The Sounders Don't Show Up

The Sounders put on an absolutely disgraceful performance tonight, falling to Real Salt Lake by three goals in the the first leg of the Western Conference semi-finals. Until the dying minutes of the match, the Sounders simply couldn't hold possession and build and develop on the attack to save their lives. To put it simply, RSL called all the shots.

After claiming a dominant hold on the match early on, it took until the final five minutes of the first half for RSL to start off the scoring. Chris Wingert whipped in a cross coming off of an overlapping run that was destined for the far corner of Kasey Keller's net on it's own, but Alvaro Saborio put a foot in to tap it over the line. RSL then struck again just minutes into the second half, Saborio neatly flicking the ball served up by star playmaker Javier Morales past Keller. Towards the final fifteen minutes, after both of RSL's key center backs had been removed from the game due to injury, the Sounders were finally able to get a foothold in the match. Unfortunately they couldn't staunch the bleeding, RSL added one more goal before the night was done. Substitute Ned Grabavoy knocking the ball in past Keller after a frantic scramble in the box to clear the ball saw it land at his feet.

Next up, the return leg is this coming Wednesday. If the Sounders can't get Rosales back out on the field, I don't think that they stand a chance.

MLS Play-Offs: Wildcard Round Review

FC Dallas [0-2] New York Red Bulls

New York scored two first half goals to dispatch FC Dallas and gain passage into the Western Conference semi-finals and a marquee match against the LA Galaxy. The first half was scoreless, but the home side was largely the aggressor, creating opportunity after opportunity but unfortunately lacking the ability to convert any of them. The Red Bulls made them pay for their lack of finishing in the sixty first minute, Medhi Ballouchy sliding a pass to Joel Lindpere in the box and Lindpere knocking the ball home past Hartman. FC Dallas desperately tried to fight back, but again their lack of a finishing touch haunted them and New York put the game to bed deep into stoppage time at the end of the game. Thierry Henry collected a long pass, had his initial shot save, and finished off the rebound.

Colorado Rapids [1-0] Columbus Crew

For the second year in a row row, Colorado has been the one to eliminate the Crew from play-off contention. While the scoreline may give the impression of a close match, it was from it. Columbus had some purchase early one, managing to hold the ball and create opportunities, but after about fifteen minutes or so it became all Colorado. Following the swing of momentum, Colorado struck the night's only goal in the final minute of the first half. Kosuke Kimura received the ball from Brian Mullen, took it to the touch-line and pass it back to Omar Cummings in the box, who fire it past Will Hesmer. Throughout the remainder of the match Colorado continued to dominate, but just couldn't kill the nerve and put away any of their other opportunities. They move on to face Sporting Kansas City in the Eastern Conference semi-finals.

Feedback Survey

This month has seen a pretty big dip in views, at a certain falling to a trickle. In light of that and some responses to my inquiries, I have put together a little survey. If you would please take the time to fill it out and provide me the feedback so that I can make my blog that much better.

Around the Rest of the League, Week 33

Wednesday, October 19th

DC United [1-1] Portland Timbers

The Timbers were the first to get on the board, Kenny Cooper easily nodding home a cross. DC were not able to find an answer until late, De Rosario turning and losing his defender and firing a shot over Troy Perkins. The remaining minuted of the match were perhaps some of the most exciting of the season, seeing incredible back-and-forth action as each team strove to find a game-winner.

Thursday, October 20th

New York Red Bulls [1-0] Philadelphia Union

One early goal by Dane Richards was all it took for the Red Bulls to book their ticket to the play-offs. Jan Gunnar Solli provided the excellent service, and Richards header found the woodwork but found it's way in with a little help from Mondragon's back. Late in the second half it had appeared that Le Toux had scored an equalizer off of a free kick, but the goal was ruled back for some sort of infraction in the box.

Saturday, October 22nd

Toronto FC [2-2] New England Revolution

Toronto took the early lead, but the Revolution fought back and drew level just before the end of the half. Then only one minute into the second period they stole the lead, Milton Caraglio easily tapping in a Feilhaber cross at the back post. Danny Koevermans made sure Toronto got something out of the match, knocking home his eighth goal of the season with only seven minutes left to play.

Vancouver Whitecaps [1-2] Colorado Rapids

After two straight wins, the Whitecaps ended the season on a sour note with two straight losses. After an uneventful first half, the home side struck first early after the break on a free kick effort by Alain Rochat. The lead couldn't stand, however, Jeff Larentowitz with the equalizer and Wells Thompson the game-winner.

DC United [0-1] Sporting Kansas City

Already out of the playoffs, DC could have played spoiler for SKC who were looking to clinch the top spot in the east. Unfortunately a lone goal by Matt Besler was the decider and SKC left  RFK Stadium with all three points and the number one spot in the east.

