson's cross found Kenny Miller would couldn't direct his header goalwards, but the ball found Camilo at the far post and he's put his shot just wide. At his caliber, he usually has no problem putting those away and he probably should've put this one away, but he didn't and the Sounders dodged a huge bullet and came away a point which was all they need to secure a place in the MLS Cup playoffs.

The Sounders wanted the three points, even though they only needed one to get into the playoffs. With the next three at home, it's important that the Sounders take advantage of the home field because home field advantage in the second leg is the key. We're looking at a matchup against either the LA Galaxy or Real Salt Lake should we finish second or third in the Western Conference standings. If they finish fourth, they would have to face Vancouver or Dallas in a wild-card matchup at home, with the winner facing San Jose in the MLS Cup quarterfinal and I'm pretty sure that is something the Sounders wouldn't want.

This team should be able to finish above fourth place at the least, but either way when it comes time for the playoffs, they can't afford to lose anybody to injury. Remember, Mauro Rosales suffered a sprained right knee in the final regular season match of 2011 which ruled him out of the MLS Cup quarterfinal against RSL and that proved costly to the team. That can't happen again, you gotta have your big guys out there at all costs. The Sounders are well overdue to advance out of the Quarterfinal. In 2009, they could've had at least three or four goals against Houston and they ended up losing 1-0 in extra time. Both Seattle and Houston had the best defense in the league, tied to the fewest goals conceded with 29. In 2011, well I think you already know. Losing the first leg 3-0, doesn't mean that you don't have a chance of coming back. If anybody remembers the 2005 UEFA Champions League final, Liverpool was down 3-0 to A.C. Milan but they came back with three second half goals and went on to win the final on PK's. I don't think the Sounders will find themselves in this situation again this postseason. If there was anytime for the Sounders to advance, perhaps this will be it.


Scoring summary:

NONE


Misconduct summary:

Vancouver Whitecaps - Jordan Harvey (caution; foul) 49'

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


Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning; Adam Johansson, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Leonardo Gonzalez; Mauro Rosales (Steve Zakuani 70'), Osvaldo Alonso, Christian Tiffert, Brad Evans (Andy Rose 74'); Eddie Johnson, Fredy Montero

Vancouver Whitecaps - Brad Knighton; Lee Young-Pyo, Andy O'Brien, Jay DeMerit, Jordan Harvey; Gershon Koffie, Alain Rochat, Barry Robson, John Thorrington (Matt Watson 17'); Kenny Miller, Darron Mattocks (Camilo Sanvezzo 42')

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')

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders bounced back from a difficult week and came away with a huge win against their Cascadia Cup rivals from the North. On Saturday, the Sounders defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-0 in front of 55,718 fans at CenturyLink Field in Seattle. Fredy Montero continued his scoring streak as he found the net for the third straight game and has scored four goals in his last five matches. Eddie Johnson's goalscoring frenzy also continued as he picked up his team leading 11th goal of the season.

Through the first 10-15 minutes, the Whitecaps looked like they were the better side from the kickoff. In the 6th minute, Darron Mattocks tried to play a through ball to Kenny Miller who got in behind Jeff Parke and Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, but Michael Gspurning came all the way out to meet it. The ball fell to Dane Richards who tried it from a long way out with Gspurning way off his line, but he missed wide. Richards was making his sixth appearance for the Whitecaps since coming over from the New York Red Bulls for former Sounder Sebastien Le Toux.

In the 19th minute of the match, the Sounders troubled goalkeeper Joe Cannon. Eddie Johnson had possession of the ball on the right hand side. Johnson cut inside to with left foot after a couple of step overs and gave it a go from outside the area and Joe Cannon just punched it over the bar, but it was close to going into his own net.

A couple minutes later, the Sounders gave the ball away in their own half and Kenny Miller played a great through ball to Darron Mattocks in the penalty area, but he pulled his shot wide of the far post. Both Miller and Mattocks combined well in this game, causing a few problems here and there.

Shortly after, the Sounders had another great opportunity. Leo Gonzalez made a nice turn to get away from Dane Richards and Lee Young-Pyo who were double teaming him. Gonzalez fed the ball to the top of the area for Mauro Rosales. Rosales pushed the ball to the right side of the area to Brad Evans just as he was being dragged to the ground by Carlyle Mitchell and I think this is where Evans should've tried to hit the ball first time with his left foot because he had a defender tracking back and cutting down the angle. Instead, Brad Evans let the ball drop to his right foot and forced a save from Joe Cannon.

