Super Bowl Update

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Observations:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Scoring summary:

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

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


Misconduct summary:

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

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

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

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

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


Lineups:

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

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

By Money Mike


Coming off a much needed break, the Seattle Sounders were expected to come out with high energy and a lot of confidence following their two Open Cup victories. Instead, they show up like they weren't even ready for this match and end up losing 4-1 to the Montreal Impact in their Stade Saputo opener. The Sounders winless run now sits at five games, which now begins to raise a few questions and concerns about this team leading up to the Summer Transfer Period next Wednesday. The Sounders need to find an answer in their next match at home this Wednesday against Sporting Kansas City.

Not much action in the first quarter of an hour of the game, but in the 18th minute the Impact got things going. Patrice Bernier was spotted down the right hand side. The veteran decided to have a go against Zach Scott instead of chipping the ball into the penalty area as he maneuvered around Scott and poked the ball to the top of the area for Felipe Martins who curled a shot to the far post and there was nothing Bryan Meredith could do about that one as Felipe bagged his second of the season and the first at Saputo Stadium to give the Impact a 1-0 lead.

The Sounders began to show signs of life in the first half and they nearly got the equalizer in the 39th minute as Mauro Rosales took the corner kick for the Sounders. The ball was flicked towards goal by Eddie Johnson where Fredy Montero was waiting, but Donovan Ricketts denied any opportunity of Montero getting to the end of that.

In the 50th minute, the Impact would double their advantage. It was Patrice Bernier setting up another goal for Montreal, this time to Justin Mapp as he made a great run past Zach Scoot, who had a terrible game, and slid the ball inside the left post to make it 2-0 to the Impact.

Seven minutes later, things just went from bad to worse for the Seattle Sounders. Defender Jhon Kennedy Hurtado looked like he was reaching for the ball and he tripped up Collen Warner for the foul. Now normally this would be a yellow card, but for some reason referee Mark Geiger went to his back pocket and pulled out a red card. I don't understand this one, his studs were not exposed, he was trying to play the ball. Terrible decision by the referee. Another thing was the Sounders had 24 hours to appeal the red card on Hurtado and they didn't appeal, so Hurtado will be suspended for the home match on Wednesday against Kansas City.

Shortly after, Montreal started to run away with this game and once again it was Patrice Bernier setting up the third goal. Bernier flicked the ball over his shoulder and slotted the ball through to the no. 1 draft pick Andrew Wenger and the 2011 Hermann Trophy winner struck in first time inside the near post for his third goal of the season, to put the match out of reach. I think this was a shot that Bryan Meredith probably should've stopped. I tell you what, this guy has stuggled over the last couple of games making saves, communicating with his defenders, etc. Which begins to raise more questions if they should keep him in net or turn to Andrew Weber or Josh Ford until Michael Gspurning is fully recovered. Gspurning was targeting a June 16th return but he had a bit of a setback and probably won't be ready until June 30th, if not July 4th.

Three minutes later, the Sounders would pull one back. Fredy Montero slid the ball through to Eddie Johnson who beat Jeb Brovsky to the ball and chipped the ball over Donovan Ricketts and into the back of the net for his fourth goal in 2012.

In the 87th minute, Montreal would add a fourth and it the former Sounder Lamar Neagle. Neagle sprinted away from Jeff Parke into the penalty area and either Brad Evans and Marc Burch were supposed the clear the ball. Instead, there was some miscommunication and Lamar Neagle slammed the ball into the net and slammed the door in this game as the Impact walked away with a 4-1 win.


Scoring summary:

Montreal Impact - Felipe Martins 2 (Patrice Bernier 2) 18'

Montreal Impact - Justin Mapp 2 (Patrice Bernier 3) 51'

Montreal Impact - Andrew Wenger 3 (Patrice Bernier 4) 58'

Seattle Sounders FC - Eddie Johnson 4 (Fredy Montero 4) 61'

Montreal Impact - Lamar Neagle 1 (unassisted) 87'


Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Jeff Parke (caution; foul) 22'

Seattle Sounders FC - Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (ejection; foul) 56'

Seattle Sounders FC - Eddie Johnson (caution; foul) 70'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero (caution; foul) 76'

Montreal Impact - Shavar Thomas (caution; foul) 79'

Montreal Impact - Nelson Rivas (caution; foul) 85'


Lineup:

