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.

The Sounders defy the odds

The Sounders have persevered against all odds, despite being in the midst of a seven game winless run in league play and facing what is perhaps the best team in the league, and have topped the San Jose Earthquakes to move on to their sixth straight semi-final appearance in the US Open Cup. All they needed was a lone goal in the eighteenth minute from the speedy Cordell Cato, who put the ball through the keepers legs from an incredibly difficult angle. Each side had their opportunities in the remainder of the half, but the Sounders lone goal held up. In the second half San Jose really poured it on, subbing on Chris Wondolowski and Steven Lenhart and repeatedly lobbing the ball in to the box and creating chances for their big and dangerous strikers, but the Sounders defense stood strong and ultimately kept the clean sheet.

The Sounders next face Chivas USA in the semi-finals at Starfire July 10th.

The Fredy and Eddie show

The Sounders kicked off their defense of the Cascadia with a performance that was what could only be described as a tale of two halves, as they went on to salvage a point in a 2-2 draw at BC Place thanks to their reunited attacking force.

The first half had to be one of the worst that the Sounders had ever had the misfortune of playing. While Vancouver allowed them a fair share of the possession, the Sounders offense just couldn't click. To make matters worse, Vancouver was content to catch the Sounders on the counter with disconcerting ease which resulted in the Whitecap's first goal and two other golden opportunities that rookies Omar Salgado and Darren Mattacks sent wide. That first goal came courtesy of left back Alain Rochat, who came streaking down the lefthand side of midfield completely unnoticed and gathered up a pass from Salgado and easily made his way into the penalty area and deposited the ball into the net past Bryan Meredith. Heading into halftime the Sounders were incredibly lucky not to be down two or three goals.

Coming out of halftime, it was abundantly clear that the Sounders got the message. Just two minutes in they found an equalizer, Fredy Montero lobbing the ball across into the path of Mauro Rosales who gathered it up and crossed it into the box for Eddie Johnson who powered the header in past Joe Cannon. The Sounders would continue to press, Montero getting two excellent looks on goal in the space of two minutes, both of which were skillfully denied by Cannon. Despite the constant pressure from the Sounders, the Whitecaps regained the lead through an excellent free kick from substitue Camilo Sanvenzzo who served the ball into the box which managed to evade everyone including Meredith into the Sounders' goal. The Sounders would not let that be the killing blow, and immediately fought back with increased pressure and urgency. It all paid of in the ninetieth minute, when after receiving a headed pass from Eddie Johnson Fredy Montero worked his magic, evading the Whitecaps defense and cooly curling the shot past a helpless Cannon for the equalizer. The Sounders nearly got the game winner in the dying moments of stoppage time, as Zach Scott sent a free header directly off of a free kick from Montero just wide.

Next up the Sounders face the Columbus Crew on Wednesday.

The Sounders keep rolling

 

Despite being on short rest and having to use their eighth different line-up in as many games as a result, the Sounders extended their winning streak to four games and an overall unbeaten streak to five. Not only did the Sounders get the three points, they registered their fifth shutout of the season.

From the first whistle the Sounders dominated the match, defensively allowing only a single shot in the first half and ultimately allowing Philadelphia only a single shot on target while endlessly harassing Philadelphia's back line on the offensive side. Despite the pressure and number of chances the Union's Zac McMath held strong, denying all but one. That goal came in the sixty-third minute, Fredy Montero picked up the ball from Eddie Johnson at the top of the penalty area and slid a beautiful pass to a completely open Mauro Rosales who easily slipped it home into the far corner. MacMath didn't do all the work, however. On two occasions he got a little help from the woodwork, one saw Andy Rose with a header off of the crossbar direct off of a corner and the other a beautiful chip from Montero off of the upper ninety.

After the goal, the remainder of the second half proved to be nervy times for the Sounders as several giveaways and poor passing gifted the Union a handful of opportunities that thankfully they just could not capitalize on. The Sounders held on, though, winning for the third time in eight days and Bryan Meredith earning his first shutout in his first ever MLS start. Now to look forward to next Wednesday, when the Sounders travel down to Frisco, Texas to face FC Dallas.

The legend of Fredy Montero

The curse has been broken, and in spectacular fashion. Leading into tonight's match the Sounders had been winless against the Galaxy since their inaugural season, but one of the Sounders' best offensive performances of the season and an anemic Galaxy lineup saw that winless streak finally and triumphantly broken.

