Sounders Focus Sights On Next Goal

The team celebrates Oba’s late goal that capped of their U.S. Open Cup victory.

The Seattle Sounders are coming a huge win against the Philadelphia Union in the final of the 2014 U.S. Open Cup. It was Seattle’s fourth time winning the trophy, which ties the record for most times winning it, but this was arguably the most satisfying. On the road. Coming back from being down 1-0. Surviving regulation time. Scoring two goals in extra time. Truly spectacular. Never had this team faced that much adversity in an Open Cup final, so seeing the squad come out on top Tuesday night was extremely satisfying for the players, the coaches, and the fans.

Chad Barrett‘s header was Seattle’s only regulation goal. The defense had to hold off some late pushes from the Union towards the end of the match. Once extra time began it was all Sounders FC, as Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins were each able to net goals.

Now Seattle sets its sights on the team’s next goal: winning the Supporters’ Shield. Awarded to the top team at the end of the MLS season, the Sounders have never won the honor – they were runners-up in 2011. At 54 points, the Rave Green are currently at the top of the standings by three points with a game in hand and seven matches left. Last year, Seattle had lead in the race for the Supporters’ Shield with seven games left only to see it crumble away as they failed to win another game.

The team does not want that to happen again. Not this year. You can bet this team is motivated to play extremely well over the final stretch. And that final stretch begins tomorrow in a road match against the New York Red Bulls. No doubt this will prove to be a huge test for the Sounders, as New York is riding a four-match winning streak and hasn’t lost at home since May. Not to mention they have two of the more prolific front lines in MLS in Thierry Henry and Bradley Wright-Phillips, who leads the league in goals with 21.

It’s the first game of the final stretch for Seattle and they need to get off to a good start. The team cannot afford a late-season collapse like last year, and I doubt the players will let that happens.

In case you missed the game, here are the highlights of the U.S. Open Cup Final (no audio):

You can watch tomorrow’s match at 4:30 PT on NBC or listen on 97.3 FM. GO SOUNDERS!

Sounders Get Back To Winning Ways

These two were back to their old ways in Portland on Sunday.

Sunday afternoon the Seattle Sounders looked much more like, well…the Seattle Sounders. After struggling to score goals over the past few weeks, Seattle routed their rival Portland Timbers 4-2 and looked much more like the potent offense that we have seen for the majority of the season. The Sounders are back on top of the MLS standings and leading the race for the Supporter’s Shield. All is well.

On top of the win, Oba Martins won MLS Player of the Week with his 2-goal performance on Sunday. He also notched an assist on a beautiful pass that Clint Dempsey flicked into the back of the net to put the Sounders up 2-0. It’s pretty evident that Martins and Dempsey love playing with each other. Unfortunately, the two have struggled to create much on the offensive end – mostly due to inconsistent playing time together – the past few weeks (Dempsey only had one goal since the end of April) and Seattle has struggled to get the results that they expect. It’s been a rough patch of games the past month. But this game had the Martins and Dempsey combo at full force, as they were involved in all four Seattle goals. They both are tied for the team lead with 10 goals a-piece.

When these two are at their best, the Sounders have the most explosive scoring duo in the league. Fluid. Fast. Dangerous. The Rave Green will need both of them to keep playing like they did on Sunday if the Sounders hope to stay on the top of the standings. As the final month of the season approaches, expect the team to rally behind Clint and Oba. As they go, the team will go.

It’s good to see us back in the win column. Especially against the Timbers – in Portland. Go Sounders!

Here are the match highlights:

Next match: Seattle will come back home again on Saturday for a match against the Colorado Rapids.

Sounders Dethroned

A slightly shorthanded Sounders team lost 2-1 to now first place Real Salt Lake Saturday afternoon. Seattle tried to mount a spirited comeback, but was unable to convert. With the win, Salt Lake have 42 points (24 games played) and the Sounders have 41 points (22 games played)

DeAndre Yedlin shields the ball from Real Salt Lake forward Joao Plata

The first 30 minutes was dominated by Salt Lake. They created many chances and held the ball over 60% of the time. During the last 15 minutes, the Sounders were able to counterattack with numbers and created a handful of chances. Even though the Sounders didn’t start well, the halftime score remained scoreless. Coach Sigi Schmid was pleased with the performance. He remarked the Salt Lake have been statistically the most dangerous first half team in the MLS, so he was looking forward to the Sounders creating more chances in the second half. Well, Sigi, it didn’t all go as planned. 

The scoring opened in the 53rd minute as Joao Plata connected with a cross and hit a strong header past Stefan Frei. Only four minutes later, a messy scramble inside the box led to Ozzie Alonso scoring on his own goal (Whoops!) that saw Salt Lake go two goals clear. The Sounders ramped up the pressure after Chad Barrett came on for Lamar Neagle, and finally got on the scoreboard after 72 minutes. After another messy scramble (this time in the Salt Lake box) Andy Rose had a free header on goal, but hit the post. Luckily Chad Barrett was on hand to clean up the mess. 

