Sounders rally falls short losing 3-2 on aggregate to Real Salt Lake

By Money Mike

The Seattle Sounders were 3-nil down coming into the 2nd leg and in need of a three goal win to force extra time and at least a four goal win to take the series. They ended up with only two as they won the 2nd leg 2-0, however, they fell 3-2 on aggregate which means the 2011 season is over and also Kasey Keller long and memorable career is over. Real Salt Lake will move on to the MLS Cup semifinal against either the LA Galaxy or the New York Red Bulls. For the Sounders, they have still yet to make it past the MLS Cup Quarterfinals. In 2009, they were knocked out by the Houston Dynamo. In 2010, they were knocked out by the Los Angeles Galaxy. Now this year, they were knocked out by Real Salt Lake. It's gonna be tough to come by for a couple of days, but none the less, the Sounders are getting better and better and I believe that they will soon put their hands on an MLS Cup.

The Sounders almost got the breakthrough early on. Erik Friberg's cross was deflected right to Fredy Montero who touched it just wide right of Nick Rimando's goal.

The Sounders had to make two early subs in the first half, bringing on Lamar Neagle and Roger Levesque for Brad Evans and Alvaro Fernandez due to injuries.

The biggest save of the night was defender Tony Beltran clearing Jeff Parke's volley off the line with his head. So many opportunities that could've resulted in a comeback win in the series for the Men in Rave Green.

The Sounders got on the board in the 56th minute. Lamar Neagle sent in a cross for Mike Fucito who was pulled down by Tony Beltran and referee Jair Marrufo wasted no time pointing the penalty spot. Beltran was also booked for the challenge. Ozzie Alonso stepped up to take the penalty for the Seattle Sounders and he would drive it low and right down the middle to put the Sounders on the board in the series, making it 1-0 in the second leg and 3-1 RSL on aggregate.

Five minutes later, the Sounders got another goal. Lamar Neagle first-timed a Fredy Montero pass into the far corner and all the sudden, the Sounders were back in the series. The Sounders continued to attacked all game, but in the end, Real Salt Lake did well enough to hang on and win the series.

Scoring summary (first leg):

Real Salt Lake - Alvaro Saborio (Chris Wingert, Javier Morales) 41'

Real Salt Lake - Alvaro Saborio (Javier Morales) 53'

Real Salt Lake - Ned Grabavoy (unassisted) 88'

Scoring summary (second leg):

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso (penalty kick) 56'

Seattle Sounders FC - Lamar Neagle (Fredy Montero, Osvaldo Alonso) 61'

- Real Salt Lake advances 3-2 on aggregate

Misconduct summary:

Real Salt Lake - Tony Beltran (caution; Tactical foul) 55'

Real Salt Lake - Nick Rimando (caution; Delaying a restart) 56'

Seattle Sounders FC - Roger Levesque (caution; Reckless tackle) 62'

Seattle Sounders FC - Leonardo Gonzalez (caution; Reckless tackle) 92'+

Lineups:

Real Salt Lake - Nick Rimando; Robbie Russell, Chris Schuler, Chris Wingert, Tony Beltran; Andy Williams (Ned Grabavoy 57'), Kyle Beckerman, Javier Morales (Luis Gil 89'), Will Johnson; Fabian Espindola, Alvaro Saborio (Yordany Alvarez 76')

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller; Zach Scott, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Leonardo Gonzalez; Brad Evans (Roger Levesque 21'), Osvaldo Alonso, Erik Friberg, Alvaro Fernandez (Lamar Neagle 14'); Mike Fucito (Sammy Ochoa 76'), Fredy Montero

Sounders close out the regular season on a winning note, 3-1 over Chivas USA.

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders on the last day of the 2011 regular season crush Chivas USA 3-1 at the Home Depot Center. The Sounders finish the regular season with an 18-7-9 record which gives them 63 points and also become the 10th team in history to win 9 road games in a season. Chivas USA ends their season with a record of 8-14-12 which is good for 36 points. The Sounders next week will head to Rio Tinto Stadium to face Real Salt Lake in the 1st Leg of the MLS Cup Quarterfinals. The match will either be played on Saturday or Sunday. The return leg will be on either November 5th or 6th at CenturyLink Field.