Chicago Fire [3-2] Columbus Crew

Diego Chaves provided was once again the hero, being at the right place at the right time once again. This time, however, it wasn't quite as dramatic. Defender Anibaba headed the ball home twice to give the Fire a two goal leading into the half. The Crew fought back in the second half, but Chaves' strike just one minute after the Crew drew level finally put the match to rest.

Real Salt Lake [1-1] Portland Timbers

Alvaro Saborio put RSL ahead late in the first half, and as the match was entering the closing stages it looked like RSL would end the night with all three points. Futty Danso played the spoiler, striking in the first minute of stoppage time to salvage a point for the Timbers.

Chivas USA [1-3] Seattle Sounders

Read recap here.

San Jose Earthquakes [4-2] FC Dallas

Having left the majority of their starters back at home, FC Dallas' intentions for this match were clear. The Earthquakes obliged, scoring four first half goals. Dallas were able to put one back just before the end of the half, and another late in the second half, but were totally and completely outclassed by San Jose.

Sunday, October 23rd

Houston Dynamo [3-1] LA Galaxy

The Galaxy brought a majority reserves to the match, and seeing their performance in the Reserves League they had very little chance at getting a result from the get go. Adam Moffat opened up the scoring with an absolute monster of a goal from forty yards out. Bobby Boswell and Carlos Costly accounted for Houston's other two goals, while rookie Jack McBean opened his MLS scoring account with the Galaxy's lone goal.

Capping Off A Fantastic Season

Heading into tonight's match, the Sounders were looking to continue building momentum and rhythm, and I think that it's safe to say that they've done just that. There is one downside to this match, however. The re-injuring of Mauro Rosales. Only eight minutes in he got taken down with a challenge eerily similar to the one by DC's Daniel Woolard that caused his initial injury. Fortunately, things don't initially look as dire, but we'll just have to wait and see.

Past the injuring of Rosales, the first half was largely uneventful. Both Fredy Montero and Alvaro Fernadez had good looks on goal, but couldn't sneak anything past Dan Kennedy. The game really opened up in the second half, however. The Sounders got on the board first, but it wasn't one of their players that scored. Amidst chaos in the box largely caused by the buzzing around of Montero, Andrew Boyens accidentally heeled the ball into his own net in the fifty third minute. That then opened the door for Fernandez who struck home his ninth goal of the season fifteen minutes later, neatly side-footing the ball past Kennedy. Second-half sub Sammy Ochoa then added a third, making an excellent run and knocking a Montero cross home with a diving header. Chivas were able to put one back through substitute Victor Estupinan, but by then the damage was to great to recover from.

Chivas may have dominated in terms of stats like total shots and possession, but the Sounders quality was ultimately on showcase. Hopefully the Sounders can do much of the same as they enter the play-offs next week against Real Salt Lake.

Rosales Is The Key

As Saturday night's match wore on, things were looking pretty dire for the Sounders. Down a goal thanks to a sloppy give-away, they're so far overall flat and uninspired performance did not exactly inspire confidence. Despite having Fredy Montero on the field, their attack was largely non-existent, as evidenced by they're lowly three total shots to San Jose's eight by half-time.

Then, in the sixty fourth minute, Mauro Rosales stepped onto the field to a roaring ovation from the 64,000 plus in attendance. He has quickly become crowd favorite, and he soon demonstrated why the crowd loves him so much. In fact, almost as soon as he stepped onto the field he made his impact on the match, the teams effectiveness and creativity in attack easily doubled. He assisted on two near misses by both forwards Montero and Ochoa, demonstrating the dimension that he brings to the right wing that the Sounders were really beginning to sorely miss.

Not only is it his effectiveness in attack that boosted the Sounders, but also his leadership and incredible work-rate. With these qualities he lifts every single player around him, arguably not only making them look better but also perform at a higher capacity. While the Sounders have continued to be successful in his absence, winning two league matches and their third consecutive US Open Cup, it is by far no surprise that as time wore on his absence was beginning to be felt. Nowhere was this more obvious than their 2-0 home loss against the Philadelphia Union. Without him, while still high in quality with the likes of Osvaldo Alonso and Alvaro Fernandez, the midfield suffers when it comes to holding the ball in accordance with the attack and in turn becomes increasingly susceptible to the attacking efforts by opposing teams. Both Philadelphia and San Jose played right through them in his absence.

In fact, for these very reasons Rosales deserves not only the Newcomer of the Year award, but Most Valuable Player as well. 

Defensive Errors Hurt The Sounders

A tie would've allowed the Sounders to win the group and face preferable competition in the quarter-finals, but unfortunately defensive errors plagues the Sounders as they fell 2-1 to Monterrey. Once again the Sounders found themselves in a bad position early, as Carreno took advantage of an asleep backline in the third minute and easily fired the ball past an advancing Brian Meredith. The Sounders were able to draw level only a few minutes before halftime, Fredy Montero curling a fantastic free kick just out of reach of the Monterrey keeper into the bottom left corner of the goal. The Sounders entered the second half looking good, but yet another defensive error haunted them. A poor and lazy backpass was easily picked off by Monterrey, and the initial attempt by Humberto Suazo was successfully defended, but the ball fell to Delgado who fired it past Meredith. Try as they might, the Sounders just couldn't find another equalizer. Monterrey's shameful time-wasting certainly didn't help the Sounders' case either. Regardless the Sounders have already clinched their birth in the quarter-finals, so this loss was of little consequence in terms of advancing.

