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Prost Amerika Special Report - Kasey Keller Signs

Montréal Impact 3 : 1 Seattle Sounders

Impact win 4-3 on aggregate

Down and Out. Seattle's USL Story Ends Amidst Red Card Flurry

Impact Advance to Semis as Seattle Prepares for the Arrival of MLS

September 28

Red cards, late goals and a retaken penalty contributed to an evening of high drama at the Saputo Stadium, Montreal. Going into the game trailing by one goal, Montreal equalized the aggregate score in in the 56th minute with a strike from David Testo just inside the 18 yards box which Sounders keeper Chris Eylander only managed to fingertip. The score line didn't stay tied long, however, as the Sounders all-time leading goalscorer in the playoffs, Roger Levesque, scored three minutes later putting Seattle back up by one goal in the series. The goal was his seventh ever in the playoffs and came off an assist from recent substitute, Sanna Nyassi. Nyassi had come on at half time for the injured Leighton O'Brien and played to ball to Levesque from the left after having received a terrific back heel pass from Le Toux.

Seattle adopted a more defensive posture after the goal to hold their lead but were dealt a serious blow in the 74th minute when they were reduced to ten men after Roger Levesque was sent off for a violent tackle on Impact defender Adam Braz. On the ensuing free kick, the ball bounced around in the box eventually coming to the feet of Rocco Placentino whose shot deflected in off the post.

What followed next can only be described as bizarre. In the first leg, a red card for Seattle had been immediately followed by a red for Montreal. On the night, a goal for Montreal was immediately followed by one for Seattle. It was therefore almost symmetrical that a red was to follow for Montreal soon after Levesque's. In the 79th minute, after Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar took a free kick which Matt Jordan spectacularly saved, the ball rebounded to Sébastien Le Toux. Poised to shoot, Adam Braz pulled him down in the box to prevent the goal attempt. Seattle were awarded the penalty. Braz was shown a red card and Alcaraz-Cuellar stepped up to the spot for Seattle. He scored and at ten men each and with a goal lead, things look good for Seattle.

But referee Mauricio Navarro interrupted the Sounders' celebrations and ordered the kick to be retaken having seen an encroachment. Photographic evidence that has since emerged has suggested it was a Montreal player who entered the penalty area and the goal should have stood. A spokesman for the USL confirmed to Prost Amerika that Kenji Treschuk was mentioned on the USL live commentary as the offending Seattle player but nothing had appeared in the referee's report. Before the retake, Montreal indulged in several minutes of acute gamesmanship with both Roberto Brown and Matt Jordan confronting the waiting Cuellar with verbals to try and interrupt his concentration. Bizarrely, the eagle eyed referee failed to act. Inevitably the Montreal theatrics paid dividends and Cuellar's retake hit the right post. Matt Jordan later justified his approach, "Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar is a good player, but on the second penalty kick I just decided to stand him up and to react. don't know if he saw me and if that made a difference in the play but I'm just glad that he missed. "

It was mentally hard on Seattle and Montreal looked the likelier side from then on. It proved to be the difference as Antonio Ribeiro scored the winner in the 90th minute after midfielder Joey Gjertsen took a well-placed shot from about 35 yards out which hit the crossbar, but left an easy tap into an empty net for Ribeiro. Nyassi had an open chance to score late in the game but his effort was saved by Jordan.

Seattle's miserable night at the hands of the referee was completed when Danny Jackson received a red card for a trip on forward Roberto Brown during a Montreal breakaway in the last minute. According to the USL website, Leighton O'Brien who was brought off injured at half time was also shown the red card at the final whistle, a fact later confirmed by a USL spokesman.

Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer was livid with Navarro, basically calling the official incompetent after the game. He told the Montreal Gazette, "The referee took the game away from the players on both teams. He only thought of himself," he said. "He cheated us out of a chance to win. It was junior league stuff."

Seattle's season is now over, their last in this "junior league". Next year MLS football comes to the Emerald City and tonight's events will be a distant memory. However for those Seattle fans who huddled around their laptops or watched in the bars, the sense of grievance against the approach to soccer from the Montreal club may linger a little longer. At least until FC Dallas visit!

Montreal now face trans-Canadian rivals Vancouver Whitecaps in the semi finals after they survived a 4-3 goal fest in Minnesota to advance 5-4 on aggregate over the Thunder. First they must visit Tegucigalpa to meet CD Olimpia in the Champions League. Rochester also progressed and have the unenviable task of meeting Puerto Rico in the other semi.

Attendance 11134

Seattle Sounders 2 : 1 Montréal Impact

Fiery, Frothy and Far from Over

Sounders Travel to Quebec with Slim Advantage but without Sakuda

Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar Opens the Scoring for
Seattle. Photo: Rick Morrison,
GOALSEATTLE.com

Seattle Sounders edged out the Montréal Impact 2-1 in the first leg of this play-off game which saw overworked referee Edvin Jurisevic issue red cards to Seattle’s Kevin Sakuda and Montréal’s Stefan Pesoli. Goals from Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar and a Leighton O’Brien penalty secured the home side a narrow lead to take to Montréal on Sunday. Jurisevic could have issued more cards as personal battles broke out across the field in a chaotic final fifteen minutes. Adam Braz and Felix Brillant can count themselves fairly lucky to have remained on the pitch. Nevertheless, there was a lack of finger pointing from a calm Brian Schmetzer after the match with the Seattle coach commenting “My players should know better. A championship team doesn’t make mental mistakes like that. That they tried to play physical was a positive in my eyes.”

Impact coach John Limniatis saw it differently. Asked if he was happy with the 2-1 reverse in the away leg, he said, “I don’t think happy is right. It’s not the worst score in the world but the thing is it forces you to win the game. Obviously a tie would have been a lot better. They outplayed us to some extent but the most important thing was they were far more physical than we were and we just didn’t respond to that. They seemed to want it just a little more than us and they were more physical, and in most cases when you’re not physical, you’re not intense. Then unless your quality is really high, you’re probably not going to win the game. In terms of quality I think the two sides are fairly equal, we showed that during the season. The only difference tonight was that they were more physical and they wanted the game more than us. In the return leg, it’s got to be us that are the initiators rather than the ones that are receiving all of it.”

Going into the game, Limniatis was forced to juggle his resources because of CONCACAF Champions League obligations. Therefore he left Quebec without Nevio Pizzolitto, Sandro Grande, Peter Byers and David Testo. In addition regular starters Joey Gjertsen and Adam Braz were left on the bench. All are available for the second leg which should be an absolute cracker of a game.

On the night itself, perhaps the biggest positive on the footballing front from a Seattle point of view was the inspirational performance of the returning Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar. His season has been severely injury hit and this was only his second start since July 11th. His fellow midfielder and scorer of the winning goal Leighton O’Brien, was effusive in his tribute to Hugo's influence after the match.

“Having Hugo back is good because he’s another playmaker on the field so he’s easy to combine with, takes a little bit of pressure off me. I can look for him and we have good combination play. He played well tonight. He hasn’t played in quite a while. He’s got good vision, a good touch, and it’s fun to play with players like that. Hugo’s a great player. He’s very crafty on the ball and we’ve missed that.”

All the goals came in the first half and all the cards in the second. The early chances broke narrowly in Seattle’s favor. Within the first ten minutes, Impact forward Rocco Placentino fired wide after a Mauro Biello cross landed favorably for him, and shortly after Josh Gardner shot straight at the USL’s statistically top keeper Matt Jordan following Taylor Graham's skillful protection of possession in the Montréal penalty area. A minute later, Montréal full back Davy Uwimana cleared from nearly underneath his own cross bar from a powerful Leighton O’Brien shot.

With such a plethora of goal attempts, it was no surprise that a goal came along soon. Roger Levesque has lost his shooting boots but not his spirit or his persistence, and it was his hard work in the Montréal penalty area that resulted in the ball falling kindly to Alcaraz-Cuellar. He too needed a little perseverance before he finally buried the ball past the helpless Matt Jordan.

But one thing you can be certain of with any John Limniatis team is that their heads don’t go down easily. Montréal were level within six minutes. A Leonardo Dilorenzo free kick found Biello in the area but his shot was superbly saved by Chris Eylander. Unfortunately for the Sounders keeper, the ball fell to Stefan Pesoli who had time and space to fire in the equalizer.

The next chance took only another 120 seconds to arrive but Roger Levesque slid the ball past Jordan’s left post when clean through on goal. Levesque was denied another opportunity to score on 39 minutes due to some razor quick defending by Cedric Joqueviel who nipped the ball off his toes after Josh Gardner and O’Brien had played a neat one touch movement.

Four minutes before the interval, there was the first real officiating controversy and it broke Seattle's way. Seb Le Toux had got goal side of Uwimana and seemed to go down due to the effects of his clumsy tackle. The referee awarded a penalty but replays showed that Le Toux had stubbed his foot into the turf and tripped. Nonetheless Seattle weren’t complaining and O’Brien gleefully netted the penalty to give the Sounders the lead. There was still time before the interval for Cuellar to find Gardner with a pin point cross but the midfielder’s downward header was pouched on the line by Matt Jordan in the Impact goal.

If the first half was a tale of three goals, the second was dominated by cards as Nik Besagno, Josh Gardner, Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar, Adam Braz and Roberto Brown were booked, along with the two ejections. Sakuda lashed out at Felix Brillant after being floored by a tackle from behind in the 78th and Pesoli received his second yellow of the match five minutes later.

There was some football played in the second half. Six minutes in Le Toux found O’Brien whose effort produced a superb point blank save from Matt Jordan. If Seattle had been fortunate with the penalty call in the first period, then the official balanced it out by denying them as clear a spot kick as you will see in the second. Sanna Nyassi had come on in the 73rd minute, replacing Roger Levesque. Within seconds he was torturing the Impact defence and had beaten them all and worked his way into a shooting position. He was abruptly halted by Felix Brillant who, chasing back, hacked him down. Nyassi was in a clear scoring position and had the official called the foul, a red card should and would have been shown to the fortunate Brillant.

Instead of receiving one, four minutes later Brillant was goading Kevin Sakuda into getting one. Making the most of his apparent immunity, Brillant clattered into Sakuda near the half way line. The Seattle full back, by then filling in for Nik Besagno in the midfield holding role, had seen enough and foolishly lashed out at his opponent. The referee had no option but to dismiss him and he will be suspended for the return leg. After the game Schmetzer was generous to Montréal and rather than apportion blame admitted that “Kevin lost his head a little bit and he’s not flying to Montréal. I’m not giving him a free vacation.” He’ll be a more than welcome guest at the Atlantic Crossing where the Seattle fans will gather for the return leg.

Briefly it looked like the Impact could make their man advantage pay as they went in search of the equalizer. Roberto Brown took some time off from his constant negotiation with the referee and creatively found Antonia Ribeiro in the penalty box. Ribeiro did everything right but found Eylander in sparkling form to preserve Seattle’s lead. If Eylander can reproduce that in the hostile environment in the second leg, then Seattle may well be in with a fine chance of progressing.

After that though, what little discipline was left in the game evaporated. Stefan Pesoli was shown a second yellow card in the space of twelve minutes. A minute later, the more observant in the crowd saw Cedric Joqueviel deck Taylor Graham off the ball in the Montréal penalty area. It was all very unedifying and one suspects the effect will spill over into the second leg. Brian Schmetzer suspects it too, “Any time you have two groups of men with a lot of testosterone who play each other two days after a game that’s a little physical. It’s probably set up to be another physical match. I don’t think the guys are going to forget after a day and a half what went on out on the field. There are all the little individual battles outside of the major fracases. It should be a spirited affair.”

The return leg kicks off at 2pm Pacific time (5 Eastern). If the aggregate scores are level at full time, extra time will be played. Away goals do not count double. After extra time, a penalty shoot out will decide the winner. In the other qurter finals, Vancouver beat Minnesota 2-0 and Rochester beat Charleston 2-0 to complete a clean sweep of home victories.

Seattle Sounders: Chris Eylander; Kevin Sakuda, Danny Jackson, Taylor Graham, Zach Scott; Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar (Youssuf Kante 88’), Josh Gardner (Kenji Treschuk 82’), Nik Besagno (Adam West 61’), Leighton O'Brien; Sébastien Le Toux, Roger Levesque (Sanna Nyassi 73’)
Substitutes: Ben Dragavon; Andre Schmid, Kevin Forrest,

Montréal Impact: Matt Jordan, Davy Uwimana (Adam Braz 55’), Cedric Joqueviel, Stefano Pesoli, Leo Di Lorenzo; Simon Gatti, Antonio Ribeiro, Mauro Biello (Severino Jefferson 81’), Tony Donatelli (Félix Brillant; 55’); Rocco Placentino (Joey Gjertsen 63), Roberto Brown
Substitutes: Andrew Weber, Pato Aguilera, Patrick Leduc

Attendance 2,865.

Old Friends Meet Again and Both Have Reasons to be Confident

But Could This Be "Sayonara" Starfire?

September 23

The Sounders now enter the play-off finale to the season and some would say their existence. They approach the quarter final match with Montréal Impact in a less than hearty mood with recent performances baffling coach Brian Schmetzer and fans alike. Goals have been shipped by experienced defenders making basic errors, but as a frustrated Schmetzer pointed out after the last game, the errors seem to emanate from a different player every time. But just as it seems to have broken itself, it may well fix itself and traditionally the play-offs have brought the best out of Schmetzer’s sides. Add to that the incentive that for the first time this season a loss poses the risk that it may cost Seattle their Champions title, and you get the feeling that a rejuvenated Sounders may show up on Friday for the first leg against Montréal Impact. That, at least, is the hope for the home side.

So what of Montréal? Against all predictions and despite a wretched start to the USL season which actually saw them occupy bottom place for a while, the have reached the league stages of the CONCACAF Champions League and performed admirably so far. They also saw a second half turnaround in their USL form that saw them finish a creditable third. This week they played Mexican giants Atlante and managed a goalless draw. They now have four points from two CL games having earlier defeated Trinidad and Tobago’s Joe Public who humbled the MLS New England Revs. But will their schedule be their worst enemy? They flew into Seattle straight from the home game against Atlante and have to then fly back to prepare for the return leg. Perhaps Seattle can expose a little bit of fatigue tonight?

Seattle's league record is a symmetrical 10 wins, 10 draws and 10 defeats. Montréal have two more wins and two more draws. Defeat for Montréal will mean they can focus totally on their exciting Champions League run. Defeat for Seattle will mean the end of the club as we know it. Maybe just maybe, the Sounders will want this more? It certainly represents the very last chance for certain players to make that MLS squad and quite a few seem to be on that threshold where a good performance might just make a difference. So we have two clubs that couldn’t be at more diametrically opposite places in their lives. As if that isn’t enough, there is some bad blood between the clubs. After the last meeting the two coaches ‘had words’ and it is an understatement to say that Montréal's John Limniatis is a fiery character.

Team News

Seattle now seems to have a healthy roster. Taylor Graham’s absence contributes to uncertainty in the Sounders central defence and his absence against Vancouver exposed this. He’ll be back on Friday and midfielder Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar will be available to shore up the creative department should Schmetzer want to go down that route. Schmetzer retains confidence in his players till then end. "We’re still the defending champions and though we haven’t played up to our potential, that capability is still within this group of players," he said.

Montréal fielded a very strong squad against Atlante and didn’t appear to pick up any fresh injuries. Forward Peter Byers picked up his second yellow card of the tournament against Atlante and will miss their next CL game so there will be no need to rest him.

Past Meetings

The Sounders and Impact have met three times this season going 1-1-1 with each team winning one on their opponents’ home field. Seattle was host to the first match June 28 which ended in a 1-1 draw. Andre Schmid scored in the 80th minute to give the Sounders the lead, but Impact defender Stefano Pesoli equalised four minutes later earning the draw.

In their next meeting on July 13, the Sounders squeezed out a 1-0 win at Saputo Stadium in Montréal despite being out shot by the home side 15-4. The Sounders were playing their seventh game in two weeks including having played two MLS sides in the US Open Cup. Montréal controlled the match throughout but Sébastien Le Toux took advantage of one of the rare Sounders scoring opportunities and delivered the winner in the 73rd minute. That defeat dumped the Impact in Portland’s rightful place at the bottom of the table but John Limniatis who had replaced Nick De Santis as head coach a month earlier was already turning things round.

