Sounders rally with three second half goals. Defeat Rapids 4-3.

By Money Mike

The Seattle Sounders are now 6-0-3 in their last 9 games and in that stretch have now won 5 of their last 6 matches. Taking a look at all the numbers, this is the highest scoring game for the Sounders in their history, defeating the Colorado Rapids by a final score of 4-3. This match was also being played on natural grass, which was put on over the turf for the Sounders friendly match against Manchester United on Wednesday. The Sounders are now 1 point back of the Los Angeles Galaxy for the top spot in the West. LA did have a game today, but it wasn't a league game, it was a friendly against Spanish club Real Madrid at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

The match didn't start out the way 36,424 fans would've hoped. A poor clearance by Jeff Parke was quickly pounced on by Wells Thompson who took one touch and drove a low 18-yard shot into the left corner to give the Rapids the lead only a minute into the match.

The Sounders however didn't lose their focus and in the 7th minute, Ozzie Alonso found Alvaro Fernandez streaking down Seattle's left hand side, and the DP from Uruguay held off Kosuke Kimura long enough to fire a shot in at the far post.

In the 21st minute, Pablo Mastroeni, who picked up a yellow card, should've been shown a second yellow card for his altercation with Erik Friberg. Mastroeni reacted to the foul on Friberg by throwing a forearm at him just as he was getting back up on his feet. These Rapids are just turning into a bunch of dirty pricks. Almost the entire team has played dirty all match. Conor Casey threw an elbow on one of the Seattle players, I don't know if it was James Riley or Mauro Rosales. Drew Moor threw a forearm at Rosales as he was on the ground. The referee should've sent Pablo off for the elbow on Friberg, but he just gives him a warning which is ridiculous. And also, Kyle Martino, who is the Color Commentator on Fox Soccer Channel, needs his ass whooped. I mean really, this guy is the worst Color Commentator ever. After Brian Mullan made that tackle on Steve Zakuani, Martino backed him and said, "Brian Mullan isn't a dirty player." That's bullshit. And now he's backing up the referee for no sending Pablo off, I mean he's pretty much a guy who thinks no fouls are worthy of bookings.

On the stroke of halftime the Rapids jumped back ahead. Wells Thompson collected a long ball from Omar Cummings, and laid it off at the top of the area for Jeff Larentowicz who fired a low drive off the far post and in.

The Sounders, much like they did in the early stages of the first half down a goal, respond quickly a minute into the second half. Roger Levesque flicked in a cross from Mauro Rosales to level the match up a 2-2.

With eight minutes to go, the Sounders fould the break trough. Brad Evans, who actually played today, tried his luck from a tight angle. Matt Pickens made the save, but Fredy Montero came crashing in and he put the rebound away with a diving header to give Seattle a 3-2 lead. The Sounders weren't done yet. Two minutes later, Fredy Montero's ball into the penalty area was not dealt with by Drew Moor and Mauro Rosales capitalized on the missed touch and slotted the ball past Matt Pickens.

Colorado cut the lead to one in the 89th minute when Caleb Folan slammed home a rebound off a corner kick. But it was not enough as the Sounders held on for a 4-3 win.

Scoring summary:

Colorado Rapids - Wells Thompson 1 (unassisted) 1'

Seattle Sounders FC - Alvaro Fernandez 5 (Osvaldo Alonso 1) 7'

Colorado Rapids - Jeff Larentowicz 4 (Wells Thompson 1, Omar Cummings 2) 42'

Seattle Sounders FC - Roger Levesque 3 (Mauro Rosales 6, Osvaldo Alonso 2) 47'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero 6 (unassisted) 82'

Seattle Sounders FC - Mauro Rosales 2 (Fredy Montero 5) 84'

Colorado Rapids - Caleb Folan 3 (unassisted) 89'

Misconduct summary:

Colorado Rapids - Pablo Mastroeni (caution; Reckless tackle) 18'

Colorado Rapids - Conor Casey (caution; Dissent) 25'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero (caution; Goalkeeper interference) 27'

