Captions by Toby Dunkelberg – Photos by Max Aquino & Brandon Bleek
The Seattle Sounders welcomed the New England Revolution on Sunday night in front of a small (for Seattle) crowd of 39,782. Noticeable absences included Osvaldo Alonso, Lee Nguyen, and Jermaine Jones
11′ NE gets a good spell of time around and in Seattle’s box, but thanks to great scrambling defense from Marshall, Evans, and Leo, in quick succession it ended in a simple goal kick.
Seattle really starts to pile on the pressure as Obafemi Martins and Clint Dempsey start to shake off the last bit of rust. In the 25th minute Clint Dempsey scores a penalty past Shuttleworth after being pulled down by Agudelo. Seattle 1 – New England 0
31′ New England starts to apply more and more pressure and they force the Sounders back four to come up big. In the only mistake of the night , a poor pass from Evans in the 39′ gets intercepted by Rowe and it takes a World Class save from Stefan Frei(according to Sigi Schmid) to stop Rowe’s resulting shot.
41′ At this point it became clear that this night belonged to the Sounders when a fantastic cross from Tyrone Mears near the right flagpole found the head of Obafemi Martins who headed it by Shuttleworth for the second goal of the night.
Seattle 2 – New England 0
There’s was much to celebrate as the Sounders led the reigning MLS Cup runner-ups 2-0 going into halftime.
The second half started the same way with the Revolution unable to generate chances through Seattle’s suddenly rock solid defense. Seattle seemed to steal the ball back at will.
64′ The sub of Diago Kobayashi for Andy Doorman provided a bit of hold up play for the visitors. That, combined with a couple defensive missteps by Mears led to a couple of chances for New England that were quickly dealt with by Evans and Marshall.
67′ A quick North-South attack from Seattle ends in a goal for Clint Dempsey after a easy assist from Martins and an even better pass from Marco Pappa. It was a truly immaculate team goal from the three. Reminiscent of the best Sounders goals from last season. Seattle 3 – New England 0
74′ Another dangerous chance for Seattle came after a foul by Goncalves on Neagle. In the ensuring free kick, Dempsey’s take bounces off the wall and the Revs gain back possession.
80′ At this point it became clear that Seattle wasn’t going to be giving up another goal. New England tried to put on the pressure and lob in crosses. Ultimatly that tactic proved ineffective against the aerial prowess Evans, Marshall, and Frei. Simply put, without their two stars in Nguyen and Jones the Revolution couldn’t generate any quality chances.
90+3′ And with that the Sounders silenced concerns of a quiet offseason and a leaky defense. The Sounders are once again a force to be reckoned with in the West.