The Impact won the final match of the season two weeks ago, September 10, 2-1 behind second half goals from Tony Donatelli and Antonio Ribeiro. Youssouf Kante scored his second goal of the year in the loss.

Playoff Bracket

Friday, September 26
#2 Vancouver Whitecaps v Minnesota Thunder at #7
#4 Rochester Rhinos v Charleston Battery at #5
#6 Seattle Sounders v Montreal Impact at #3

Sunday, September 28
#7 Minnesota Thunder v #2 Vancouver Whitecaps
#5 Charleston Battery v #4 Rochester Rhinos
#3 Montreal Impact v #6 Seattle Sounders

*Puerto Rico Islanders finished #1 and earned bye to semifinals

Things You Should Know about the Play-offs (from Seattle Sounders Website)

Friday will be the fourth all-time meeting between the two clubs in the playoffs. In the 2004 A-League Championship game, Montreal defeated Seattle 2-0 behind goals from Mauricio Vincello and Freddy Commodore giving the Impact their second title in team history.

The Sounders returned the favor a year later defeating the regular season champion Impact in the semifinals 4-3 on aggregate on way to their third league Championship. Current Sounders Leighton O’Brien and Roger Levesque both scored in that series; Levesque’s goal was an extra time winner in the second leg catapulting the Sounders into the championship game. Last year, the Sounders went through the Carolina RailHawks (3-0) and Puerto Rico Islanders (3-3, 4-2 on penalties) en route to the Championship game where they defeated the Atlanta Silverbacks 4-0 at Starfire.

The match is set for Friday, September 26 at Starfire; kickoff is 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $13 in advance through www.ticketmaster.com and $15 at the gate. $13 group tickets are available by calling 425-203-8303. First 1,000 fans receive a Sounders bobblehead Stadium gates open at 5:30 pm.

Seattle Sounders (probable): Chris Eylander; Kevin Sakuda, Danny Jackson, Taylor Graham, Zach Scott; Kenji Treschuk, Josh Gardner, Youssuf Kante, Leighton O'Brien; Sébastien Le Toux, Roger Levesque
Substitutes: Ben Dragavon; Jason Cascio, John Fishbaugher, Andre Schmid, Michael Rodriguez, Kevin Forrest, Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar, Sanna Nyassi,

Montréal Impact (from): Andrew Weber; Adam Braz, Davy Uwimana, Stefano Pesoli, Alex Surprenant; Sandro Grande, Simon Gatti, Antonio Ribeiro, Pato Aguilera, Gason Gregory, Joey Gjertsen, Félix Brillant; Tony Donatelli; Severino Jefferson, Peter Byers, Substitutes: Matt Jordan; David Testo, Roberto Brown, Rocco Placentino, Leo Di Lorenzo

Seattle Sounders 1 : 1 Atlanta Silverbacks

One Defensive Lapse Robs Seattle of Win But Not Play-off

September 13

The Sounders secured the point required to qualify for the play-off stage of the 2009 USL season but there was little other reason for euphoria at the Starfire Sports Complex tonight. Against an average Silverbacks side who boasted the worst defensive record in the league and who hadn't beaten Seattle for over two years, a draw was hardly the pinnacle of achievement. Yet Sébastien Le Toux scored his twentieth goal of the season and became the first Sounder since Mark Baena in 1998 to do so and Kenji Treschuk provided the assist and had perhaps his best game for quite a while signaling a welcome return to form. Said Coach Brian Schmetzer "Kendji Treschuk had a decent game, not just because of the assist but that's better than I'd seen him play. In the middle of the season his hamstring was really limiting him but now he's ok."</p>

Coach Schmetzer Rues
Defensive Lapse But Also
Saw Positives
Photo: Joe Armand

However, Coach Schmetzer was clearly irritated at the defensive lapse which allowed Atlanta their equaliser, especially as it was two of the normally most secure and reliable defenders, Danny Jackson and Taylor Graham, who were involved. Macoumba Kandji returning after a five game absence netted the 55th minute equaliser. "Letting in another soft goal after we worked on defending on our only training day, Friday. We worked on defenders with two lines of four. I hauled the guys up for a meeting, watched film, made it pretty clear to them that they're a veteran group, they don't make mistakes like that, you understand that if you make them it's worse than when the forwards don't score, you're mentally tough. We had a pat on the back meeting and said this is where we need to do better and then we end up giving away another soft goal."

Atlanta were buoyed at the start by the return of start striker Kandji who had missed the last five games, all losses. But it would be fair to say that Seattle had the better of a flat first half and passed the ball around with considerable confidence. Atlanta center half Justin Moore was forced to head a Kevin Sakuda cross over his own bar in the tenth minute and 19 minutes later Roger Levesque found Le Toux in the box but he couldn't direct his shot. A minute later came a talking point when the impressive Sean Cameron in his second game for Atlanta seemed to be fouled by Zach Scott when in a scoring position. Luckily for Scott, the referee hadn't seen the soft red card awarded to Chelsea's John Terry in a morning game from England; even luckier for Scott he didn't see a foul at all. The two number 17s had an impressive battle at both ends of the park and it was a shame that Cameron had to go off in 37 minutes, as the battle between the two was both intense and entertaining.

Four minutes later came Seattle's only goal of the game and it was Kenji Treschuk who signed and sealed it, if Le Toux was the deliverer. Treschuk picked up possession just outside the left side of Atlanta's penalty area and charged in. Buffeted about like a bagatelle ball, he refused to do the easy thing and fall down looking for a penalty. His patience and honesty were rewarded when he reached the goal line, looked up and saw Seb Le Toux standing there unmarked. A slide rule pass duly placed the ball at Seb's feet and he is unlikely to score an easier goal all year. Surprisingly this was only Treschuk's second assist of the season but hopefully his full recovery from an injury will herald more in the play-offs to come.

Kenji Treschuk Back at Full Fitness
Photo: Joe Armand

The Sounders held the lead to half time although ominously Cameron's replacement Aaron Payne turned Danny Jackson easily five minutes before half time but shot over. There was still time for Zach Scott to pass to Josh Gardner whose back was to goal. Rather than hold the ball up, Gardner laid off a beautiful one touch pass to Roger Levesque but the forward's shot went wide.

There really wasn't much incident to the second half outside the Atlanta equalising goal. Five minutes into it, Jackson and Graham combined to lose possession to Kandji, then were left leaden footed as he bore down on an undefended Eylander. A scorer of his quality odesn't require a second invitation and his finish stunned but hardly surprised the more knowledgable of the 3650 crowd.

The Sounders now have one regular season game left, at home to Vancouver in what will be the last regular season fixture in the USL Sounders history. The local rivalry spices up what is now a relatively meaningless game. Vancouver will have to settle for second unless Puerto Rico lose both remaining games including one that takes place before the match at Starfire. The Sounders may be in a position to grab third but more likely their fate is fourth or fifth, either of which leaves them the same opponent. By game day, the position will be far clearer. As Vancouver and Seattle now seem unlikely to meet at least in round one of the play-offs, it seems possible that the encounter will be the last competitive local derby for some time. A good crowd is expected from the north and kick off is 7pm on September 20th.

Seattle Sounders: Chris Eylander; Kevin Sakuda, Danny Jackson, Taylor Graham, Zach Scott; Kenji Treschuk, Josh Gardner, Youssuf Kante, Leighton O'Brien; Sébastien Le Toux, Roger Levesque
Substitutes: Ben Dragavon;, Jason Cascio, John Fishbaugher, Noah Merl, Sanna Nyassi, Michael Rodriguez, Kevin Forrest.

Atlanta Silverbacks: Felipe Quintero-Monsivais; Brent Sancho, David Hayes, Justin Moore, Matthew Bobo, Josh Bolton, Rodrigo Rios-Rodriguez, Tony McManus, Sean Cameron (Aaron Paye 37'), Jason McLaughlin, Macoumba Kandji.
Substitutes: Duke Hashimoto, George Buete, Zach Kirby, Chris Mahaffey.

Atlanta Visit Prompts Great Memories for Seattle

But Sounders Have a Point to Move

September 12

Duke Hashimoto
Photo: IslandSoccer.com

Seattle go into this game finding themselves surprisingly in sixth place after Charleston's win in Portland last night. Their visitors Atlanta lie in eighth and are now the only club that can deprive Seattle of a top seven finish. A draw at Starfire will ease Seattle into the play-offs but perhaps more pressing is the inconsistent form of late. Seattle beat Miami comfortably but Montreal were able to leave Tukwila with all three points. Atlanta were of course the visitors on that glorious night 349 days ago when the Sounders clinched the USL title. That all seems a distant memory and of course much has happened in the soccer scene in Seattle since then. Another good omen for the Sounders is the fact that Atlanta haven't beaten the Sounders since June 10th, 2006.

Atlanta have lost five on the trot and have been missing Macoumba Kandji who may well choose Seattle to make his comeback from a sprain suffered in the 0-0 tie against Charleston on August 16. The Silverbacks will also look to new acquisitions Duke Hashimoto and Sean Cameron, who made their Atlanta debuts in the team’s final regular season home match against Rochester. The two previous games this season have seen two Sounders victories, both by two clear goals. Their defense has shipped 47 goals and is the worst in the USL.

In tonight's USL game, Rochester Rhinos entertain league leading Puerto Rico with the Islanders needing four points from their final three games to guarantee a bye into the semi final stage of the play-offs. Sounders stand to leap from over Rochester if they can add a victory to a Rhinos defeat. On Saturday, Minnesota host Charleston and Vancouver entertain the Impact with the former game scheduled to be completed by the time Seattle take the field. Unless Minnesota have won, the Sounders will be certain of a play-off under the somewhat complicated order of methods by which ties are decided.

Relive that night of triumph for the Sounders

Probable Squads:

Seattle Sounders: Chris Eylander; Kevin Sakuda, Danny Jackson, Taylor Graham, Zach Scott; Kenji Treschuk, Josh Gardner, Youssuf Kante, Leighton O'Brien; Sébastien Le Toux, Roger Levesque
Substitutes: Ben Dragavon;, Jason Cascio, John Fishbaugher, Andre Schmid, Sanna Nyassi, Michael Rodriguez, Kevin Forrest

Atlanta Silverbacks: Felipe Quintero-Monsivais; Brent Sancho, David Hayes, Justin Moore, Matthew Bobo, Josh Bolton, Rodrigo Rios-Rodriguez, Tony McManus, Duke Hashimoto, Sean Cameron, Jason McLaughlin, Aaron Paye; George Buete, Blake Camp, Martin Lancaster, Chris Mahaffey, Macoumba Kandji, Jerson Monteiro, Ryan McIntosh,

Seattle Sounders 1 : 2 Montréal Impact

Happy 400th Birthday for Montréal as Smash and Grab Raid Floors Seattle

Sounders Still Require a Point for Play-offs

September 10

Yousuff Kante Fires in the Equaliser in the 61st Minute
Photo: Joe Armand

Montréal Impact continued a very successful run against West Coast sides, adding three points from Seattle to the three collected from Portland earlier in the week. Second half goals from Tony Donatelli and Antonio Ribeiro were split by an equalizer by Seattle midfielder Yousuff Kante. The win guarantees Montréal their play-off place but Seattle have to wait until Saturday’s visit from Atlanta, although intervening results from other games could give them a gentle shove, or in one case a push over the edge.

Coach Brian Schmetzer left Sanna Nyassi on the bench as the returning Zach Scott was the only change from the victory over Miami. Montréal left a slew of players in Quebec for their West Coast tour, victims of injury, suspension or an increased schedule due to their CONCACAF Champions League heroics. Keeper Matt Jordan sat out the game allowing Andrew Weber only his fourth start of the season in what was the Impact’s 400th game in their history.

Taylor Graham's Aerial Power
Posed Problems for Montréal
Photo: Joe Armand

There were few chances in a hopelessly undistinguished first half which left one wishing the word pulsating had an opposite. The Sounders were the better side but such chances as there were rare and of poor quality. The first chance came for Seattle after two minutes when Youssuf Kante found Sébastien Le Toux, but Antonio Ribeiro reacted first to clear for a corner.

The Sounders had the better of the further early exchanges with Leighton O'Brien once again at the centre of everything, dropping back to collect possession off the back line, as was Yousuff Kante to a greater degree than in previous matches. Nonetheless it was a full quarter of an hour again before either goal came under threat and then it was the Sounders goal under attack as a Joey Gjertsen right wing corner found Adam Braz whose shot was bravely blocked by Kenji Treschuk. Further efforts were speculative. Alex Surprenant was bored enough to try his hand from 40 yards just before the half hour. The ball hadn’t even reached the penalty area when Chris Eylander already knew it was going way wide. Perhaps Seattle’s best chance came just after that when Roger Levesque hesitated after Leighton O'Brien laid it on for a snap shot. His best chance to shoot went as he sought position for a better one.

If the first half was devoid of goalmouth incident, the second was a joy to watch for those who like attacking play. Dominating defences gave way to clever and creative midfields with Josh Gardner on Seattle’s left particularly outstanding. Four minutes into the second period, Leighton O'Brien found him on the wing and his cross beat all defenders but was marginally too hard for two onrushing colleagues, Roger Levesque and Taylor Graham.

"If I'd Known You Were Going
to Wear That Color!"
Brian Schmetzer and John Limniatis
Shake Hands After the Game
Photo: Joe Armand

A minute later, a Kevin Sakuda cross was headed behind by Davy Uwimana who waited in vain for a call from his keeper. Taylor Graham rose to meet Leighton O'Brien’s corner, but headed just over the bar. Gardner continued to torment the Impact defence beating Antonio Ribeiro on the goal line, and this time his low cross was just out of O'Brien’s reach. 58 minutes in, it was O’Brien creating the offence out on the left. He found Roger Levesque inside the penalty area but Levesque scuffed the shot allowing Andrew Weber to pick up easily. Sadly it was from Weber’s subsequent clearance that Montréal took the lead. Joey Gjertsen found himself in space on the Montréal left and his cross was headed in by Tony Donatelli to give Impact the lead. They only held it for three minutes. Josh Gardner’s purple patch hadn’t been halted by the Montréal goal and his cross found Yousuff Kante whose initial effort was blocked. The Frenchman persisted however and the ball ricocheted favourably for him to strike the equaliser.

However, it just wasn’t to be Seattle’s night though there was a level of fortune about Montréal’s winning goal. Tony Donatelli crossed the ball in from the Impact left but Zach Scott’s clearance went more lateral than forward, landing at Antonio Ribeiro’s feet. Ribiero made no mistake with the opportunity to give his side a 2-1 lead that they were not to lose.

With this win, Montréal move into third place where they trail Vancouver by six points but with a game in hand. The two meet in the final leg of Montreal’s west coast tour. Seattle drop to fifth but are still a point away from securing a play off berth. Atlanta visit on Saturday and kick off is at 7pm.

Seattle Sounders: Chris Eylander; Kevin Sakuda, Danny Jackson, Taylor Graham, Zach Scott; Kenji Treschuk, Josh Gardner (Sanna Nyassi 78’), Youssuf Kante, Leighton O'Brien; Sébastien Le Toux, Roger Levesque (Kevin Forrest 74’)
Substitutes: Ben Dragavon;, Jason Cascio, John Fishbaugher, Andre Schmid, Michael Rodriguez.

Montréal Impact: Andrew Weber; Adam Braz, Davy Uwimana, Stefano Pesoli, Alex Surprenant; Sandro Grande (Simon Gatti 51’), Antonio Ribeiro (Leo Di Lorenzo 78’), Pato Aguilera (Gason Gregory 89’), Joey Gjertsen (Felix Brillant 70’); Tony Donatelli; Severino Jefferson (Peter Byers 63’)
Substitutes: Matt Jordan; David Testo.