In the 50th minute of the match, the Sounders gave the Whitecaps another scare. Jeff Parke chipped the ball into the Whitecaps area. Eddie Johnson chested the ball down for Ozzie Alonso for a first timed hit from a long way out and Joe Cannon got down and deflected his shot wide.

In the 64th minute, the deadlock was broken and it was Fredy Montero who opened the scoring shortly after coming off the bench. Mauro Rosales floated the ball into the box for Jeff Parke who chested the ball to Montero and the Colombian international poked the ball inside the far corner for his eight goal of the season and the Sounders took a 1-0 lead. So once again, Montero came on and answered all the unnecessary critics regarding his performance on the pitch.

With three minutes left in the contest, the Sounders put the game out of reach. Ozzie Alonso played a brilliant long ball to the near side for Brad Evans who was all alone on the right hand side. Evans made no mistake on this play as he slid the ball across and Eddie Johnson was there, making a run to the far post for an easy tap in and the Sounders put their Open Cup final defeat against Kansas City and their heartbreaking 2-1 loss on the road to San Jose behind them and get three points against their Cascadia rivals.

Now, I just want to apologize to all of you for not keeping you guys up to date on the Gold Medal run for the U.S. women's soccer team during the 2012 Olympics. I had a lot going on that was more important than this, so I just want to make sure you guys understand. Also I'm gonna be taking a break from blogging for a little while, so I'm not gonna cover the Sounders-Chivas USA game this weekend.


Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero 8 (Jeff Parke 1, Mauro Rosales 10) 64'

Seattle Sounders FC - Eddie Johnson 11 (Brad Evans 2, Osvaldo Alonso 2) 87'


Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (caution; foul) 58'

Vancouver Whitecaps - Gershon Koffie (caution; foul) 91'+


Lineups:

Vancouver Whitecaps - Joe Cannon; Lee Young-Pyo, Andy O'Brien, Carlyle Mitchell, Alain Rochat; Dane Richards, Jun Marques Davidson (John Thorrington 89'), Gershon Koffie, Camilo Sanvezzo (Russell Teibert 74'); Kenny Miller, Darron Mattocks (Atiba Harris 89')

Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning; Adam Johansson (Zach Scott 79'), Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Leonardo Gonzalez; Brad Evans, Osvaldo Alonso, Christian Tiffert, Alex Caskey (Fredy Montero 61'); Mauro Rosales (Andy Rose 88'), Eddie Johnson

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders since joining Major League Soccer, have won three straight U.S. Open Cup titles in 2009, 2010 and 2011 and last night had a chance to become the first ever team to win four Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup titles in a row, but it just wasn't to be. The Sounders and Sporting Kansas City battled it out all night long, but in the end it was Sporting Kansas City who lifted the trophy. The Sounders fell to Sporting Kansas City fell 3-2 on penalties which ended their three year title run. It was a physical battle between both sides from start to finish with a few controversial decisions but the bottomline is, KC are the new U.S. Open Cup Champions and for the Sounders, if they want to qualify for their fourth straight CONCACAF Champions League they're gonna have to do it the hard way by winning the Supporters Shield (finishing 1st overall in the regular season) or by reaching the MLS Cup final.

Kansas City enjoyed a good spell of possession early on and in the 12th minute, Kei Kamara got around Zach Scott and got off a tough shot. But his effort sailed high and wide.

In the 24th minute, Kamara had another chance at goal and this time he game the Sounders a real scare. After some lousy ball movement in the middle of the field, Graham Zusi poked the ball to Kamara who had lots of room. Zach Scott didn't come over to pressure him so Kamara gave it a go and the ball dipped over the head of Michael Gspurning, but the bar saved Seattle. Looking at the replay, the shot may have been deflected by Andy Rose, but you can not give Kei Kamara any space outside the area because he can really hit those shots out there.

About five minutes later, the Sounders nearly had a set piece opportunity and nearly made it count. Mauro Rosales, who has really turned his game around after a slow start, sent in an outswinger to the middle for Eddie Johnson for a downward header just outside the six yard area, but Jimmy Nielsen got down in time to deny Johnson who has 11 goals in all competitions and seven of those have been off his head. Johnson has become a primary target in the box in these situations.

