Sounders comeback from a 2-1 deficit to defeat the Whitecaps 3-2 in front of over 53,000+

By Money Mike





The Seattle Sounders just continue to find ways to win. Last night, they came back from 2-1 to defeat their Cascadia rivals Vancouver Whitecaps 3-2 in front of a crowd of 53,679 at CenturyLink Field, including Alex Morgan, but I'll get to that part later. The Sounders with the win have gone from 0-3-2 (2 points) all the way up to 6-4-3 (21 points) and have moved up to fourth place in the standings. One point ahead of the LA Galaxy and the Colorado Rapids who are in a tie for fifth place, two points behind the Portland Timbers for third, six behind RSL for second and seven behind FC Dallas for first place. Everything has started to click for the Men in Rave Green and they will look to make sure it continues through the rest of the year as they make a run for the MLS Cup.



The Sounders started the match off brightly and in the 9th minute, the home side opened the scoring. Lamar Neagle saw that Whitecaps defender Johnny Leveron overcommitted and he played a perfectly timed through ball to Andy Rose. Rose had plenty of time to settle and slide the ball past goalkeeper Brad Knighton and into the far corner to put the Sounders ahead 1-0.



The lead last for just over a minute because in the 10th minute, Vancouver pulled one back. Lee Young-Pyo played a very good ball up over the top for Russell Teibert, who got in behind Leo Gonzalez and whipped in a very good cross to the far post and getting up and directing his header in the back of the net was Camilo for his fourth of the season and his third in his career against the Sounders. That's what happens when you celebrate a goal for too long. There's nothing that ticks me off more than the Sounders scoring and then a minute later, they get pegged back. I remember the first two Sounder games I've attended, the Sounders scored early in those two games and then they gave one up a minute later. But of course the Sounders went on to win both those games. And let's not forget the first meeting between the Sounders and the Whitecaps in MLS. You guys remember that game? The Sounders we're down 1-0 until the 81st minute when Mauro Rosales equalized with his first Sounders goal. Then two minutes later, Ozzie Alonso put the Rave Green ahead with a low drive from outside the area. But then a minute later Eric Hassli, who now plays for FC Dallas, pulled the Caps back on level terms with a stunning volley.



Seattle came close to retaking the lead a minute later. Lamar Neagle was found with a good long ball from Servando Carrasco. Neagle sprinted around Y.P. Lee to the byline and tried to sneak one into the far corner, but he just missed wide and as a matter of fact it nearly found the head of Obafemi Martins whose momentum sent him crashing into the goal, which is dangerous because your hands or your feet can get caught into the net. And speaking of that, Martins' right boot got tangled with the net for a few seconds.



In the 26th minute, Teibert and Camilo linked up again. This time off a set piece after some poor communication by the Sounders defense. Russell Teibert curled the ball to the far post and the Brazilian got on the end of it with a diving header and there was no way Michael Gspurning was gonna make the save on this one. When it came off the head of Camilo, I knew from that moment that we were down. This was all on the Sounders defense. Leonardo Gonzalez urged his team to step away, but then they drop so deep, Neagle didn't challenge for the ball and Camilo made them pay with his second of the game to make it 2-1 to the Whitecaps. Awful communication on the part of the Sounders. And I think this is the first home match I've seen where the Sounders strike first and then find themselves on the wrong end of the scoreboard later in the match.



Now on to the 53rd minute of the match where Vancouver more than likely should've made it 3-1. Camilo who was sitting on a hat-trick drove his free kick around the wall. Michael Gspurning got his hands to it and the ball fell nicely to Nigel Reo-Coker for him to put away the rebound but Gspurning somehow made the save with his right boot to keep the Sounders in this match. Probably one of the best saves I've ever seen from the Austrian, but at the same time, I don't know how Reo-Coker wasn't able to score.



Vancouver started to play with 9-10 players back behind the ball trying to defend their lead and they would lose it in the 70th minute after a stupid ass challenge in the box. Marc Burch, who came on in the 61st minute, curled the ball to the far post where Lamar Neagle and Whitecaps defender Greg Klazura were battling for possession. There was some pushing and shoving from both players, but Neagle brought the ball down and Klazura slid in from behind, a blatant foul in the box and referee Hilario Grajeda wasted no time blowing his whistle and pointing to the penalty spot. Just a clumsy challenge by Klazura, who was making his second MLS appearance in as many weeks (he made his pro debut last week) and so far he's been sucking. Last week, he scored in own goal against the Red Bulls and then in this match, he commits a foul in the box. Servando Carrasco stepped to take the penalty for the Sounders and powered it in the top left corner to level things up at two goals a piece. Now as I said, Alex Morgan was in attendance to see her boyfriend play. Allie Long, who is Morgan's club teammate with the Portland Thorns in the new NWSL (I don't really follow that to be honest with you people), was at the match as well and she actually video taped Morgan's reaction to her boyfriend's PK. Check it out right here. It's pretty freakin' hilarious.