Attendance: 2539

Two On Form Teams Collide with Plenty to Play for

September 9

The Sounders are now tantalizingly close to securing a play-off place and may already be eyeing up the best attainable tactical position. Brian Schmetzer is known to be keen to avoid Puerto Rico who seem to be the pick of the USL. With a two point lead over Vancouver and another game left, it seems likely that they will get the bye to the semi finals and Seattle may be able to avoid them until a potential final. But if coach Schmetzer has noticed the form of Ulsterman Colin Clarke's side, then you can be sure so have others. This may keep the USL fixtures competitive to the end although no spice will need to be added to the visit of of neighbours Vancouver for the final regular season game in USL Sounders history.

First though, Seattle welcomes Vancouver's compatriots from the province of Quebec. Montreal have recovered rapidly after a poor start to the season and have won four and drawn one of their last five USL games. They also won the Canadian Cup to qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League where they eliminated Real Esteli of Nicaragua to reach the Champions League stage of that tournament. Their last outing was a 2-0 win over Portland with goals from midfielder Leonardo Di Lorenzo and forward Peter Byers. Impact are one point behind Seattle with a game in hand, so Wednesday's game is very important to get the best play-off place, not to mention being a match between two teams really hitting form at the right time.

It also may be a good pointer as a cursory look at the table suggests a reasonable chance the two clubs may be play-off opponents. Zach Scott will be available again after a two game suspension for the home side but Impact defender Nevio Pizzolitto will serve the third of a three game suspension and forwards Roberto Brown and Severino Jefferson both missed the Portland victory due to knee injuries. Seattle forward Roger Levesque was day-to-day after receiving a back injury in the win over Miami.

Seattle Sounders 3 : 0 Miami FC Blues

Leighton O'Brien Stars with
Help of Supporting Cast
Photo: Joe Armand

Rampant Sounders on Brink of Play-offs

Leighton O'Brien Returns with Goal Double to Sink Floridians

September 6

This was the night it all came right for the Sounders as two goals from Leighton O'Brien and one from Sébastien Le Toux earned a decisive victory over Miami. O'Brien was making his competitive return after a wrist injury had sidelined him for 6 weeks and he played with a cast. Notwithstanding any tentativeness, he had one of his most outstanding games for Seattle and seemed to cover every inch of the pitch. After the match Brian Schmetzer paid tribute to his influence on the team, "Leighton always seems to be the guy who takes over the games down the stretch, the big games. He's a leader on the field with his play more than through his words. He is fiery and sometimes uses bad words to referees. But with his play, if a player is under a bit of pressure, Leighton comes along yelling 'Give it to me' and as a player you know how valuable that is because if you can find that one guy, that makes your job a little easier. You can play a little better. So the guys are more confident in their own abilities because there's a guy there who always wants the ball."

Seattle had new signing Sanna Nyassi on the bench and Adam West started again in place of the suspended Zach Scott. It took less than four minutes for the ominous signs of a busy night for Miami when Cristiano Dias cleared a Yousuff Kante effort off his own line with Blues keeper Josh Saunders stranded having flapped at a cross. It was a harbinger of things to come as Dias generally made a nuisance of himself and Saunders proceeded to make several further errors of judgment. Ten minutes after the first scare Kevin Sakuda's cross found the head of Seattle's tall center-half Taylor Graham. His intelligent nod down landed at the feet of Roger Levesque but once more a defender cleared from under his own bar. It was to be Roger's last action of the night as Dias stuck his knee into the small of Levesque's back and the Seattle forward had to be replaced by the lively Kevin Forrest.

OUCH!
A Yorkshire Welcome to Seattle for Leo Nunes
Courtesy of Sounders Skipper Danny Jackson
Photo: Joe Armand

Five minute's later Chris Eylander made his only difficult save of the night, comfortably handling Ansu Toure's free kick. But it was to be one of his quieter nights and it was his opposite number Saunders that was about to make the headlines. In a bizarre sequence of events, Leighton O'Brien found Le Toux with a piercing through ball. The Frenchman found himself in the Miami penalty box but still a good twelve yards out and well wide of the goal. He also found himself confronted with Saunders who had charged out to tackle him. Le Toux tried at first to shield the ball from him and then to round him. No defender came to Saunders' aid and as Le Toux tried to swerve around the keeper, Saunders stuck out a hand and tripped the Seattle forward. Referee Andrew Gage had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. O'Brien stepped up and hammered the ball in convincingly to give the Sounders a well deserved 1-0 lead.

Miami nearly hit back instantly but Eylander grabbed Ricardo Cavalcante's header at the second attempt after an accurate Walter Ramirez corner pinpointed him. On the stroke of half time, Leo Inacio Nunes missed what was to be Miami's last chance as he volleyed wide after an unseemly mix-up in the Sounders defence.

The second half was unquestionably dominated by Seattle. Four minutes into it, Kenji Treschuk made progress into the penalty box from the left and his cross, though not hit powerfully, wasn't dealt with by either defender or goalkeeper. To his glee, Le Toux found the ball at his feet and the goal wide as the Bois de Boulogne as he slotted home for a 2-0 lead. At that point Miami's heads went down and Seattle looked comfortable. They even began to show some deft touches and some of their football was among the best they have played in the USL all season. There wasn't too much to show for it in the way of goal attempts but Kevin Forrest drew foul after foul from a harassed Miami defence. Half way through the second period, Josh Gardner playing his first USL game as a married man produced a good save from Saunders but it only delayed the inevitable.

Levesque Leaves the Field after Dias Assault
Photo: Joe Armand

On 76 minutes, Leighton O'Brien picked up the ball inside the Miami half and ran at the defenders, beating a couple before coolly and accurately drilling the ball past Saunders' despairing right hand. 3676 were there to witness the match, Tukwila's largest crowd of the season. New signing Sanna appeared for the last seven minutes and showed just why Brian Schmetzer described him as "Quick, lightening quick." Fans will be hoping to see more of him against in form Montreal on Wednesday although Kevin Forrest's excellent outing tonight may put him first in the queue should Levesque not be fit.

The Sounders are now one win away from securing a play-off place although a draw against Atlanta on September 13th will probably be enough. First up, they receive Montreal Impact on September 10th at Starfire. Before that Vancouver face Minnesota Thunder in BC and Montreal host Portland at the Saputo. Two Canadian victories will leave Seattle just one point short of a confirmed play-off place.

Seattle Sounders: Chris Eylander; Taylor Graham, Danny Jackson, Kevin Sakuda, Adam West (Jason Cascio 73'); Kenji Treschuk, Youssouf Kante (Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar 71'), Josh Gardner, Leighton O'Brien (Sanna Nyassi 82'); Roger Levesque (Kevin Forrest 24'), Sébastien Le Toux.
Substitutes not used: Ben Dragavon, Michael Rodríguez, Nik Besagno.

Miami FC Blues: Josh Saunders; Eric Brunner, Chris Williams, Cristiano Dias (Juan Pablo Falavis 60'), Walter Ramirez (Eric Vasquez 60'); Jarryd Goldberg, Bruno Menezes (Connaly Edozien 79'), Ricardo Calvacante, Leo Inácio Nunes (Cauê da Mata 60'); Ansu Toure, Sean Fraser.
Substitutes not used: Sam Reynolds, John Pulido.

Attendance: 3676

Preview: Sounders Take On The Miami FC Blues At Starfire

Four Home Games Left To Make Play-Offs

The Seattle Sounders (9-8-9) continue their quest for postseason position against the Miami FC Blues (6-10-10) Saturday, September 6 at Starfire. Miami may be the only side not actually in contention for a play-off place. With three games left, they would need to take all nine points to have any chance and would need a slew of other results to go their way. The Sounders seem certain to book their berth if victory over Miami is coupled with Portland losing to Rochester today, or Vancouver beating Minnesota on Sunday.

In the two-week break from league play, the Sounders played three friendlies, all victories, beating Seattle University (3-0), University of Washington (1-0) and San Jose Earthquakes of MLS (2-1).

The Sounders last league game came August 24 at Starfire in an exciting 4-3 victory over the Carolina RailHawks. Josh Gardner ended a 281-minute Sounders scoring drought with a first-half goal, then scored the equalizer midway through the second half. Sébastien Le Toux netted the game-winner with his 11th of the season in the 65th minute as Seattle rallied twice to pull out the win despite a hat trick from RailHawks forward Hamed Diallo. Gardner’s two goals earned him USL-1 Team of the Week honors.

Miami have proved a tough defensive nut to crack. Their two games against Seattle have finished goalless. Miami has 13 clean sheets and forward Alex Alfonso leads the USL-1 in points and goals with 32 and 14 respectively, but the club has just six wins this season. Last week, Miami and Minnesota faced off in back-to-back contests with the Thunder winning 2-1 on Friday, and drawing 1-1 on Sunday. In their last outing however, Miami lost to the Portland Timbers 4-0 Thursday at PGE Park and currently lie in tenth place with 28 points.

Seattle Sounders 4 : 3 Carolina Railhawks

Two Goal Hero Josh Gardner
Photo: Joe Armand

Swashbuckling Sounders Soak Dry Spell in the Pouring Rain

Sounders Keep Their Heads above Water as Jolly Roger Nets One and Gardner Two in Goal Romp

August 24

The Seattle Sounders returned to winning ways in style with a 4-3 victory over the Carolina Railhawks. Two offensive minded sides traded goals in a thrilling encounter that kept 2008 spectators enthralled till the final whistle. On a night of heroes, Josh Gardner claimed a brace as both Ciaran O'Brien and Yousuff Kante put pinpoint crosses on his head. Returning forward Roger Levesque looked fully fit for the first time since an injury kept him sidelined and much to the delight of the crowd put himself on the scoresheet again with a header. Seb Le Toux also returned to his scoring ways as Seattle showed an attacking flair they've been missing in recent weeks.

But that's only one side of the story that unfolded tonight. Carolina's Hamed Diallo scored a hat-trick and became the first player to score three goals and lose against the Sounders since a pre season match against the Salem Surge in March 1996. Lively and threatening throughout, the Railhawks will lament their set piece defending which allowed Seattle so many chances to strike.

The drama didn't take long to start as within 80 seconds of kick off Seattle had a strong claim for a penalty when Carolina keeper Chris McClellan appeared to hold back Ciaran O'Brien. It wasn't the last problem O'Brien caused them as fourteen minutes later he sent over a powerful cross from the right onto the head of Josh Gardner. It landed perfectly for Gardner to stoop and send a firm header beyond McClellan to give Seattle the lead. He later admitted he had considered volleying it, half volleying it, and the effect the meteorological conditions might have on either of those options before opting to use his head. In short, he had plenty of time so good was O'Brien's cross. The Sounders were rampant and four minutes later Yousuff Kante, having his best game in a Sounders uniform, thumped a wicked shot against the bar with the keeper beaten after Levesque laid the ball back for him. A minute later the underfoot conditions foiled Le Toux as he tried to round one defender too many and slipped.

Kante's Best Game?
Photo: Joe Armand

At that point it looked like the Sounders might blow away their challengers but Carolina displayed a devastating turn of pace and some slick passing just two minutes later. The effervescent Marti Nunez slipped an accurate pass to Diallo who blasted the ball into the Seattle net from just inside the penalty area. He repeated the feat shortly after, finding Santiago Fusilier on this occasion but his shot was too high. The play swept up the other end of the pitch within seconds and a Kenji Treschuk header from a corner was cleared off the line as the Hawks continued to struggle at set pieces.

But it was just the break the visitors needed and the next move of the game saw them take the lead for the first time. Ronald Cerritus took the ball off Kante in the center circle and ran at the home defence. He played the ball out to the right where Fusilier was overlapping and his cross was scrambled home by the onrushing Diallo. It was tough luck for Seattle who were playing some of their finest football in weeks at this point.

Unlike the defeat against Puerto Rico, the heads stayed up this time and just two minutes after going behind, Yousuff Kante had another try from a distance, producing a fine save from McClellan. The match refused to pause for breath and the action was pulsating. Five minutes later came the moment the Sounders have all waited too long for. A corner from Ciaran O'Brien landed firmly on the head of Roger Levesque and the Maine man made no mistake heading decisively into the net. Four goals had been scored in twenty minutes and the half time whistle was greeted with one last Kante long range effort which sailed narrowly by.

However once more the home euphoria was punctured by a game opposition and it didn't take long. The second half was just three minutes old when Diallo completed a fine hat trick. Defensively this was probably the worst of the goals as he found himself with the ball in Seattle's penalty area with not much company, Sanfillipo claiming the assist. At that point despite all the great things they'd done in the first fifty minutes, things looked bleak for Seattle. But Monsiuer Kante was far from finished and on 63, he sent over another perfect cross which Gardner gratefully thumped home with his head. If you're seeking an explanation as to why Josh Gardner was having things handed on a plate to him by his colleagues, we can help. Josh is getting married this weekend and perhaps these were the best presents his team mates could think of. We of course wish him all the best and if the sound of wedding bells continues to be accompanied by the ball hitting the back of the net, maybe Coach Schmetzer will be seeking to marry a few more of them off!

Seb Le Toux Scores
Seattle's Fourth
Photo: Joe Armand

The crowd was still celebrating the equaliser when O'Brien's free kick was floated in to the Carolina box intended for Le Toux. Despite the attentions of a Railhawks defender, the Frenchman kept his balance and rounded the keeper. However, he seemed to have been forced too wide by the fallen McClellan to score, but somehow slotted the ball home from a tight angle to giver Seattle a 4-3 lead.

There were more scares and spills thereafter and substitute Cascio blasted over a good chance for a fifth after Michael Rodriguez on for O'Brien had tested the keeper, but the Sounders had done enough to win. They dug deep, survived a very threatening period of Carolina pressure, came from behind twice and deserved the points.

They have a little breathing space now and many of the their play off rivals play each other while they get a 13 day break before resuming the battle.

Seattle Sounders: Chris Eylander; Adam West, Danny Jackson, Taylor Graham, Kevin Sakuda; Kenji Treschuk, Ciaran O'Brien (Michael Rodriguez 78'), Yousuff Kante (Jason Cascio 74’), Josh Gardner (Kevin Forrest 65'); Sébastien Le Toux, Roger Levesque.
Substitutes: Ben Dragavon; Nik Besagno, Noah Merl, John Fishbaugher.

Carolina Railhawks: Chris McClellan; Frankie Sanfilippo, Maricio Segovia, Caleb Norkus, Eddie Gutierrez, Matt Watson; Kupono Low, Santiago Fuslier (Steve Curfman 72'), Martin Nunez (David Stokes 85'); Ronald Cerritus (Dan Antoniuk 81'), Hamed Diallo (Rey Martinez 74')

Substitutes: Brian Levey; Chad Dombrowski, David Lilly.

On Form Railhawks Present Different Challenge for Sounders

Play-offs within Sight for Sounders

Say the word Hawks around any Sounders fans at the moment and you’ll usually get a good reaction. Whether you call it a marriage or an adoption, the relationship between the Sounders and their NFL future roommates has been harmonious. Well, there are some less friendly Hawks in town this weekend in the shape of the Carolina Railhawks. Like Seattle the Railhawks have their hawk’s eye set on a USL play off position. Unlike Seattle, they’re moving in the right direction.

In their last match played Friday, Carolina defeated Minnesota 2-1 and moved up to 27 points. The win was their second in a row after defeating Miami 3-2 on August 15 and they sit just one point from playoff position behind Montreal and Portland both on 28 points. Seattle have been struggling lately and a loss to Minnesota was followed by their elimination from the US Open Cup. Puerto Rico and Vancouver have since visited Starfire and the Sounders have failed to score. Not counting the own goal in Charleston, is it 344 minutes since the last Sounder netted. Worse still, the Sounders haven’t netted Carolina so far this season with one point of a possible six.

For Seattle, Zach Scott is suspended. Cuban midfielder Rey Angel Martinez who played the past three and a half seasons with the Rochester Rhinos, could make his debut for Carolina.

