"NOT AGAIN": Yes again..... Sounders snatch one late against Sporting Kansas City

SKC left standing with their heads in their hands

after conceding yet another late goal to the Sounders.

By Money Mike





Coming off a 2-2 draw in Philly, the Seattle Sounders closed out their three game road trip in Kansas City. Many exports expected SKC to come away with an easy victory. The Sounders had other plans like eh, I don't know........ scoring another late goal. That's exactly what happened. It looked like the match was going to end scoreless, but deep into stoppage time, Sporting whiffed on an attempted clearance and Djimi Traore made them pay as he scored the winning goal to give the Sounders a 1-0 victory. After an 0-3-2 start, the Sounders have picked up 7 points during this road stretch and are starting to turn things around in this early part of the season. The Sounders return home for a Saturday afternoon match against the San Jose Earthquakes. The Rave Green have a major score to settle with them, having lost the last four meetings between the two.



In the opening seconds of the game, Michael Gspurning was immediately put to the test. Zach Scott failed to clear the ball out of his own half and Jacob Peterson looked to take advantage by hitting one inside the far post, but Gspurning got down, made the save and held on before C.J. Sapong had any chance at a rebound.



In the 13th minute, Sporting tried to catch the Sounders off guard. Peterson Joseph took the corner and rather than swinging the ball into the box, he elected to play it short to Josh Gardner who slid the ball through to Graham Zusi. The idea was right, but Zusi took a heavy touch which allowed Brad Evans to get a foot to it, but Peterson Joseph stepped up and tried a curling shot to the far corner, but he didn't quite get enough bend on it.



In the 22nd minute, Seattle Sounders should've had a penalty. Zach Scott took a long throw in from the near side. His throw in just missed the head of Brad Evans and bounced off the arm of Ike Opara right in front of the goal, but nothing was given. And why not? Opara raised his arm up, the ball bounced off his arm....... Can somebody explain to me how that is not a penalty? Seconds later, play was stopped after some yelling from the Sounders bench. Referee Geoff Gamble ran over to the bench and I thought he ejected one of the Sounders assistant coaches because one of them got up immediately and argued, but it just so happened that it was backup goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann who was dismissed. Now I've never seen anything like that before. Normally if a referee goes over to eject somebody, it would be one of the coaches, but a bench player? I've never seen that. Now for those of you who are confused with the rules regarding somebody getting sent off from the bench, it's just like a player getting a red card. They're ejected from the game and are suspended for the next game. The only difference here is that Seattle doesn't have to play with 10 men because the player sent off of course, was on the bench. Another thing to add to this is now Seattle doesn't have a backup goalkeeper for the match this Saturday against the Earthquakes. So it looks like they're gonna bring in Doug Herrick who's currently contracted by the MLS League-Wide Reserve Goalkeeper Pool, which means any team can bring him up for a game if needed. Some of you remember him from last season with the Sounders U23. There's also a guy by the name of Brad Stuver who is also contracted by the MLS reserve pool, but it's likely to be Doug Herrick who will be called into the squad as an emergency backup to Michael Gspurning for this Saturday. I think this is the third time that the Sounders have had to bring in a keeper from the reserve pool. First couple weeks of the 09' season, they had to bring in Ben Dragavon to the fold when Chris Eylander was banged up and he actually came on in a match against Kansas City after Kasey Keller was sent off. The other guy they brought in was Alex Horwath in 2010. That guy didn't make an appearance however.



Alright enough talk about the goalkeeper situation, let's move to the 26 minute. The Sounders hadn't created many opportunities in this game, but they had one here. Mario Martinez chipped the ball to Brad Evans from about 20 yards out. Evans chested the ball down and tried to volley it with his left foot, but it was a weak attempt and didn't look like it was gonna test Jimmy Nielsen had it been on target.



A minute later, Nielsen nearly got caught wrong footed. Mario Martinez took the free kick from outside the penalty area, well within his shooting range. He curled the ball low and around the wall and I thought it was going in but the ball wasn't hit far enough from the goalkeeper and Nielsen got down and made the save.



Now we're gonna fast forward all the way to the 80th minute. The Seattle backline has been put under a lot of pressure all game long. Graham Zusi tried to work a give and go with Claudio Bieler, but the pass was to far for him. However, the Sounders had some trouble clearing the ball away and the attack wasn't over. Chance Myers let the ball bounce to him before he can settle and whip in a long ball into the area looking for Kei Kamara (yes, he's back from his loan stint with Norwich City). Djimi Traore got a head to it, but right to Claudio Bieler who volleyed it well wide. I think that was their first shot attempt of the second half despite all the pressure they put on the Sounders back line.