CCL Group Stage Round 6

The sixth and final round of the CONCACAF Group Stage is almost upon us, and every single Major League Soccer team in the tournament has either the guarantee (Sounders) or the likelihood of moving on to the quarter-finals. As always, you can watch the matches through CONCACAF TV.

Tuesday, October 17th

Morelia [2-1] Alajuelense (Highlights)

[Goals: 36' P. Antonio Gabas (Ala), 56' J. Rojas (Mor), 59' M. Sabah (Mor)]
With this victory Morelia draws level with Alajuelense in terms of points, but takes the top of the group on head-to-head. Now the Galaxy must win against Montagua to make it through.

FC Dallas [0-1] Toronto FC (Highlights)

[Goals: 29' D. Koevermanns (TFC), 69' J. Plata (TFC), 81' J. Plata (TFC)]
FC Dallas came out incredibly and surprisingly flat, and Toronto took advantage. They cruised past their fellow MLS side into the quarter-finals.

Seattle Sounders FC [1-2] Monterrey (Highlights)
[Goals: 3' A. Carreno (Mon), 42' F. Montero (Sea), 60' C. Delgado (Mon)]
Read recap here.

Wednesday, October 18th

Santos Laguna [2-0] Colorado Rapids (Highlights)
[Goals: 55' A. Galindo (San), 67' J. Escoboza (San)]
Colorado simply couldn't muster what it took to win, and the points that they dropped at home came back to haunt them. Santos snuffed any possibility of Colorado moving on.

Pumas UNAM [1-0] Tauro (Highlights)
[Goals: 45' J. Cacho (Pum)]
With the victory, Pumas clinch the top spot in the group and move on to the quarter-finals along with Toronto FC.

Herediano [4-1] Communicaciones (Highlights)
[Goals: 8' C. Mejia (Com), 13' J. Barbosa (Her), 41' J. Barbosa (Her), 49' C. Montero (Her), 61' J. Cordero (Her)]
Though both teams were out of contention for moving out of the group stage, Herediano shocked Communicaciones by scoring four goals, three of which were ultimately uncontested. 

Thursday, October 19th

Metapan [3-2] Real Espana (Highlights)
[Goals: 50' P. Suarez (Met), 56' E. Delgado (Esp), 68' R. Sanchez (Met), 82' P. Suarez (Met), 90+2' M. Martinez (Esp)]
Colorado's hopes of moving on fell on this match, a draw being the result they needed. Unfortunately, a wild second half saw Metapan leave the match the winners and the Rapid's hopes of a quarter-final appearance die.

Montagua [0-1] LA Galaxy (Highlights)
[Goals: 29' Juninho (LAG)]
Despite being on the back-pedal for much of the match, Juninho's lone wonder goal was all the Galaxy needed to claim victory and a berth in the quarter-finals.

The Sounders See Their Captain Off In A Big Way

Tonight was all about Kasey Keller, this being his final regular season home match, and he rose to the occasion and proved his status as a legend by single-handedly keeping the Sounders in the match.

Much like last weekend's match against Philadelphia the Sounders started off the match alarmingly flat, the US Open Cup final clearly still taking it's toll on the team. Much like last week, that flatness came back to bite them. After a horrid touch by Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Rafael Baca slipped the ball straight into the path of Chris Wondolowski who slid home his fifteenth goal of the season in the twenty fourth minute. With that goal he draws level with Dwayne De Rosario in the hunt for the Golden Boot, who had scored in DC's match against the Chicago Fire earlier this evening. The Earthquakes maintained the pressure as the half drew to a close, creating several dicey situations on the Sounders, even forcing Keller into a magnificent save that is surely Goal of the Week material.

As the second half unfolded, the Sounders looked much sharper and much more urgent going forward. The addition of Mauro Rosales coming off of the bench after being sidelined for the last few weeks provided a much needed boost of energy and creativity in the attack as well. San Jose kept threatening, however, forcing Keller into making four consecutive saves in the sixty fifth minute. Finally the Sounders found an equalizer in the eighty second minute, and it was who else but Rosales with the assist. Rosales lofted a ball from mid-way up the field and found Ochoa who timed his run perfectly and finished it past Jon Busch, the ball glancing in off of the post. Unsurprisingly, the Sounders weren't done yet. In the eighty seventh minute Alvaro Fernandez found Lamar Neagle at the top of the penalty area, who slid the ball to a completely open Montero who easily slipped it past Busch to complete the come-from-behind victory.