Play Off Picture

Puerto Rico (44 points), Vancouver (42) and Charleston (36) are standing one, two and three. They look certain to make the play offs and Vancouver’s victory over Portland on Friday kept them well in the hunt to win the league. Seattle are fourth on 33 but all their remaining games are at home: Carolina (August 25), Miami (September 6), Montreal (September 10), Atlanta (September 13) and Vancouver (September 20). Behind them lie Atlanta and Rochester, sitting just one and two points back of Seattle. They meet each other twice in the next week and one of them could overtake Seattle, while the other may well fall further behind. Montreal and Portland are currently tied for the seventh and the final playoff spot (28 points), while Carolina's victory Sunday was enough to draw level with Minnesota for eighth (27 points). Miami currently is last (24 points), but with seven games remaining have hopes of climbing into playoff position.

Kick off is at 7pm.

Seattle Sounders 0 : 0 Vancouver Whitecaps

Rain Falls but Sounders Resist Vancouver Tide

Eylander’s Heroics Save Seattle

August 20

Seattle Sounders can thank Chris Eylander for leaving Starfire Complex with a point tonight after the Vancouver Whitecaps dominated a scoreless tie. The visitors from the north were missing three key players in Jeff Clarke, Justin Moose and Eduardo Sebrango while the Sounders had to manage without either O’Brien. Whereas the last sub par performance by Seattle had seen their opponents leave with all three points, this time the Sounders did just about enough to scrape a draw although some poor Vancouver finishing assisted. They did however keep fighting till the final whistle and credit must be given to some players who are clearly struggling for form for their continued effort in the pouring rain.

Welcome to "Real" Football!
A Hopeful Sign for Sounders FC
Photo: Joe Armand

A quiet opening was devoid of goal mouth action as 3203 hardy spectators tried to protect themselves from the elements. It took well over twenty minutes before Kenji Treschuk fired the first shot straight at Jay Nolly in the visitor’s goal and at the other end Alfredo Valente took advantage of a Taylor Graham slip to feed the lively Nick Addlery whose header was cleared. Shortly after, Lyle Martin hit the side netting after Charles Gbeke’s pass released him.

Just after the half hour, Taylor Graham rose above everyone in the Whitecaps box but headed Yousuff Kante’s cross wide. It was a good period for the Sounders, and seconds later Roger Levesque’s pass put Sébastien Le Toux through but Nolly was up to the challenge and saved.

Seattle did not control the game for long and soon it was swinging back Vancouver’s way. Seven minutes before the interval, Chris Eylander denied Nick Addlery again after good work from Martin. From the resultant corner, Kevin Forrest became an unlikely Sounders defensive hero as he hooked the ball out from under the cross bar.

Despite all Eylander’s good work, the most remarkable save of the night came from Jay Nolly nine minutes after half time. Taylor Graham rose to meet a corner and although Nolly was going in the wrong direction, he stuck out a hand to get just enough on the ball to frustrate the Seattle center-half. Three minutes later, an off form Le Toux was given a chance from a quick Kenji Treschuk throw but lobbed wide. As the rain came down, conditions were difficult for defenders and Graham was the next to slip providing Alfredo Valente with the best chance of the night. He missed. Two minutes later on 74, it was Michael Rodriguez’s turn to lose possession to Lyle Martin. His pass found Addlery whose shot produced yet another fantastic save from Eylander.

Vancouver found time to give a debut to youth system product Randy Edwini-Bonsu, and luckily for the Sounders he was still finding the pace of the game when another Eylander save rebounded at his feet. The youngster blasted the ball over an open goal. A minute later, after Eylander made yet another save, Whitecaps heads seem to go down and accept this wasn’t to be their night.

Incredibly there was yet one more scare for Seattle and one more gallant act of bravery by Eylander. This time the threat came from his own player. In trying to foil the pacey Edwini-Bonsu, Zach Scott propelled the ball to his own goal. It looked like curtains for Seattle but Eylander scrambled back to scoop the ball away.

Seattle will be grateful for a point against one of the league's leaders, especially as several key players just can’t seem to find form at the same time. It happens in football and the squad did show a certain amount of gumption and grit to work their way through it tonight. Their next fixture is home to the bottom side Carolina and with the Railhawks having to play in Minnesota just 48 hours before they fly in, Seattle must surely welcome this opportunity to get back to winning ways. And scoring ways. It’s now 344 minutes since a Seattle played scored a goal, Jason Cascio’s against Minnesota. With Eylander in this form, one may be enough.

Seattle Sounders: Chris Eylander, Zach Scott, Danny Jackson, Taylor Graham, Kevin Sakuda; Kenji Treschuk (Adam West, 85’), Michael Rodriguez, Yousuff Kante (Jason Cascio 79’), Kevin Forrest; Sébastien Le Toux, Roger Levesque.
Substitutes: Ben Dragavon; Nik Besagno, John Fishbaugher, Craig Tomlinson, Josh Gardner

Vancouver Whitecaps: Jay Nolly; Luca Bellisomo, Wesley Charles, Omar Jarun, Takashi Hirano; Martin Nash, Alfredo Valente, Lyle Martin (Vicente Arze 86’), Mason Trafford; Charles Gbeke (Jason Jordan 45’), Nick Addlery (Randy Edwini-Bonsu 83’)
Substitutes: Simon Thomas, Diaz Kambere, Steph Leslie, Ethan Gage.

Sounders Seek to Bounce Back against Title Chasing Whitecaps

Always Welcome Guests Visit for the Penultimate Time

The Flag Goes This Way Up!

Vancouver Whitecaps trail USL leaders Porto Rico by three points with a game in hand. That game is a Cascadia Cup encounter at Starfire this Wednesday with Northwest rivals Seattle Sounders. Seattle sit fourth on goal difference although Atlanta sitting fifth have two games more to play. The Sounders would be fifth but for Rochester being penalised a point for failing to withdraw the suspended Andrew Gregor in the right game. (See? We told you he was trouble!)

Unlike the rivalry with Portland, most Sounders fans look forward to friendly and sporting banter with their friends from the north, and despite it being midweek everyone concerned will welcome the appearance of a vociferous away support. There is one more visit for the Caps to Seattle on September 20th, but thereafter only a USL play off this year can guarantee another match. Vancouver Whitecaps are ineligible to enter the US Open Cup due to being Canadian, so there won't be any future Seattle-Vancouver games from that source. Hopefully other ways can be found to preserve this longstanding local rivalry.

Whitecaps Team News

Teitur Thordarson's side face another busy week of league action, with Vancouver's visit to Tukwila coming three nights after an eventful goalless draw with Puerto Rico at Swangard and two days before hosting Portland at Swangard. Despite creating numerous chances, the Whitecaps were unable to find a way past Islanders goalkeeper Bill Gaudette. At least they didn’t concede three. Eduardo Sebrango and assistant coach Todd Wawrousek were shown red cards for dissent. Consequently Sebrango will miss the match through suspension. Also missing are two midfielders, club captain Jeff Clark with a hamstring and Justin Moose with a groin strain. Randy Edwini-Bonsu may make his first team debut.

The Whitecaps will win their third Cascadia Cup title, should they beat Seattle on Wednesday and take a further three points at home versus the Timbers on Friday.

Sounders Round up

Long term injury Leighton O’Brien is still unavailable, although Zach Scott’s suspension doesn't begin until after this game. Josh Gardner and Ciaran O'Brien are listed as questionable with hamstring problems and Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar is still struggling and is doubtful. Seattle need a win and a draw in the final two matches with Vancouver, and this would give the Sounders their third straight Cascadia Cup title.

Enough has been written about the effects of the hangover from Tuesday’s US Open Cup defeat in Charleston on the subsequent game against Puerto Rico. Sounders fans will be hoping some of the more experienced players will help lift heads and deliver a battling performance such as the one that ended a previous bad run against the Battery. Seattle dug very deep that night and were not found wanting in spirit. Fans will also be looking for evidence that Roger Levesque is continuing his return to match fitness, although Kevin Forrest was one of the few Sounders who impressed and Brian Schmetzer may be tempted to give him more minutes.

Wednesday's game will be the 82nd meeting between the two Pacific Northwest clubs starting back in 1994. The Sounders lead the overall series with a record of 43 - 24 with 14 draws. They also lead the all-time series against the Whitecaps in Seattle with 24 wins, eight defeats, and six draws. The match kicks off at 7pm.

Seattle Sounders 0 : 3 Puerto Rico Islanders

Tired Sounders Stranded by Islander Goal Avalanche

Slick Puerto Ricans Take Advantage of Seattle Woe

August 15

Moon Never. Not a good night for the Sounders
Photo: Joe Armand

The Sounders crumbled to a second consecutive defeat as an on form Puerto Rico side excelled at every facet of the game. Tuesday's extra time and penalties, coupled with the disappointment of losing and the long flight home were all factors in Sounder fatigue but it would be churlish to cite them as sole factors. Two weeks ago the Islanders outplayed Seattle in Puerto Rico and the Sounders stole three points. This time justice was done.

The game was less than five minutes on when the visitors first threatened. An Osei Telesford header from a corner was brilliantly tipped round by Chris Eylander within five minutes of the start. Two minutes later it was Seattle’s turn to threaten when Taylor Graham laid off a chance to Sébastien Le Toux whose effort was blocked. The Sounders in fact, well marshaled by Ciaran O’Brien, competed well for half an hour but when O’Brien began to fade no colleague stepped into the breach to replace him. From about the half hour mark on, Puerto Rico began to gain an ascendancy which they were soon to convert into chances. In the 33rd minute, the red booted Sandi Gbandi ran diagonally unchallenged into the right hand side of the Sounders box. He produced another great save from Chris Eylander. But four minutes later, Puerto Rico’s superiority was repaid when Noah Delgado repeated Gbandi’s run on the other side of the box. His shot seemed to squirm under Eylander’s right hand for the 1-0 lead. It was Delgado’s first goal of the year. It was an effort that Eylander would normally have saved and one wondered what effect the penalty shoot out in Charleston coupled with the signing of Kasey Keller may have had on him.

PR nearly doubled their lead before half time but Telesford headed tamely into the side netting after Alexis Rivera had fed him the ball and Nigel Henry headed his cross so woefully wide that it went back to Telsford wide of the goal. He reacted quickly but not in time to direct the ball goalward. The last chance of the half did fall to Seattle after Kevin Sakuda and Le Toux combined on the right. Sakuda’s final shot from a tight angle brought out the best in Mike Behonick who twisted in the air to tip the ball to safety.

It's Been a Long Week for Chris Eylander
Photo: Joe Armand

Three minutes into the second half the Islanders threatened again when Kendal Jagdeosingh’s fee kick put Eylander to work although his save was less convincing than usual. Five minutes after that, Delgado struck the post after Jagdeosingh put him through. The clock was ticking for Seattle and thirteen minutes into the second half, the bell chimed. Jagdeosingh was the provider as Elcock’s finish left Eylander little chance. It was also his first goal of the season. Their third goal came just seven minutes after that and this time the red booted Gbandi was the provider and Elcock doubled his tally for the match and the season. It was a sublime finish and no fault could be attributed to Eylander.

Seattle had few chances. Kante shot wide three times and O’Brien had a better pop from a full 35 yards. The out of form Le Toux volleyed the best of the over and Zach Scott volleyed one wide. But the cold statistic is that Behonick was called on to make just three saves.

Zach Scott will serve a two game ban starting after Vancouver visit on Wednesday.

Seattle Sounders – Chris Eylander, Zach Scott, Danny Jackson, Taylor Graham, Kevin Sakuda; Ciaran O’Brien (Adam West 69'), Kenji Treschuk (Kevin Forrest 61'), Yousuff Kante (John Fishbaugher 82'), Nik Besagno (Michael Rodriguez 55'); Sébastien Le Toux, Roger Levesque (Andre Schmid 72').

Puerto Rico Islanders - Mike Behonick, Daniel Ojeda, Nigel Henry, William Yomby, Alexis Rivera, James Marcelin, Sandi Gbandi, Osei Telesford (John Krause 89'), Noah Delgado, Edson Elcock (Josh Hansen 77'), Kendal Jagdeosingh

Charleston Battery : Seattle Sounders

US Open Cup Semi Final Special Report: Sounders Biggest Game Ever?

Cup Final at Qwest Would be Fitting Farewell to USL Sounders

August 11

The Sounders leave Minnesota for South Carolina where the Charleston Battery await them in what could be described as one of the most important games in Sounders history. Having won the bidding process for hosting rights to the final, Qwest field would see perhaps the biggest competitive soccer game in its history should Charleston be overcome. However that will be far from easy given the Battery’s outstanding home form. Sounders officials have been quick to point out that this is far from a foregone conclusion.

Blackbaud Stadium

Blackbaud Stadium where Seattle Sounders will face their big night was completed in April 1999, and became the first privately-funded soccer-specific stadium in the United States. Styled after the classic English soccer experience, the stadium seats 5,100 and offers fans an unmatched environment with superb sight-lines, concessions, a children's interactive soccer theme park, and even a plush English-styled pub, The Three Lions.

The Battery believe it is one of the premier professional soccer venues in the U.S. and a prototype for all future soccer-specific stadiums yet to come.

Looking forward to the game, David Wittstock Sounders Media Relations Manager said, "We're obviously very excited to be hosting a potential cup final but Charleston are a very good team, among the best. This will be a very hard match.” Certainly their last meeting was very close with Sounders ekeing out a hard won 1-0 win at Starfire with a Seb Le Toux goal. Seattle's last trip to the Blackbaud was less successful, resulting in a 1-0 reverse. The goalscorer that day was Lazo Alavanja who will be suspended for Tuesday’s match.

The Sounders recent form has been better of the two despite losing 3-1 in Minnesota with a side composed partially of second string players. Three consecutive victories before that have seen the Sounders climb up the USL table and it is no coincidence that this has coincided with the gradual return from injury of star players. In fact, with the sad exception of Leighton O’Brien, Brian Schmetzer has a fuller squad to select from than he has enjoyed for quite a while.

Leighton’s injury has provided an opportunity for his younger brother Ciaran, and his early Sounders performances have earned him a growing band of admirers. Roger Levesque has only played 77 minutes since his return from injury and he may not be considered fit enough for 90 minutes. However key players Eylander and Le Toux are both in fine form, Treschuk looked very aggressive in the half he played in Minnesota, Danny Jackson has commanded the defence well since his return, and Taylor Graham looks every inch a candidate to play in the MLS. In passing, we should also mention that Nik Besagno has impressed in the small amount of playing time made available to him recently.

In short, no-one in the Emerald City will be seeking excuses if they are unable to prevail.

Battery Expecting a Charged Crowd

But Seattle's task will be far from easy. Charleston stand 10-7-5 in the USL and their home record is even more impressive, 9-2-2 with only ten goals conceded in 13 games. However, recent form hasn’t been so good with just one win in their last six games although it has to be said that only one of those games was at their Blackbaud Stadium. And that was the game they won! So the Battery can be forgiven for the quietly confident air with which they have approached this game.

How They Got There

Seattle Sounders

Round 1 beat Arizona Sahuaros (USASA) 1 : 0 (a)
Round 2 - beat Hollywood United (USASA) 6 : 0 (h)
Round 3 - beat Chivas USA (MLS) 2 : 0 (h)
Quarterfinals - tied Kansas City Wizards (MLS) 0:0 Seattle advance on Penalties 6-5 (h)

Charleston Battery

Round 1 - beat ASC New Stars (USASA) 3 : 0 (h)
Round 2 - beat Charlotte Eagles (USL-2) 2 : 1 (h)
Round 3 - tied Houston Dynamo (MLS) 1 : 1 Charleston advance on Penalties 4-3 (h)
Quarterfinals - beat FC Dallas (MLS) 3:1 (a)

The main threat from the Battery would appear to come from forward Randi Patterson. With nine goals, the former Red Bulls striker is comfortably the Battery’s top scorer, four ahead of Darren Spicer on five. Mike Richardson leads with just four assists; one ahead of a clutch of team mates which suggests that the Sounders may have to be aware of threats from varying departments. Lazo Alavanja will be unavailable after a red card in the sensational quarter final win over FC Dallas.