Five minutes later, EJ had another big opportunity to give the Sounders the lead in the final. Zach Scott dispossessed Kei Kamara and found Eddie Johnson in the middle of the field. Seth Sinovic tried to side in and break up the play, but Johnson spun around and here's another area where Johnson is dangerous as he took on Lawrence Olum in a one on one situation. Johnson made a nice cut to get away from Olum and looked for the far corner, but the shot just went wide of Jimmy Nielsen's right hand side.

In the 38th minute, Seth Sinovic turned past Mauro Rosales and had a go from distance and most of the Sporting KC supporters thought that was in, but it hit side netting.

On the stroke of halftime, Kansas City had another good chance of taking the lead. Chance Myers looked to curl the ball into the area, but Jhon Kennedy Hurtado headed the ball away. The attack wasn't over yet, Kei Kamara picked up the ball and played it back out wide to Myers who curled it back into the area for Graham Zusi who was bunched up pretty good in the box. Zusi pushed the ball back to Roger Espinoza for a first timed shot, but it was hit right at Michael Gspurning.

In the 82nd minute, the Sounders were whistled for handball in the box and referee Ricardo Salazar pointed to the penalty spot. Seth Sinovic played a good ball forward for Teal Bunbury on the near side. Bunbury cut the ball to his right foot and looked to chip it for Graham Zusi and they were saying that Zach Scott played the ball with his hand. I've been looking at the replay and I couldn't see where the handball took place and I don't understand how the referee saw that, because he was behind the defender. I mean, Zach Scott had his back turned on the referee so I don't get how he saw that. Kei Kamara stepped up for Sporting Kansas City and calmly slotted the ball past Michael Gspurning to put the home side up 1-0 with over six minutes to go plus stoppage time.

That lead was cut short however because in the 86th minute, the Sounders equalized. Mauro Rosales took the free kick and curled the ball toward the back post and found Zach Scott who was unmarked and Scott headed the ball inside the far corner. Jimmy Nielsen was froze on that play, didn't have a chance at that and the Sounders come right back and tie this baby up at one. The match went to extra time because this is a cup final. There wasn't much action in extra time due to tired legs on both sides so the final was decided by PK's.

Kei Kamara stepped up first for Sporting KC. Kamara went to the left side this time and Michael Gspurning was unlucky here because he guess right and got both hands to the ball, but it found the net and Sporting led 1-0. Brad Evans took the Sounders first attempt and went to the left side as well, sending goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen the wrong way. So it was 1-1 after round one.

In the second round, Roger Espinoza took the second PK attempt for Sporting. Espinoza went for placement and tried to slide the ball inside the left post, but Michael Gspurning guessed correctly and made the save. It was an awful penalty by Espinoza. With a chance to put Seattle in the driver's seat, Marc Burch stepped up to take Seattle's second penalty and he made no mistake as he powered it right down the middle and it was advantage Seattle. 2-1 Sounders after two rounds.

In round three, Matt Besler went for KC and he scored off the top of the crossbar. For the Sounders, Ozzie Alonso stepped up, looking to keep the advantage on his team's side but he skied his shot over the bar. I liked idea by Alonso, he got his foot behind the ball and struck it as hard as he could, but he got too far under it. So it was 2-2 after three rounds. It remained 2-2 after four rounds after both teams failed to convert their attempts.

In the fifth round, referee Ricardo Salazar makes another questionable decision. Paulo Nagamura stepped up to take the penalty and tried to go for the right corner and Michael Gspurning palmed it wide, but Salazar said that Gspurning jumped off his line early and he ordered the kick to be re-taken. Nagamura stepped up again and went for the other side and this time he converted. So now it was all up to Eddie Johnson to convert this pk and extend the shootout, but EJ got well under the ball and skied it over the top and Sporting Kansas City walked away as new U.S. Open Cup Champions.

It was a bit unfortunate for the Sounders to lose in the U.S. Open Cup. It was a hard fought battle. I thought the back line did very well. Michael Gspurning of course did very well in net for the Sounders. The Sounders have to put this loss behind and get ready for an even bigger match at San Jose against the Earthquakes. Hopefully by matchday, the lads are well rested and fully prepared for that one. Congrats to Sporting KC for winning the Open Cup title.