A couple minutes later, Kei Kamara took on Leo Gonzalez from the near side and sent a low driven ball into the area where he had C.J. Sapong lurking, but his cross was too close to Michael Gspurning.



Now lets fast forward deep into stoppage time. Remember the stoppage time goal by Mike Fucito in 2010? Or the one by Jeff Parke in 2011? Hell, what about the two stoppage time goals by Mauro Rosales and Lamar Neagle later on in 2011 at Sporting Park? Well, in the final seconds of stoppage time (more time was added because of an injury delay), the Sounders burn them again. Zach Scott rather than throwing it long towards goal, he purposefully threw it short to Brad Evans who flicked the ball across and after Aurelien Collin whiffed on his attempted clearance which would've ended the game there, the ball bounced to Djimi Traore who turned and smashed it home and the Sounders steal one from Sporting Kansas City yet again. There were a few appeals that Traore touched it with his hand, but if the referee called handball on that play, then he should've called handball on Opara. Also, Traore didn't touch the ball with his hand, it bounced off his knee. So if any of you think that was a handball, you better go back and watch it over and over again. Nothing was called anyway, the goal stood and the Sounders win 1-0.





Scoring summary:



Seattle Sounders FC - Djimi Traore 1 (Unassisted) 94'+





Misconduct summary:



Seattle Sounders FC - Marcus Hahnemann (dismissed; dissent) 24'



Sporting Kansas City - Ike Opara (caution; foul) 45'



Sporting Kansas City - Aurelien Collin (caution; foul) 91'+





Lineups:



Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning; Zach Scott, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Djimi Traore, Leonardo Gonzalez; Brad Evans, Osvaldo Alonso, Servando Carrasco, Mario Martinez (Alex Caskey 93'+); Eddie Johnson, David Estrada (Mauro Rosales 85')



Sporting Kansas City - Jimmy Nielsen; Chance Myers, Aurelien Collin, Ike Opara, Josh Gardner (Seth Sinovic 75'); Benny Feilhaber (Claudio Bieler 66'), Oriol Rosell, Peterson Joseph; Graham Zusi, C.J. Sapong, Jacob Peterson (Kei Kamara 73')

Obafemi Martins' first goal gives the Sounders their first win of the season

Obafemi Martins' 27th goal, the difference as the

Sounders finally get on the win column.

By Money Mike





I wasn't planning on blogging again until May, but that's changed now because of the fact that the Seattle Sounders are finally off the mark this season (their winless run had nothing to do with my absence). Last Saturday, the Sounders traveled to Colorado looking for their first win of the year, and they got it. The Sounders defeated the Colorado Rapids 1-0 on the lone goal by Obafemi Martins who scored his first goal for the Rave Green since his move from Levante last month. The Sounders have a bye week this week and then they get ready for a pretty difficult month of May. They hit the road again to take on the Philadelphia Union on the 4th of May. Then they head travel Sporting Park for a midweek match with Sporting Kansas City. Following that, they return home for a pair of home matches against the San Jose Earthquakes and FC Dallas before they hit the plane to LA for a Western Conference finals rematch against the Galaxy. And I believe they have a U.S. Open Cup match to close out the month. So there's not a lot of matches like last year, but again it'll be a bit of a challenge for the Rave Green.



In the Opening minutes of the match, Colorado had the first look at goal. DeAndre Yedlin's pass was given away in the Sounders half. Dillon Powers fed Hendry Thomas who decided to have a go from a long long way out, but the ball sailed high and wide. Thomas tried another long range effort from a similar position later on in the half, but couldn't find the target on that one either.



In the 27th minute, the Sounders broke the deadlock. Brad Evans found DeAndre Yedlin, who had a lot of room to run on the near side. Yedlin fed the ball to Lamar Neagle who whipped in a low cross which went behind Obafemi Martins. The ball bounced to Steve Zakuani who poked the ball back to Shalrie Joseph for a first timed shot which was saved by Clint Irwin, but right to Obafemi Martins who cut the ball to his right and calmly slid the ball past Irwin for his first Sounders goal to give the Rave Green a 1-0 lead.