But as Charleston Battery President Andrew Bell points out, the Battery are hardly out of their depth at this level. “We are thrilled to be in the semifinals again and look forward to a difficult match against the Sounders. This is our third time in the semis but the first game we have hosted so it’s a chance for our fans to experience the drama of a semifinal in Charleston." Looking forward, he added "We know that Seattle is a good team but we are focused on the potential rewards that a win would produce. Ticket sales have been good, there are no injury worries but Lazo Alavanja will be unavailable for selection due to his ejection in the quarterfinal. The Club’s form has actually been very good over the last couple of weeks, sometimes results are not a good reflection."

The populace, like those in Seattle, are expectant, and Bell acknowledges their past efforts. "Charleston supports us well and if the atmosphere is at all reminiscent of the match versus Houston it will be a special night."

It is sure to be a special night in at least one of these cities separated by an entire continent. DC United and New England Revs will not be taking anything for granted. Live coverage will be available online at >USL Live.

Minnesota Thunder 3 : 1 Seattle Sounders

Three Points Lost as Sanchez Lights up Occasion

Schmetzer Rests Key Players and Thunder Take Full Advantage

Thunder's Two Goal
Hero Ricardo Sanchez

August 10

Ricardo Sanchez was the difference between the sides as his two spectacular second half goals ensured Seattle left Minnesota empty handed. Two Sanchez free kicks in the 56th and 75th minutes sealed Seattle’s fate and it was no more than the 26 year old Mexican or his team mates deserved.

Brian Schmetzer rang the changes as no fewer than eight players who started the Portland game were rested from the starting line up. Clearly the Sounders coach had an eye on Tuesday’s date with the Charleston Battery in the US Open Cup. For some players this presented a very rare opportunity to play from the start, notably goalkeeper Ben Dragavon, defender Adam West and recent recruit forward Kevin Forrest. The season long injury crisis meant that most of the other players had featured fairly prominently already.

The Sounders had the best of the early exchanges with Hugo Alvaraz-Cuellar’s crosses from the right hand side proving a source of discomfort for the Thunder defenders. It was from one of them that the Sounders opened the lead in the 16th minute. Cuellar found space on the right and his delivery was played on by Andre Schmid, having one of his better games, into the path of Jason Cascio who put the visitors ahead. That seemed to energise Minnesota and the Sounders were backpedaling soon after. In the space of seconds, the fit-again Taylor Graham headed off Ben Dragavon’s line, and shortly thereafter the referee ruled out the first of three disallowed efforts in the first half to deny the lively Alen Marcina.

Three minutes later it was Seattle’s turn to be denied by the referee. Andre Schmid and Andres Arango had been fighting an almighty battle from the first minute and on this occasion the Colombian born Canadian international was adjudged to have fouled Schmid. O’Brien and Cuellar stood over the ball and it was Cuellar who found Taylor Graham’s head with a pin point cross. Graham’s powerful header hit the bar and Schmid was on hand to knock in the rebound. But the referee saw an infringement and leveled up the disallowed goal count to one apiece.

The real goals count was soon to be leveled. In the 27th minute, Melvin Tarley found himself clean through on the Seattle goalkeeper. Dragavon bravely dived at the forward’s feet and saved excellently. But luck wasn’t with him and Tarley was the first to react to the breaking ball, dribbling it around the keeper and slotting it home for the equalizing goal. Kevin Forrest tried his luck from a distance two minutes before half time, and shortly after that the Sounders had their second lucky escape when a ball was slung into their area from the right hand side of midfield and Alen Marcina reacted the quickest. A linesman’s flag once more denied him a deserved goal despite him finishing with panache. A minute later it was Nicolas Platter’s turn to show a bit of bravery as Andre Schmid was pounding down on Ciaran O’Brien’s pass. He gathered the ball in the wake of the onrushing 260 pound forward and came out unscathed.

Half time saw a welter of changes in the Seattle line-up as Seb Le Toux, Roger Levesque and Kenji Treschuk replaced Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar, Ciaran O’Brien and Taylor Graham. The Sounders side began to resemble the one that will take the field on Tuesday but despite the changes making Seattle look livelier, it was Minnesota who took the lead eleven minutes after the restart. A Ricardo Sanchez free kick hit the post and was scrambled briefly away to the Thunder left where Brian Kallman was waiting. He worked hard and redelivered the ball into the Seattle penalty area where Sanchez himself headed in.

For a brief period after the goal, Seattle dominated and Kenji Treschuk seemed to be at the center of their creativity. After a powerful run, he found Roger Levesque on the right and his inch perfect cross found Le Toux who sadly mis-hit the shot wide, denying Seattle what would have been a spectacular goal. In an identical run two minutes later, Treschuk found Kevin Forrest on the right whose cross to Cascio found its mark. Nic Platter however was equal to Cascio’s effort. Seconds later Treschuk himself shot narrowly wide. The Hawaiian looked very sharp and will be very influential on Tuesday on this evidence. Two minutes after the hour mark, Le Toux tested Platter again and on 67 it was Ben Dragavon that had to be sharp to head away Jeremiah Bass’s speculative through ball.

However, the moment that everyone will be talking about was yet to come. Fifteen minutes from the end, Kevin Forrest gave the ball away, committed a foul and got booked. Despite being a good 28 yards out, Ricardo Sanchez lined up the free kick and hammered it with his left foot into the corner of the net. It was a set piece worthy of winning any match and a fitting tribute to Sanchez who was the outstanding player on either side.

The last action of the match saw former Sounder Nathan Knox screw the ball wide from a tight angle after Gonzalez’s through ball. Seattle will move on to bigger things on Tuesday and they can claim to have rested many key players. Certainly fringe players like Dragavon, West and Merl who played the full 90 are unlikely to start in Charleston.

Seattle Sounders: Ben Dragavon, John Fishbaugher, Noah Merl, Taylor Graham (Sébastien Le Toux 45’), Adam West; Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar (Roger Levesque 45’), Nik Besagno (Yousuff Kante 69’), Ciaran O’Brien (Kenji Treschuk 45’), Jason Cascio; Andre Schmid (Zach Scott 57’), Kevin Forrest

Minnesota Thunder: Nicolas Platter; Andres Arango (Kevin Taylor 86’), Jonathan Greenfield, Brian Kallman, Stephen deRoux; Jeremiah Bass, Luchi Gonzalez, Tighe Dombrowski, Ricardo Sanchez (Kyle Altman 84’); Melvin Tarley, Alen Marcina (Nathan Knox 87’)

Portland Timbers 0 : 1 Seattle Sounders

August 7th

What may be the last US Northwest derby for a long time ended in victory for the Sounders with a 20th minute Sébastien Le Toux goal proving the difference. That leaves the Seattle side with local bragging rights for the foreseeable future as well as going a significant distance to securing their qualification for the USL play offs. For Portland, all is not lost but they are going to have to win some key games between now and the end of the regular season.

A season high crowd of 12,332 packed into PGE Park and the atmosphere provided by both sets of fans was electric. The Rave Green Army descended down the I-5 from Seattle and given what was at stake, there was more than a tingle of excitement in the air as the crowd flooded into the stadium.

Pre match talk was all of the return of Sounders talisman and Timbers nemesis Roger Levesque to the Seattle side after a lengthy lay off, and the pre match comments of Byron Alvarez about the City of Seattle hardly dampened down the tension. In short this was a derby in the traditional style that Europeans are all too used to. It is also one of the oldest derbies in the USA with both clubs, albeit in a different corporate guise, being original members of the NASL. 33 years may not seem much historically but the Yankees/Mets rivalry is barely a decade older.

Jasen Anno's 34th Minute Call Changed Game
Photo: Joe Armand

A blood-and-guts game was decided on 20 minutes when Ciaran O’Brien fed Nik Besagno who hit the post and from the rebound Sébastien Le Toux hammered it home to give Seattle a well deserved lead. It was a carbon copy of a goal the Frenchman scored in Puerto Rico and was just as timely, but it wasn't the defining moment of the game. That came 14 minutes later when referee Jasen Anno sent off Timbers defender Scott Thompson for a lunge on Josh Gardner. It seemed a bit harsh at the time but replays confirmed a certain element of premeditated ill will on Thompson's part and it certainly changed the course of the game.

After that the Sounders players began to enjoy the extra space on the pitch the one-man advantage gave them, with Ciaran O'Brien especially reveling in his role.

Tom Poltl tracks Roger Levesque back in a
Sounders shirt after 48 days out
Photo: Joe Armand

As Seattle gained in confidence, chants of “Sounders, Sounders” could be heard ringing around PGE Park as the small band of travelling supporters found their voice. Portland were not done however, not on or off the pitch, and their best chance of the first half came on 41 minutes when Justin Thompson brushed the outside of Eylander’s right post with a header. The second half contained a very close shave at both ends. The Timbers had one final chance to snatch an equaliser in the 88th minute when Bryan Jordan had a close range effort which Chris Eylander turned acrobatically around the post. Three minutes previously, a further controversy had accrued when Yousuff Kante hit the diving Brad Knighton's right hand post. The ball rebounded off the post and found Knighton's back. From there it trickled towards goal. Sounders briefly claimed that the ball had crossed the line but no goal was awarded. Such an outcome would have been harsh on the Timbers who had battled manfully for just under an hour with a man disadvantage.

The Sounders will be delighted to have seen the return of Roger Levesque who came on in the 58th minute for Jason Cascio. In the second half with only a minimum number of scares the Sounders utilized their one-man advantage to retain their lead and pocket three invaluable points. This may give them some leeway to rest key players for the visit to Minnesota two days before their semifinal in Charleston.

Cameron Dunn made his Timbers debut when he came on for Justin Thompson at half time. Portland now sit in 7th place which would guarantee them a play-off place but Miami and Minnesota are right on their shoulders. In the other USL game of the night Minnesota Thunder beat Charleston 2-1 and now sit on 24 points with Portland but with a game in hand. Portland now look forward to trying to emulate Minnesota on Saturday when the Battery visit Oregon. Charleston may have other things on their mind as their date with Seattle in the US Open Cup semi final awaits on August 12th.

In a fitting footnote to this derby, the Emerald City Supporters Bus who traveled to support the Sounders in Portland raised over $1,000 for the Washington State Special Olympics.

Seattle Sounders: Chris Eylander; Kevin Sakuda, Danny Jackson, Zach Scott, Michael Rodriguez, Nik Besagno, Yousuff Kante (Adam West 90'), Josh Gardner (Kenji Treschuk 79'), Ciaran O’Brien (Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar 73'); Jason Cascio (Roger Levesque 58'), Sébastien Le Toux
Substitutes: Ben Dragavon; Kevin Forrest, Noah Merl

Portland Timbers: Brad Knighton; Justin Thompson (Cameron Dunn 45'), Scot Thompson , Leonard Griffin (Shawn Higgins 54'), Cameron Knowles; Tom Poltl, Lawrence Olum, Miguel Guante (Jamil Walker 79'), Byron Alvarez, Bryan Jordan, Takayuka Suzuki
Substitutes: Chase Harrison; Brian Little, Chris Bagley, Arsene Oka

It's Coming Home - Seattle Would Host US Open Cup Final

Sounders Outbid Two MLS Sides

August 7th

The US Soccer Federation today announced the potential venues for the US Open Cup Final. If Seattle beat Charleston Battery on August 12th, the final will be coming to QWest Field no matter who provides the opposition. If DC United win, the final will be heading to QWest Field on September 3rd (kick off 8pm). If New England are victorious, QWest Field will see the final on September 15th. Kick off would be at 7pm. Charleston Battery would host New England on the 22nd but would have to travel to the nation's capital on September 3rd to play DC.

Sounders reaction was obviously pleased but still cautious. David Wittstock, Media Relations Manager said, "We're obviously very excited to be hosting a potential cup final but Charleston are a very good team, among the best. It will be a very hard match in the semi. It would be great to be playing at QWest Field again though. We had the fans in mind throughout this process and we made sure we did what we could so our fans could see the game and cheer on the club." Sounders General Manager, Bart Wiley, added "We're happy to have won. It will be tough in Charleston. This could be one of the last home games for the USL Sounders. We made what we thought was a smart bid, we have a great owner in Adrian Hanauer who has shown the Seattle Soccer Community his commitment to give them matches to watch."

The final had been provisionally scheduled for August 26th but the preliminary round of the CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE™ is scheduled for August 26-28. New England revolution are scheduled to play Joe Public FC of Trinidad and Tobago in that time frame and it always seemed likely that the final may have to be moved. Apart from the obvious delight in Seattle that we could be hosting a major final, the postponement if the date will come as a welcome boost to Leighton O'Brien whose wrist injury would have denied him any hope of making an August 26th final.

Sounders Bid Farewell to Portland

Long Awaited Return of Portland Nemesis Levesque Set to Spice it up Further?

August 6th

Feelings are sure to be running high as the MLS bound Seattle Sounders make their last regular season trip to PGE Park to face the Portland Timbers. Thursday night’s match could be the last of many memorable meetings between the two sides leaving bragging rights in one town for an eternity. Both sides need the points to stay competitive in the race for a USL play-off place. The Cascadia Cup is at stake. The sides are fierce local rivals. Then there is the lingering resentment in Oregon at the Sounders elevation to the MLS. But amazingly there's more. FOX are televising the game live nationwide and both sides have a chance to impress on a large scale. Well at least there are no personality issues! But wait! "What's that coach?" Brian Schmetzer displaying an incredible sense of drama may well have chosen Portland as the scene of the long awaited return of a certain Mr Roger Levesque.

The Timbers Army can't be said to be terribly keen on any Sounders player but if there was one they are less keen on than others, it's Levesque. Chants have been aimed. Banners have been unveiled. The 27 year old Portland, Maine born striker has been out with an ankle injury for two months and has been tentatively approaching fitness of late, joining in the pre-match warm up at recent games.

Five points separate the sides in the USL with Seattle ahead and both have played 21 games. Commenting on the rivalry, Schmetzer said "I have a ton of memories about the rivalry, it’s great, it’s a tremendous rivalry. I enjoyed the rivalry as a player, I enjoy the rivalry now with Gavin (Timbers head coach Gavin Wilkinson). I think Gavin is a stand up guy and I think he’s a good coach."

Sounders are on a roll having picked up maximum points from their last two games, both against the USL's top sides. Thursday night’s match is the third between Portland and Seattle this season. The two sides last played to a 0-0 draw on May 10 at Qwest Field and the Timbers prevailed in the first match April 26, 2-0, behind scores from forward Takayuki Suzuki and midfielder Miguel Guante-Vasquez. Michael Rodriguez and Taylor Graham remain questionable and Schmetzer has the unenviable task of juggling his resources ahead of another USL game in Minnesota and the US Open Cup semi final in Charleston. For the home side, Justin Thompson and Shaun Higgins, both usual starters, are available suspension. Chris Brown, the team's leading scorer, will serve the second of a three game ban he got for a red card. Timbers all time leading scorer Byron Alvarez will play in only his third game back since his return to Portland and renew his personal rivalry with the Sounders.

The importance of the match is not lost on the home club either. A Timbers official told us "This game is important on many levels. It may be the last stamp on a historic rivalry. We're 1-0-1 with the Sounders this year and would love to end the rivalry against Seattle unbeaten. The bragging rights for this one could last a long time as the last thing is often times the most remembered." But we'll leave the last word to Alvarez. Asked about Seattle, he said "Portland is a soccer city. They try to be a soccer city which I don't think they are coz they got, what twenty fans at every game? We have 8000. They're jealous of our fans. We have nothing to be jealous of them about".

Kick off is 8pm.

Sounders Tickets to Be won

Two Pairs of Tickets for Each of Carolina, Atlanta and Miami Home Games Up for Grabs

Prost Amerika, in cooperation with the Seattle Sounders, has tickets to giveaway for three upcoming home games. We have two pairs of tickets for each of the three home games against Carolina Railhawks on August 24th, Miami FC Blues on September 6th, and Atlanta Silverbacks on September 13th. All games are at the Starfire Sports Complex at Tukwila.

Please email us at competitions@prostamerika.com and put the words Carolina, Miami or Atlanta in the subject line depending on which game you want to win the tickets for. You don't have to include anything in the email text. You can enter all three. Tickets will be collectable at will call on game day.

Deadline is 5pm the Thursday before each game.