Seattle Sounders FC - Bryan Meredith; Zach Scott, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Marc Burch; Mauro Rosales (Cordell Cato 71'), Andy Rose, Brad Evans, Alvaro Fernandez (Alex Caskey 62'); Eddie Johnson (Servando Carrasco 82'), Fredy Montero

Montreal Impact - Donovan Ricketts; Zarek Valentin, Nelson Rivas, Matteo Ferrari (Shavar Thomas 33'), Jeb Brovsky; Davy Arnaud, Collen Warner, Patrice Bernier (Bernardo Corradi 77'), Felipe Martins, Justin Mapp (Lamar Neagle 62'); Andrew Wenger

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders were coming off a very disappointing 2-0 loss at home Wednesday night to the Columbus Crew and really needed to find a way to keep that from happening again. The way they played on Saturday, Seattle possibly could've came away with all three points but instead they settled for a 1-1 draw at the Home Depot Center against a new look Chivas USA side. The Sounders will now have a two week break from MLS play. They still have a U.S. Open Cup match this Wednesday down at Starfire against the Atlanta Silverbacks and another one on June 5th should they advance with a win over Atlanta. The Sounders currently sit in third place in the Western Conference with a record of 7-3-3 (24 points).

In the 31st minute, former Sounder James Riley played a long crossfield ball to the near side for Ryan Smith. Now here's the problem, Mauro Rosales was all the way back defending because Zach Scott who was supposed to be defending Smith on these plays was in a central defensive position. Smith took advantage of that and maneuvered around Rosales and sent in a low ball to the near post for Alejandro Moreno, but Jeff Parke was there as well to knock it out of play for a corner kick. Parke has been criticised lately about his defending, but he answered all critics in this match and made some great defensive plays.

In the 39th minute, Fredy Montero sent David Estrada in behind the Chivas USA defense and it looked he had all the time and space to either get a cross in or go for goal himself, but James Riley got back and broke of the attack. That was five yards that Riley made up. Estrada is another guy that has been criticised lately. I understand Eric Wynalda was discussing this on FSN West and I have to agree with him on this part. The reason Estrada has stuggled is because of his lack of pace. So far, he's lacking still and he doesn't have the closing speed and hopefully he'll continue to work on that as the season goes on.

Two minutes later, Alvaro Fernandez headed the ball on for Marc Burch to made an excellent run from the back. However he didn't have much of an angle for a shot or a cross and the ball was easily gathered by Chivas goalkeeper Dan Kennedy.

At the end of the first half, the Sounders had the best opportunity to take the lead going into the locker room. Fredy Montero got away from John Valencia and tried to find David Estrada, but the ball was deflected by Danny Califf right to Mauro Rosales who misses a golden opportunity. I don't know how much Rosales knew about it, but that was the best chance of the half for either side.

In the 57th minute, first blood went to the Goats. Peter Vagenas, another former Sounder, found James Riley on the near side with loads of space. Riley curled the ball toward the near post. Now it looked like Bryan Meredith was going to punch this one clear, but Juan Agudelo snuck right in front of him to head that one into the far corner to give Chivas USA a 1-0 lead. Agudelo's first professional goal came against the Sounders while he was playing for the New York Red Bulls and now in his second game for his new club, he repeats the trick and scores his first goal for Chivas USA against the Seattle Sounders.

In the 61st minute, the Sounders would come right back and tie it up. Shortly after coming on, Alex Caskey makes an immediate impact as he curled in a low ball right into the mixer and all David Estrada had to do was get a toe to the ball and that's exactly what he did as he made a run around John Valencia and poked the ball home for his fifth goal of the season. As for Caskey, that was his third assist of the season and I got to tell you he's outperforming Alvaro Fernandez so far this season. If Fernandez doesn't pull his head out soon, he could lose his starting job.

In the 90th minute, Eddie Johnson made a run all the way to the end line before trying to square the ball for Cordell Cato, but Cato couldn't get a foot on it. The ball bounced to Andy Rose for a first timed shot, but it was cleared away by Danny Califf. Had he not cleared the ball, it probably could've been a goal at the same time Kennedy may have had that covered, but the bottomline is Seattle couldn't find the breakthrough and come away with only a point.