Now this is was a scary moment for the Sounders. In the 5th minute, Mauro Rosales, who made his first start since the D.C. United match when he sprained his MCL, looked to have sprained it yet again. 2nd year man, Ben Zemanski came in hard and late on the tackle and picked up a yellow card for the Challenge. Rosales taken off the field on a stretcher and was replaced in the 10th minute by Roger Levesque. A couple minutes later, Rosales got up off the stretcher and walked to the bench under his own power. As far as we know, the injury doesn't look as bad as it first looked on the screen.

Now onto the 53rd minute when the Sounders took the lead after an own goal. After some nice build up by the Men in Rave Green with James Riley and Fredy Montero, Andrew Boyens tried to clear the ball away, however, he accidentally backheeled it into his own net to give the Sounders a 1-0 advantage.

15 minutes later, El Flacco doubled the Sounders lead. Brad Evans, after seeing that both Roger Levesque and Fredy Montero were in an offside position chipped the ball over the defense for Alvaro Fernandez who curled it past Dan Kennedy and into the far corner for his 9th goal in MLS this season and his 11th in all compitions. Five minutes later, it would be Sammy Ochoa's turn to get on the scoresheet with a terrific diving header off a Fredy Montero cross to make it 3-0 Sounders.

Chivas would get a consulation goal in the 83rd minute off a header by Victor Estupinan for his first MLS goal, but that wasn't enough for the goats as the Sounders come away with a 3-1 win.


Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Own Goal (Andrew Boyens) 53'

Seattle Sounders FC - Alvaro Fernandez 9 (Brad Evans 5) 68'

Seattle Sounders FC - Sammy Ochoa 2 (Fredy Montero 9, Roger Levesque 3) 73'

Chivas USA - Victor Estupinan 1 (Andrew Boyens 1, Mariano Trujillo 2) 83'


Misconduct summary:

Chivas USA - Ben Zemanski (caution; Reckless tackle) 5'

Seattle Sounders FC - Roger Levesque (caution; Reckless foul) 40'

Seattle Sounders FC - Brad Evans (caution; Dissent) 79'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero (caution; Lack of Respect for Game) 80'


Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller; James Riley, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Leonardo Gonzalez (Tyson Wahl 81'); Mauro Rosales (Roger Levesque 10'), Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans, Alvaro Fernandez; Fredy Montero, Mike Fucito (Sammy Ochoa 64')

Chivas USA - Dan Kennedy; Zarek Valentin, Heath Pearce (Andrew Boyens 46'), David Junior Lopes, Ante Jazic (Mariano Trujillo 56'); Alejandro Moreno, Blair Gaven, Nick LaBrocca, Ben Zemanski; Juan Pablo Angel (Victor Estupinan 75'), Marcos Mondaini

Different lineup - Same result for the Seattle Sounders

By Money Mike

With the U.S. Open Cup final just three days away, Sigi Schmid made some changes in his lineup and rested a few of the key players leading up to Tuesday's Cup final match against the Chicago Fire. Despite a few shaky areas in the lineup, the Sounders still managed to come away with all three points, defeating the New England Revolution by a score of 2-1. The Sounders are now 6 points clear of Real Salt Lake for second place and are now just a point away from securing home field advantage in the MLS Cup Quarterfinal. The Sounders return home to Seattle tomorrow morning after a long traveling week to Vancouver, B.C., Guatemala City and Foxborough. My guess is they will have Sunday off and then get back to training on Monday for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup final on Tuesday night at CenturyLink Field. Kickoff time for that match is 7pm on FOX Soccer and will also be aired on 97.3 KIRO FM. The Sounders will look to become the first team since the New York Greek-Americans to win their third consecutive U.S. Open Cup title.

New England thought they had a goal in the opening minutes of the game. Benny Feilhaber's free kick was headed out of the area by a Seattle defender. Ryan Guy headed it back into the danger area and it fell to Milton Caraglio who headed it into the far post, but the offside flag was up. The replay however showed that the assistant referee got that wrong and that should've been the opening goal for the New England Revolution. In the 20th minute, Ryan Guy's delivery found 16-year old Diego Fagundez from point blank range who just tucked his shot wide of Kasey Keller's left. Three minutes later, Fagundez spun away from Patrick Ianni and Seattle were caught on a 2 on 1 break. Fagundez fed it across to a wide open Ryan Guy who took one touch and was denied by the veteran Kasey Keller. That one touch may have eluded Ryan Guy. New England started the game brightly for the first 35 minutes of the game. The only Sounders player who looked lively in the early stages of the game was David Estrada.