Seattle Sounders 1 : 0 Charleston Battery
Le Toux 58'

Gritty Performance returns Seattle to Winning Ways

Seba Le Toux's 58th minute winner separated the two sides but the story of the night was one of grit and determination as the Seattle back four worked supremely to blunt the league leader's offence. In a league characterized by how close together everyone is, the Battery had been the stand out side and had opened up a four point lead over the pack. Tonight they faced a Sounders side fielding rookies Jason Cascio and Yousuff Kante, and lacking midfield enforcer Kenji Treschuk. Nevertheless a startling performance by replacement holding midfielder Michael Rodriguez proved the glue that held the Sounders together.

The deciding goal came in 58 minutes after Kevin Sakuda's pulsating run on the right wing was noticed and found by Leighton O’Brien. Sakuda, running at pace, curled in a beautiful cross which a Battery defender could only deflect into Le Toux's path. From just inside the penalty area, the Frenchman looked up and hammered past helpless Dusty Hudock into the Charleston goal.

Because of the excellence of the Seattle back four, it was bizarrely one of Chris Eylander's quieter nights in goal although the early signs were ominous. In just seven minutes, Stephen Armstrong (CHA) tested him with a 22 yard drive which produced a leaping save from Eylander, who not only saved it but pouched it cleanly to prevent any chance of an onrushing Battery forward reaching the rebound. Two minutes later, Cascio (SEA) fluffed a clear chance at the other end but even with that, Dusty Hudock had to look smart to scramble to fumble it round the post. From the resulting corner, Zach Scott (SEA) glanced a header just over the crossbar. After that, the game began to sway Seattle's way and they outshot the league leaders by 9-2 in the first half. Seattle's best opportunity fell to Jason Cascio who received the ball from Leighton O'Brien but just couldn't round the keeper when clean through on goal.

The second half began with a bang when just seconds old. Josh Gardner (SEA) became the latest Seattle player to find himself one on one with Dusty Hudock. Le Toux's pass had found Gardner with still quite a bit of work to do, but he did everything right until the finish which he put into the wrong side of the side netting. It was a portent of things to come as eleven minutes later, Le Toux put Seattle's season back on track with his impressive finish, his eighth of the season. This understandably galvanized the visitors who stepped up the pace a little, but Osvaldo Alonso (CHA) blasted over when he should have hit the target with a quarter of an hour to go, although O'Brien had become the latest Sounder to lose a test of strength to the impressive Hudock when clean through a minute earlier. He also hit the Battery keeper with another effort five minutes later, although in his defence Nelson Akwari (CHA) trailed him all the way and did very well to prevent O'Brien getting a clean effort on target.

But despite all Charleston's strenuous efforts to rescue a point, the game finished on a relative high for the home side. A back pass left Hudock exposed and Le Toux was relentless in following it up. Hudock's hurried clearance hit the Frenchman's outstretched foot but trickled just wide of an open, empty net in the last minute. Even more bizarre was the sight of Noah Merl's curled effort hitting the back of the net in injury time for what would have been a rare goal. Sadly for him, the linesman's flag had already been raised for an offside call. The Battery bombarded the Sounders' goal for the remainder of the four minutes added on by referee Ben Chouaf but Seattle survived for an important win. They move on to 26 points, now a crucial five ahead of Carolina who occupy eighth place. The top seven sides wil make the next stage of the competition, the play-off stage.

Seattle Sounders: Chris Eylander; Kevin Sakuda, Danny Jackson, Zach Scott, Taylor Graham; Michael Rodriguez, Yousuff Kante (John Fishbaugher 76'), Josh Gardner, Leighton O’Brien (Noah Merl 84'); Jason Cascio (Nik Besagno 79'), Sébastien Le Toux.
Substitutes: Ben Dragavon, Andre Schmid, Hugo Alvaraz-Cuellar, Craig Tomlinson.

Charleston Battery: Dusty Hudock; John Wilson, Nelson Akwari, Marco Reda (Dominic Cianciarulo 85'), Tim Velton (Kevin Nylen 86'); Osvaldo Alonso (Darren Spicer 76'), Stephen Armstrong, Chris Williams, David Kenga; Ian Fuller, Randi Patterson.
Substitutes: Keith Wiggans, Aaron King, Chris Corcoran, Brandon Curran, Michael Richardson.

Both Clubs Looking Forward to Cup Tie but League Business Intervenes

The Seattle Sounders return home to face league leaders Charleston Battery on Saturday July 26 in a preview of next month’s Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup semifinals. The good news for the Sounders after two straight defeats is that the returns of Taylor Graham and Roger Levesque are imminent. Graham is described as a probable after missing the last two games through a hamstring problem. Levesque's ankle injury is now classified as day to day and the consensus is that his absence has been a large factor in the Sounders' inability to find the net. Whether he will play some part tomorrow or not remains to be seen.

Seattle's two defeats see them occupying fifth place with Portland in the standings on 23 points. The club’s last win came July 13 in a 1-0 victory at Montreal, and the last before that on June 7th. Sadly the loss of the three points was not the only casualty of the loss in Minnesota. Both midfield enforcer Kenji Treschuk (hamstring) and captain Danny Jackson (hip contusion) were forced to leave the game early. “We’ve lost many key guys at different times in the season and it’s really had an effect on our overall team cohesion,” said Coach Schmetzer. “I think that if we can get everyone healthy, we can start building some momentum heading into the last couple months of our season.” Jackson is rated questionable and Treschuk doubtful for Saturday's game.

The Sounders lost their last home outing, their first regular season defeat ever at Starfire. Saturday marks the third and final regular season match between Charleston and Seattle. Charleston won the last game 1-0 and nearly did the same in the season opener with only a Treschuk equalizer in the last minute saving a point for the Sounders. In their last game, Charleston drew 1-1 with Vancouver, Randi Patterson’s header from a curling Mike Richardson cross earning them a draw.

Kickoff at Starfire is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. PT.

Read the Battery's own match preview

Minnesota Thunder 2 : 1 Seattle Sounders

Two Late Goals Floor Seattle after Kante Scores First Ever for the Club

Two late goals sent Sounders to a defeat in St Paul as Minnesota Thunder scored in the 77th and 80th minutes, through Brian Kallman and Melvin Tarley. These late efforts canceled out Yousuff Kante's goal on 42 minutes. The Sounders held this advantage till the interval but failed to see the match out.

Jason Cascio, making only his third start, had a lively first half and had three scoring opportunities. The best of them was a close range header after a quarter of an hour which went narrowly over the bar. But it was Seattle's 'other Frenchman' Youssuf Kante who opened his account as a Sounder in 42 minutes when his 25 yard drive hit the far post and deflected into the net.

The second half saw a rejuvenated Thunder side and five minutes after the restart Stephen deRoux (MIN) brought out a fine save from Chris Eylander (SEA). The Sounders held on for another 28 minutes until a Luchi Gonzalez’ corner was headed into the net by Ryan Kallman for the equalizing goal. The Sounders never recovered and three minutes later, Minnesota forward Melvin Tarley netted the winner. The Sounders did hit back however, and Sébastien Le Toux hit the back of the net only for the effort to be ruled out for an offside call.

Sea – Eylander; Sakuda, Jackson (Merl 58), Scott, Rodriguez; Treschuk (Besagno 45), Kante (Fishbaugher 84), Gardner, O’Brien; Cascio (Schmid 69), Le Toux.

Min – Platter; Greenfield, Arango, Kallman, Altman (Friedland 45); Weiler (O’Brien 66), Bass, Sanchez (Marcina 74), deRoux; Tarley (Moojen 85), Gonzalez.

MATCH PREVIEW: Sounders Seek to Bounce Back from Rochester Disappointment as New Coach Takes Over at Minnesota

July 24th

The Seattle Sounders face the Minnesota Thunder today at the National Sports Center, St. Paul. Kick off is set for 5:05 pm. The 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Rhinos last Friday was the Sounders second loss in 15 games all-time at Starfire - and first in regular season play. Rochester climbed to equal third and Seattle dropped to fifth as a consequence. The last victory for the Sounders came July 13 in a 1-0 victory over Montreal, but that is the only one in the league since June 7th. Reassuringly however for Seattle, the opponents that day were today's opponents, the Minnesota Thunder. The Sounders won 3-1 that day with Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar scoring his first and only goal of the season in the 55th minute. Leighton O’Brien added a penalty kick in the 75th minute, and Sébastien Le Toux added the coup de grâce three minutes later

Bleak as Sounders recent form sounds, the picture is even harsher for today's hosts. Minnesota’s last victory came two months ago to the day against Miami. Their last point came in a 2-2 tie against the Carolina Railhawks on July 11. Like Seattle, their last match ended in defeat to the on form Rhinos.

Adding to Minnesota’s difficulties, third year head coach, Amos Magee, stepped down on Tuesday and was replaced by assistant coach, Donny Gramenz. Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer reacted to the news by saying "I’ve known Amos for many years and I think he’s a very good coach, unfortunately pro soccer is tough for coaches and we understand it. I’m sure Amos is disappointed after the great start they got off to this year. Whenever a coach is removed there is always a spark and we’re preparing for a very tough match.”

Seattle return home to take on the current league-leading Charleston Battery (31 points) this coming Saturday, July 26 in a preview of the crucial US Open Cup tie in Charleston on August 12th. The winner will play the winner of MLS’ D.C. United and New England Revolution. Seattle will bid to host a potential Cup final at Qwest Field.

Read the Thunder's own match preview.

Seattle Sounders 1 : 3 Rochester Rhinos

July 18th, 2008
Starfire Sports Complex

Sounders sank to their first home defeat of the campaign to a Rochester side simultaneously achieving their first road win. It was also the Sounders first ever regular season loss at Starfire, having previously only lost there to Puerto Rico in the second leg of a knockout match, where they did admittedly progress anyway. Taylor Graham, previously an ever present rock in the center of the defence, missed last night's game due to a hamstring injury, a major factor in the Sounders' loss.

Luke Kreamalmeyer, Andrew Gregor and Matthew Delicâte were the Rochester scorers, with Leighton O'Brien netting an equaliser for the Sounders two minutes after Kreamalmeyer's opener. It was the former Portland Timbers and Real Salt Lake star's second goal in a week against Seattle, having scored the only goal of the game in a 1-0 Rhinos win at Rochester on July 11. To double the Seattle agony, another former Timber (not to mention former Sounder) Andrew Gregor scored the second before Delicâte's 75th minute winner put the game beyond Seattle's reach.

Sounders Celebrate O'Brien's Goal
Photo: David Falk GOALSeattle.com

Although the Sounders out shot their opponents by 15-6, it was the Rhinos who opened the scoring in the 15th minute when Kreamalmeyer beat Eylander with a shot that hit the post before nestling in the back of the net. Seattle took only two minutes to get back on level terms. Le Toux received the ball from O'Brien and subsequently found him again at which point he left Vallow helpless as he fired in the equaliser.

It was the effervescent Kreamalmeyer who again haunted the Sounders, this time as provider in minute 26. He fed Andrew Gregor who fell as he beat Eylander. Three Le Toux efforts were blocked either side of half time, but it was the visiting Rhinos who scored the game's fourth goal when Matthew Delicâte's first action as a substitute for Mauricio Salles was to net the third after a breakaway.

Sounders now travel to Minnesota, a team they beat 3-1 at Starfire on June 7, since when last week's triumph in Montréal remains the Sounders' only league victory. The next home game is against US Open Cup semi final opponents the Charleston Battery on Saturday, July 26. Although a league game, both sides will be keen to achieve a confidence boost before their huge semi final date in Charleston on August 12th.

Seattle: Chris Eylander; Kevin Sakuda (Andre Schmid 82), Zach Scott, Danny Jackson (Nick Besagno 89), Noah Merl (Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar 45); Kenji Treschuk, Josh Gardner (Jason Cascio 69), Yousuff Kante (Craig Tomlinson 80), Michael Rodriguez, Leighton O'Brien; Sébastien Le Toux.

Rochester: Scott Vallow; Danny Earls, Tenywa Bonseu, Scott Palguta, John Ball; Alfonso Leoera, Ze Roberto (Steve Guppy 35), Johnny Menyongar, Luke Kreamalmeyer (Chad Severs 89), Andrew Gregor; Mauricio Salles (Matthew Delicate 73).

Attendance: 2965

Taylor Graham Doubtful for Visit of Rochester

Seattle Try to Build on Montréal Success as Rhinos Aim to Improve on Dismal Away Record.

July 17th, 2008

After a rest of five days for which the tired Sounders players will be very grateful, Brian Schmetzer's squad return home to face the Rochester Rhinos on Friday July 18th.

Chris Eylander’s ten saves enabled the Sounders to take all three points from their visit to Québec and move into sole possession of fourth place after their win over the Montréal Impact this past Sunday. As we reported, Eylander’s performance was rewarded with the USL-1 player of the week honor. The shutout was his sixth of the regular season to go with his four consecutive in U.S. Open Cup play.

In their last match, Rochester drew 0-0 at home to Miami FC. Former Sounder Andrew Gregor made his debut in the match for the Rhinos. The four points earned over last weekend was enough to move Rochester up two spots from last to ninth in the USL. Friday’s match marks the third and final meeting between Rochester and Seattle this season. The two sides met a week ago with the Rhinos winning 1-0. Luke Kreamalmeyer headed home from 19 year-old David Earl's cross to score the winner in just the 8th minute. The first meeting of the season on May 14 at Starfire resulted in a 1-1 draw with Zach Scott scoring Seattle's goal.

The Rhinos remain undefeated at home in USL first division play since a 0-1 loss to first place Charleston back on May 17th. However their away form is dire and they are without a win in league or cup on the road. Taylor Graham is doubtful due to a hamstring injury.

The Sounders are just four points from the top of the table and travel next to Minnesota to take on the Thunder on Thursday 24th before returning home against the current league-leading Charleston Battery on Saturday July 26 in a preview of the U.S. Open Cup. The two sides meet in the semis of the U.S. Open Cup on August 12th in Charleston for the right to play the winner of the all MLS tie between D.C. United and New England Revolution. The venue for the final is as yet unknown but the word is that Seattle will bid to host it if involved and give the city a potential Cup final at Qwest Field.

Sounders Lady Hits the Big Time!

Dani Bridges to Join FC Saarbrücken

July 17th, 2008

The career of Sounders Women attacking midfielder Dani Bridges is set for a huge lift, as she prepares to join FC Saarbrücken in Germany's Zweite Frauenliga (Second Women's Division). Friday's match against Real Colorado will be her final match for Seattle unless they confirm a play-off place later if results go their way. The Sounders must win on Friday and then need to have the Whitecaps defeat Real Colorado in their final game.

Bellevue born Dani, a graduate of Tahoma High School, celebrated her 22nd birthday a week ago. She joins a FC Saarbrücken side undergoing transformation. They recently appointed Winfried Klein as their new manager, succeeding Guido Mey, and one of his first tests will be a benefit friendly against the Luxembourg national side on August 8th, a benefit match for Marco Thieser, a young auto accident victim.

The Saarbrücken Ladies first competitive fixture is on August 31st in a cup tie at Limburg, and their first league fixture is at FCR Duisburg on September 7th. Three of her new teammates, Josephine Henning, Lisa Schwab and Selina Wagner, have been representing Germany in the Under 19 European Championships, where they were knocked out of the competition in the semi finals by Norway on penalties. Dani will also be joining former Sounders Women Defender Kelli Cronkite over there. The cities of Saarbrücken and Seattle have something in common. They are both twinned with the City of Nantes in France.

Prost Amerika will try and catch up with Dani before the match tomorrow to get her thoughts on this huge move.

FC Saarbrücken Ladies Homepage (in German)

Chris Eylander Named USL-1 Player of the Week

10 Saves in Montreal Convince USL Selectors

July 16th, 2008

Photo: Rick Morrison
GOALSeattle.com

The United Soccer Leagues announced their USL team of the week yesterday and Chris Eylander was included after another shut out. The selection is Eylander's first as Player of the Week and second of the year to the Team of the Week, after being included in Week 1. His ten saves equaled the best of his career and Chris now leads the league in saves with 73. Coach Brian Schmetzer told the official Sounders site, "Chris deserves every bit of recognition because he works extremely hard and not winning keeper of the year last year has only served to motivate him even more. I'm very happy for Chris and he's been a consistent performer all year long."

