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Seattle Sounders FC

Sounders FC News & Notes

March 1, 2011 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Seattle Sounders FC News Release


Sounders FC Begins Final Phase of Preseason, Hosts Cascadia Summit

With two weeks remaining until the opening match, Seattle Sounders FC is putting the final touches on its roster and preparations the 2011 season. The final phase of the preseason features three home games, beginning with the Cascadia Summit at the Starfire Sports Complex this weekend.

Now back home from Florida after winning its last two training games there, Sounders FC faces the Portland Timbers in the first match on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. PT. Seattle, which enters the week with a record of 4-2-2 in training games, meets Vancouver Whitecaps FC in the Summit finale on Sunday at 3 p.m. PT.

On Wednesday, March 9 Sounders FC hosts the Colorado Rapids in the second annual Community Shield match. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. on the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field. Tickets are available at www.SoundersFC.com, by calling 877-MLS-GOAL, all Ticketmaster outlets and the Qwest Field Box office. General Admission tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for youth (6-17). Children under the age of six are free.

Proceeds from the Community Shield match will benefit the team's community outreach programs. Sounders FC fans helped raise over $80,000 from the 2010 Community Shield match which was allocated to the team's charity partners.

Sounders FC hosts the L.A. Galaxy on March 15 on the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field in MLS First Kick 2011. Kickoff is 6:30 p.m. PT.

Upcoming Training Schedule, March 1-7 (times are local & subject to change):

Tuesday, March 1 - No Training

Wednesday, March 2 - Training at Starfire, 9:30 a.m.

Thursday, March 3 - Training at Starfire Stadium, 10:00 a.m.

Saturday, March 5 - Training at Starfire, 11:00 a.m.

Monday, March 7 - Training at Qwest Field, 10:00 a.m.

Upcoming Competition Schedule (All times Pacific)

Friday, March 4, 7:30 p.m. - Portland Timbers, Starfire Stadium, Tukwila, Wash. (Cascadia Summit)

Sunday, March 6, 3 p.m. - Vancouver Whitecaps FC, Starfire Stadium, Tukwila, Wash. (Cascadia Summit)

Wednesday, March 9, 7 p.m. - Colorado Rapids, Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field, Seattle (Community Shield)

Tuesday, March 15, 6:30 p.m. - L.A. Galaxy, Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field, Seattle (MLS First Kick 2011)

Saturday, March 19, 4:30 p.m. - at New York Red Bulls, Red Bull Arena, Harrison, N.J.

· Rosales to Join Training, Cruz, Earls & Martinez Depart

· Single-Game Tickets Now on Sale

· Kickoff Luncheon Has Limited Number of Tickets Available

· Limited Number of Tickets Available for Cascadia Summit Matches

· Cascadia Summit Matches to be Streamed Live on Team Websites

· Sounders FC to Participate in Inaugural Beach Soccer Club World Cup

· MLS Cup Playoffs Format Announced

· Academy: Sounders FC U18s Host Whitecaps on Sunday

· Throw-ins: Nine Years Since Keller Faced Honduras in Seattle; Washington 1995s Open at U.S. Championships Friday in Phoenix

Rosales to Join Training, Cruz, Earls & Martinez Depart

When training resumes on Wednesday at Starfire, Sounders FC will be joined by Argentine midfielder Mauro Rosales, an invitee who most recently was with Querétaro of the Mexican Primera División. Rosales has played previously for the Argentina National Team, Newell's Old Boys, River Plate and Holland's Ajax. He was a member of the gold medal team at the 2004 Olympic Games. Rosales first trained with Seattle last week in Florida.

Meanwhile, defenders Danny Earls, Leone Cruz and Richard Martinez are no longer training with the club. Seattle acquired Earls and Julien Baudet from Colorado in exchange for midfielder Peter Vagenas on November 22, 2010. Cruz was chosen by Sounders FC in the second round of the 2011 MLS SuperDraft (21st overall) after completing his collegiate career at Southern Methodist University. Martinez joined Sounders FC training in Florida last week after a season with the Puerto Rico Islanders.

Single-Game Tickets Now on Sale

Single-game tickets for the Seattle Sounders FC third season went on sale to the public on Tuesday, March 1 at 10 a.m. Tickets are available through SoundersFC.com, all Ticketmaster Outlets, the Qwest Field Box Office or by calling 877-MLS-GOAL.

A limited number of season tickets are still available. Season tickets may be purchased by visiting www.SoundersFC.com or by calling 877-MLS-GOAL.