Next up the Sounders face Chivas USA at the Home Depot Center for their final match of the regular season.

Notes

• The Sounders have scored seventeen goals past the seventy fifth minute mark now
• After conceding first, the Sounders have a league-leading seven victories

Around the Rest of the League, Week 31

Wednesday, October 12th

Vancouver Whitecaps [2-1] DC United

The Whitecaps have seemingly found the perfect line-up, winning two in a row now. Camilo Sanvenzo struck in the first minute, and Long Tan scored his first career MLS goal. McDonald nodded home DC's lone goal on fantastoc service by Santino Quaranta to put DC back into the game, but unfortunately they couldn't find an equalizer.

Prediction: Correct

Chicago Fire [1-2] FC Dallas

In a match filled with play-off implications, the Fire surprisingly came out incredibly flat. FC Dallas capitalized and finally broke out of their four match scoreless run, netting two goals. Sebastian Grazzini put one back for the Fire, but by then it was too late.

Prediction: Correct

Portland Timber [0-2] Houston Dynamo

A loss at home to the Dynamo cast Portland's post-season hopes even further in doubt. If they can manage to win their last two matches of the season and have other results go their way they have hope, otherwise they're as good as eliminated.

Prediction: N/A

Friday, October 14th

Colorado Rapids [0-0] Real Salt Lake

In an extremely physical match, the two sides couldn't break down the opposing defense nor convert their chances. After a 1-0 victory earlier in the season at Rio Tinto, RSL claims the Rocky Mountain Cup.

Prediction: Wrong

Saturday, October 15th

Sporting Kansas City [2-0] New York Red Bulls

The early ejection of Thierry Henry due to a clumsy challenge on Roger Espinoza ultimately doomed the Red Bulls, falling to SKC at the expense of goals by Teal Bunbury and CJ Sapong. With the victory SKC clinch their first play-off spot since 2008.

Prediction: Correct

Philadelphia Union [1-1] Toronto FC

Sebastian Le Toux continued his recent hot run of form, striking the Union's lone goal. Ryan Johnson evened the match for Toronto with a nice back-heel. A tie was all the Union needed to clinch their first ever play-off berth.

Prediction: N/A

New England Revolution [0-3] Columbus Crew

New England continues with their defensive struggles, losing their fifth match in a row. With their second win in a row, Columbus is steadily pulling themselves together for a strong finish of the season.

Prediction: N/A

DC United [1-2] Chicago Fire

Deadlocked until the final minute of regulation time, Dwayne De Rosario converted a penalty drawn by Santino Quaranta. That wasn't the end of the story, however. The Fire rallied back in stoppage time and found an equalizer through Sebastian Grazzini, and then a game winner through Diego Chaves.

Prediction: N/A

FC Dallas [2-0] Vancouver Whitecaps

The Whitecaps end their 2011 season with the league's worst road record, a lowly 0-12-5. FC Dallas looks to be finishing the season strong, getting their second win in a row after a miserable four game losing streak. Having their main offensive weapons back on form certainly helps.

Prediction: Correct

Seattle Sounders FC [2-1] San Jose Earthquakes

Read recap here.

Prediction: Correct

LA Galaxy [1-0] Chivas USA

Chad Barret provided the matches lone goal early on into the second half, after a first half filled with frustratingly missed opportunities. Without only one of their stars (David Beckham) on the field, it seems that the Galaxy have a hard time finding the back of the net.

Prediction: Correct

MLS Week 31 Predictions

Wednesday, October 12th
Chicago Fire - FC Dallas: These two have been going in opposite directions, FC Dallas towards the top of the league and suddenly dropping result after result and Chicago towards the cellar and suddenly climbing their way out with result after result. With that trend in mind, Chicago will certainly be the favorite in this match, especially playing at home.FC Dallas, however, will certainly be giving the Fire a fight. Though results haven't been going their way lately, Dallas has certainly been capable of holding their own. If fortune can turn in their favor, FC Dallas can win this match.

Vancouver Whitecaps - DC United: Last week, with a little help from some questionable calls, Vancouver did what no one expected that they would do: defeat Real Salt Lake. Sure Real Salt Lake has been in a nosedive lately, but their still one of the better teams in the league, there is a reason that they're in third place after all. Now Vancouver will be looking for a second consecutive victory in their new stadium, BC Place. DC has the best road record of the East, but they also have issues when it comes to consistency and lately it's been haunting them (recording only four points in they're last five matches). In the match against RSL, Tommy Soehn shuffled the line-up clearly to great success. If Vancouver continues with the new line-up and DC remains inconsistent, they should garner BC Place and their fans with another win.