A couple minutes later, the Sounders could've made it 2-0, but the crossbar came to Colorado's rescue. Colorado got caught on the counter as Obafemi Martins slid the ball to Lamar Neagle, who took one touch to get past Chris Klute and tried to go top corner upper v and instead struck the crossbar. Unlucky there, Neagle did everything right on the play. Clint Irwin was beat. Just unlucky is the only way to describe that. On the other side, Chris Klute was lucky that Neagle didn't go down because he did grab a hold of his jersey and he was the last defender, so if Neagle went down, I'm pretty sure the referee would've called a foul and Klute would've been shown a Red Card for clear denial of a goalscoring opportunity.



In the 55th minute, Colorado came and inch away from equalizing. Danny Mwanga fed Dillon Powers who turned and had a go with his left foot and just missed wide. Michael Gspurning was screened on the play and I don't think he had a chance at making the save. As for Dillon Powers, he's been impressive so far in his rookie season. A few weeks ago, he scored a beauty against the Portland Timbers and now coming close to getting his second of the year.



Five minutes later, Colorado had probably the best chance of equalizing and couldn't make it count. Hendry Thomas played a beautiful diagonal ball to the near side for Brian Mullan to curled the ball in with his left foot to the far post for Atiba Harris who flicked it off the bar and Danny Mwanga was right there and somehow he couldn't head home the rebound as Michael Gspurning got down and made the save.



In the 85th minute, the Sounders were once again saved by the goalpost. Brian Mullan whipped in another beautiful to the far post, this time for an unmarked Kamani Hill who volleys it off the post and the Sounders dodge another bullet.



Now onto the 92nd minute, the Rapids had one more last chance on a free kick. Jamie Smith chipped the ball to the far post for Drew Moor who got up well and directed his header towards got, Michael Gspurning was right there to make the save and that was the last opportunity the Rapids have had and the Sounders hold on for their first win, defeating the Rapids 1-0.





Scoring summary:



Seattle Sounders FC - Obafemi Martins 1 (Unassisted) 27'





Misconduct summary:



Colorado Rapids - Dillon Powers (caution; foul) 41'



Seattle Sounders FC - Djimi Traore (caution; foul) 67'



Seattle Sounders FC - Leonardo Gonzalez (caution; time wasting) 84'





Lineups:



Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning; DeAndre Yedlin, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Djimi Traore, Leonardo Gonzalez; Brad Evans, Osvaldo Alonso, Shalrie Joseph, Steve Zakuani (Alex Caskey 70'); Obafemi Martins (Mauro Rosales 61'), Lamar Neagle (Marc Burch 89')



Colorado Rapids - Clint Irwin; Brian Mullan, Marvell Wynne (Shane O'Neill 55'), Drew Moor, Chris Klute; Nick LaBrocca (Kamani Hill 45'), Hendry Thomas, Dillon Powers, Tony Cascio (Jamie Smith 77'); Atiba Harris, Danny Mwanga

Sounders pull off an incredible comeback and come away with a historic CCL Quarterfinal series win

By Money Mike





The Seattle Sounders came into this game down 1-0 on aggregate and in need of a two goal victory. And that's exactly what happened. Down 1-0 at the half and 2-0 on aggregate, the Sounders came through with three spectacular goals in the second half to defeat Tigres 3-1 in the second leg and 3-2 on aggregate to advance to the CONCACAF Champions League semifinal where they will play Santos Laguna in a rematch of last years Champions League Quarterfinal where Santos punished the Sounders 7-3 on aggregate. Santos defeated the Houston Dynamo 3-1 in their quarterfinal matchup. The Sounders also became the first MLS team to eliminate a Mexican opponent in the knockout stages of the Champions League, which is big for American soccer. Seattle returns to league action this Saturday when they host the Portland Timbers.



The first chance of the game came in the 16th minute when Steve Zakuani fed Eddie Johnson who drifted to the right hand side. Johnson chipped the ball into the penalty area, which took a deflection, but found Sammy Ochoa for a free header that just missed by a yard.



A minute later, Tigres beat the offside trap and nearly made the Sounders pay for it. Jonathan Bornstein, the ex-Chivas USA defender, slid the ball through to Alan Pulido who was kept onside by Djimi Traore. Pulido tried to toe poke the ball into the far corner with the outside of his right foot, but Michael Gspurning got his left hand to it to deflect it wide for a corner. A lot of fans thought Pulido was offside, including myself, but it was actually a good no call by the linesman because he was even with the last defender (Traore) when the ball was played.