Limited Number of Tickets Available for Kickoff Luncheon

A limited number of tickets remain available for the second annual Sounders FC Kickoff Luncheon to be held at Qwest Field on Monday, March 7 from 12:30-1:45 p.m. Guests will sit side-by-side and interact with Sounders FC players, coaches, and team executives.

Fans attending the lunch are also invited to attend the Sounders FC training session that begins at 11 a.m.Tables of 10 include eight guests, plus two Sounders FC personnel (players, coaches, or team executives). Each table costs $800 and individual tickets are available for $100.

To purchase a table please register online at www.SoundersFC.com or contact Megan West at meganw@seahawkssoundersfc.com or 425.203.8102.

Proceeds from the luncheon ticket sales and silent auction will benefit the five Sounders FC charity partners.

Limited Number of Tickets Available for Cascadia Summit Matches

A limited number of tickets are available for the Cascadia Summit matches on Saturday and Sunday at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, Wash.

The Summit opens up with Sounders FC taking on Portland at 7:30 p.m. PT on Friday, and the event concludes Sunday with Seattle versus Vancouver at 3 p.m. PT. Both matches are sold-out.

Tickets are available for the Saturday match between the Timbers and Whitecaps FC at 4 p.m. PT and a very limited number of tickets are available for the Sunday match between Sounders FC and Whitecaps FC at 3 p.m. PT. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at SoundersFC.com or by calling (800) 745-3000. All matches will have designated seating sections for supporters and fans.

The teams will host a non-ticketed Supporters Summit and Coaches Forum on Saturday, moderated by Sounders FC broadcaster Arlo White. The Supporters Summit will be held from 12-1 p.m. and feature representatives from the supporters groups from all three teams. The forum will follow from 1-2 p.m. and include the head coaches from all three teams sharing their perspectives on the rivalry followed by a question and answer session. Both events will be held at the Starfire Sports Stadium.

Another non-ticketed event will be the match between the Sounders FC Academy U18 and the Whitecaps FC Residency team which will take place on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. The stadium will be cleared immediately afterward in preparation for the Sounders FC-Whitecaps FC match.

Parking will be available for fans at the Starfire Sports Complex for $10.

Cascadia Summit Matches to be Streamed Live on Team Websites

All three Cascadia Summit matches featuring MLS teams will be streamed live on each team's website, including SoundersFC.com. Streaming for each match will begin approximately 20 minutes before first kick. Seattle, Portland and Vancouver will provide one host for their match. The host's will rotate as play-by-play and analyst by half.

Sounders FC to Participate in Inaugural Beach Soccer Club World Cup

Sounders FC announced last week that it has formed a selection of world-class beach soccer players to take part in the inaugural Beach Soccer Club World Cup, to be held from March 20 to March 27 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Sounders FC is the sole U.S. representative for the tournament. Seattle will be joining participating teams from FC Barcelona (Spain), AC Milan (Italy), Sporting (Portugal), Boca Juniors (Argentina), Lokimotiv Moscow (Russia) and Brazilian clubs Corinthians, Flamengo and Vasco de Gama.

Chris Henderson, former U.S. international midfielder and now Sounders FC technical director, will serve as the team delegate for Seattle. Henderson participated in the 1995 Beach World Cup.

In a special draft held in Sao Paulo, Sounders FC built its roster by selecting the following players: Zak Ibsen (USA), Yuri Morales (USA), Francisco Cati (Mexico), Morgan Plata (Mexico), Francisco Henriquez (El Salvador), Nico Jung (Switzerland), Ali Karimi (United Arab Emirates) and Francis Farberhoff (USA). Coaching the squad will be Marcelo Mendes of Brazil. Mendez currently serves as coach of the UAE National Team.

Preseason Recap (February 21): Sounders FC 0, FC Dallas 2

Brek Shea scored and assisted as FC Dallas blanked Sounders FC in Orlando. Marvin Chavez scored the Texans' first goal in the 21st minute when Shea found him at the right post and Chavez knocked it past Terry Boss. Dallas added a second tally just minutes later as David Ferreira served a cross into the box that Shea headed just under the crossbar.

Making his first training game appearance of the preseason, forward Blaise Nkufo had a strong header at the far post in the 19th minute but Kevin Hartman was able to make the save. Defender Taylor Graham and forward Pat Noonan also played their first preseason minutes, both going the final 26 minutes.

Dallas played a man down for the final 25 minutes as Andrew Jacobson was shown a straight red for a tackle from behind on Fredy Montero.

Preseason Recap (February 22): Sounders FC 2, Houston Dynamo 2

Seattle rallied from two goals down to earn a draw in its second training game at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando. Fredy Montero converted a penalty kick in the 62nd minute and rookie Michael Tetteh added the equalizer in the 70th.