The Sounders return home for a Friday night match with the Rochester Rhinos. The Rhinos beat Seattle 1-0 last Friday at PAETEC Park in Rochester. The Rhinos remain undefeated at home in USL first division play since a 0-1 loss to first place Charleston back on May 17th. However their away form is dire and they are without a win in league or cup on the road. Former Sounder Andrew Gregor played the full 90 minutes for the Rhinos last Sunday against Miami and is sure to receive a warm welcome from the Sounders faithful in Tukwila.

Kick-off at Starfire is set for 8pm and tickets are available on the night.

ROAD TRIP UPDATE:

Final: Montréal Impact 0 : 1 Seattle Sounders (Seb Le Toux 73')

Stade Saputo, July 13th 2008

The Seattle Sounders grabbed three valuable points as they survived a first half grilling from Montréal to go into the break on level terms. Eylander was once more the standout as the still-tired Seattle players survived a torrid opening 45 minutes. This was their sixth game in thirteen days and the fatigue was clearly showing in the first half. As in Rochester however, the Sounders rallied in the second half to not only compete more equally but on this occasion to steal the points. Sébastien Le Toux netted with 17 minutes left after Leighton O'Brien found him inside the six yard box. It was the Frenchman's first headed goal for two years.

With ten of their last fourteen USL games at home, coach Schmetzer will be delighted to have taken the maximum points from a road game at the end of a strength-sapping schedule. Seattle's next match is now on Friday when Rochester return the visit of last Friday when a 7th minute goal separated the sides with Rochester taking the points. With five days rest, the Sounders must be relatively optimistic of exacting revenge and continuing to consolidate their playoff position. After that, they have a further six day break before visiting Minnesota. Perhaps for the tired Sounders legs, the worst is now over!

Local radio made Chris Eylander their man of the match for a sequence of match winning saves, especially one from Roberto Brown. To cap a poor day for the Impact, coach John Limniatis was red carded after the match for verbally abusing the officials. In a post match interview with the radio station, he oddly maintained that referees should understand the principle of home advantage as having a duty to favour the home side. It was one of the more bizarre interviews heard this season and hopefully there will be no repercussions for the newly appointed coach.

Seattle now rise two places to fourth on 23 points, one behind a Vancouver side who have played three fewer games. Montréal have never failed to make the playoffs but now lie firmly rooted at the bottom of the table. Rochester drew 0:0 with Miami and Vancouver v Carolina also ended level, this time at 1:1.

Seattle: Chris Eylander; Kevin Sakuda, Noah Merl, Zach Scott, Danny Jackson; Kenji Treschuk, Michael Rodriguez, Yousuff Kante (Hugo Alvaraz-Cuellar 69'), Leighton O'Brien (Taylor Graham 85'), Josh Gardner (Jason Cascio 77'); Sébastien Le Toux.

Montréal: Matt Jordan; Adam Braz (Severino Jefferson 80'), Nevio Pizzolitto, Simon Gatti (Leonardo Di Lorenzo 29'), Cédric Joqueviel; Joey Gjertsen, Patrick Leduc (Pato Aguilera 88'), David Testo, Tony Donatelli (Mauro Biello 78'), Rocco Placentino; Roberto Brown.

Attendance: 12,890

Shots: Montreal 15 Seattle 44
Saves: Montreal 1 Seattle 10

Rochester Rhinos 1 : 0 Seattle Sounders

11 July, 2008

Seattle's poor away record in USL-1 play continued Friday against the Rochester Rhinos. An early Luke Kreamalmeyer goal was enough for Rochester, as Seattle had a mere seven shots in the 1-0 loss. The match was the 10th on the road for the Sounders this season (2-4-4). The Sounders, who have not won in their last five (0-2-3), face a rested Montreal side today, July 13th. The Sounders still sit sixth in the table but could fall as low as eighth if they fail to reverse their winless streak.

In another USL game yesterday, Lazo Alavanja scored for the third consecutive game for Charleston Battery but the league leaders surprisingly fell 1-3 at home to the Puerto Rico Islanders courtesy of three second half goals from Kendall Jagdeosingh, Cristian Arrieta and Jonathan Steele.

Sounders Set for Another Two Game Trip After Cup Triumph

Rhinos Game Live on Fox

9 July, 2008

Sounders don't get to enjoy their celebrations for very long before they have to set off on another cross-country trip. On Friday, they visit PAETEC Park to play the bottom side Rochester Rhinos. The match will be live on television on Fox Soccer Channel at 5pm Pacific Time. Rochester are currently propping up the table with three wins and five draws from 13 games. However one of those three victories was in their last outing on Saturday when they triumphed 3-1 over the visiting Vancouver Whitecaps. Midfielder Ze Roberto earned player of the week honors for his two goals in the win.

Prior to the previous game, a defeat against Charleston, they had not lost in five consecutive USL games. With only one defeat in seven league games therefore and given the Sounders failure to win a league game since June 7th, this may be a tough game to expect three points from on current form. The Rhinos return the visit a week later when they come to Starfire. Seattle and Rochester played to a 1-1 draw in their first meeting of the season on May 14 at Starfire. Zach Scott scored his first goal of the season in the match, which was countered by Scott Palguta’s equalizer in the 90th minute. In related news, former Sounders and Portland Timber midfielder Andrew Gregor was acquired Thursday by the Rhinos in a trade from Portland.

After leaving New York State, the Sounders then go on to play second bottom Montréal on July 13th at 12.30 Pacific time. The Impact have amazingly only played one game since they visited Seattle on June 28th. 13,034 Québecois watched them lose 0-1 to Puerto Rico in a game where the Impact outshot their opponents by 18-4 and still managed to lose. The Sounders have played three times since then and been on a long road trip. Nevertheless, the Sounders have to see this as a chance to start their annual late season charge.

Although the clubs lie last and second last, it should be noted that both clubs have an extremely good record to be in the bottom two places and have taken at least one point in at over 56% of their games.

Seattle Sounders 0 : 0 Kansas City Wizards

Seattle win 6-5 on penalties

8 July, 2008
QWest Field

Sounders Celebrate their Victory

Seattle survived the tension of a penalty shootout to scrape through to the US Open Cup semi-final. They now travel to Charleston to face the Battery on August 12th in the semi-final. The Sounders hit the crossbar twice, Josh Gardener in normal time and Seba Le Toux in extra time, but could not beat the otherwise excellent Kansas keeper, Eric Kronberg. For their part, the Kansas City Wizards, disappointingly fielding a reserve team, tested Eylander on a number of occasions but the Washington native maintained his impressive record of not conceding a goal in this competition.

Two hours of scoreless action led to penalties where Zach Scott netted Seattle's seventh kick to seal the victory after Le Toux and two Wiz players had missed. Jackson scored Seattle's first penalty, and after Le Toux missed the next, Treschuk, Sakuda, O'Brien, Kante and Scott successfully converted. Jimmy Conrad and Tyson Wahl missed the second and seventh for Kansas (both shots being excellently saved by Chris Eylander), with Ryan Pore, Ryan McMahen, Roger Espinoza, Kerry Zavagnin and Michael Harrington converting.

Josh Gardner and Leighton O'Brien returned to first team action after missing the two-game road trip in the Carolinas. Rodriguez dropped to the bench to accommodate the return of fit again club captain Danny Jackson for Kansas City's first ever competitive match in Seattle. Seattle came closest to scoring when Josh Gardner rocked the cross bar from ten yards just after the hour mark with Eric Kronberg well beaten. Five minutes into the second half of extra time, Le Toux rattled the same piece of wood.

Beyond these two chances, there were a string of impressive saves by both goalkeepers. The Sounders players showed signs of fatigue from their fourth game in eight days, two of them on the east coast, while the Wizards were partially protected from schedule fatigue having dropped most of their first team for younger reserve players. Defender Rauwshan McKenzie, midfielder Lance Watson and forward Michael Kraus all played in the Wizards starting first team for the first time, and Nelson Pizarro's substitute appearance was his debut.

The crowd didn't have to wait long for excitement as the match was barely three minutes old when giant Sounders forward Andre Schmid found himself clean through on Kronberg (KAN). Sadly his shot had neither direction nor power and the chance was wasted. It wasn't just one way traffic however, and a quarter of an hour later Eylander (SEA) saved a Michael Krause (KAN) effort from point blank range after Ryan Pore (KAN) had supplied the debutant with a gilt-edged chance. The Wizards continued to play fluently and three times within twelve minutes blasted shots straight at Eylander's midriff, with Pore, Kraus and Jonathan Leathers being the straight shooters. Eylander may claim however that his positioning was perfect on all three occasions!

Twice before half time, Kronberg (KAN) brought off outstanding saves, firstly from Le Toux after 39 minutes and six minutes later from Leighton O'Brien (SEA) after an exquisite one touch lay off from Le Toux. In between controversy reigned, as Le Toux's pace got the better of Rauwshan McKenzie (KAN), and the Kansas defender appeared to pull the Frenchman back outside the box and then stand on his foot inside it. The former would have brought a red card, the second a penalty but referee Jeremy Vehar waved play on.

Kronberg was the first keeper to start in the second half when he tipped Zach Scott's effort around the post to complete a triumvirate of outstanding saves. He was helpless though just after the hour when Josh Gardner (SEA) thumped a drive against his crossbar from inside the box. As the Sounders tired, Kansas looked the likelier side to clinch this tie in regulation time and substitute Pizarro (KAN) forced Eylander to work hard in the 74th minute before Roger Espinoza (KAN) produced the save of the match from him. Between the two, Tyson Wahl (KAN) cleared from under his own crossbar after Le Toux had beaten the keeper with a lob. But despite all the chances, the game reached the 90 minute mark goalless though there was far from a shortage of excitement.

The half hour of extra time was no anticlimax. Jason Cascio (SEA) had come on for the tired Alcaraz-Cuellar and forced Kronberg into yet another great save before Le Toux hit the cross bar on 110' with Kronberg well beaten. Cascio chipped the keeper from an acute angle four minutes later, but the ball stubbornly refused to dip beneath the bar, and seconds before the end of extra time, the Sounders received a scare as Kerry Zavagnin's (KAN) curled free kick had Eylander going the wrong way, before a quick thinking adjustment allowed him to gratefully gather the ball.

Eylander Saves Tyson Wahl's Penalty
Photo: Rick Morrison
GOALSeattle.com

So the game went to penalties, and Eylander performed the heroics Sounders fans have almost grown to expect from him. As one fan said on leaving the ground, "The next pen he saves should be the one he signed the MLS contract with." Credit should also go to former Wizard Taylor Graham (SEA) and Leighton O'Brien. Both of them momentarily delayed their participation in the team celebration to go over and console a young and disconsolate Kansas City playing staff. It was a very nice touch from two consummate professionals after a game that was contested in the best sporting fashion..

Next up for Seattle is another two game road trip to the eastern time zone with Rochester Raging Rhinos and Montréal Impact being the hosts. The Sounders are without a USL win since June 7th. With Brian Schmetzer having successfully juggled his resources to keep the Sounders in the US Open Cup, he will be seeking to end that winless league run and begin the Sounders' traditional end of season charge up the USL table.

In another quarter final, Charleston Battery shocked MLS club FC Dallas 3-1 in Texas to set up an all USL semi-final with Seattle. 5,911 people saw the Battery claim their second Texan opposition of this season's campaign with Lazo Alavanja, Ian Fuller and Randi Patterson scoring for them. Alavanja also scored the winner against the Sounders at the weekend.

The other semi final will be contested by the New England Revolution and DC United. The Revolution required penalties to dismiss plucky Crystal Palace Baltimore after the game finished 1-1 after extra time. DC United beat Chicago 2-1 also after extra time.

Seattle: Chris Eylander; Taylor Graham, Zach Scott, Kevin Sakuda, Danny Jackson; Kenji Treschuk, Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar (Jason Cascio 85'), Josh Gardner (Yousuff Kante 82'), Leighton O'Brien; Andre Schmid (Michael Rodríguez 61'), Sébastien Le Toux.

Substitutes not used: Ben Dragavon; Nick Besagno, Noah Merl, Craig Tomlinson.

Kansas City Wiz: Eric Kronberg; Matt Marquess, Rauwshan McKenzie (Jimmy Conrad 46'), Tyson Wahl, Chance Myers; John Leathers (Ryan McMahen 83'), Kerry Zavagnin, Roger Espinoza, Lance Watson (Michael Harrington 63'); Mike Kraus (Nelson Pizarro 57'), Ryan Pore.

Substitutes not used: Boris Pardo.

Attendance 4674

See the winning penalty and talk about the game on GOALSeattle.com.

Sounders Away Games Produce Scant Reward

6 July, 2008

TThe four game Seattle Sounders USL road trip has not begun well for them. A draw at the Carolina Railhawks was followed up with a single goal defeat at table toppers Charleston Battery last night. Now all eyes will turn to QWest Field where the Sounders entertain the MLS Kansas City Wiz in the US Open Cup quarter final before setting off on the road again. Starting already with a small squad, and with quite a few injuries, the schedule was always going to be tough on Seattle. It appears that coach Schmetzer has tried to juggle his options with Tuesday in mind.

Seb Le Toux and Kenji Treschuk netted for the Sounders in a 2-2 draw at Carolina on July 3rd but the Sounders had no answer to a solitary Lazo Alavanja (CAR) strike after ten minutes three days later. The draw at Carolina was somewhat fortuitous as Carolina missed na open goal and had a good penalty claim for handball turned down. Nevertheless, Seattle were leading until the 86th minute and will regret not being able to close the game out. Josh Gardner and Leighton O’Brien who played against Chivas did not travel with the squad.

The Charleston Battery also have a US Open cup date with MLS opposition to look forward to. They play Sounders' nemesis from last year, FC Dallas, with the winners meeting the winners of the Sounders tie. Their victory over the Sounders keeps them at the top of the league. Noah Merl, Danny Jackson, John Fishbaugher and Youssouf Kante were amongst the starters this time round. None started the Chivas game. Michael Rodriguez, Kevin Sakuda, Leighton O'Brien and Josh Gardener were the four from the Cup win to miss out. You can see the Battery's match report here.

We’re Off to See the Wizards!

Seattle Sounders 2 : 0 Chivas USA

01 July, 2008

Those who may have thought the Seattle Sounders USL side would fade gracefully into the past can think again. On another night of glory for Brian Schmetzer’s side, the Sounders convincingly beat MLS visitors Chivas USA for the second year running in the US Open Cup. They will play another MLS side, Kansas City Wizards, in the next round. In every area of the sport, Seattle outmatched and outfought their illustrious opponents. Just how many of either side will be in the line-ups when the two sides meet again in the league next year is open to question, but many on the Sounders rotation did themselves no harm at all in their quest for MLS contracts.

Rodriguez Heads Clear
Photo: Rick Morrison
GOALSeattle.com

Foremost amongst them was center-half Taylor Graham who was the outstanding player on either side. On several occasions, his perfect positioning and cool head saved Seattle as Chivas upped the tempo. Kevin Sakuda, Kenji Treschuk and Josh Gardner were also in form, with Gardner’s battle with his off field buddy Dan Paladini providing some entertainment in the quieter first half.

The first half started quietly, and there was little hint of what was to come as wayward drives by Gardner (SEA) and Justin Braun (CHI) were the closest to scoring. Between them was perhaps the most controversial of several poor decisions by referee, Yadar Reyes, when Zach Scott’s (SEA) shirt was clearly pulled by Shavar Thomas (CHI) as he tried to reach a Gardner corner. Amazingly the referee waved play on and the Sounders were denied a penalty.

It was really only in the five minutes before the interval that the game took off. On 42, Kenji Treschuk (SEA) showed how much his normally defensive game is expanding when his visionary pass put Sebastien Le Toux (SEA) clear through, only for the former Rennes forward to hit the onrushing Brad Guzan (CHI). Reprieve for Chivas was short lived however as from the resulting corner, Taylor Graham reacted faster than Jim Curtin (CHI) and glanced a powerful header beyond Guzan for the first goal.