Scoring summary:

Sporting Kansas City - Kei Kamara (penalty kick) 84'

Seattle Sounders FC - Zach Scott (Mauro Rosales) 86'


Penalty summary:

Sporting Kansas City - Kei Kamara (GOAL; 1-0)

Seattle Sounders FC - Brad Evans (GOAL; 1-1)

Sporting Kansas City - Roger Espinoza (SAVED; 1-1)

Seattle Sounders FC - Marc Burch (GOAL; 1-2)

Sporting Kansas City - Matt Besler (GOAL; 2-2)

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso (MISS; 2-2)

Sporting Kansas City - Graham Zusi (MISS; 2-2)

Seattle Sounders FC - Christian Tiffert (SAVED; 2-2)

Sporting Kansas City - Paulo Nagamura (GOAL; 3-2)

Seattle Sounders FC - Eddie Johnson (MISS; 3-2)

* Sporting Kansas City win 3-2 on Penalties


Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso (caution; dissent) 4'

Seattle Sounders FC - Mauro Rosales (caution; foul) 57'

Seattle Sounders FC - Patrick Ianni (caution; foul) 73'

Seattle Sounders FC - Zach Scott (caution; foul) 93'

Seattle Sounders FC - Patrick Ianni (caution; foul) 118'

Seattle Sounders FC - Patrick Ianni (ejection; second yellow) 118'


Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning; Zach Scott, Patrick Ianni, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Leonardo Gonzalez; Mauro Rosales, Osvaldo Alonso, Andy Rose (Christian Tiffert 69'), Alex Caskey (Brad Evans 69'); Eddie Johnson, Fredy Montero (Marc Burch 105')

Sporting Kansas City - Jimmy Nielsen; Chance Myers, Lawrence Olum, Matt Besler, Seth Sinovic (Michael Harrington 100'); Graham Zusi, Julio Cesar, Paulo Nagamura, Roger Espinoza; Kei Kamara, Teal Bunbury (C.J. Sapong 88')

By Money Mike


Back on May 2nd, following the Sounders 2-0 home win over the Los Angeles Galaxy, so many LA fans were making dumbass excuses. Saying a bunch of stupid bullshit like, "You beat us only because we played our reserves, if we had our first team out there things would've been different." I watched every single minute of that match last night and the LA Galaxy did play their starters. David Beckham was out there, so was Landon Donovan, Robbie Keane, Omar Gonzalez, Juninho, Josh Saunders, etc. and I got to tell you, all of them played like complete shit. The Seattle Sounders destroyed the Galaxy 4-0 in front of a crowd of 60,908 at CenturyLink Field.

In the fourth minute of the game, Brad Evans went long for Alex Caskey. Now at first the attack looked to have been broke down, but a mistake by defender Omar Gonzalez sent Caskey on a two on one break. Caskey looked to curl the ball into the far corner but Josh Saunders got his hands to it and Fredy Montero couldn't put away the rebound. I don't know how much Montero knew about it, but that would've been the start the Sounders were looking for.

A minute later, the Sounders were on the attack again and this time they got the opening goal. Ozzie Alonso sent Mauro Rosales streaking down the right hand side. Eddie Johnson made a brilliant run into the penalty area and Rosales found him with a terrific cross and EJ puts it away with a snap header from point blank range for his team leading 10th goal of the season which makes him the third player in MLS history to score at least 10 goals in a season for three different clubs. The other two players to do that were Jeff Cunningham and Dwayne De Rosario.

LA started to create some opportunities and they probably should've equalized in the 31st minute. David Beckham played in a good long ball into the box for Landon Donovan who got away from Jeff Parke. Just as Donovan was ready to put the ball away, it took an awkward bounce which forced Donovan to play it back to Robbie Keane whose first timed shot was deflected wide by Parke.

The Sounders doubled their lead in the 52nd minute. Eddie Johnson fed the ball to Fredy Montero who poked the ball through to Alex Caskey who may have been offside. Caskey tried to get to the ball before Josh Saunders but Saunders denied Caskey of his first MLS goal. The ball was still in the box however. Fredy Montero chased the ball down and he saw Saunders retreating to his goal, so Fredy decided to give it a go and found the back of the net. Saunders did get a touch to it, but the Sounders extended their lead to two goals with Montero's sixth league goal of the season and his ninth in all competitions.