In the 35th minute, the young lad who the Revs are very high on, opened up the scoring in this match. Benny Feilhaber sent in a brilliant cross off the corner kick to the middle of the danger area and the man getting on the end of it was Diego Fagundez, coming in unmarked to head home his second professional goal in his fourth professional appearance. New England is very very high on this young kid, only 16-years old. He scored on his MLS debut on August 6th against Chivas USA. He will become more of a threat in years to come. If he gets a lot of playing time next season, he could end up hitting the 10 goal mark, or close to it. I may be bluffing here, but as Arlo White said, this guy has a great future as a footballer.

The lead however lasted only a minute and a half. In the 36th minute, it's the red hot Fredy Montero once again. After an error on Ryan Cochrane's attempted clearance, Montero pounced on the ball and curled it into the far corner for his team leading 10th goal of the year.

In the 48th minute, it was Montero once again. David Estrada's effort was deflected by a Revolution defender. The ball fell to Nate Jaqua who chested it to Fredy Montero who toe poked it past Matt Reis and into the back of the goal for his third brace of the season and oh yes.... to give Seattle the lead. And that goal turned out to be the difference as Seattle sweeps New England in the season series winning 2-1 in both matches.

The Sounders return home for their final homestand of the season with four matches in all compititions and let me say it again. The first of the four will be on Tuesday against the Chicago Fire in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup final and I will be there to catch it. They get back to MLS action on Saturday October 8th against former Sounder Sebastien Le Toux and the Philadelphia Union.

Scoring summary:

New England Revolution - Diego Fagundez 2 (Benny Feilbaber 5) 35'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero 10 (unassisted) 36'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero 11 (Nate Jaqua 2) 48'

Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero (caution; Reckless tackle) 28'

New England Revolution - Milton Caraglio (caution; Reckless tackle) 84'

Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller; Roger Levesque, Zach Scott, Patrick Ianni, Tyson Wahl; David Estrada, Erik Friberg (Osvaldo Alonso 79'), Servando Carrasco, Alvaro Fernandez (Lamar Neagle 46'); Nate Jaqua, Fredy Montero (Mike Fucito 68')

New England Revolution - Matt Reis; Kevin Alston, Ryan Cochrane (Darius Barnes 68'), A.J. Soares, Chris Tierney; Ryan Guy, Shalrie Joseph, Benny Feilhaber, Monsef Zerka (Pat Phelan 69'); Milton Caraglio, Diego Fagundez

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

Sounders rally to defeat the Timbers 3-2

By Money Mike

On the day the United States women's national team defeated Brazil on Penalties to move on the FIFA Women's World Cup, the Seattle Sounders come to Portland and strike 3 times against the Portland Timbers to win the match 3-2 and move into second place and are still 4 points back of the Los Angeles Galaxy who they will face in the Quarterfinal of the U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday at Starfire Sports Complex in Takwila. It was a great day for soccer not only for the Sounders, but for the entire nation as well with the U.S. Women moving onto the Semifinals against France on Wednesday at 8:30am.

In the 32nd minute, public enemy #1 Roger Levesque (Timber fans hate him) got open with a run of the left side but rather than using that space to try to slot one past the keeper Troy Perkins, he decides to cross it to the top of the box for Fredy Montero but the Portland backline had that covered.

Six minutes later, Alvaro Fernandez snuck behind Portland's defense to a clear look at goal but Troy Perkins came off his line to cut down the angle for the Uruguayan international.

Just seconds into the second half, the opening goal went to Rose City FC. Kalif Alhassan went wide of the Seattle's defense and slid a pass into the danger area for Jorge Perlaza who was jostling for possession with Jeff Parke and the ball deflected off Parke and in for an own goal and a 1-0 Portland lead.

In the 57th minute, Seattle answered with a free-kick goal by the Colombian, Fredy Montero. It was his 4th goal of the Season, all have come on the road in 2011.

In the 69th minute, Seattle found themselves on the bottom end again. Jorge Perlaza was freed by a brilliant entry pass from fellow countryman Diego Chara. Perlaza's shot glanced off Tyson Wahl and past the diving Kasey Keller for the goal.

Seattle responded five minutes later. Lamar Neagle put in a cross from the left hand side. Midfielder Mauro Rosales brought it down on the right side to set up an easy tap in from Fredy Montero of all people to tie the match up again at 2-2.