Friday, October 14th
Colorado Rapids - Real Salt Lake: The second leg of the Rocky Mountain Cup will certainly be one to watch, both teams are in desperate need of a result. Real Salt Lake is in a slump only matched by that of FC Dallas, having lost four matches in a row, and as the season is coming to a close are getting more and more desperate to break free. Colorado was in a similar slump, but a recent victory over FC Dallas remedied their situation. Now, if the Rapids can get a win and other results go their way they can clinch a play-off berth this weekend and that will certainly provide a huge motivation for them. Without their captain RSL's chances are incredibly slim, as they've already proven. I say Colorado wins this one.

Saturday, October 15th
Sporting Kansas City - New York Red Bulls: The Red Bulls have seen somewhat of a resurgence lately, shuffling and bolstering up the defense. Not only were they able to defeat the LA Galaxy, they were able to keep a shutout and that speaks volumes. The key to this success is clearly the movement of Rafa Marquez from central defense to a defensive midfield role. While he still may have issues here and there, he has been thriving in his new role. Meanwhile SKC has continued to get results, consistently in that fight for the number one spot in the East. Speaking of placement, because they're sitting on forty three points, should the Red Bulls get a win they can jump ahead of SKC in the table which will certainly provide further motivation. New York has certainly improved lately, but SKC has proven their homefield advantage of Livestrong Sporting Park. SKC wins this one.

DC United - Chicago Fire: Both teams are on the outside looking in, in terms of making the playoff's. They are the only two teams remaining that don't hold a wildcard spot and still have a chance of sneaking in. Recent form for both sides, however, doesn't inspire confidence in their chances. DC is currently in the midst of a three game losing streak, while the Fire recent momentum seems to be sputtering to a halt. I think the key for DC in this one is regaining their primary cog in the offense, Dwayne De Rosario, after being absent for the last couple weeks due to World Cup qualifier duty with Canada. If DeRo can spark their offense, then DC stands a strong chance of winning. This has the makings for an entertaining match, and at the end of the day I see a team winning. Which one, though, is difficult to say.

FC Dallas - Vancouver Whitecaps: Recently FC Dallas has been in quite the slump, losing four in a row as well as being shut out four times in a row. If the result at Toyota Park earlier this week is any indicator, they've begun to turn things around. They finally managed to break the winning and scoring drought and take all three points in a 2-1 win over a fairly lifeless Chicago Fire. If the Whitecaps recent performances are any indicator, however, winning two straight may not be so easy. After shuffling the lineup, Tommy Soehn has obviously found a successful line-up as they've now managed two straight wins. Despite the Whitecaps' recent form, I think that Dallas has enough quality to get the win.

Seattle Sounders FC - San Jose Earthquakes: When it comes to the play-offs this match is all but meaningless. The Sounders have second place all but locked up and the Earthquakes have been eliminated from contention for a wildcard spot. This match does carry immense meaning in that it is Kasey Keller's last regular season home match, however. As a result, emotions will be high and a record crowd inexcess of 62,000 is expected. Seeing that they have nothing left to lose, and that Chris  Wondolowski is still very much in the race for his second consecutive Golden Boot award San Jose has made it clear that their one primary objective tonight is to feed balls to Wondo's feet and hope he scores.  Keller and the Sounders look to spoil those plans, surely aiming to maintain a clean-sheet to honor their captain and honor him, and their fans as well, even further with a victory. The imminent returns of Mauro Rosales and Alvaro Fernandez definitely bodes well for those hopes. The Sounders should easily win this one.

Sunday, October 16th
LA Galaxy - Chivas USA: The return leg of the SuperClasico doesn't bode well for Chivas USA, nor does their history in the rivalry. By and large season in and season out, the Galaxy have consistently won the two game series. Only once, in fact, do I believe Chivas has actually won the series. They do stand a chance to overturn the 1-0 result earlier in the season due to the Galaxy's weakened state (Donovan recovering from injury, Keane out for the next couple weeks), but the Galaxy's ability to consistently grind out results despite the absence of major players stands in the way of any hope that they might have. One only has to look to the Galaxy's match at Columbus a few weeks back that saw them without all three of their stars, Chad Barret getting the stoppage time game-winner after both teams had been deadlocked during regulation time. I'd be crazy not to favor the Galaxy in this match-up.

Around the Rest of the League, Week 30

New York Red Bulls [2-0] LA Galaxy
New York took advantage of a weary Galaxy lacked any sort of offensive punch. Luke Rodgers netted the first goal after Ricketts saved the initial attempt, and Thierry Henry netted the second to seal all three points for the Red Bulls

Vancouver Whitecaps [3-0] Real Salt Lake
Two questionable penalties converted by Camilo and a questionable ejection stunned Real Salt Lake as the fell to the Whitecaps.

New England Revolution [1-2] San Jose Earthquakes
Chris Wondolowski struck early and late to give the Earthquakes the victort, Benny Feilhaber adding one for the Revolution sandwiched in between. Both teams prior to this match were knocked out of contention for the play-offs, so this match only had pride on the line.