The first half was purely Sounders domination, taking roughly fifty five percent possession and denying the Galaxy any shots on goal. Eddie Johnson highlighted the half with his second strike of the season (his last coming last weekend against Chicago), off of a feed from none other than the captain Mauro Rosales. Rosales received the ball at midfield, took a stride forward, picked up his head and saw Eddie and served in a fantastic ball that Eddie easily headed in past Galaxy 'keeper Bill Gaudette.

The second half saw Michael Gspurning come out after having struggled the first half with a right hip injury, which gave Brian Meredith his MLS debut for the Sounders. The Galaxy began to look more dangerous as the game came to a close, but past a Landon Donovan shot straight at him Meredith's first half of MLS action was largely inactive. The real story of the second half, however, was Fredy Montero's beautiful golazo. He received the ball at midfield from Osvaldo Alonso, took a couple strides forward and upon noticing Gaudette off of his line and performed the audacious, taking a crack from a full thirty five yards out, the ball finding it's way into the top left corner of the goal past a completely helpless Gaudette. There has been frustration voiced over Montero's lack of production, and what a way to satiate the fans and open his scoring account for the 2012 season. You can see the goal in the video below:

Sounders continue their domination of the Fire

Image from mlssoccer.com

The Sounders embark on a hectic stretch of five games in fifteen days with an opportunistic 2-1 victory over the Chicago Fire. Not only that, but with this victory they stretch their undefeated run against the Fire to seven games at four wins and three draws.

After some nervy opening minutes in which the Fire held the vast majority of the possession and nearly gained the lead via Daniel Paladini save for a selfless block by Osvaldo Alonso, the Sounders eased their way into the match. The Sounders broke the deadlock in the thirty-ninth minute, Eddie Johnson feeding David Estrada in the box, whose subsequent pass deflected off of the leg of German international Arne Friedrich. Johnson then went on to win the eventual game-winner in the sixty-seventh minute, poking home the ball amidst chaos in the box after Johnson mishandled a free kick from Fredy Montero. Marco Pappa, who came on as a substitute in the sixty-first minute, added the consolation goal for Chicago, the strong wind aiding his in-swinging corner kick inside the far post past Michael Gspurning.

The Sounders return to action in just three days time, hosting the LA Galaxy on Wednesday.

Unexpected Heroes

Image courtesy mlssoccer.com

The most unexpected of heroes combined for the lone goal of this afternoon's match-up between the Sounders and the Colorado Rapids. Zach Scott provided the goal, a beautiful snap header that redirected the ball inside the far post, off of the assist from Alex Caskey off of a corner kick. Caskey proves to be the most unlikely of the two, despite the goal being Scott's first of his MLS career, as he wasn't even in the starting eleven until he was called upon at the last minute due to an injurie Alvaro Fernandez picked up in training.

There was no lack of action leading up to the goal. After an uninspiring first half that saw the Rapids dominate possession and largely dictate the game, the Sounders came out like they had something to prove and absolutely took it to the Rapids. In fact throughout the entirety of the second half Colorado could only register a single shot to the Sounders 12. The two most notable chances both involved Fredy Montero, one that saw a perfect through ball from Eddie Johnson knocked away by Rapids 'keeper Matt Pickens and another drawing Goal of the Week skills out of Pickens through a beautiful chip that he had to scramble to tip over the bar.

Throughout the week leading up to the match there was much anticipation surrounding the one notable storyline of the match: Brian Mullan's first time playing at Century Link after the injury to Steve Zakuani. The crowd of just over 38,000 did not disappoint in let their ill feelings be heard, boos raining down upon Mullan whenever he touched the ball. Ironically he almost played the spoiler in the match, cleaning up on an Omar Cummings shot saved by Michael Gspurning but ruled to be offside.

Notes

• This afternoon's match saw both Eddie Johnson and Alex Caskey's first MLS start
• With ten points out of five matches the Sounders now average two points a match
• With today's shutout the Sounders' defense has now totalled three shutouts on the season and Michael Gspurning now has a goals against average of just 0.40

Estrada nets another as the Sounders get their second straight win

Heading into the match, the Dynamo were riding on a two match winning and shut-out streak, having won on identical 1-0 score lines away at Chivas and San Jose in the past couple of weeks. Despite showing well early on and throughout much of the match, two early goals doomed the Dynamo as they ultimately fell 2-0 to the Sounders in front of yet another sell-out crowd at Century Link Field.