Scoring summary:

Chivas USA - Juan Agudelo 1 (James Riley 2, Peter Vagenas 1) 57'

Seattle Sounders FC - David Estrada 5 (Fredy Montero 3, Alex Caskey 3) 61'


Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Andy Rose (caution; foul) 20'


Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Bryan Meredith; Zach Scott, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Marc Burch; Mauro Rosales, Andy Rose, Brad Evans, Alvaro Fernandez (Alex Caskey 61'); David Estrada (Cordell Cato 78'), Fredy Montero (Eddie Johnson 73')

Chivas USA - Dan Kennedy; James Riley, Danny Califf, John Valencia (Rauwshan McKenzie 66'), Ante Jazic; Laurent Courtois, Peter Vagenas, Ryan Smith (Cesar Romero 88'); Juan Agudelo, Jose Erick Correa (Blair Gavin 76'), Alejandro Moreno

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


The Sounders moved up to third place in the Western Conference earlier this afternoon as they defeated the Colorado Rapids by a score of 1-0. Zach Scott's goal in the 63rd minute snapped the Sounders 305 minute goalless streak. Seattle made a couple of changes to the lineup. Eddie Johnson and Alex Caskey both got their first start with the Rave Green who were still without Mauro Rosales and Adam Johansson. However both of them should make their return when the Sounders travel to Chicago to take on the Fire.

No surprise the Sounders came right at them early in this game. In the 5th minute, Colorado had lots of trouble clearing the ball away and they nearly paid the price. Marvell Wynne gave the ball straight to David Estrada, who quickly found Fredy Montero in the box. Montero then turned, escaped an attempted slide tackle from Drew Moor and went for the far corner but it was beaten away by Matt Pickens. Montero's first half performance was pretty good. Really starting to get in on the attack. However, he's still looking for his first goal of the season. Then again, he struggled in the early stages of 2010 and 2011.

In the 13th minute, a free kick from Alex Caskey found Zach Scott from point blank range, but he directed his header just wide. Scott is really good in the air in these situations. He scored eight goals with the Sounders USL franchise, and he nearly got one there but was inches wide of the left post.

Seconds later, Scott nearly got caught at the other end. After failing to control a high lofted ball from Brian Mullan, Scott lost out to Tony Cascio who tried to chip Michael Gspurning but instead, he fired high over the bar.

In the 33rd minute, the Rapids thought they scored the opening goal. After some poor ball control by Seattle, Tony Cascio chipped the ball forward for Omar Cummings on the far side of the pitch. Cummings made a nice cut to get around two Seattle defenders and fired a low right root drive on goal which forced a save from Michael Gspurning. Brian Mullan was there to pounce on the rebound and tap it in the goal, but the offside flag went up and the goal was waved off. Mullan in his first match in Seattle since the injury he cause to Steve Zakuani has been booed all match by the entire Sounder nation. The fans still haven't forgiven him for what he did to our no. 1 overall draft pick from 2009.

In the 53rd minute, the Sounders won a free kick in a dangerous area. Fredy Montero stepped up and curled it around the wall and just missed wide of Picken's right hand side. Despite his struggles, you can't deny that Fredy Montero is a threat in these situations. About nine minutes later, Montero tested the keeper again. This time forcing Pickens to palm his shot wide for a corner.

In the 63rd minute, first blood went to the Men in Rave Green. After a poor delivery off a corner kick from Alex Caskey about a few seconds ago, he had another chance to get this one right and he did. Caskey driven ball found Zack Scott at the near post and the veteran directed his header to the far post and in the back of the goal to snap the Sounders scoreless streak and even better, give the Sounders a 1-0 lead. It was Scott's first goal of his MLS career.

In the 89th minute, Fredy Montero worked a give and go with Leo Gonzalez. Montero caught Matt Pickens off his line and tried to chip him, but Pickens punched his effort over the bar. He had Sammy Ochoa up with him as well. I think he should poked the ball to Ochoa which would've led to an easy tap in. However one goal proved to be enough for Seattle.


Observations:

Fredy Montero and sort of an up and down performance in this match. I understand this guy wants to score goals, to help his team try to win and all that, but he needs to quit acting as a playmaker, get forward and test the backline. He's a good young player, but often times, he's been a little too cute on the ball and try to make plays all by himself which will never work in the game of soccer, unless you're Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, but Fredy is nowhere near their caliber. It's early in the season and he is way overdue for his first goal of the season, but this is a team game and his second half performance was somewhat disappointing. Hopefully after the bye week, Montero can turn things around on the road in Chicago and I think he'll step his game up. Like I said earlier, the early stages of the season is where he isn't really at his best, but then as the season rolls along, he starts to heat up.