Post-Cup Slump

After the high of Tuesday's USOC final, the Sounders came crashing back down with tonight's 2-0 loss to the Philadelphia Union. Not only were they coming off of that emotional high, they played the match without multiple key players with Fredy Montero out on yellow card accumulation, Mauro Rosales still not one hundred percent and Alvaro Fernandez on the bench coming off of a concussion.

The first half saw Philadelphia dominate in terms of possession and the Sounders largely pinned back in their defensive third, clearing and shrugging off any sort of offensive attempts made by the Union. The second half is when things got a lot more exciting. Brad Evans just barely got the Sounders onto the board first in the early stages of the half, chipping a shot over Philadelphia GK Zac MacMath and having only the woodwork keep the ball out. Then in the sixtieth minute the Union finally struck. Michael Farfan gathered a long ball over the top and took it to the touch line, getting a foot in at the last second as James Riley was trying to shield it out of play and knocking it over to a waiting Freddy Adu who roofed it it over Kasey Keller. The Union then found a second goal ten minutes later catching the Sounders on the break, Sebastian Le Toux crossing the ball over into the path of Brian Carroll who easily finished it past Keller inside the far post.

With this loss, the race for the Supporter's Shield officially ends. To keep it alive the Sounders needed to get all three points, and sadly they left Century Link empty handed tonight. Next-up the Sounders face the San Jose Earthquakes in their final home match of the season.

The Nosedive Trend

Recently, several of the better MLS teams have taken a bit ofa nosedive. The most notable being FC Dallas, the Columbus Crew, and most recently Real Salt Lake. Up until the last month or so, FC Dallas was in a constant battle with the Sounders for second place. Now, they find themselves firmly in fourth place with only one three points out of their last five matches. Likewise, Real Salt Lake was on the rise and in a fight for second place, but now have lost a concerning four out of their last five matches. Then there is the case of the Crew, who were having a fine season (much better than anyone had expected, actually) until they completely lost their form in their 6-2 loss to the Sounders. They then went on to experience a five match winless run that saw them accumulate only a single point.

Now, one has to wonder what exactly is the cause of sudden nosedives like these. In each case the team was performing well and pushing and shoving for the top spot in their conference, and then all of a sudden they can't seem to find the back of the net (FC Dallas has been shut out four consecutive times and RSL has only managed two goals in their last four) or simply just can't muster what it takes to win. One factor may be exhaustion that is beginning to take it's toll as the season begins to come to a close (especially in FC Dallas' case as they've had to compete in three separate competitions). Another factor may be the absence of key players due to injury or suspension (very true for RSL and the Crew). Whatever the cause, it's kinda disturbing to watch one of the league's top teams go down in flames.

MLS Week 30 Predictions

Originally, this was going to be a league-wide bi-week to allow for lack of conflict with international fixtures. Therefore, all of this week's matches are those that have been re-scheduled due to issues surrounding to original date that they were supposed to be played.

Saturday, October 8th
New England Revolution - San Jose Earthquakes: The worst in the East facing one of the worst in the West, in a match with absolutely no play-off implications because both teams has been mathematically eliminated. I honestly can't pick one team over another, I can't see one having any merits over the other, so I'm calling a draw for this one.

Seattle Sounders FC - Philadelphia Union: The Sounders always find a way to win, whether at the end of an excruciatingly long road trip or if more than half of the usual starters have been rested. They proved that last week at New England, getting two big goals by Fredy Montero to get the comeback victory. Some think that this is a trap game for the Sounders after winning the US Open Cup final midweek, and that has definitely been said before, but that never proves true because of the quality of the team. Their opposition is Philadelphia, and after a lengthy winless streak seem to have regained their form lately, unbeaten in their last five matches. The two players of concern for the Union are Sebastian Le Toux, and their top GK Faryd Mondragon. After having a ho-hum first half of the season, Le Toux has found his form and has exploded from three goals scored to ten, and he will certainly be a threat tomorrow night. While Le Toux may be returning to form, Mondragon is returning to the line-up after getting his arm broken earlier in the season. Zac MacMath has been excellent for the Union, but having the experience of Mondragin back in goal again will certainly be a boost for the Union. Seeing the roll that they're on, and Fredy Montero's current form, the Sounders should have little trouble winning this one.

ECS Celebrate USOC Final With Fantastic Tifo

As you can see in the video, in celebration and commemoration of the Sounders third consecutive US Open Cup final, the ECS unveiled quite an amazing Tifo. If you're familiar with the ECS, they're proficiency with the art of the Tifo is nothing new. They come up with one for just about every major home-event for the Sounders, and while the display for the inaugural MLS Cascadia rivarly match against the Timbers is no doubt their best effort so far, this one ranks up there with the best.

The Sounders Make It Three

Both teams entered this match looking to make history, the Sounders looking to be the first team in over forty years to win three in a row and Chicago looking to be just the third team in the tournament's history to claim five cups (Bethlehem Steel and Maccabi Los Angeles the other two). Despite the two being deadlocked for the majority of the match, two of the Sounders key players came through in the end and brought yet another US Open Cup to the Emerald City.