Nine minutes later, added a third goal. David Beckham was looking to play in a cross to either Robbie Keane or Landon Donovan, but he got it all wrong and instead gave the ball away to Seattle who quickly poured down field in a counter attack. Eddie Johnson and Fredy Montero sprinted forward to put pressure on both center backs for LA. Johnson tried to get around David Lopes, but his final touch was too heavy and Josh Saunders broke up the play. However, Alex Caskey stepped in and gave it a go from a long way out because he saw that Saunders was well off his line and he found an empty net for his first MLS goal and more importantly to put the Sounders ahead 3-0.

With just over two minutes to go in the game, the Sounders would add one more to cap of LA's embarrasing night. Mauro Rosales played a good ball down the left side for Marc Burch who slowed the play down before squaring the ball across and there to finish it off was Andy Rose for his first MLS goal and to seal a 4-0 victory over the Galaxy.


Observations:

I'm pretty sure Andy Rose has had a difficult day yesterday leading up to this match with the loss of a friend. Yesterday morning, Rose got a call found out that Columbus Crew player Kirk Urso had passed away. Rose and Urso were close friends, going back to the early days when they were club teammates in Chicago. For Rose to score his first MLS goal in front of over 60,000 strong was a special moment for him and he recieved several messages on his phone from people around the nation who watched this match on ESPN2 last night. To hear that a close friend had died is something that's hard to believe and it's something nobody even wants to believe. You just have to wonder what's been going through his mind leading up to the match.

Christian Tiffert made his debut for the Sounders, coming on in the 64th minute of the match. Tiffert joined the Sounders back on July 28th as a Designated Player. I thought Tiffert did very well on his debut. He gave the ball away only once all match, he did a good job defensively and the partnership with Alonso in the midfield seems to be working to perfection. Sometimes you got to have more than one playmaker on your team, so I'm glad that Tiffert is here in the Emerald City and I'm looking forward to the rest of the season with our team getting back to full fitness.

"Pete Carroll @PeteCarroll
Huge 4-0 win for @SoundersFC! And a crowd of 60,000+ too... Seattle fans are unbelievable!"

Pete Carroll, the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, was at the game last night. There's his picture that he posted on Twitter. Just goes to show that Seattle truely is America's Soccer City. The entire stadium will be open again for the Sounders next home match against the Vancouver Whitecaps on August 18th and on October 7th when the Portland Timbers come to town. Unlike RFK Stadium, the Rose Bowl, Gillette Stadium or Soldier Field, CenturyLink Field is a great venue for soccer. It was built remember in 2002 to bring in an MLS team and it's great to have one here in Seattle.

So how about we take a look at the highlights from this match.....



This win will really boost the confidence of this team with a couple more tough games ahead of them. Of course on Wednesday, the Sounders will go for their fourth straight U.S. Open Cup title against Sporting Kansas City and then a big road match on Saturday against the first place San Jose Earthquakes. So to get a win like this is a real confidence booster for sure.


Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Eddie Johnson 10 (Mauro Rosales 8, Osvaldo Alonso 1) 6'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero 6 (unassisted) 52'

Seattle Sounders FC - Alex Caskey 1 (unassisted) 61'

Seattle Sounders FC - Andy Rose 1 (Marc Burch 3, Mauro Rosales 9) 88'


Misconduct summary:

Los Angeles Galaxy - A.J. DeLaGarza (caution; foul) 24'

Seattle Sounders FC - Brad Evans (caution; time wasting) 60'


Lineups:

Los Angeles Galaxy - Josh Saunders; A.J. DeLaGarza, Omar Gonzalez, David Lopes (Jose Villarreal 80'), Bryan Gaul; Sean Franklin (Mike Magee 57'), David Beckham, Juninho (Hector Jimenez 70'), Marcelo Sarvas; Robbie Keane, Landon Donovan

Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning; Adam Johansson, Jeff Parke, Patrick Ianni, Leonardo Gonzalez; Mauro Rosales, Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans (Christian Tiffert 64'), Alex Caskey (Marc Burch 81'); Eddie Johnson, Fredy Montero (Andy Rose 73')

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders have played the Colorado Rapids three times and they beat the Colorado Rapids three times. On Saturday, with the playoff race really heating up in the Western Conference, the Sounders got a big win on the road as they defeated the Colorado Rapids 2-1 at Dicks Sporting Goods Park. With a big month ahead of the Sounders with a home match against the LA Galaxy, an away match at San Jose and of course the U.S. Open Cup final match a week from now against Sporting Kansas City, it was important for the Sounders to get a big win to boost their confidence going into August.