In the 81st minute the Timbers would end up losing a player. Midfielder Lamar Neagle was tackled from behind by Eric Brunner in the box, breaking up a breakaway chance for the Seattle Sounders and referee Jorge Gonzalez quickly reached into his back pocket and showed Brunner the red card. Ozzie Alonso stepped up to take the PK for the visiting team. Coming into this game he was 0 for 1 on PK's for the Sounders, missing one last year in a Champions League match at Saprissa, but Alonso went to the right side, just out of Perkins's reach to give the Sounders the lead for good. The Sounders unbeaten streak lives on, as well as Portland misery at home since they won their first 5 home matches.

Scoring summary:

Portland Timbers - Own goal (Jeff Parke) 46'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero 4 (unassisted) 57'

Portland Timbers - Jorge Perlaza 4 (Diego Chara 1) 69'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero 5 (Mauro Rosales 5, Lamar Neagle 1) 74'

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso 3 (Penalty kick) 83'

Misconduct summary:

Portland Timbers - James Marcelin (caution; Reckless foul) 56'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero (caution; Shirt Removal) 58'

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso (caution; Reckless foul) 63'

Seattle Sounders FC - Mauro Rosales (caution; Unsporting behavior) 78'

Portland Timbers - Eric Brunner (ejection; Denied Scoring chance (foul)) 81'

Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller; James Riley, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (Patrick Ianni 56'), Tyson Wahl; Mauro Rosales, Osvaldo Alonso, Erik Friberg, Alvaro Fernandez (Lamar Neagle 66'); Roger Levesque, Fredy Montero

Portland Timbers - Troy Perkins; Steve Purdy, Eric Brunner, Mamadou Danso, Rodney Wallace; James Marcelin, Diego Chara, Jack Jewsbury, Darlington Nagbe (Sal Zizzo 64'), Kalif Alhassan; Jorge Perlaza (Kenny Cooper 75')

Sounders defeat New England 2-1. That's now 9 points in the last 8 days.

By Money Mike



The New England Revolution got on the score sheet early, but they failed to hold on as the Seattle Sounders(8-4-7) came back with two first half goals and held on in the second half to defeat New England(3-8-6) 2-1. After two disappointing draws against the Chicago Fire and the Vancouver Whitecaps to start the month of June, the Sounders have won 3 in a row in a string of 8 days against Toronto FC, Red Bull New York and now the New England Revolution and are inching closer to the top spot in the Western Conference, only four points behind the Los Angeles Galaxy. The Revolution are halfway through their 2011 season and have only picked up 15 points which puts them in a tie for last place in the Eastern Conference with Toronto FC. With the month of July approaching means that we'll be seeing more signings, trades and more players sold through the summer. The Sounders have 5 guys on trial including Sammy Ochoa and Myron Samuel. We've had rumors and speculation about Cillian Sheridan signing with the Sounders. He was on trial for a week and did very well, but now it looks like he's actually going to sign with the Portland Timbers which was absolutely uncalled for. The Sounders didn't want him at the price he was asking for. And that's just disappointing because I was excited to see him play for this team and help with our attack and ditching him just for the price tell's me that the staff are being a bunch of pussies. I mean, what? You think you'll go bankrupt for signing him at a huge price? Stupid. Just stupid. Anyway, let's talk about the match....

In the 3rd minute, it was the visitors who struck first. Benny Feilhaber, who missed the last four games do to injury which also knocked him off USA's Gold Cup squad, took the corner from the far hash mark and played a short ball to the top of the penalty area to Sainey Nyassi ripped a hard shot on frame. Kasey Keller got a hand to it but was unable to keep it out. It was the first set piece goal Seattle has conceded in 2011.

In the 23rd minute, the Sounders started to push after Pat Phelan nailed Servando Carrasco at midfield and only picked up a yellow card, but that could easily have been and should've been a straight Red Card. Three minutes later, Carrasco picked up a yellow for his tackle from behind on Benny Feilbaber.



In the 34th minute, the Sounders would pull level off another set play. Mauro Rosales collided with Ryan Cochrane just outside the New England penalty area. The referee gave the free kick to Seattle. Erik Friberg and Tyson Wahl we're behind the ball in an area where you would think Tyson Wahl's left foot would favor it. And I was Tyson Wahl who weaved his magic and curled the ball around the wall and into the far upper 90 as Matt Reis had no clue which direction he was going. It was the first Major League Soccer goal for Tyson Wahl who became the 13th different player to score for the Sounders this season. It was also the 8th set piece goal in the last 8 matches for the Sounders.