Great shot of Lamar Neagle's game-winning goal

In the 81st minute, the Sounders climb back ahead. Andy Rose fed Obafemi Martins with a nice through ball. Martins let the ball roll in front of him before sliding the ball across to Lamar Neagle who taps it in for his fourth goal of the season, and that goal also turned out to be the game winner. I'm starting to love that EJ trade that they made back on February of 2012 even more. He spends the 2012 season with the Montreal Impact. He comes back in 2013, head coach Sigi Schmid starts playing him up top and all Neagle has done was show his home town crowd and all of MLS what he's really made of. He said he came back a better player and a lot smarter. He's proved that so far, four goals and three assists. It's gonna be interesting to see what Sigi will do when Johnson re-joins the club in Salt Lake, but the attack looks 10 times better than before with Eddie Johnson, Obafemi Martins and of course Lamar Neagle.





Scoring summary:



Seattle Sounders FC - Andy Rose 1 (Lamar Neagle 3) 9'



Vancouver Whitecaps FC - Camilo Sanvezzo 4 (Russell Teibert 2, Lee Young-Pyo 2) 10'



Vancouver Whitecaps FC - Camilo Sanvezzo 5 (Russell Teibert 3) 26'



Seattle Sounders FC - Servando Carrasco 1 (penalty kick) 70'



Seattle Sounders FC - Lamar Neagle 4 (Obafemi Martins 1, Andy Rose 1) 81'





Misconduct summary:



Seattle Sounders FC - Andy Rose (caution; foul) 56'



Vancouver Whitecaps FC - Jordan Harvey (caution; foul) 86'





Lineups:



Vancouver Whitecaps FC - Brad Knighton; Lee Young-Pyo, Andy O'Brien (Greg Klazura 62'), Johnny Leveron, Jordan Harvey; Nigel Reo-Coker, Jun Marques Davidson (Kekuta Manneh 83'), Matt Watson (Daigo Kobayashi 89'); Russell Teibert, Camilo, Kenny Miller



Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning; DeAndre Yedlin, Zach Scott, Djimi Traore, Leonardo Gonzalez; Mauro Rosales (David Estrada 89'), Andy Rose, Servando Carrasco, Alex Caskey (Marc Burch 61'); Lamar Neagle, Obafemi Martins

Sounders crush the San Jose Earthquakes 4-0

By Money Mike





After a 2-0-1 road trip, the Seattle Sounders returned home looking to snatch a four game losing skid against the San Jose Earthquakes. And that's exactly what they did. Goals have been tough to come by for the Sounders in the early part of the season but on Saturday, the Men in Rave Green rediscovered their goalscoring touch as they put a four spot on the San Jose Earthquakes for their third win in their last four matches and also to extend their unbeaten run to five games. The Sounders remain at home next Saturday when they host the Western Conference leaders FC Dallas. Kickoff time for that match is at 7:30.



Sounders began testing the San Jose backline early on in the game. In the 9th minute, Lamar Neagle let the ball run through to Eddie Johnson who played it back to the Federal Way boy. Neagle took one touch and ripped one from a long way out, but the ball was always going wide.



Sounders should've had a goal in the 24th minute. Eddie Johnson found Brad Evans on the near side. Evans had Lamar Neagle making a run in the box as well as Mauro Rosales and whipped in a low left foot cross to the far post for Rosales who should've headed the ball in, but it looked like he timed his header a little to early and the ball came off the side of his head and didn't find the target.



In the 28th minute, the Sounders opened the scoring as they would catch the Quakes on the break. After some sloppy passing from Sam Cronin and Ramiro Corrales, Mauro Rosales poked the ball to Brad Evans who quickly played the ball out wide for Eddie Johnson. EJ slowed up for a second as he waited for support before taking on Justin Morrow. Johnson then chipped the ball into the box to Rosales who chested the ball to the top of the box for Lamar Neagle who catches it off the half volley and Jon Busch could do nothing but get a piece of the ball as it finds the back of the net for Neagle's first league goal in his third stint with the Sounders.



In the 37th minute, San Jose nearly pulled one back and probably should've pulled one back. Sam Cronin curled the ball to the far post for Ramiro Corrales who headed the ball back across to Alan Gordon for a free header and how he missed that opportunity, I don't know. Gordon was making his first start after missing the last four games. He was suspended three games for his homophobic slur which was directed at Portland Timbers midfielder Will Johnson during their match in Portland. He's the third player in the last two seasons to cross the line in that area. Colin Clark remember was suspended for his homophobic slur directed at one of the Sounders ball boys during the second match of the 2012 season between the Sounders and the Houston Dynamo and Marc Burch of course was also penalized for the same reason also believed to be directed at Will Johnson in the second leg of last years Western Conference semifinal between the Sounders and Real Salt Lake, and you can read more about that here. Anyway, missing games is no excuse for missing that opportunity. Gordon should've scored.