A minute and a half into the game, Rapids fans were still filing in, still looking for their seats and already they saw their team give up a goal off a set piece. It was a corner kick from the near side taken by Mauro Rosales who swings it toward the far post and finds Eddie Johnson who gets away from Marvell Wynne, out jumps Omar Cummings and heads the ball into the far corner for his team leading ninth goal of the season and the Sounders took a 1-0 lead on, if I can remember correctly, is the quickest goal in franchise history.

Unfortunately, the lead only lasted a minute because Colorado came right back and equalised. Martin Rivero slid the ball through on the far side to Brian Mullan who sent in a low ball across the face of goal and right there was Drew Moor to slam it home for his third goal of the year and just like that the game was tied at one.

In the 15th minute, Colorado had a good chance to go in front. Drew Moor took a few seconds to look around for support before chipping the ball to Conor Casey who was just outside the penalty area. Casey made a good turn and tested Michael Gspurning with a low left foot drive. Gspurning made the save and then was able to cover the ball before Omar Cummings could even get a chance of putting away the rebound. Gspurning of course was making his return in goal after missing the last 13 games with a right hip injury that he suffered during the clubs home match on May 2nd against the Galaxy. So having him back is huge.

A couple minutes later, Martin Rivero was found on the near side with room to run. Rivero cut inside of Adam Johansson and tried to curl his shot into the far corner but it was beaten away by Gspurning.

In the 24th minute, the Sounders would've gone 2-1 up if it hadn't been for the post. Luis Zapata gave the ball straight away to Mauro Rosales. Rosales made a run to the center of the field which forced Zapata out of his left back position to cover. That gave Eddie Johnson room to create. Rosales played Johnson with a back heel, and EJ took one touch to get around Tyrone Marshall before hitting one low and hard, but the post saved the Rapids.

In the 48th minute, Luis Zapata's cross was intended for Omar Cummings and Patrick Ianni attempted clearance was instead given straight to Conor Casey who tried to bend one from 20 yards away and he came close to doing so, but sometimes close is not good enough.

In the 65th minute, the Rapids once again give the ball away and this time the Sounders make them pay. Conor Casey was looking to play the ball back to Jeff Larentowicz, but he wasn't paying attention and the ball rolled straight to Fredy Montero. Montero slid the ball through to Johnson who wanted to strike it with his left foot, but he was well defended and instead fed the ball back to Alex Caskey. Caskey looked like he was going to strike the ball from distance, but he played the ball back to Johnson who's cross to the far post found a wide open Ozzie Alonso for a left footed volley and the Sounders climbed back ahead 2-1. That was a brilliant goal by Alonso who was making his 100th league appearance for the Rave Green.

With 15 minutes remaining in the match, Conor Casey had yet another opportunity to get a goal. Martin Rivero found Casey in the box and Casey looked to slot it home, but he hit it right at goalkeeper Michael Gspurning. Had he not made the save, Patrick Ianni probably would've been there to clear the ball off the line. Casey looked like he was going to hit it with his left foot, but Ozzie Alonso tracked back and cut down the angle which forced Casey to go to his right foot. Colorado continued to push, but they could not come up with the knockout blow and the Sounders were able to hold on to get all three points.


Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Eddie Johnson 9 (Mauro Rosales 7) 2'

Colorado Rapids - Drew Moor 3 (Brian Mullan 6) 3'

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso 1 (Eddie Johnson 2, Alex Caskey 4) 65'


Misconduct summary:

NONE


Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning; Adam Johansson, Jeff Parke, Patrick Ianni, Leo Gonzalez; Mauro Rosales, Brad Evans (Marc Burch 83'), Osvaldo Alonso, Alex Caskey (Andy Rose 80'); Eddie Johnson, Fredy Montero (Zach Scott 88')

Colorado Rapids - Matt Pickens; Drew Moor, Marvell Wynne, Tyrone Marshall, Luis Zapata; Brian Mullan (Andre Akpan 80'), Joseph Nane (Wells Thompson 62'), Jeff Larentowicz, Martin Rivero; Conor Casey, Omar Cummings (Kamani Hill 62')

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')

By Money Mike


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


Positives:

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


Negatives:

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


Western Conference Standings:

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


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

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

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

Upcoming schedule

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

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