O'Brian White earned the penalty after he was taken down in the box and Montero stepped up and buried the penalty kick. Montero had nearly scored in the 41st minute but his volley bounced off the bottom of the crossbar and spun off the goal line.

Tetteh raced up the middle of the field and, after exchanging passes with Roger Levesque, put the ball past goalkeeper Tyler Deric to bring Sounders FC level.

Former USL Sounder Cam Weaver put Houston ahead with a goal in the 11th minute when Geoff Cameron found him at the back post. Houston extended its lead in the 57th minute when a Francisco Navas Cobo corner kick was headed by Brian Ching and the ball deflected off a Seattle defender and into the net.

Preseason Recap (February 24): Sounders FC 7, University of Central Florida 0

Pat Noonan and O'Brian White both scored twice, David Estrada recorded a goal and an assist and Mike Fucito scored a goal with two assists in a traditional 90-minute match at Bradenton.

Noonan, who recently returned from injury, scored the game's first goal in the 39th minute when Miguel Montaño found him in the box for a left-footed shot. Noonan added a second tally just four minutes later when he took a ball in the box and slid it past the keeper. He nearly had a hat trick but his header in the 21st minute bounced off the post and was cleared before he could get to the rebound.

The five second-half goals began when Lamar Neagle sent a cross into the middle of the box that was deflected by a UCF defender for an own goal. White extended the lead to 4-0 just two minutes later when Fucito found him in the box.

Estrada was the next Sounder to find the back of the net when he scored in the 61st minute, converting a rebound of a Fucito shot parried by the UCF keeper. White capped off Seattle's run of four goals in seven minutes when he combined with Fucito for the second time. Fucito played White into traffic in the box, forcing the keeper to jump off his line. White slid the ball past the keeper to extend Seattle's lead to 6-0. Fucito finished the scoring in the 75th minute, heading in Estrada's cross at the far post.

Preseason Recap (February 26): Sounders FC 1, Chicago Fire 0

In its final training game in Florida, Sounders FC got a goal from rookie Servando Carrasco in the final minute of the 120-minute match at Bradenton. Following two scoreless 45-minute periods, Carrasco found the net in the last minute of the final 30-minute period. Zach Scott sent a long pass to Roger Levesque on the flank, who dropped the ball to Miguel Montaño. Montaño sent a cross into the middle of the box and Carrasco beat the keeper for the late game-winner.

In its eight training games, Seattle has posted four shutouts and leaves Florida with two shutout wins.

MLS Cup Playoffs Format Announced

Major League Soccer announced the format for the new 10-team 2011 MLS Cup Playoffs.

The first six automatic berths will go to the top three finishers in each conference, based on regular season points. There will be four wild card berths for the next best four clubs based on regular season points, irrespective of conference.

The four wild cards will play single elimination games against each other, with higher seeds hosting (1 vs. 4; 2 vs. 3). After the two play-in games conclude, the lowest remaining seed will face the Supporters' Shield winner in the Conference Semifinals; the other will face the No. 1 seed in the opposite conference from the Supporters' Shield winner.

The four Conference Semifinals will be decided by two-game aggregate series, with each club hosting one game. The two Conference Championships will be single games hosted by the higher seed. MLS Cup will again be a single championship match hosted at a predetermined site to be announced at a later date.

The 2011 MLS regular season concludes Oct. 23. The dates for the MLS Cup Playoffs and MLS Cup will be announced at a later date.

Academy: Sounders FC U18s Host Whitecaps on Sunday

The Sounders FC Academy U18s, leaders in the Northwest Division of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy, will host the Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency in a friendly on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. during the Cascadia Summit at Starfire Sports Stadium.

Both teams have sent players to their respective national team programs. Three members of Sounders FC have been called into the U.S. U18 National Team for training camps or tours. Five members of the Canada U17 National Team which qualified for the FIFA Championships later this year have played for Vancouver in the past year.

Seattle (12-4-4) returns to league play on May 28, at home against California Development Academy.

Throw-ins

Nine years ago, on March 2, 2002, Kasey Keller returned home to Seattle for a U.S. National Team friendly, a 4-0 win over Honduras at Safeco Field played before 38,534 fans...The Sounders FC/Washington Boys 1995s face Georgia in their semifinal match on Friday night at the U.S. Youth Soccer ODP Championships in Phoenix. The Rave Green won their second straight Region IV (West) crown in January. All games will be played at the Reach 11 Sports Complex, including the third-place and championship matches on Sunday

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