Though the match was deadlocked until the seventy seventh minute, there was plenty of action to be seen. The most notable chances came for the Sounders, both involving woodwork. First, Montero hammered a shot from long range off of the left post in the dying minutes of the first half. Then, early in the second half Mike Fuctio was able to pop the ball over Chicago GK Sean Johnson but the ball only managed to strike the right post. In fact, most of the fight was in Chicago's defensive third of the field. The Sounders finished the match with a whopping twenty seven total shots to Chicago's paltry six.

The Sounders finally broke through both the deadlock and Chicago's tight defense in the seventy seventh minute. Jeff Parke made the initial attempt on goal off of a corner kick taken by Erik Friberg, Sean Johnson saving the header. Montero was waiting for the rebound, however, smashing the ball into the back of the net. The Sounders finally broke through after maintaining enormous amounts of pressure on Chicago, and as the match entered it's closing stages the Sounders kept up that pressure ultimately leading to their second. In the last minute of stoppage time Osvaldo Alonso got the ball right above the penalty area, and made a fantastic run into the box running past and shaking off all of Chicago's defense before easily and cooly slip the ball home.

Not only did the Sounders make history with their performance on the field, the fans filling Century Link Field made their own history as well. Last year the Sounders smashed the attendance record for a USOC final, setting it 31,311. They've done it once again, drawing just over four thousand more fans, setting the record at 35,615.

Notes

• Another marquee match for the league took place tonight, the LA Galaxy visiting the New York Red Bulls. The Red Bulls pulled off a shocking upset topping the Galaxy 2-0 on goals by Luke Rodgers and Thierry Henry.

The Death Of A Classic

During today's Let's Talk iPhone event, Apple made it pretty clear that they have no intent on continuing with the venerable iPod Classic. While they didn't outright make any sort of statement, their lack of acknowledgement of the Classic being a part of the iPod family speaks volumes.

Speaking of the rest of the family, they receive only modest updates. The Nano only gets some modest interface changes for ease of use, an FM radio, and slight prices drops. The iPod Touch will be available in white much like the iPhone and iPad, and like the Nano will see a price cut. Then there's the Shuffle, which saw virtually no changes.

Killing off the Classic seems like a really bad move to me, because without it they no longer have a media player with a capacity of at least a hundred gigabytes and that'll leave a pretty big void in the iPod line.

What are your thoughts?

Match Prediction: US Open Cup Final

Up until recent weeks I would have said that the Sounders would have little trouble in winning their third consecutive Open Cup, but the Fire's current form and the boost from their recent victory over RSL at Rio Tinto could complicate matters for the Sounders.

The Fire is definitely not the same team that the Sounders encountered both back in April and early June, that saw the Sounders win 2-1 and both teams settling for a nil-nil draw. The mid-season acquisitions of Pavel Pardo and Sebastien Grazzini have breathed new life into Fire, having only experienced one loss since mid-August. Not only have new signings helped, but improved performance from pre-existing players (primarily Dominic Oduro) has played a major part in their recent success. Where previously Oduro had been squandering excellent chances and opportunities, now he seems to be consistently put them away.

While Chicago has added two vital pieces to their team, the Sounders have lost two of their key pieces. First came the loss of Steve Zakuani to a broken leg and then O'Brian White to blood clot issues, both of whom accounted for both goals in the Sounders first encounter with Fire. Fortunately, with the loss of those two came the advent of Mauro Rosales and Alvaro Fernandez, who combined account for thirteen of the Sounders fifty one goals and twelve assists. One problem, however, is the recent injury of Rosales. He looks to be set for a return in the Open Cup, but nothing is guaranteed. Whether or not Roslaes returns or not, the Sounders have proven time and again that they can continue to grind out victories despite the loss of key players. Also questionable for the Final is James Riley, who has missed the last few matches due to a concussion. From the way things sound, he should be ready to go for this match. Past the injuries, the real focus for the Sounders is the red-hot form of Fredy Montero. In his last five matches he has recorded either a goal or an assist, even going so far as to netting a brace in two consecutive league matches. Another important factor is the resting of key players such as Jeff Parke and Ozzie Alonso during last weekend's match against New England. Having key players like that completely rested and ready to go further increases the Sounders chances.

Considering the resting of multiple key players, Montero's current form, and the possible return of Rosales, despite Chicago's recent form the Sounders should have little trouble winning their third consecutive Open Cup.

Record-Breaking Month

Views per day last month, peaking at 35 on September 20th

As you can see from these graphs, last month was my most popular month ever. I smashed my record for most posts in a month (30 up from 22 in August) and not surprisingly, as a result I've smashed my previous record for total views in a single month (319 up from 249). To go with that total increase in views, a whopping three posts from September (all three CCL coverage posts) have made it into the ranks of Most Viewed Posts, one just two views shy of tying the record.