Just seconds into first half stoppage time, the Sounders doubled their lead. After a foul was conceded about 25 yards away from goal, now the question was who was going to take this one because this was Fredy Montero territory, but he's on loan in Colombia, you also have Mario Martinez who can take these, but he was on the bench to start the game. So it came down to, "is Mauro Rosales going to touch it for Ozzie Alonso?", "is he gonna look for one of the green shirts in the box?", "is he gonna go for goal himself?". Well, he went for goal himself and curled it in off the left post to put the Sounders up 2-0.



Moving on to the 54th minute, it was Lamar Neagle for the second time in this match. Servando Carrasco, who has really improved these past couple of week, fed Neagle with a high lofted ball. Neagle used his strength to bring the ball down in front of him, turn away from Justin Morrow and strike it low and hard in off the near post for his second of the game and the Sounders third.



And then in the final seconds of the game, Obafemi Martins comes on and gets in on the goal parade.....







The Sounders have quickly turned things around since their 0-3-1 start. They have won three of their last four matches, they're unbeaten in five and they're only a couple points out of playoff position with a couple games in hand. The Men in Rave Green have shown once again that they can comeback in a heartbeat.





Scoring summary:



Seattle Sounders FC - Lamar Neagle 1 (Mauro Rosales 3, Eddie Johnson 1) 28'



Seattle Sounders FC - Mauro Rosales 2 (Unassisted) 46'+



Seattle Sounders FC - Lamar Neagle 2 (Servando Carrasco 1) 54'



Seattle Sounders FC - Obafemi Martins 2 (Unassisted) 93'+





Misconduct summary:



San Jose Earthquakes - Rafael Baca (caution; foul) 45'



San Jose Earthquakes - Chris Wondolowski (caution; argument) 88'



Seattle Sounders FC - Eddie Johnson (caution; argument) 88'





Lineups:



San Jose Earthquakes - Jon Busch; Steven Beitashour, Victor Bernardez, Justin Morrow, Dan Gargan; Rafael Baca, Sam Cronin, Ramiro Corrales (Shea Salinas 64'), Walter Martinez; Alan Gordon (Marcus Tracy 65'), Chris Wondolowski



Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning; DeAndre Yedlin, Zach Scott, Djimi Traore, Leonardo Gonzalez; Mauro Rosales (Mario Martinez 62'), Osvaldo Alonso, Servando Carrasco, Brad Evans (Obafemi Martins 55'); Lamar Neagle (David Estrada 86'), Eddie Johnson

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

Montreal Impact steal one in Seattle

By Money Mike





The Seattle Sounders came into the season opener without a few key players. Adam Johansson, David Estrada and Patrick Ianni were out injured. Lamar Neagle was left out of the lineup. Djimi Traore was left on the bench. And Ozzie Alonso and Marc Burch were suspended. So I expected play to be a little sloppy on the part of the Sounders, but I did not expect a result like this. On Saturday, the Montreal Impact came to CenturyLink Field and stunned the crowd of 38,998 in attendance as they defeated the Seattle Sounders 1-0. The Sounders had some chances in this game, but they couldn't deliver and with the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinal on the road at Tigres coming up a couple days from now, Seattle needs to correct their mistakes and correct them fast. Since both legs of the Champions League are this Wednesday and next Tuesday, the Sounders next match in league play won't be until March 16 at home and their opponent happens to be the Portland Timbers.



In the 18th minute, Montreal had a chance to go up 1-0 and probably should've gone up 1-0. Andrea Pisanu spotted the run of Marco Di Vaio and fed him with a perfectly timed through ball in the box. Di Vaio got in behind Zach Scott and Jhon Kennedy Hurtado but he put a little too much under the ball and shot it over the bar.



In the 24th minute, the Sounders had an opportunity of their own to break the deadlock. Again, the passing was sloppy on both ends of the pitch and teams struggling to clear the ball out of their own area. Felipe Martins looked to clear the ball from danger but Jhon Kennedy Hurtado stepped in to head the ball to Andy Rose whose touch was a little heavy. Felipe slid in to win the ball back, but Rose fed the ball to the near side for Mario Martinez who looked and curled the ball to the near post for Eddie Johnson who got past Matteo Ferrari, but he flicked the ball wide of Troy Perkins's right hand side.



Five minutes later, EJ had another opportunity. Justin Mapp's misplaced pass gave Mauro Rosales a chance to catch Montreal on the counter. Rosales rolled the ball to Johnson on the right side of the box. Johnson waited for support before cutting inside and trying to curl his shot into the corner, but it was too far central and easily gathered by Troy Perkins.