The Sounders made a couple of lineup changes in this match. Alvaro Fernandez was left out of the lineup. Alex Caskey got the start in place of him. Eddie Johnson also made his first start and David Estrada was move to right midfield. Despite outshooting the Rapids 18-4, the Sounders weren't on the right page due to those lineup changes and they had only 40% of the possession all match. You need to be on the right page at all times.

It was a lot of fun catching another game in person. The problem though is I forgot my Camera so that shot from the upper deck was taken on my phone which is basically why it's not a great picture. I remember my very first Sounders game was that USL Championship game in 2005 and at that time, we didn't have this many fans. All the fans were on the east side of that picture. Since the Sounders became an MLS franchise I've been to five of their matches so far. Three of them were MLS matches, the U.S. Open Cup final last year and earlier this year, I saw their CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinal match against Santos. So this match is the second I've gone to this year.

Despite all the terrible passing and the lack of possession and all that. This is a good win for the Sounders because they now move to third place in the Western Conference standings and are only five points behind Real Salt Lake with a couple of games in hand. RSL lost earlier to Sporting Kansas City 1-0 and this is no joke people, Sporting KC is 6-0 so far in this young season. Anyway, it was important that this team got back on track after failing to score the past couple of weeks.


Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Zach Scott 1 (Alex Caskey 1) 63'


Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Eddie Johnson (caution; foul) 47'

Seattle Sounders FC - Zach Scott (caution; foul) 49'

Colorado Rapids - Brian Mullan (caution; foul) 87'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero (caution; Dissent) 87'


Lineups:

Colorado Rapids - Matt Pickens; Kosuke Kimura, Marvell Wynne, Drew Moor, Luis Zepata; Brian Mullan, Martin Rivero, Jeff Larentowicz, Jaime Castrillon (Kamani Hill 69'), Tony Cascio (Andre Akpan 83'); Omar Cummings

Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning; Zach Scott, Jeff Parke, Patrick Ianni, Leo Gonzalez; David Estrada, Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans, Alex Caskey (Marc Burch 75'); Fredy Montero (Roger Levesque 91'+), Eddie Johnson (Sammy Ochoa 66')

By Money Mike


After winning their first two matches of the season the Seattle Sounders came into this match with alot of confidence, but sometimes confidence isn't good enough. The Sounders found themselves on the losing end, falling 1-0 to the San Jose Earthquakes. The Sounders hit the road next Saturday in the nations capital as they face D.C. United who are coming off their first win of the season, defeating FC Dallas 4-1. It was a poorly played game from both sides and the Sounders deserved no more than a point out of this, but a horrible PK decision midway through the first half made sure that didn't happen. Seattle will have to shake this one off and turn their attention to their match next Saturday at D.C.

Seattle did start of brightly in the early minutes. In the 10th minute after San Jose struggled to clear the ball out of danger, Osvaldo Alonso stepped and sent in a driven ball to the middle of the penalty area for Fredy Montero who just headed it over the top.

In the 17th minute, San Jose nearly caught the Sounders on the break. Chris Wondolowski found Steven Beitashour making a brilliant overlapping run from the back. Beitashour whipped in a short cross which bounced to the far post for Steven Lenhart who forced a save from Michael Gspurning who then pounced on the ball and held on to prevent Chris Wondolowski from putting home the rebound.

Now as I said on my preview, Alvaro Fernandez was fined for embellishment in last weeks match. The MLS Disciplinary Committee better fine Steven Lenhart as well for this crap in the 23rd minute. Marc Burch stuck his leg out and there was very little to no contact on the play. It was a clear dive by Lenhart but referee Mark Kadlecik decides to point to the penalty spot and award a PK to the Quakes. I hate making excuses here but that was a horrible call by the referee. I'm just getting sick and tired of the fact that referee's end up deciding the game.

Chris Wondolowski stepped up to take the PK for San Jose. Michael Gspurning has made some key penalty saves during his career. However, Wondo overpowered him and put it inside the right post for his fourth of the season and to give San Jose the lead in Seattle.

In the 35th minute, Zach Scott, who got the start again at right back for the injured Adam Johansson, sent in a cross into the six yard box where four Sounder players were waiting. The ball found the head of Alonso who headed it just wide of the near post.