In the 23rd minute, the Sounders backline got caught again and this time Tigres capitalized and drew first blood. Bornstein slid the ball forward looking for Alberto Acosta who was battling DeAndre Yedlin for the ball. Acosta brushed Yedlin aside and had time and space to slide the ball across to Elias Hernandez for an easy tap in to put the Liga MX Clausura leaders up 1-0 in the second leg and 2-0 on aggregate. That away goal meant the Sounders would have to score three goals to advance and against a tough Mexican team like Tigres in this stage, coming back with three goals would be a tough task for the Sounders.



Five minutes later, Hernandez nearly made it 3-0 on aggregate. Abraham Stringel chipped the ball forward to Alan Pulido who did very well to hold off Djimi Traore and poke it to Hernandez who gave it a go from outside the area as the momentum carried him away from goal and somehow it nearly snuck in, but Gspurning got a touch on it to deflect off the right post and out for a corner. Off the corner, the ball bounced off the leg of Traore right to Manuel Viniegra from point blank range but he hit it right at Gspurning and the Sounders dodged yet another bullet.



Seattle started to create some chances and in the 35th minute, they came real close to pulling a goal back. Ozzie Alonso fed DeAndre Yedlin on the far side. Yedlin delivered a low ball to the top of the area for Sammy Ochoa who had to reach back with his right foot because cross was behind him. So he reached back to get a foot to it and headed it for Eddie Johnson who turned and quickly struck the ball from 10 yards but the ball drifted just wide of goal. That was a big change right there, and he probably should've scored. But at the same time, it looked like EJ wasn't set as the ball bounced in front of him and it looked more like he struck the ball with a loose foot than his laces.



EJ had another chance in the 35th minute as he fed with a perfectly timed through ball by Zakuani. Johnson looked to slide the ball into the far corner with his left foot, but Tigres goalkeeper Jorge Diaz de Leon got a paw on it to deny him.



In the 45th minute, right on the stroke of halftime, this I believe was the turning point in the match. Referee Elmer Bonilla blew the play dead after Mauro Rosales was fouled. About a couple seconds later, Manuel Viniegra, who was already booked for time wasting, kicks the ball away and the referee doesn't waste anytime showing a second yellow which means he's gone and Tigres had to play the rest of the game with 10 men. The fact that he was already sitting on a yellow card, to do something that would risk getting another yellow like kicking the ball away is just plain stupid. Despite being down a man, Tigres went into the break 1-0 up in the second leg and 2-0 up on aggregate.



The Sounders continued to pour pressure on Tigres in the second half and in the 53rd minute, they got on the board in a big way. Mauro Rosales took the corner kick from the near hash mark, looking near post where Alonso was lurking but it was headed out by Jonathan Espericueta only as far as DeAndre Yedlin who steps up and volleys it low and hard into the right corner from about 30 yards out for his first goal of his professional career and more importantly gave the Sounders some life in the series as they cut the aggregate lead to 2-1.



Seven minutes later, the Sounders found the net again off another beauty from a defender. Mario Martinez, who came on shortly after the goal, was fed by DeAndre Yedlin. Martinez looked to curl the ball in before a Tigres defender came sliding in to cut down the angle, so he cut to his right foot but his touch was too heavy and the ball was cleared by Jonathan Bornstein. However, it wasn't a great clearance as Djimi Traore stepped up and cracked one from 30 yards out and the ball bounced in off the underside of the crossbar for his first Sounders goal and the Sounders leveled it up on aggregate, but Tigres still had the edge on away goals, so Seattle still needed another goal.



They nearly got that third goal two minutes later. DeAndre Yedlin whipped in an early ball for Eddie Johnson, but the ball bounced to Steve Zakuani who settled and fired a shot just over the top of the bar.



Then with 15 minutes to go in the game, the Sounders get that third goal to climb ahead on aggregate. Steve Zakuani found Eddie Johnson making a run down the left and fed him with a perfectly timed through ball. EJ beat the offside trap, raced towards goal and slid the ball underneath Jorge Diaz de Leon and into the far corner from a tight angle to complete the comeback for the Sounders as they rally with three unanswered goals in the second half to defeat Tigres 3-2 on aggragate, making them the first MLS team to eliminate a Mexican opponent in the knockout stages of the CONCACAF Champions League.





