A welcome return to winning ways

For nine straight games the Sounders have struggled to produce consistent results, seeming only to be able to get ties and losses after such a great start to the season that saw them win seven of their nine matches. Tonight, however, they broke free of that dreadfully long and record-setting winless run on the back of brilliant performances from two out of three of their designated players (Fredy found himself on the bench in this one) and the triumphant return of Steve Zakuani.

The Sounders absolutely dominated at the start of the first half, holding the vast majority of the possession and creating dangerous opportunity after dangerous opportunity. As the half wore on, however, Colorado began to work their way into the game. Despite possession in favor of the Rapids at the half, they only had a single off-target shot to show for that slight advantage in possession.

The goals came in the second half. Only seven minutes in the Sounders broke the deadlock, Mauro Rosales finding a completely unmarked Alvaro Fernandez off of a corner kick who easily headed the ball down into the turf and past a diving Matt Pickens. The Sounders then doubled their advantage in the sixty fourth minute, Rosales once again the creator. He found himself free enough on the left side of midfield to loft a cross into the box, where Eddie Johnson easily headed the ball past Pickens for his eighth goal of the season. The Rapids weren't just gonna let the Sounders off easy, though. In the seventy ninth minute second half sub Omar Cummings snuck his way into the box and neatly volleyed an excellent cross from Luis Zapata past Brian Meredith. The Rapids nearly dealt a crushing blow to the Sounders in the eighty fifth minute, but thankfully Lawrentowitz's strike deflected off of an offside Cummings before it found it's way into the back off the net.

Despite the win, the most noteworthy headline of the night was the return of Steve Zakuani to competitive action for the first time in roughly fifteen months. Coming on for Rosales in the eighty seventh minute, the thirty nine thousand plus in attendance at Century Link went absolutely nuts. To make Zakuani's return even more touching was his interaction with Brian Mullen after the final whistle, the two trading jerseys.

Next up the Sounders face Chivas USA in the semi-final of the US Open Cup on the eleventh.