Already, I'm off to a running start for the month of October with 36 views in just the first two days. Here's to hoping and looking forward to another record-breaking month!

A graph of total views, the last two months have seen incredible growth in views

Around the Rest of the League, Week 29

Sporting Kansas City [2-1] Columbus Crew

SKC has completed their quest from last to first in the East, and Columbus continues their nose dive. At this rate, Columbus is going to lose their play-off berth.

Prediction: N/A

Real Salt Lake [0-3] Chicago Fire

An early goal by Marco Pappa and red card for Kyle Beckerman, gave every indication of ow this match was going to end. Pappa added two more to complete the hat trick and RSL lost their second match in a row.

Prediction: N/A

Philadelphia Union [3-2] DC United

An exciting first half saw four goals within the first half hour, two from Sebastien Le Toux and responding goals from Andy Majar and Dwayne De Rosario. Michael Farfan permanently gave the Union the lead again mid-way through the second half.

Prediction: Wrong

Houston Dynamo [1-1] Chicago Fire

Resting multiple key players (Pappa, Pardo, Nyarko) in anticipation of the Open Cup final on Tuesday, Chicago entered the match significantly weakened. Houston struck first through Colin Clark, but Dominic Oduro was able to net an equalizer before getting taken off for an injured ankle.

Prediction: N/A

New England Revolution [1-2] Seattle Sounders FC

Read recap here

Prediction: Correct

Toronto FC [1-1] New York Red Bulls

Toronto struck first through Danny Koevermans, who now has seven goals in his last nine matches, but New York answered with less than two minutes left in regulation time with a clutch goal by Thierry Henry (view here).

Prediction: N/A

Colorado Rapids [1-0] FC Dallas

With this result, one team finds hope (Rapids) and the other further despair (Dallas). FC Dallas found themselves shut-out for a fourth consecutive time as the Rapids got their single goal through a Drew Moor header. Much like Columbus, FC Dallas are sinking fast. If they continue at this pace, they will find themselves out of the play-offs.

Prediction: Wrong

San Jose Earthquakes [1-1] Sporting Kansas City

This match remained deadlocked at 0-0 until the eighty sixth minute when Chris Wondolowski struck for the Earthquakes, but their elation was short lived. Literally immediately on the re-start after the goal, SKC struck back through Teal Bunbury.

Prediction: N/A

LA Galaxy [2-1] Real Salt Lake

The absence of their captain Kyle Beckerman proved to be too much of an obstacle for RSL to overcome, striking first through Fabian Espindola off of a corner but ultimately falling to the Galaxy on a Chad Barret goal and own goal.

Prediction: Correct

Columbus Crew [2-1] DC United

Columbus finally finds themselves out of that horrific nose dive, getting their first victory since August 27th. Daniel Woolard put DC ahead in the first half, but leveled the match just minutes into the second half with an own goal. Eddie Gavin gave Columbus the lead through a fantastic diving header.

Prediction: Wrong

Vancouver Whitecaps [0-1] Portland Timbers

The closing match of Empire Field didn't at all go in Vancouver's favor, falling 3-1 to the rivals the Sounders. Unfortunately the inaugural match of the freshly renovated BC place didn't go in their favor either. Kenny Cooper's fantastic volley mid-way through the first half was the difference.

Prediction: Wrong

Chivas USA [0-0] Philadelphia Union

Prediction: N/A

Sounders Depth Shines

Despite fielding a significantly weakened line-up in anticipation and preparation for Tuesday's US Open Cup final against the Chicago Fire, the Sounders depth really shined as they left Gillette Stadium for the first time ever with a victory. Not only did the Sounders' depth shine, Montero did as well getting a second consecutive brace in league play.

Due to the massive line-up changes (six were made in total over the one that faced the Whitecaps), the Sounders started off the first half noticeably unsteady and out of sorts. New England took advantage of the situation and applied constant pressure to the Sounders, creating one dangerous situation after another including a goal that was unjustly called back for offsides. Unsurprisingly, they were the first to strike. Benny Feilhaber swung a corner kick into the box in the thirty fifth minute, right to an un-marked Diego Fegundez who headed the ball in off of the crossbar. Sadly for New England, they only held the lead for a minute and a half. Fredy Montero fed on a defensive error by Ryan Cochrane and cooly knocking the ball in past Matt Reis.

The break clearly did the Sounders much good, as they looked much sharper and more organized as the second half began. It didn't take them long to claim the lead. In the forty seventh, a blocked shot by David Estrada fell to Nate Jaqua who chested the ball down for Montero who easily toe-poked it in past Reis. Ten minutes later the Columbian nearly had a hat trick, heading a Tyson Wahl cross, but Reis was there just barely keeping the ball out of the goal. The Revolution desperately searched for an equalizing goal, but could not find one before the final whistle.