The first came in the twenty third minute, Alvaro Fernandez taking a corner kick which got headed clear straight into the feet of David Estrada. He took a crack, and the ball easily evaded Houston goalkeeper Tally Hall thanks to a rather nasty deflection on the way in. Initially the goal was ruled as a Geoff Cameron own goal, but after further review the goal was deservedly credited to Estrada for his fourth of the season. The second came just four minutes later off of another corner. This time, however, it was a penalty. As Patrick Ianni was rising to head the ball Geoff Cameron gave him a nice shove in the back, the referee making no hesitation in blowing the whistle and pointing to the spot. None other than Brad Evans stepped up to take the penalty, and despite betraying his placement, easily powered it past Hall for his first of the 2012 season.

Sounders dominate Toronto FC in rebound from Santos loss

Last Wednesday night was definitely one to forget, the Sounders being absolutely dominated by an in-form Santos Laguna side. Tonight's home opener against Toronto FC was seen as a rebound match from that crippling defeat and rebound the Sounders did, David Estrada scoring all three goals to lead the Sounders to a resounding 3-1 victory in front of 38,709 raucous fans.

Just last week Estrada scored his first competitive goal for the Sounders in the home leg of the Champions league quarter-final against Santos, and tonight he was the culprit as the Sounders struck first in the seventeenth minute. Alvaro Fernandez held the ball up well into the box, where he passed it to Estrada who easily stole it off of the fingertips of Toronto keeper Milos Kocic, waded further into the box and easily slid it home through a sea legs. Toronto nearly drew level eleven minutes later, but the stadium collectively heaved a sigh of relief as Ryan Johnson's header clattered off of the post.

Estrada struck once again six mintes after the start of the second half, running onto an excellent through ball and easily striking the ball past Kocic. Johnson, who came just inches away from scoring earlier halved the lead just ten minutes later courtesy of a stunning strike from just outside of the penalty area. The Sounders however, just as they did in the home leg of the Champions League against Santos, were quick to respond. Just one minute later Estrada linked up excellently with Fernandez, performing a one-two and hammered the ball into the back of the net to cap of his hat trick.

Sounders Pick Up Four In Supplemental Draft, Plus One More From RSL

The Supplemental Draft, intended for the distribution of the remaining college players invited to the Combine and left over after the SuperDraft, took place this morning and saw the Sounders pick up four more players plus another via trade after the draft was over. With their first pick, 33rd overall, they selected UCSB defender and little brother of DC United midfielder Chris Pontius, Tim Pontius. Second, immediately after their first pick and 34th overall, the Sounders selected EPL reserve midfielder Jason Banton. With their third pick, 53rd overall, the Sounders then selected University of Washington forward Abdul Aman, And finally with their fourth pick, 72nd overall, the Sounders picked up Cal Poly defender Wes Feighner. Only hours after the draft, the Sounders announced the acquisition of midfielder Andy Rose in a trade with Real Salt Lake for the rights of one of last year's draft picks Leone Cruz.

The most exciting of these picks is definitely Banton. He has many striking similarities to Steve Zakuani. Much like Zakuani he came up through the youth systems in the Premier League, not only that but he is much in the same mold as Zakuani as a player, providing an attacking presence on the left wing. Through these similarities, he definitely has plenty of potential. I certainly look forward to seeing how he developes as a player and how he ultimately fits in with the Sounders.

Sounders Sign Cordell Cato

His signing had been rumored for the past couple of months, and yesterday the club confirmed the signing of the Trinidadian 19 year old. Apparently much along the lines of former Sounder Sanna Nyassi, Cato is said to be a versatile player who can play up top (in fact the news release states him as a forward) or on the wing who has plenty of pace.

It looks like the Sounders are going after regaining much of the pace on the right wing that was lost when Vancouver took him in the expansion draft last year and subsequently traded him to Colorado. The incredibly young age is a great bonus, meaning he'll have plenty of time to develop and settle into the team. It will be interesting to see what sort of role that Cato will find himself playing.