Observations:



It was good to see Eddie Johnson get a goal after a rough start to the season. In the opener, he missed a golden opportunity at an equalizer by hitting the crossbar. In the first leg against Tigres on the road, he was kept quiet most of the game as Seattle didn't really attack much in the game. He even struggled a bit in this game, missing a couple of good opportunities in the first half. So hopefully the that goal will get him going. With Fredy Montero gone, he's had to carry the load up front and may continue to carry the load for another week or two until Obafemi Martins finally lands in the Emerald City. The last thing the fans want to see is EJ sucking in 2013 after an outstanding 2012 season. He's already gone through a difficult spell in Europe, so to see him struggle in 2013 would make people think, "that sums up his career." So again, hopefully that goal gets him going, even though it's early.



Unlucky for this man not to get a goal, but all in all I thought Steve Zakuani's performance last night was excellent. His decision making was good. The timing of his passes were good as well. Again, he was unlucky not to get a goal in the match. His shot just sailing over the bar. I don't know about you guys, but I think he's all but re-discovered his old form that he was in prior to his injury.



On the defensive side, I think we're looking at a new and improved backline for the Sounders with DeAndre Yedlin and Djimi Traore. The backline has done a terrific job in the series. Both Jhon Kennedy Hurtado and Djimi Traore seem to be getting along well in the center of defense, I shouldn't have to explain DeAndre Yedlin again, and Leo Gonzalez is in the best form I've seen in the last couple of years. I used to be critical about Gonzalez's one on one defending because it's been terrible, but so far he's done an excellent job, so again I think we're looking at a much improved backline for the Men in Rave Green.



We've just kicked off our fifth season and already we've had a lot of memorable moments, historic moments, etc. From the very first match in 2009, to the away victory in Monterrey in 2011, the three-peat in the U.S. Open Cup, the playoff series win over Real Salt Lake in 2012 and now last night becoming the first MLS team to eliminate a Mexican opponent in the Champions League. I was at this game, I lost my voice, but it was all worth it because I got to see this team make history and I'm looking forward to the rest of the season. I think it's gonna be one hell of a ride.





Scoring summary:



Tigres de la UANL - Elias Hernandez (Alberto Acosta, Jonathan Bornstein) 23'



Seattle Sounders FC - DeAndre Yedlin (Unassisted) 53'



Seattle Sounders FC - Djimi Traore (Unassisted) 60'



Seattle Sounders FC - Eddie Johnson (Steve Zakuani) 75'



* Seattle Sounders FC advance 3-2 on aggregate





Misconduct summary:



Seattle Sounders FC - Eddie Johnson (caution; argument) 14'



Tigres de la UANL - Jorge Diaz de Leon (caution; time wasting) 35'



Tigres de la UANL - Manuel Viniegra (caution; time wasting) 37'



Tigres de la UANL - Manuel Viniegra (caution; kicking the ball away) 45'



Tigres de la UANL - Manuel Viniegra (ejection; second yellow) 45'



Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso (caution; foul) 48'



Tigres de la UANL - Elias Hernandez (caution; foul) 81'



Seattle Sounders FC - Steve Zakuani (caution; time wasting) 82'



Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning (caution; time wasting) 86'





Lineups:



Tigres de la UANL - Jorge Diaz de Leon; Abraham Stringel (Josue Aguilar 87'), Hugo Rodriguez, Alonso Zamora, Jose Rivas (Jonathan Espericueta 45'); Alberto Acosta (Taufic Guarch 61'), Manuel Viniegra, Jesus Duenas, Elias Hernandez, Jonathan Bornstein; Alan Pulido



Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning; DeAndre Yedlin, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Djimi Traore, Leonardo Gonzalez; Mauro Rosales (Mario Martinez 54'), Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans (Andy Rose 27'), Steve Zakuani (Marc Burch 83'); Sammy Ochoa, Eddie Johnson

2013 Seattle Sounders FC season preview

By Money Mike





It has been a long offseason for the Seattle Sounders with players leaving and new faces arriving, which of course happens every year. But with their leading goalscorer gone, how will the Sounders fare in the year 2013? I'll talk a little bit about that as I preview the Seattle Sounders 2013 season. The Sounders are coming off their first trophyless season since joining MLS in 2009. Last season, they reached their fourth straight U.S. Open Cup final only to lose to Sporting Kansas City on penalties and they also reached the Western Conference final for the first time but that was the farthest they would go in 2012 as they would lose to the LA Galaxy 4-2 on aggregate. Also because they didn't win a trophy in 2012, they won't be competing in the 2013-14 CONCACAF Champions League. So, since there's no Champions League for the Sounders this season (other than the 2012-13 Champions League Quarterfinal and beyond, should they advance), head coach Sigi Schmid won't have to shuffle the lineup around as much as last year because of depth and long travel. He won't have to deal with that.