Seb Le Toux in action
Photo: Rick Morrison
GOALSeattle.com

Now trailing, the MLS visitors from Los Angeles looked livelier and eight minutes after the restart Chris Eylander (SEA) had to look sharp to save an Atiba Harris (CHI) header after Paladini’s cross. Chivas were looking increasingly threatening and Schmetzer reacted accordingly by withdrawing Gardner and bringing on the Sounders' returning captain Danny Jackson. It was a master stroke. Gardner was beginning to tire and struggle with the higher gear and increasing frequency of the Chivas attacks and Jackson, nominally a defender, strengthened that aspect of the midfield. What may have surprised a few is that Jackson missed the next big chance to score. In the 78th minute, he rose above everyone to meet a Leighton O’Brien (SEA) corner but his firm header went over the bar.

With Chivas now committed to the attack, chances became more plentiful. Just after Jackson’s near miss, Chivas inexplicably played a free kick on the right too far to the right and rendered the angle of Sacha Kljestan’s (CHI) shot easy for a grateful Eylander. It was Chivas' last chance. Seconds later the tireless Le Toux flicked Eylander’s subsequent clearance over the helpless Guzan to double Seattle’s lead. It was a fair reward for the immense workrate Le Toux had put in against a better class of defender than he faces in the USL.

The Sounders' reward is a return to Qwest Field on Tuesday July 8th, kick off 7pm. Tickets go on sale Wednesday morning at Ticketmaster. Prices are $17 in advance, or $20 on game night.

Oh yes, we’re off to see the Wizards indeed.

Seattle: Chris Eylander; Taylor Graham, Zach Scott, Kevin Sakuda, Michael Rodríguez; Kenji Treschuk, Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar, Josh Gardner (Danny Jackson 62'), Leighton O'Brien (Nick Besagno 81’); Andre Schmid (Noah Merl 70'), Sébastien Le Toux (Youssuf Kante 89’).

Substitutes not used: Ben Dragavon, Craig Tomlinson, Jason Cascio.

Chivas USA: Brad Guzan; Jonathan Bornstein, Jim Curtin, Shavar Thomas, Dan Paladini; Jorge Flores (Anthony Hamilton 73’), Kraig Chiles (Jesse Marsch 65’), Paulo Nagamura, Sacha Klejstan (Keith Savage 83’); Justin Braun (Francisco Mendoza 60’), Atiba Harris.

Substitutes not used: Dan Kennedy, Claudio Suarez, Carey Talley.

Attendance 2997
43' SEA: Graham
80' SEA: Le Toux

Seattle Sounders 1 : 1 Montreal Impact
28 June, 2008

The injury-hit Sounders battled hard for a lead for 79 minutes, then having obtained it, kept it for just five. This was the story of a game in which neither side really deserved all three points. Certainly the visitors from Québec fully merited their share and belied their lowly league status.

The game seemed headed towards a frustrating goalless draw until Sounders forward Andre Schmid received the ball from Sébastien Le Toux (SEA) on the left wing and opened the score in the 80th minute. Schmid beat keeper Matt Jordan (MON) to put Seattle in sight of a win they scarcely deserved. Also unexpected was the possibility that it was Schmid who would score the winner. Up until then, the big striker hadn’t put a foot right and was having a poor game. Hopefully the goal will boost his confidence. To be fair to him, by scoring he became the first striker to beat Jordan for 444 minutes, but this cannot disguise just how uncomfortable the big man looked.

However the lead Schmid earned lasted just five minutes before a Rocco Placentino (MON) corner from the right was powerfully headed in by Pat Leduc (MON).

Although he didn’t have as quiet a night as Chris Eylander in the Sounders goal, Jordan was really only tested three times. As early as the seventh minute, Leighton O’Brien forced Jordan to dive leftwards after driving from 25 yards. Six minutes later, Josh Gardner was slightly closer in when he unleashed a shot that Jordan was equal to. In the second half, five minutes before Schmid broke the deadlock, Le Toux fired straight at him. Eylander’s main first half contribution came just before the whistle when he punched away a corner.

Up until the late flurry of goals, the second half yielded fewer clear cut opportunities, and it was Le Toux who missed the best of them, shooting wide from close in just after the hour mark.

The Impact are now unbeaten in five matches and it was easy to see why, as they worked hard as a team and looked well organized in defence.

With a raft of injuries which may have prevented coach Brian Schmetzer (SEA) from replacing some out of form players, Seattle now approach their judgment day encounter with MLS Chivas USA in the US Open Cup on July 1st.

Seattle: Chris Eylander; Taylor Graham, Noah Merl, Kevin Sakuda, Michael Rodríguez; Kenji Treschuk, Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar, Josh Gardner (Youssouf Kante 87'), Leighton O'Brien; Andre Schmid, Sébastien Le Toux. Substitutes not used: Ben Dragavon, Danny Jackson, Nik Besagno, Craig Tomlinson, Jason Cascio.

Montreal: Matt Jordan; Adam Braz, Nevio Pizzolitto, Stefano Pesoli, Simon Gatti (Gabriel Gervais 46'); Leo Di Lorenzo, Pat Leduc, David Testo, Mauro Biello (Taty Matondo 82'); Severino Jefferson (Rocco Placentino 64'), Roberto Brown. Substitutes not used: Andrew Weber, Alex Surprenant, Cédric Joqueviel, Joey Gjertsen.

Goals:
80' SEA: Schmid (Le Toux)
84' MON: Leduc (Placentino)

Sounders Progress in US Open Cup
24 June, 2008

The Seattle Sounders breezed past Hollywood United of the U.S. Adult Soccer Association 6-0 at Starfire Sports Complex in the US Open Cup action. The USL Sounders now advances to host Los Angeles MLS side Chivas USA on July 1st at the same venue. Chivas is the USA rebranding of a Mexican league side Chivas Regal.

Goals from Zach Scott, Josh Gardner and an amazing four by France's Sebastien Le Toux completed the rout of the side who beat Portland Timbers 3-2 in an earlier round of the cup..

Tickets for the Chivas game are $17 in advance of the game, and $20 on the day of the game. Due to limited seating at Starfire, fans are encouraged to buy early in advance. The two sides also met last year in the US Open Cup with the Sounders winning 3-1 at Qwest Field.

Brazil : Canada 3:2
31 May, 2008

47,052 people filled QWest Stadium last night for the friendly international between Brazil and Canada. A large number of Brazilian shirts were in evidence in the crowd, although how many of them were actually Brazilian remained debatable. A healthy following of fans had also descended from British Columbia to support Dale Mitchell's Canadian side.

The result was settle in the 63rd minute when the otherwise excellent Juan de Guzman (CAN) who plays for La Coruna in La Liga in Spain, played a lazy back pass into nowhere. Canadian keeper Pat Onstad hesitated and an astonishingly grateful Robinho (BRA) rounded the Houston Dynamo keeper to slot home

This was harsh on the Canadians and Guzman in particular as up until that point they had more than being competitive, in fact at half time they were arguable the better side, despite trailing 2-1. They had recovered well from an early goal in 4 minutes when Robinho fed Diego who memerisingly beat Canadian captain Paul Stalteri with a one two using both feet. He fed Diego in open space who opened the scoring.

But the heads didn't go down and the Canadian XI increased in confidence and deservedly equalised six minutes later. Mike Kluowski (CAN) who plays his club football for Bruges in the Belgian league hoisted a long ball into the Brazilian penalty area. Julio Cesar (BRA) committed that goalkeeping cardinal sin by coming for the ball and being too late. Rob Friend leapt majestically to beat him to the ball and the ball and he headed into an unguarded Brazilian net.

After that equaliser, Canada were the better team and should have further embarrassed their illustrious opponents. Issey Nakajima-Farran (CAN) found himself clean through on goal with only Julio Cesar to beat and managed to place his chip well wide of Cesar's left post twelve minutes later, and within seconds, Rob Friend hit the side netting from an acute angle. Adrian Serioux (CAN) brought out a further save from Cesar after an intricate passing move which looked for a while like no Canadian was going to shoot after 32 minutes.

That seemed to wake Brazil up and Luis Fabiano (BRA) troubled Onstad within seconds. Two events within minutes changed this game within sight of half time. Houston's Dwayne de Rosario (CAN) became the latest Canadian to find himself clean through against the overworked Julio Cesar but the alert Brazilian goalkeeper blocked his tame effort. If missing the chance to allow Canada to go in 2-1 ahead at half time wasn't bad enough, Robinho (BRA) fed Gilberto (BRA) seconds later. His pinpoint cross reached Luis Fabiano whose effort was parried by Onstad but somehow dropped over the Canadian goal line.

Yet the plucky red shirts weren't done and eleven minutes after halftime, de Guzman fired an unstoppable shot in to bring the score to 2-2. It was no more than Canada deserved and the nearly took the lead two minutes later when the same player fired narrowly wide form 19 yards. Brazil then had a goal chalked off for offside as the players kept the crowd enthralled. But de Guzman's moment of madness was by them minutes away and it was a blow from which Canada didn't recover.

De Rosario brought a futher good save from Julio Cesar, Atiba Huthchinson (CAN) and Rosaria again blasted over, before substitute Tam Nsaliwa (CAN) shot wide having beaten three Brazilian defenders.

But it was not to be and Brazil can take credit in winning the showpiece. Some of the skill they displayed entertained the crowd immensely. Dale Mitchell can take great credit for the entertaining football he has Canada playing, and in de Guzman and Hastings, he probably had the two best players on show. Finally, the crowd of 47,052 will delight Seattle Sounders FC who can look forward to the arrival of Major League Soccer in this town with some enthusiasm.

Seattle Sounders : Portland Timbers 0:0
10 May, 2008

The last local derby in Seattle between these two fierce rivals ended goalless as a bumper crowd of 10184 watched the home team dominate. The crowd was the highest in a regular-season league match since the Sounders played the first event at Qwest (then Seahawks Stadium) in front of 25,515 fans on July 28, 2002 against Vancouver.

Despite a string of chances, especially from the impressive Josh Gardner (SEA), the MLS bound home side failed to score and rarely troubled Ray Burse (POR) in the Portland goal, given the amount of midfield possession. This may well be the Sounders last game as a USL side in Qwest as all their scheduled home USL games now take place at the Starfire Sports Center in Tukwila.

All eleven Sounders starters were with the club last year but their three new signings, Cascio, Fischbaugher and the Frenchman Kante took places on the bench; all playing eventually as the Sounders tried to split open a dogged Portland defence. In fact their best chance fell to the mammoth Ander Schmid after just nine minutes but he inexplicably put the ball over from inside the six yard box. His confidence never recovered. The Sounders came closest eleven minutes later when the effervescent Gardner produced a splendid fingertip save from Burse who pushed the ball onto the crossbar. Gardner had been one of the two players specifically mentioned by coach Schmetzer earlier in the week as having the potential to play for the new club in the MLS. This performance will have done that claim no harm.

He tested Burse again in 33 minutes but the interval came with the scores level. What little goalmouth action the second period brought came late after Cascio, Fischbaugher and Kante had replaced Schmid, Sakuda and O’Brien. Cascio looked especially lively and drew another save from the beleaguered Timbers custodian three minutes from time and five after Gardner volleyed over on the turn from close in.

The defensive and overrun Timbers nearly stole all three points in injury time as the otherwise quiet Takayuki Suzuki (POR) headed over while under pressure from defenders.

Seattle Sounders Open Day
7 May, 2008

The Sounders preparation for their home season opener against the Portland Timbers continued when Bart Wiley and Brian Schmetzer addressed the media. With this being the last season in the USL for the Seattle Sounders before the city welcomes the MLS incarnation, everyone was struggling a little bit to focus on the upcoming 2008 season. Bart Wiley, Sounders General Manager, insisted that this wasn't a 'throwaway year' and passed the microphone to coach Brian Schmetzer.

Schmetzer is in a different position. No coach has been appointed for the MLS side and the championship winning manager is clearly a candidate. Clearly good results will enhance his chances. The terminology presented our first difficulty. It seems that the term "Sounders" alone will mean the USL side and the term "Sounders FC" refers to the MLS variety. Schmetzer told us that Adrian Hanauer is off scouting for players and had been in Argentina, England and Spain. Tough job, AH, but somebody's got to do it. He also specifically singled out Josh Gardner and Taylor Graham as players capable of making that step up to the next level. Praising the squad, he observed that "the top half of the Sounder's roster is better than the bottom half of many MLS clubs."

Sounders First Signing
Seb le Toux

All eleven who started the Championship winning game against Atlanta are back together with three additions, Jason Cascio. John Fischbaugher and Frenchman Youssuf Kante, once of Dinamo Bucharest. Fischbaugher is a Washington State native and will play in midfield, Cascio played at Seattle University's defense but it is Kante who has the international flavour to his bio. A Parisian who is a natural centre midfielder but has also played right midfield and right back for the Sounders in exhibition matches. His wanderings are not confined to the field of play either. At 19, he left the Paris St Germain youth academy to play for Den Haag in the Netherlands before a two year hiatus. On return, Romania and Switzerland were stops before a trial in Canada for Toronto, then to Kansas before following the yellow brick out of there to the Emerald City.

As one Frenchman may be Seattle Sounders last ever signee, it was announced that Sebastien Le Toux is MLS Seattle's first ever signee. Until there is another, it seems Monsieur Le Toux will pretty much in demand for media appearances. Heureusement, son anglais c'est magnifique. He said he was 'proud and happy' to be the first ever MLS Seattle player. The November draft will see others join him but who knows what Adrian Hanauer will have in his luggage when he returns from his travels.

See our interview with Sebastien Le Toux here.

Sounders Re-sign Goalkeeping Hero Chris Eylander
3 March, 2008

Many Sounders fans credit Chris Eylander with winning them the USL title. Certainly on that hard to forget night at Tukwila when a valiant Puerto Rico side nearly overturned a home loss, we had good reason to be grateful to the Washington State native. Therefore this week's news that he will be back performing his crazy and heroic antics in a Sounders jersey in 2008 will be good news for many.

“Chris had a phenomenal 2007 season which culminated with his dominance in the post-season,” Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer told the Seattle Sounders official website. “We are thrilled to have him back this year and will look for him to continue to improve.”

Read the full story here.

Prost Amerika Interviews Danny Jackson
1 March, 2008

As training for the new USL season begins amidst the uncertainty and excitement of soccer in Seattle, we caught up with Seattle Sounders Captain, Danny Jackson. We asked him about his love for the city of Seattle, the future of soccer here, his beloved Leeds United, and the prospects for new England boss, Fabio Capello, amongst other things.

See the whole interview here.

REMAINING FIXTURES

Rochester Raging Rhinos @ Seattle Sounders - Friday, July 18 2008 | 8:00pm

Seattle Sounders @ Minnesota Thunder - Thursday, July 24 2008 | 5:05pm

Charleston Battery @ Seattle Sounders - Saturday, July 26 2008 | 8:00pm

Seattle Sounders @ Puerto Rico Islanders - Friday, August 01 2008 | 5:00pm

Seattle Sounders @ Portland Timbers - Thursday, August 07 2008 | 8:00pm

Seattle Sounders @ Minnesota Thunder - Sunday, August 10 2008 | 3:05pm

U.S. Open Cup Semifinal
Seattle Sounders @ Charleston Battery - Tuesday, August 12 2008 | 4:30pm

Puerto Rico Islanders @ Seattle Sounders - Friday, August 15 2008 | 7:00pm

Vancouver Whitecaps @ Seattle Sounders - Wednesday, August 20 2008 | 7:00pm

Carolina Railhawks @ Seattle Sounders - Sunday, August 24 2008 | 7:00pm

Miami FC @ Seattle Sounders - Saturday, September 06 2008 | 7:00pm

Montreal Impact @ Seattle Sounders - Wednesday, September 10 2008 | 7:00pm

Atlanta Silverbacks @ Seattle Sounders - Saturday, September 13 2008 | 7:00pm

Vancouver Whitecaps @ Seattle Sounders - Saturday, September 20 2008 | 7:00pm

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Montréal Impact 3 : 1 Seattle Sounders Impact win 4-3 on aggregate