Sounders defeat San Francisco FC 2-0, advance to the group stage of the Champions League

By Money Mike

The Seattle Sounders, coming into the second leg down 1-0, needed to win by two, and the easiest way to do that was to avoid conceding an away goal. And that is exactly what they did. Alvaro Fernandez and Nate Jaqua came through for the Sounders as they defeated San Francisco FC in the 2nd leg 2-0 and they will proceed to the Group Stage of the CONCACAF Champions League after a 2-1 aggrigate series win. The winner of this matchup (which we know now is the Sounders) was drawn into Group D with Monterrey (Mexico), Comunicaciones (Guatemala), and C.S. Herediano (Costa Rica) who also advanced from the Preliminary round.

You won't believe this number here. The Sounders outshot San Francisco 34-5 from the first kick to the final whistle.

The First blood came in minute number 41. Leo Gonzalez made an overlaping run from the back and whipped in a very good cross to the middle of the area and found Alvaro Fernandez unmarked and Big Man Fernandez headed the ball off the far post and in the goal to give the Sounders a 1-0 lead in the 2nd leg and level the series up at 1-1.

The Sounders came close late in normal time to put this game and the series away. Fredy Montero, who has really stepped his game up this past month, just barely shot wide of the near post off a free kick. Not long after, goalkeeper Miguel Torres came up to stop Nate Jaqua of a breakaway chance.

In stoppage time, Mauro Rosales whipped in a cross, Torres looked like he got a punch on it. The ball came to Fredy Montero who had loads of time to settle and get a shot away but the ball just sailed high over the bar.

In the 8th minute of extra time, the Sounders broke the deadlock on aggrigate. Alvaro Fernandez rather than trying to put the ball away with his left, squared the ball across and the ball fell to Nate Jaqua who took one touch and then roofed it into the goal to give the Sounders the lead in the series and it turned out to be the winner after it was all said and done.

Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Alvaro Fernandez (Leonardo Gonzalez, Fredy Montero) 41'

Seattle Sounders FC - Nate Jaqua (Alvaro Fernandez, Mauro Rosales) 98'

Misconduct summary:

San Francisco FC - Roberto Brown (caution; Reckless foul) 46+'

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

Seattle Sounders FC - Mauro Rosales (caution; Handball) 61'

San Francisco FC - Johann de Avila (caution; Reckless tackle) 63'

Seattle Sounders FC - Erik Friberg (caution; Dissent) 110'

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller (caution; Dissent) 110'

Lineups:

San Francisco FC - Miguel Torres; Luis Olivardia, Roberto Cohen, Edgardo Panezo (Jefrey Diaz 102'), Martin Gomez, Rolando Algandona; Manuel Torres, Eybir Bonaga; Johann de Avila, Amir Waite (Freddy Arizala 85'), Roberto Brown

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller; James Riley, Jeff Parke, Zach Scott, Leonardo Gonzalez; Mauro Rosales, Osvaldo Alonso, Erik Friberg (Servando Carrasco 112'), Alvaro Fernandez (Lamar Neagle 111'); Pat Noonan (Nate Jaqua 68'), Fredy Montero

Seattle Sounders FC vs San Francisco F.C. Previewing the first leg of the Champions League preliminary round matchup.

By Money Mike



The Seattle Sounders get ready to take on Panamanian side San Francisco F.C. in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League preliminary round. The match kicks off at 5pm and will be televised on FOX Soccer Channel and streamed online at concacaf.com. The Sounders got through the preliminary stage last year, knocking off Isidro Metapan 2-1 on aggregate, but can they get through again this year? We'll tell the story following the conclusion of the second leg next week.


Who are San Francisco FC?:

There's really not much history with this club. This is only their 40th year of existence, however they have won seven league titles and have qualified for every Champions League since it was formed in 2008.


What to look out for in this game:

- The Sounders are going to be without Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Brad Evans and O'Brian White fo the first leg, but there is a possibility that they could be named to the 18-man squad when the Sounders travel to Houston to take on the Dynamo on Saturday. Look for youngsters Miguel Montano, David Estrada, Mike Seamon and possibly Michael Tetteh to appear on the 20-man squad.

- The weather forecast in Panama City calls for highs in the mid-80's and chances of thunderstorms all day on Tuesday. The Sounders had to deal with similar weather when they played on a shitty pitch under a downpour. Hopefully there are no thunderstorms that would force a delay or a postponement of the match.

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