Six minutes later, the Sounders would pull ahead. New England defender Kevin Alston broke his shoe and rather than going to the bench to get a new shoe, he stayed on the ground and played everybody onside and the Sounders took advantage of it. Mauro Rosales fed a good ball into the penalty area for Roger Levesque who tapped it to Alvaro Fernandez who finished with the inside of his right foot to put the Sounders up 2-1. Fernandez is now tied for the team lead in Goals with Brad Evans with four goals.

Lamar Neagle had a good chance in the second half to make it 3-1. Drifting out to the right, Neagle took on left back Darrius Barnes. Took a couple of touches before having a go and he wasn't far away. Neagle has one of the greatest strikes on this team, and he managed to show that on the road at Real Salt Lake.

New England had some chances as well including Shalrie Joseph who forced a save by Kasey Keller from point blank range off the corner, while forward Rajko Lukic just missed the far post with a searing volley. In the 85th minute, A. J. Soares fed Zach Schilawski at midfield. Schilawski turned and ripped one from distance but the crossbar saved the Sounders the 3 points. In the end the match ended 2-1 Sounders.


Scoring summary:

New England Revolution - Sainey Nyassi 1 (Benny Feilhaber 2) 3'

Seattle Sounders FC - Tyson Wahl 1 (unassisted) 34'

Seattle Sounders FC - Alvaro Fernandez 4 (Roger Levesque 2, Mauro Rosales 4) 40'


Misconduct summary:

New England Revolution - Pat Phelan (caution; Reckless tackle) 23'

Seattle Sounders FC - Servando Carrasco (caution; Tactical foul) 26'

New England Revolution - Ryan Cochrane (caution; Reckless tackle) 72'

New England Revolution - Rajko Lekic (caution; Dissent) 78'

Seattle Sounders FC - Tyson Wahl (caution; Delaying a Restart) 87'

New England Revolution - A. J. Soares (caution; Dissent) 90'


Lineup:

New England Revolution - Matt Reis; Kevin Alston, Ryan Cochrane (Zach Schilawski 81'), A. J. Soares, Darrius Barnes; Sainey Nyassi (Zak Boggs 62'), Pat Phelan, Shalrie Joseph, Benny Feilhaber, Ryan Guy (Kenny Mansally 62'); Rajko Lekic

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller; James Riley, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Jeff Parke (Patrick Ianni 17'), Tyson Wahl; Lamar Neagle, Servando Carrasco, Erik Friberg, Alvaro Fernandez (Pat Noonan 69'); Mauro Rosales (Nate Jaqua 89'), Roger Levesque

Sounders defeat Red Bulls 4-2 in front of a record crowd of 46,065

By Money Mike

In front of a record crowd for an MLS match in Seattle, the Seattle Sounders(7-4-7) did not disappoint as they defeated the New York Red Bulls(5-3-8) 4-2 as the fan favorite Roger Levesque found the back of the net twice for the Sounders. The win pushes Seattle into a tie for 2nd place with FC Dallas in the Western Conference and are 6 back of the Los Angeles Galaxy for 1st place. 3 of the Sounders 4 goals have come off set plays which Hans Backe's team has had issues defending. With Defenders Tim Ream and Rafa Marquez still on Gold Cup duty for their countries as well as 18-year old Forward Juan Agudelo, Backe went with Carlos Mendes and former USL Seattle Sounder Stephen Keel at Central Defense and with Theirry Henry suspended for this match and Luke Rodgers out injured, Backe partnered up Dwayne De Rosario with Dane Richards. But now the question for them is, should they take Goalkeeper Greg Sutton's starting job away for his error he made which lead to the forth goal? I mean really, for a guy who represented Senegal at the 2008 African Cup of Nations, I'm pretty sure Bouna Coundoul wouldn't have made that kind of mistake.

Despite a pretty shaky start, the Sounders got on the board first in the 11th minute. Mauro Rosales sent in a corner from the near hash mark to the middle of the penalty area which was headed away by Teemu Tainio but right to Erik Friberg who cut the ball to his right foot to get rid of Dane Richards who was defending and curled it into the far post. Friberg did very well to position himself for a shot on goal and all he had to do was try to curl it, which he did. And a minute later, another set play, and another goal for the Men in Rave Green...