Sounders Pick Up Duran And Sodade In SuperDraft

The Sounders certainly surprised many by selecting Creighton defender Andrew Duran with the first round pick, ignoring some enticing Generation Adidas players like Enzo Martinez and Dom Dwyer in the process. Later with their second round pick they selected UAB forward Babeyele Sodade. As previously mentioned, there was much surprise surrounding their picks, especially of Duran. Those critics are simply looking at the pick according to the players available at the time of the pick, not from the perspective of a team that has has positional needs that need to be fulfilled. While the team finished second in the league last season, defense was becoming a bit of a concern and an area that was promised to be addressed in the off-season; the pick of Duran reflects that. While the team scored the most goals of any team last season, forward was another position of concern, as Fredy Montero was the only forward last season to reach double digits when it comes to goals. O'Brian White certainly looked good early on into the season, but he was quickly sidelined with a blood clotting issue. Sodade is intended to fill the void left by White while he remains out, as well as providing the size that left with Nate Jaqua.

Of Sodade, Schmid said:
"Sodade is a big presence up front, he's got good pace, he showed well at the combine. He's had a good career at UAB and he's the kind of player who could be a surprise guy like [Sporting Kansas City forward] C.J. Sapong was last year."

Of Duran:
"He is a player that's very two-footed. He's comfortable playing on the left side of the center in the back as well as the right side. He was the main defender on the team that was the best defensive team in the country last year so he's got to be doing something right."

Quotes sourced from The Seattle Times Sounders FC Blog

Sounders Announce Signing Of Christian Sivebaek

After having been rumored to be a done deal by Danish sources, today the Sounders announced the signing of Danish midfielder Christian Sivebaek. At his former club, Midtjylland, he played at both the right midfield and and right fullback positions, although it seems that he will mostly ply his trade in the midfield for the Sounders as a back up in the occasion that Rosales isn't available. With his height of 6-foot-3, Sivebaek should prove to be an excellent target for corner kicks.

Technical director Chris Henderson stated in the release: "Christian is a player that we have been following for quite some time, he is a good one versus one dribbler who can provide consistent quality service to our strikers. He has good speed and physical presence."

Sivebaek is the Sounders fourth signing so far this offseason, along with Johansson, Gspurning, and Burch. He clearly provides much needed depth at right midfield, a crippling weakness that the Sounders had the misfortune of experiencing in the play-offs last season after losing Rosales only a few matches from the end of the season. He also provides always needed depth when it comes to other competitions as well.

Sounders Hire Ross Fletcher Of BBC As Arlo Replacement

Today the Sounders announced that they had hired Arlo White's replacement, Ross Fletcher of the BBC. In addition, they've also signed former goalkeeper and US legend Kasey Keller as a color commentator. Fletcher has spent the last five years as a soccer commentator and reporter for the BBC.

In the release, team majority owner Joe Roth stated in the release: "Ross and Kasey will bring a new dimension and perspective to Sounders FC broadcasts, the combination of Ross' experience and Kasey's knowledge gives us a sensational 1-2 punch which our fans deserve."

There are some fans out there complaining about and taking offense to the fact that the Sounders didn't sign an American commentator, despite the fact that it is a well known fact that a good American soccer commentator is a rare commodity. When it comes down to it, what matters is the individuals knowledge of the sport and the passion that they have for it, not their accent or nationality. From the following video reel, it is clear that Fletcher definitely fits the bill in both categories. Check out some of his work in the Youtube video embedded below:

You can read further about Fletcher and the signing here.

Also, here is a great interview with Fletcher from Prost Amerika.

Parke And Evans Called Into USMNT January Camp

News broke today that center backs George John and Omar Gonzalez, after finally getting their chance to prove themselves to Jurgen Klinsmann, had to withdraw from this month's USMNT camp in order to sort out club related issues (it's been reported that Gonzalez might be going out on loan and that John may finally be going over to Europe after making consideration last summer). To fill the void, Klinsmann has opted to finally call in a Sounder (makes that two actually).

The most notable of the two to get their first call up under Klinsmann, and notably their first call up of their career, is Jeff Parke. After getting picked up by New York in the 2004 SuperDraft, he quickly became a mainstay in the Red Bulls defense. Likewise, once he joined the Sounders early on into the 2010 season, he quickly became a mainstay in the back line. It seems that he's finally getting the recognition that he's due.