The Sounders had many shots after the goal, and Clint Dempsey tried hard a couple times with his left foot, but missed wide both times. This loss means the Sounders are in second place, but still control their own destiny as they’ve played less games.

With 12 games left for Seattle, the defense needs to find some rhythm. Chad Marshall looks best and most comfortable with Djimi Traore starting alongside him. Also, with Obafemi Martins and Marco Pappa in the lineup, the Sounders have much more creativity and firepower. Despite the recent struggles, we’ll rebound and finish atop the West (knock on wood).

Here are the highlights from tonight’s match:

Upcoming match for the Sounders: Seattle vs. San Jose, August 20th 7:00 P.M

 

Ugly in Victory

It wasn’t pretty, but the Sounders got it done to defeat the Houston Dynamo 2-0 last night to give coach Sigi Schmid his 200th victory in MLS. This gave the Sounders 41 points and pushed them atop of the Western Conference and the MLS Supporters Shield race.

U.S. internationals Brad Evans and Demarcus Beasley battle for the ball

The first half of this game was pretty much dominated by the Dynamo, as they created a few chances that forced the Sounders to defend in numbers. On one of the plays, Djimi Traore was defending a shot going towards goal and hit it with his hand, which resulted in a PK for Houston. Dynamo winger and U.S. international Brad Davis took the kick that was ultimately saved by goalie (and no friend of this blog) Stefan Frei. Frei guessed the right direction and the Sounders capitalized and this seemed to add pep to their step.

The second half seemed to be the reverse of the first, as the Sounders came out with all cylinders firing. The goal finally came in the 69th minute, as Pappa juked a defender and hit a deflected shot into the net. A few minutes later, Obafemi (don’t you just love that name?!) was manhandled in the area which gave the Sounders a PK which Pineda was lucky to make. This spelled the end of the game, as the Dynamo couldn’t get anything going after this.

I have three takeaways from this game, with none being that relevant except the last.

1. That field was awful. I think it was more black than green, and this was a major reason both teams looked so ugly.
2. Thank goodness for that Houston goalie. Pineda’s penalty (say that five times fast) was right at him!!! And it still went in.
3. Where was Deandre Yedlin? Now this one is a puzzler. Yedlin has been rumored for awhile to be heading to Tottenham Hotspur, a club team based in northern London. He traveled to Europe after the MLS All-Star game to finalize a transfer, yet nobody officially knows where that is yet. The good news is that any potential transfer will likely see Yedlin stay with the Sounders for the rest of the year. We’ll announce an official transfer once we receive confirmation from the club.

Here are the highlights from last night’s match:

Upcoming match for the Sounders: August 13th vs Chicago Fire in U.S. Open Cup. 7:30 P.M

Sounders Get Quaked

The Seattle Sounders fought hard, but lost to the San Jose Earthquakes 1-0 last night. Normally, the Quakes are a team with very little fan support, but last night they opened Levi’s Stadium (now the home of the 49ers) in front of almost 49,000 people.

San Jose’s lone goal came in the 42nd minute. Pretty boy Chris Wondolowski fed a pass to the speedy Yannick Djalo, who outran Zach Scott and slid it past the charging and out of place Stefan Frei for the goal. Let me go on a little rant for a second. Zach Scott looked like a chubby schoolboy chasing after Djalo, but was forcing him away from goal. If Stefan Frei had just stayed on his line, there would never have been a goal scored…Okay rant over.

Dempsey tried the spectacular, but missed over the goal.

Even though the Sounders lost, they played MUCH better than the previous game. Their passing was crisp and they created many chances. The only problem was the scoring. The Sounders created a really great opportunity from a corner and beat San Jose’s keeper, but once again, pretty boy Wondo came to the rescue and cleared it off the line.

Last week, I gave three reasons for hope. The most important is getting Chad Marshall back. With him in the lineup, Seattle is much more sound defensively.

Here are the highlights from tonight’s match:

Upcoming match for the Sounders: August 10th vs. Houston Dynamo, 7:30 P.M.

 

 

Reality Check for the Sounders

ESPN’s summer edition of “Monday Night Football” didn’t go as planned for the Seattle Sounders. Not only did they lose in a building that just saw the Seahawks beat the Saints 34-7 in what’s regularly Monday Night Football, they were obliterated by their California rivals. The score was only 3-0, but I say only because it easily could’ve been more. Local favorite Kasey Keller said on the telecast that his only criticism of the Galaxy is that they should be up more than the 3-0 score line.