Rosales took the corner again and again it was headed into a bad spot again and Osvaldo Alonso stepped up and volleyed a short clearance which appeared to deflect off a foot of Roy Miller and into the net for Alonso's second goal in 3 matches. Alonso has started to push forward on the attack more than what we've seen his first two season's here in Seattle.

In the 31st minute the Red Bulls pulled one back. Dane Richards had about 5 yards between him and Zach Scott. After receiving a pass from Joel Lindpere, Richards took about 2-3 touches to beat Scott and send a floater to the far post off the hand of Keller and into the goal to cut the Sounders lead down to 2-1. Zach Scott had a terrible game, giving the ball away in his own area too many times, poor defending, and also scoring an own-goal.

In the 58th minute, this was the own-goal. Right back Jan Gunnar Solli made an excellent run down the right hand side and was fed beautifully by Dwayne De Rosario. Solli sent in a low driven cross that deflected off Scott and into the net to tie the match at 2-2.

Both teams threatened with the score tied but in the 67th minute, it was Seattle scoring on a set play for the 3rd time in the match. Leonardo Gonzalez, who was playing with a heavy heart, took the corner this time, and I thought it was weak, but he found Roger Levesque lurking at the near post and Levesque knocked a glancing header over his shoulder and inside Sutton's far post. He would get another one 11 minutes later. In the 78th minute, Greg Sutton misplayed a simple back pass from Jan Gunnar Solli, allowing Levesque to pick-pocket him and tap the ball into an empty net to put the match beyond reach.

The Sounders will look to close out the month of June unbeaten as they host the New England Revolution on Sunday while the Red Bulls travel to Toyota Park in Bridgeview and take on Chicago Fire the same day.

Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Erik Friberg 1 (unassisted) 11'

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso 2 (unassisted) 12'

New York Red Bulls - Dane Richards 3 (Joel Lindpere 3) 31'

New York Red Bulls - Own Goal (Zach Scott) 58'

Seattle Sounders FC - Roger Levesque 1 (Leonardo Gonzalez 1) 67'

Seattle Sounders FC - Roger Levesque 2 (unassisted) 78'

Misconduct summary:

New York Red Bulls - Teemu Tainio (caution; Reckless foul) 28'

New York Red Bulls - Austin da Luz (caution; Reckless tackle) 50'

Seattle Sounders FC - James Riley (caution; Reckless foul) 52'

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso (caution; Reckless tackle) 60'

Seattle Sounders FC - Leonardo Gonzalez (caution; Delaying a Restart) 90'

New York Red Bulls - Dwayne De Rosario (caution; Reckless tackle) 93+'

Lineups:

New York Red Bulls - Greg Sutton; Jan Gunnar Solli, Carlos Mendes, Stephen Keel, Roy Miller; Mehdi Ballouchy, Teemu Tainio (Corey Hertzog 89'), Joel Lindpere, Austin da Luz (John Rooney 79'); Dane Richards, Dwayne De Rosario

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller; James Riley, Jeff Parke, Zach Scott, Leonardo Gonzalez; Mauro Rosales, Osvaldo Alonso, Erik Friberg, Alvaro Fernandez (Servando Carrasco 72'); Fredy Montero (Nate Jaqua 81'), Mike Fucito (Roger Levesque 58')

The Atmosphere at the Stadium:

I've been asking myself the exact same question over and over and over again. "When will they increase the capacity?" Now I don't know if it's gonna stay this way from now on. But 46,000+ in attendance for an MLS soccer match is pretty legit. Well have a bigger crowd like this when Manchester United come to town for a friendly match next month. Seeing a huge crowd like this for a league match itself? Man, 36,000 fans isn't enough anymore. Will they open up the entire stadium? Not at this point, unless we host the Conference final match in the MLS Cup playoffs or maybe even the CONCACAF Champions League, if we make it that far of course.

2011 Seattle Sounders FC season preview + Sounders vs LA Galaxy Prediction

By Money Mike

Well, this is it, we've been sitting around during the winter, waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting for a new season. Now, the wait is over, it's now time to gear up, raise your scarves and give your full 90 because Seattle Sounders FC are back and ready for a new season of Major League soccer. This team has had by far their busiest off season in their history, with Sanna Nyassi, Tyrone Marshall, Nathan Sturgis gone, who was gonna step up and replace them? Only Sigi Schmid has the answer to that question. Here's our Sounders FC roster for the year 2011.

