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.