Seattle Sounders FC - Roger Levesque (caution; Reckless tackle) 69'

Colorado Rapids - Wells Thompson (caution; Reckless tackle) 79'

Lineups:

Colorado Rapids - Matt Pickens; Kosuke Kimura, Marvell Wynne, Tyrone Marshall, Drew Moor; Sanna Nyassi (Ross LeBauex 80'), Pablo Mastroeni, Jeff Larentowicz, Wells Thompson; Omar Cummings (Andre Akpan 86'), Conor Casey (Caleb Folan 38')

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller; James Riley, Patrick Ianni, Jeff Parke, Tyson Wahl; Mauro Rosales, Osvaldo Alonso, Erik Friberg (Brad Evans 73'), Alvaro Fernandez (Lamar Neagle 71'); Fredy Montero (Nate Jaqua 91+'), Roger Levesque

Seattle Sounders FC vs Colorado Rapids preview. Remember what happened last time these two teams met?

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders, following their Open Cup victory, get back to business in MLS play. The Colorado Rapids come to town, but Brian Mullan has been left out of this match. Remember the last time these two met? Back on April 22, Brian Mullan was dispossessed of the ball and he argued that he was held and that there should've been a foul. Steve Zakuani had possession of the ball when Mullan came over and intentionally broke Zakuani's tibia and fibula on his right leg and the entire Sounder nation was in major distress, all thanks to that stupid mother fucker, Brian Mullan. The Sounders won that match 1-0, but in a bad way. They lost one of their best players and dispite having the one man advantage, were out played by the Rapids. Kickoff time is at 1pm on FOX Soccer Channel.


Injury report:

Colorado Rapids - Macoumba Kanji is still suffering from that left knee ACL tear he picked up in last years MLS Cup final victory. He still has not played in 2011 and I don't think he's gonna debut in this one. Right now he's questionable. Danny Earls is also questionable with a quadriceps contusion. Matt Pickens, Joseph Nane and Anthony Wallace are dealing with strains right now and all of them are listed as probable.

Seattle Sounders FC - For the Sounders, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado is out for this match. He picked up an MCL sprain back on sunday in Seattle's 3-2 win over the Timbers. Steve Zakuani's leg is healed an right now he's taking some slow jogs. I'm hoping he does make it back as we lean toward the playoffs. And Brad Evans...... oh my god, I can't really explain this. A hamstring strain. He's listed as probable, but he ain't playing this weekend.


Key matchup:

Conor Casey vs Jeff Parke - For almost the entire season, Jeff Parke has been carrying the load for the Sounders this season, and that's gonna continue with Conor Casey up front. Casey has faced the Sounders 3 times since their arrival to Major League Soccer and has scored twice against us. Whoever wins this matchup should win this game.

Seattle Sounders to play Panamanian club San Francisco F.C. in the Champions League qualifying round

By Money Mike


The CONCACAF Champions League took place earlier this morning at the CONCACAF Headquarters in New York City and the Seattle Sounders, who qualified by winning the U.S. Open Cup last year, have been drawn against Panamanian club San Francisco F.C. in the preliminary round of the Champions League. The winner of this matchup has been drawn into Group D with Monterrey (Mexico), Comunicaciones (Guatemala), and the winner of Herediano (Costa Rica) and the 3rd place team from the CFU Tournament. The Sounders are one of five MLS clubs that will take part in this years Champions League. The LA Galaxy got in by finishing with the best overall record in 2010. Colorado Rapids got in by winning the MLS Cup. FC Dallas were the runners-up in the MLS Cup. Seattle's rivals Vancouver Whitecaps could take part in the Champions League if they beat Toronto FC in the Canadian Championship. Here's the draw from the preliminary round to the group stage.