Seattle Sounders FC 2011 roster:

2 - Michael Fucito: 3rd year out of Harvard. He'll start the season on the injured list. There have been some critisisms about him being protected for the expansion draft but there isn't a reason why they shouldn't protect him. All I'm gonna say is, he'll be useful for this team during the season.

3 - Brad Evans: To me this guy, since joining the club, has sometimes impressed me and other times, he's been inconsistant. I see him coming off the bench.

4 - Patrick Ianni: Did very well in the late stages of last season with our back line all banged up and everything, but I don't see him as a starting defender at this part of the season.

5 - Tyson Wahl: Again, nothing special, only 4 appearances last season. He's been lacking it since mid 2009.

6 - Osvaldo Alonso: This guy has been fantastic his first two years here in Seattle, and will stick around for another four years. He has one of the best strikes and if he can start attacking more and wearing down the opposing defense, I think he'll come away with a couple of goals this season. He's also great defensively, we need him out there pretty much every game.

7 - James Riley: I think he needs to join the attack a lot more. He hasn't done much of that, so that needs to change.

8 - Erik Friberg: A key acquisition to this team. Friberg has the ability to create goalscoring opportunities, has a good share of goals in his career in Sweden. Believe me when I say, this guys is a lot better than Freddie Ljungberg.

9 - Blaise Nkufo: A designated player, calling it quits is the toughest thing to do in your life, but this is his last year of professional soccer. The greatest goalscorer in FC Twente history with 114 goals. He started off a little slow his first few games, but really picked it up these last couple months of last season and finished with 5 goals in 11 matches.

11 - Steve Zakuani: He has really picked his game up last year, coming away with 10 goals last season and we'll see more in 2011.

12 - Leo Gonzalez: Really impressed me since he joined. It would've been a mistake not to keep him for 2011.

13 - O'Brian White: I think he's gonna have a breakout year for the Sounders. He really struggled in Toronto, and I know there were some questions about trading for him, but I think he'll fit in very well with the Sounders.

14 - Michael Tetteh: Generation Adidas player. This rookie is an exciting young player I think will be here for a long time.

15 - Alvaro Fernandez: A threat from the wing. With Nyassi gone, he's gonna have to take the load.

16 - David Estrada: First round pick last season. If he hadn't been out injured in the first place, I think we would've seen a lot more of them. Only three matches last season. I'm not saying he's useless. But unless Sigi puts him our there more often, I'd consider loaning him out for a while just to gain some work experience.

17 - Fredy Montero: Nothing to say about him. A fan favorite since day one.

18 - Kasey Keller: Final season. I know he hasn't been with Seattle for so long, but I think he will go down as one of the greatest goalkeepers in Sounders history.

20 - Zach Scott: To be honest, he's useless. I think they're gonna cut him soon.

21 - Nate Jaqua: I'm really surprised that they protected him. He has disappointed me a lot, missing a lot of scoring chances. And the majority of them were easy ones. He need to proove that he belongs here.

22 - Mike Seamon: Still a working progress, but he's getting there. 8 appearances his rookie season.

23 - Servando Carrasco: Rookie 2nd round pick out of the University of California. Had an outstanding preseason and I'm looking forward to seeing how he does in the regular season.

24 - Roger Levesque: He tried out for Defender during the preseason, I don't know where he'll end up in the regular season.

25 - Pat Noonan: Ya know, I don't think he belongs in Seattle.

26 - Taylor Graham: I don't think he belongs here either.

27 - Lamar Neagle: Federal Way Native. Great to have him back. Hopefully we'll see him out there in an MLS match.

28 - Terry Boss: He's a pretty good goalkeeper, but he makes so many costly mistakes and I don't think he's a starting goalkeeper.

29 - Josh Ford: I think Ford should be the starter next season. He has set school records at UCONN. 85 consecitive starts, 54 wins, 50 shutouts in his four years. He's got a great future.

31 - Jeff Parke: Did very well last season filling in for the injured Jhon Kennedy Hurtado who suffered a season ending injury back in may.

32 - Miguel Montano: Saw action in 6 matches last season. Had a good preseason. We should also keep an eye on how he does.

34 - Jhon Kennedy Hurtado: It's great to have him back. That ACL injury was a big blow to our back line, but Jeff Parke and Patrick Ianni both stepped up and did very well.

Prediction - Sounders vs Galaxy

Sounders come away with a 3-1 win.