The other Sounder to get called up is the Sounders go to attacking midfielder, Brad Evans. Although only in restricted capacity, mainly coming of the bench as a right back, Evans has suited up for the US four prior times making three appearances in the 2009 Gold Cup and once in a friendly. Confusingly, rather than voice congratulations and support as they have with Parke, many Sounders fans are voicing confusion as to Evans call up. Sure he's been hampered almost insistently with injury, but that by no means should mark him worthy of such ire and malign. When he can remain healthy, he is one of the major pieces of the Sounders exceptional midfield and is clearly viewed good enough by Klinsmann to get the call up.

Sounders Transfer Rumors

Lately there have been many rumors of new players to join the Sounders (one of them just recently officially announced), and players potentially heading their way out. Below they are summarized.

Incoming

Cordell Cato
A Trinidad and Tobago midfielder who was rumored to have signed a one year contract with the Sounders, while team officials still claim that nothing is official yet. He apparently a Sanna Nyassi like midfielder who will provide pace in the midfield.

Adam Johansson (Officially Announced)
Rumored to have been signed to a multi-year deal and just recently officially announced by the club, Johansson will become the new starter at right back for the 2012 season. He is seen as a much needed upgrade over James Riley with his tactical ability and willingness to join the attack.

Christian Sivebaek
A Danish midfielder who can also play as a right back, has reportedly told the Danish press that he is making the move over to the Sounders for 2012.

Outgoing

Alvaro Fernandez

The Uruguayan has recently been linked with Serie A club Palermo, his agent reportedly confirming interest in making the move.

Friberg Dealt to Malmo FF

Not only was there movement in today's Re-Entry draft, it was also announced by the Sounders today that swedish midfielder Erik Friberg was dealt to Malmo FF. According to Adrian Hanauer in the press release Friberg is looking to start a family and this move makes the most sense, so he and his wife can be in close proximity with family.

Friberg offered the following statement in the release: "I am very proud to have played for Sounders FC and our tremendous fans," said Friberg in the release. "It's been a fantastic year for me, one that I will never forget. I want to thank my teammates, the coaches, the club officials and our supporters for all their help and encouragement. Perhaps in the future, there will be an opportunity for me to come back and play again for the Sounders."

Sounders Lose Noonan, Jaqua and Acquire Burch In Re-Entry Draft

As expected, as opposed to a fairly lifeless first round, the second round of the Re-Entry was quite active. Several clubs picked up one or more players, and the Sounders were among those to make acquisitions. While initially ranking in at the fourteenth spot, the Sounders traded up to the number one spot by dealing out their third round pick in 2014's draft to the Vancouver Whitecaps. With their first spot selection, clearly in a move to fill the void left by the loss of Tyson Wahl, the Sounders picked up DC United left back Marc Burch. Notably, Burch has previously played under Sigi Schmid at Columbus.

Not only did the today's draft see the Sounders make an acquisition, but two losses as well. Immediately after the Sounders made their selection the New England Revolution selected Nate Jaqua, and then in the following selection the LA Galaxy picked up Pat Noonan. Both players have certainly made their contributions to the club, but both have been plagued with injuries during most of the duration of their stay with the Sounders that saw that impact lessened as time wore on. Hopefully the moves work out and they get their share of playing time and serve their new clubs well.

Sounders Sign Michael Gspurning

The months of speculation can finally end, today the Sounders officially announced the signing of Austrian Goalkeeper Michael Gspurning. Prior to being signed, Gspurning played for Greek side Skoda Xanthi.

Of Gspurning, Sigi Schmid said:

“First off, you don’t replace Kasey Keller. What you’re looking for is a new goalkeeper. We like Michael’s background and pedigree. We like his size. He’s got good feet so we can play through him and he’s very good on crosses, takes good angles and has good hands.”


To read the full article, head here.

It's Official: Arlo White Is Headed to NBC

According to this tweet from widely known Sports Illustrated writer Grant Wahl, former Sounders FC play-by-play man Arlo White has been hired by NBC:

The question now is, will White continue with Sounders FC broadcasts much like JP Delacamera and Taylor Twellman calling local Philadelphia Union games when they aren't calling natiionally broadcasted games on Fox Soccer and ESPN respectively, or will he solely devote his time to NBC?

You can read further here.