After a rare power surge that knocked the coverage out for 5 minutes, the game came back on with Gyasi Zardez and his crazy yellow Mohawk opening the scoring from an intricate back pass from an ageless Landon Donovan. The Galaxy’s possession and passing continued until the 18th minute with star Landon Donovan cleaning up a save that was previously made by Sounders keeper Stephan Frei. In the 36th minute, Galaxy midfielder Stefan Ishizaki fired a pass from Keane to the left side of the goal to make it 3-0 and complete the rout early.

Landon Donovan was up to his old tricks Monday night.

After a largely uneventful second half (besides a slightly amusing shoving match between U.S. soccer teammates Omar Gonzalez and Clint Dempsey), the Sounders sulked to the locker room knowing they played poorly. Despite the loss and the score line, here are three reasons the Sounders and fans alike should keep their heads up and confidence high:

1.   Short term memory – After the Sounders lost to the New England Revolution 5-0 in early May, they racked off a six game unbeaten streak, five of those six being wins. The Sounders have enough quality to fix their poor play.

2.   Chad Marshall – Chad was unfortunately involved in a car accident Saturday night which kept him out of this clash, but is due to be back against San Jose on Saturday. His presence alone changes the back line, with him sliding back to center back and Anibaba back to left back (or out of the lineup after this performance). There’s a reason he’s an all-star this year, and has been arguably the best defender in the MLS to date.

3.   The Supporters Shield Race – Despite the loss, the Sounders still lead the race to end the season atop the standings in the MLS. They are tied with Sporting Kansas City with 38 points, but the Sounders have played two fewer games, giving them first place.

Here are the highlights from tonight’s match:

Upcoming match for the Sounders: Seattle vs. San Jose Earthquakes-Saturday August 2nd, 7:30 PM

Mariners Depressing You? Ride the Sounder Train!

Sounders forward Clint Dempsey dribbles around a Portland defender.

With the Mariners losing yesterday (another one-run game…sigh), they are now 3-7 in the 10 games since the All-Star Break, and they’ve lost 5 of the last 6 games. In other words, it’s bleak times for the M’s right now. However, Seattle fans should not be depressed! Football season right around the corner, and in the meantime there is another successful team in Seattle to cheer for: Seattle Sounders FC. Since they joined MLS in 2009, the Sounders have attracted quite a following, yet remain below the Mariners in the hierarchy of Seattle sports. Whether you like soccer or not, I strongly encourage you to follow the Sounders over the next couple of months.

Here are my top five reasons why:

Best team in the MLS. The Sounders sport a record of 12-4-2 for a total of 38 points. That’s good enough for the top spot in the Western Conference (6 points better than Real Salt Lake) and a tie with Sporting Kansas City’s 38 points in the race for the Supporter’s Shield (Seattle has played 3 less matches than SKC).

Highest scoring team in the league. For those of you who like watching goals, the Sounders are the right team to watch when it comes to the MLS. Without a doubt, this squad plays a very entertaining brand of futbol. With a relentless, attacking style of play, Seattle likes pushing the ball forward and getting it on the feet of the two people below in dangerous spots.

Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins. They are arguably the best forward combination in the MLS. Dempsey has been Dempsey. After struggling to find the back of the net last season in his first two months with the club, he leads the team with 9 goals this season, and he’s done so in only 10 matches. He also has 3 assists to add to his stat sheet. Meanwhile, Oba has worked his way into the MVP discussion. His 8 goals are second on the team and his 6 assists are tied for the team lead with Gonzalo Pineda. When these guys are on the field together they are almost impossible to stop.

Seattle is fully healthy and at full strength. After having its depth tested in May and June by injuries and players away on international duty, the Sounders are finally getting healthy. Dempsey and DeAndre Yedlin were representing the U.S. in Brazil, while many key players like Brad Evans, Djimi Traore, and Leo Gonzalez have been sidelined by the injury-bug. Even Oba has struggled with a hamstring injury for the past few weeks. While the group performed admirably with thin depth, getting healthy is just what the Sounders need right now – mainly because of the reason below.

8 matches in just over a month. Following a two-week break from MLS play, Sounders FC have a busy month ahead of them. It starts tonight in a nationally-televised match (ESPN2) at home against L.A. Galaxy. Seattle has won it’s last 6 MLS-matches at CenturyLink.  5 of the next 8 games are at home, and it is important that the team takes advantage of their recent brilliant home-field play. This next month is a crucial one for Sounders FC on their quest for their first MLS Cup.

You may not be a huge soccer fan, but neither was I just a few years ago. It was exactly this time of the year that I first started watching the Sounders play – mainly because I wanted to cheer a team on before football season started, and the Mariners were struggling. With the M’s playing depressing baseball the last two weeks, why not follow a team having a great season? Hop aboard the Sounder Train, it’s a one-way ticket towards success.