The Sounders continued to push at the start of the second half. In the 51st minute, Osvaldo Alonso found David Estrada who turned, got away from Sam Cronin and had a go from about 25 yards away, but it didn't really test goalkeeper Jon Busch. Estrada who scored four goals in his first two matches was really quiet in the first half and trying to get it going in the second half.

Six minutes later, the Quakes nearly capitalized on a mistake. Servando Carrasco gave the ball away to Sam Cronin who stepped away from Patrick Ianni, but just missed wide as he looked to slot into the far corner.

In the 83rd minute, Fredy Montero and Sammy Ochoa liked up very well on this play and Montero looked to curl this one into the far corner but Jon Busch came up huge yet again. That was just about the last real opportunity for the Sounders as the breaks just weren't going their way like they were last match.


Scoring summary:

San Jose Earthquakes - Chris Wondolowski 4 (penalty kick) 24'


Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso (caution; foul) 6'

Seattle Sounders FC - Christian Sivebaek (caution; Persisten infringement) 47'+

San Jose Earthquakes - Rafael Baca (caution; foul) 64'

San Jose Earthquakes - Steven Lenhart (caution; Time wasting) 64'

Seattle Sounders FC - Zach Scott (caution; foul) 81'

San Jose Earthquakes - Alan Gordon (caution; foul) 83'


Lineups:

San Jose Earthquakes - Jon Busch; Steven Beitashour, Victor Bernardez, Justin Morrow, Ramiro Corrales (Jason Hernandez 46'); Marvin Chavez (Simon Dawkins 89'), Sam Cronin, Rafael Baca, Shea Salinas; Steven Lenhart (Alan Gordon 67'), Chris Wondolowski

Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning; Zach Scott, Patrick Ianni, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (Jeff Parke 46'), Marc Burch; Christian Sivebaek (Sammy Ochoa 62'), Osvaldo Alonso, Servando Carrasco (Alex Caskey 74'), Alvaro Fernandez; David Estrada, Fredy Montero

By Money Mike

In the 90th minute, the Sounders finally came through. Servando Carrasco played in a good ball to Mauro Rosales who beat two KC defenders and slotted the ball past Jimmy Nielsen to steal a Victory from Sporting Kansas City. As a matter of fact, they would steal all 3 points. In the 2nd minute of stoppage time, Mike Fucito was able to push the ball to Lamar Neagle who quickly struck the ball first time off the hands of Nielsen and that was the match winner. With the win, Seattle now improves to 11-5-8 with adds up to 41 points so far. Kansas City now drops to 7-7-9 with the loss. Seattle returns home next Saturday to take on Chivas USA and then they open up Group play in the Champions League on August 16th at home.


Scoring summary:

Sporting Kansas City - Kei Kamara 6 (Matt Besler 2) 20'

Seattle Sounders FC - Mauro Rosales 3 (unassisted) 90'

Seattle Sounders FC - Lamar Neagle 2 (Mike Fucito 1) 92+'


Misconduct summary:

Sporting Kansas City - Birahim Diop (caution; Reckless foul) 37'

Sporting Kansas City - Omar Bravo (ejection; Serious foul play) 59'


Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller; James Riley, Jeff Parke, Zach Scott, Tyson Wahl; Mauro Rosales, Osvaldo Alonso, Servando Carassco, Alvaro Fernandez (Pat Noonan 55'); Roger Levesque (Lamar Neagle 67'), Fredy Montero (Mike Fucito 55')

Sporting Kansas City - Jimmy Nielsen; Michael Harrington, Julio Cesar, Matt Besler, Seth Sinovic; Jeferson (Luke Sassano 39'), Birahim Diop, Graham Zusi; Kei Kamara (Chance Myers 82'), C.J. Sapong (Teal Bunbury 65'), Omar Bravo


Omar Bravo's red card/dumbass behavior:

Now back to that red card on Omar Bravo. So look people, you may think was a bad call because Bravo got the ball first, but he came in two footed with his studs showing on Pat Noonan, so that is definitely a red card. The decision made by the referee was correct. But after the red card, Bravo, rather than getting off the pitch, decides to go after Pat Noonan. Noonan reacted and then Bravo just falls to the ground like he was headbutted. Arlo White was spot on, he let Sporting Kansas City down. He should not be allowed to antagonize a player after being sent off and as a veteran, he should know that. MLS has to take action for this bullshit.

Congratulations Omar Bravo, you're the new public enemy #1.

I mean look what this stupid fuck is doing.....

By Money Mike