Preliminary round (Teams listed 1st will host 1st leg):

Motagua (Honduras) vs Municipal (Guatemala)

UNAM or Morelia (Mexico) vs CFU runner-up

Isidro Metapan (El Salvador) vs CFU champion

Santos Laguna (Mexico) vs Olimpia (Honduras)

Alianza (El Salvador) vs FC Dallas

Toronto FC or Vancouver Whitecaps (Canada) vs Real Esteli or Walter Ferretti (Nicaragua)

San Francisco (Panama) vs Seattle Sounders FC

Herediano (Costa Rica) vs CFU third place

Group stage:

Group A:
Los Angeles Galaxy
Alajuelense (Costa Rica)
Clausura runner-up (Mexico)/CFU runner-up
Motagua (Honduras)/Municipal (Guatemala)

Group B:
Colorado Rapids
Real Espana (Honduras)
Santos Laguna (Mexico)/Olimpia (Honduras)
Isidro Metapan (El Salvador)/CFU champion

Group C:
Clausura champion (Mexico)
Tauro (Panama)
Alianza (El Salvador)/FC Dallas
Canadian champion/Real Esteli or Walter Ferretti (Nicaragua)

Group D:
Monterrey (Mexico)
Comunicaciones (Guatemala)
San Francisco (Panama)/Seattle Sounders FC
Herediano (Costa Rica)/CFU third place

Sounders win 1-0 but lose Steve Zakuani

By Money Mike

Coming off a 1-1 draw on the road at Philadelphia, the Seattle Sounders extended their unbeaten streak to 5 matches after defeating the defending MLS Cup Champion Colorado Rapids 1-0 on a 19th minute goal by Fredy Montero but also suffered a major blow after Steve Zakuani was carted off very early in the game.

In the 3rd minute, Rapids midfielder Brian Mullan thought he was fouled but the referee didn't give it, and with Steve Zakuani on the ball, Mullan came in with a two footed tackle on Zakuani and the referee immediately reached into his back pocket and gave Mullan a straight Red Card. Zakuani was carted off the pitch and taken to the hospital to undergo X-Rays which was reported to be a broken leg.

Down a man for the rest of the match, the Rapids tried to accommodate themselves on the pitch, but they struggled to do so and the Sounders took advantage of it.

In the 19th minute, the Sounders countered through O'Brian White, who laid the ball off to Mauro Rosales and instead of going for goal on his own, he found Fredy Montero at the edge of the 18-yard box. The Colombian then slipped the ball through the hands of goalkeeper Matt Pickens for his first goal of the season and his first since August 28th of last year.

Despite being a man down Colorado had more time on the ball than Seattle, but couldn't take advantage of it.

In the dying seconds of regular time, Wells Thompson who came on as a second half substitute, came close to equalizing but his left footed volley was blocked by the Seattle defense. Shortly after, former Hull City striker Caleb Folan had an opening about two minutes into stoppage time, but his shot was again blocked. And that was just about the last chance of the game for the Rapids.

With the win, Seattle now improves to 2-2-3 and look to keep their unbeaten run going at home next saturday against Toronto FC.

Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero (Mauro Rosales, O'Brian White) 19'

Misconduct summary:

Colorado Rapids - Brian Mullan (ejection; Serious Foul Play) 3'

Colorado Rapids - Caleb Folan (caution; Reckless foul) 75'

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

Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller; James Riley, Patrick Ianni, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Tyson Wahl; Mauro Rosales (Erik Friberg 74'), Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans; Fredy Montero, Steve Zakuani (Alvaro Fernandez 9')(Leonardo Gonzalez 82'), O'Brian White

Colorado Rapids - Matt Pickens; Kosuke Kimura, Marvell Wynne, Tyrone Marshall (Anthony Wallace 66'), Drew Moor; Jamie Smith (Sanna Nyassi 72'), Jeff Larentowitz, Pablo Mastroeni (Wells Thompson 68'), Brian Mullan; Omar Cummings, Caleb Folan

Brian Mullan:

This is what Brian Mullan said after the match. "It's a tackle that I've done hundreds of times and would probably do again."

I mean, damnit, are you fucken serious? Everybody keeps saying he isn't a dirty player. He commits so many fouls, and saying something like that after the match where you broke somebodys leg and got a red card is just disrespectful. Brian Mullan, do us all a favor and keep your bitchass out of soccer. Even the Colorado fans hate you.