As far as the offseason is concerned, the Sounders have brought in some veteran guys, a couple of draft picks, a homegrown player and also a local favorite made his return to the Emerald City. At the same time, they lost a couple of key players. Defender Jeff Parke was traded to the Philadelphia Union back in early December, and Fredy Montero was loaned out to Millonarios for the entire season but he signed a contract extension with the Sounders prior to the move so he should be back in 2014. Earlier this offseason, the Sounders were expected to sign Honduran defender Wilmer Crisanto. However, for some reason the deal fell through. Somebody reported that the deal for Crisanto fell through because there weren't any international roster spots available, which was bullshit because the Sounders had four international slots available at the time. Now another slot has been occupied and another was traded to the Montreal Impact as part of the deal that brought Lamar Neagle back to Seattle. The Sounders also brought in former Mali international defender Djimi Traore, was part of Liverpool's UEFA Champions League winning side in 2005, former New England Revolution captain Shalrie Josphn, defenders Eriq Zavaleta and Dylan Remick and they also signed DeAndre Yedlin as their first homegrown player. Of course, we're expecting Nigerian forward Obafemi Martins to be signed as a designated player at some point but one designated player would have to go in order for that to happen and after much speculation, it looks like it'll be Christian Tiffert. Now it's a question of how strong this years team is compared to last years? Will year five be the year the Sounders bring an MLS Cup to Seattle?





Sounders 2013 roster:



1. GK - Michael Gspurning

2. DF - DeAndre Yedlin (HGP)

3. MF - Brad Evans

4. DF - Patrick Ianni

5. DF - Adam Johansson

6. MF - Osvaldo Alonso

7. FW - Eddie Johnson

8. DF - Marc Burch

10. MF - Mauro Rosales (DP; Captain)

11. FW - Steve Zakuani

12. DF - Leonardo Gonzalez

13. MF - Christian Tiffert (DP)^

14. MF - Alex Caskey

15. MF - Mario Martinez

16. FW - David Estrada

20. DF - Zach Scott

21. MF - Shalrie Joseph (DP)

22. DF - Eriq Zavaleta (GA)

23. MF - Servando Carrasco

24. GK - Marcus Hahnemann

25. MF - Andy Rose

26. FW - Sammy Ochoa

27. MF - Lamar Neagle

29. GK - Josh Ford

30. DF - Andrew Duran

33. DF - Dylan Remick

34. DF - Jhon Kennedy Hurtado

50. DF - Djimi Traore



Notes:

^ - Could be gone before the start of the season



HGP - Homegrown Player

DP - Designated Player

GA - Generation Adidas





Offseason moves:



Acquisitions:



January 11, 2013 - DeAndre Yedlin (University of Akron; Sounders U23) - Homegrown player

January 17, 2013 - Eriq Zavaleta (Indiana University) - MLS SuperDraft 1st rd. (10th overall)

January 17, 2013 - Dylan Remick (Brown University; Worcester Hydra) - MLS SuperDraft 2nd rd. (35th overall)

January 27, 2013 - Lamar Neagle (Montreal Impact) - Trade

February 19, 2013 - Shalrie Joseph (Chivas USA) - Trade

February 23, 2013 - Djimi Traore (Olympique de Marseille) - Free transfer



Departures:



December 3, 2012 - Mike Seamon (Pittsburgh Riverhounds) - Option Declined

December 3, 2012 - Andrew Weber (Phoenix FC Wolves) - Option Declined

December 3, 2012 - O'Brian White - Option Declined

December 7, 2012 - Jeff Parke (Philadelphia Union) - Trade

December 14, 2012 - Cordell Cato (San Jose Earthquakes) - Option Declined (traded to San Jose on March 1, 2013)

December 14, 2012 - Bryan Meredith (IK Brage) - Option Declined

December 14, 2012 - Daniel Steres (Ventura County Fusion) - Option Declined

December 14, 2012 - Michael Tetteh - Option Declined

February 26, 2013 - Babayele Sodade - Released





I'm just ready for the season to start. Even though Montero is gone, I still think Seattle is one of the teams to beat in MLS this year. They've had a great preseason, winning the Desert Diamond Cup in Tucson. The new guys have come in and worked their asses off all preseason. Not that it matters heading into the regular season because that's where it really counts. I really don't have much to explain here. I'm just sick and tired of waiting for the season to start. Will 2013 be the year? We'll have to find out.