In the 35th minute, the Sounders get caught on the counter and the Impact take full advantage of it and open the scoring. Marco Di Vaio found Felipe who had time and space to look up and he lifted the ball up for Davy Arnaud who settled the ball in front of him and chipped it over the head of Michael Gspurning and in the back of the net to put the Impact ahead 1-0. Just poor play on that one from Andy Rose, Zach Scott and Jhon Kennedy Hurtado. Hurtado was late trying to get back, Scott overcommits by pushing up and closing down Felipe and nobody picks up Arnaud. Just shocking defending on that play.



Just over four minutes into the second half, Montreal had a big chance to go up by two. Patrice Bernier sent Sanna Nyassi in behind the defense with the great through ball. Just as Nyassi was getting ready to strike, he starts to lose control. However, the Sounders still couldn't get it away as Zach Scott and Michael Gspurning collide in the box. Marco Di Vaio stepped in with the net empty trying to make it 2-0, but DeAndre Yedlin got back to get in the way of that shot to keep it a one score game.



In the 64th minute, the Sounders dodged another bullet. Sanna Nyassi worked a give and go with Marco Di Vaio on the near side. Nyassi made a good run forward and whipped in a very good cross for a diving header from Davy Arnaud, but the ball bounced back into play from the crossbar and the score remained 1-0.



A minute later, Seattle were denied by the frame. Mario Martinez slid the ball to Eddie Johnson at the top of the area, who poked the ball back to Brad Evans for a first timed shot that beat Troy Perkins, but the left post comes to Montreal's rescue this time.



With just under 10 minutes to go in normal time, Seattle had a golden opportunity to level the match. Eddie Johnson fed Leo Gonzalez who made an overlapping run from his left back position. Gonzalez chipped the ball to the near post for Alex Caskey who flicked the ball for Eddie Johnson who strikes the ball off the crossbar from point blank range. I'm still having difficulty figuring out how he couldn't score from that position, but that's what the outcome of that chance was and Seattle come away empty handed in the opening match of the 2013 season.





Observations:

DeAndre Yedlin impressive in his debut with the Sounders.

I was a little surprised to see this kid in the lineup for this match, but DeAndre Yedlin got the start and I gotta say I was really impressed with his performance. Yedlin remember played a year in the Sounders FC Youth academy and was signed back in January as the first homegrown player in club history after two seasons at Akron. Normally at 19-years old when you make your debut for your hometown club, you end up feeling a lot of pressure and struggle to handle it. But he didn't feel any pressure, he took his debut like it's another game. His passing was good. One on One defending, excellent. Despite all that, I'm still not quite satisfied that he should be an everyday starter at right back because on the attacking end, his crosses weren't great and on the defensive side of the ball, there were times when Sanna Nyassi beat him especially the first couple of minutes where Nyassi got in behind him and both were pulling eachothers jerseys. If Nyassi went down under that, I think the referee would've called a foul and Yedlin probably would've been sent off. But based on what I've seen out of him, he'll only get better as he gains more minutes and he will be a future starter on this team for sure.



Asside from DeAndre's performance, the Sounders attacking game was, ya know...... not good. First of all, someone on Seattle Times called Zakuani a One Trick Pony. I don't know who said that, and I don't care, but that's got to be the most bullshit comment I've ever heard or read or whatever. The wide play however, was very poor, the crosses were weak, and the guys are just getting caught out of position. Rosales needs to move back to the right side of midfield where he's most effective and they need to push Zakuani up front with EJ and move Martinez to the left side of midfield. They need to change something attacking wise until they finally get another striker.



Ya know.... first game, they lost. Big deal. Look, I'm not happy with the defeat myself, but there's absolutely no reason to panic. These guys off and on have hit a brick wall, but they find ways to bounce back and win games. So this team will bounce back from this loss, no doubt. We've got a long long way to go this season. 34 games. This was the first game, so now we have 33 games to go.





Scoring summary:



Montreal Impact - Davy Arnaud 1 (Felipe Martins 1) 35'





Misconduct summary:



Seattle Sounders FC - Brad Evans (caution; foul) 17'



Montreal Impact - Andrea Pisanu (caution; foul) 64'





Lineups:



Montreal Impact - Troy Perkins; Hassoun Camara (Dennis Iapichino 84'), Matteo Ferrari, Alessandro Nesta, Jeb Brovsky; Andrea Pisanu (Calum Mallace 69'), Patrice Bernier, Felipe Martins, Justin Mapp (Sanna Nyassi 45'); Davy Arnaud, Marco Di Vaio



Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning; DeAndre Yedlin, Zach Scott, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Leonardo Gonzalez (Servando Carrasco 84'); Mario Martinez, Andy Rose (Alex Caskey 62'), Brad Evans, Steve Zakuani (Sammy Ochoa 69'); Mauro Rosales, 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.