MLS Seattle Sounders FC

Sounders FC News & Notes

Published on April 2, 2012 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Seattle Sounders FC News Release


Sounders FC Travels Across the Country for First Road Test

The month of April kicks off with the first road test of the season as Seattle Sounders FC travels cross-country to the nation's capital to take on D.C. United. The match is slated for 4:30 p.m. PT at RFK Stadium.

Saturday's match will be televised live on KONG 6/16 with Ross Fletcher and Kasey Keller on the call, and can also be seen in Spanish on KOMO2 (Comcast channel 114). The match can also be heard on 97.3 KIRO FM and in Spanish on La Gran D 99.3 FM.

The road trip will be welcomed by Sounders FC, one of the league's strongest opponents away from home. The Rave Green has won its last five regular season road contests, dating to August 6, 2011, and Seattle was the best road team in MLS last season, scoring a league-high 24 away goals en route to a 9-3-5 record.

Seattle (2-1-0, 6 points) is looking to bounce back from its first loss of the 2012 campaign as a first-half penalty proved the difference in a 1-nil loss to San Jose last weekend. Sounders FC is currently fifth in the West but has played one fewer game than opponents. Sounders FC has won both meetings this year against the East, outscoring Toronto and Houston 5-1.

D.C. United (1-2-1, 4 points) is coming off its first win of the season, downing D.C. United 4-1 at home last Friday night. Maicon Santos netted a brace and an assist as the Red and Black broke out of a scoring slump to capture three points. United is searching for its first win against a Western Conference team this season.

Sounders FC leads the all-time series with D.C. United at 4-2-1, with three wins coming at RFK Stadium. One of the most memorable nights in club history came in Washington, D.C., as Sounders FC won the 2009 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, 2-1.

The pace slows for Sounders FC in April as the club will play a season-low three matches. The lone home contest is April 14 against the Colorado Rapids before the team hits the road again for a date with the Chicago Fire on April 28.

Tickets to home MLS matches are available through www.SoundersFC.com, all Ticketmaster Outlets, CenturyLink Field Box Office or by calling 877-MLS-GOAL.

April Answers

Sounders FC rolls into April with just three games over the next four weeks. It is the lightest month of the season for Seattle but the frequent flyer miles will begin to stack up with two visits to Eastern Conference foes D.C. United and Chicago Fire. Sounders FC are 6-4-4 all-time in April, going undefeated (3-0-2) in 2011. The nine April goals scored last season equaled the output of the first two years combined. The debut of Eddie Johnson could also come this month, who is currently seventh among active players with eight goals in the month of April.

Road to Success

Over the past three seasons, Sounders FC has become one of the league's greatest threats on the road. Seattle was the top road team in 2011, going 9-3-5, amassing not only more victories than every other team but losing just three away games (two fewer than any other club). The club's .676 road winning percentage last season was fourth-best in MLS history. Sounders FC also scored a league-best 24 goals on the road last season.

Overall, Seattle is 20-14-13 away from home. Since entering the league in 2009, Sounders FC is second with 76 road points, just three points behind the L.A. Galaxy. The Rave Green have stayed among the top five in goals on the road with 18 in 2010 (third) and 17 in 2009 (fifth). Fredy Montero is one of the main reasons for Seattle's strong road performance as 17 of his 34 goals have been scored away from home, which is 14th among active players.

Bouncing Back

Sounders FC doesn't lose much, but when they do they bounce back quickly. In their last seven losses over all competitions, Seattle has come back to win the next game, dating back to July 30, 2011. Most recently, Sounders FC came back to beat Toronto FC 3-nil in the MLS opener, just 72 hours after a 6-1 defeat to Santos Laguna in Torreon, Mexico. Overall, Seattle is 18-10-7 coming off a loss in all competitions.

The scoreless output last Saturday was the first of the season for Sounders FC. Entering the last match, the club had scored multiple goals in three of the first four games of the 2012 campaign as well as two or more tallies in eight of its last 11 games, including playoffs. Only once last season did Seattle go scoreless in back-to-back games, and Sounders FC has gone scoreless for two or more games just four times in club history.

Youth Revolution

With the absence of several starters for last Saturday's match, coach Sigi Schmid went with youth, inserting 23-year-old Servando Carrasco in the middle for Brad Evans and 24-year-old Christian Sivebaek on the right flank for Mauro Rosales. The average age of Seattle's attack on Saturday was 24.5 years of age, including the four midfielders and two forwards. The oldest of that group are Alvaro Fernandez (26) and Osvaldo Alonso (26). The average age of the entire squad is 25 and the average age of the offseason signings is 24, including the youngest of the group 19-year-old Cordell Cato.

Rivalry Revisited

In just three short years Sounders FC has created rivalries across the country with the likes of the Portland Timbers, L.A. Galaxy and Houston Dynamo. Yet the rivalry that kicked it all off is that with DC United, which began in 2009 with the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final. After losing the bid to host the final, Seattle traveled to Washington, D.C. to win its first of three Open Cup titles, downing United 2-1 to become the second expansion team in MLS history to win the championship. The good times at RFK Stadium continued 10 days later as Sounders FC returned to beat United by the same score line in MLS play, and a rivalry was born.

Series Notes

Sounders FC holds the series advantage with a record of 3-2-1 against D.C. United in MLS play. Seattle has three wins at RFK Stadium, including two league results and the Open Cup final. Seattle lost for the first time at D.C. United last season, falling 2-1 on May 4. Sounders FC has outscored D.C. United 12-9 in the all-time series, and the Rave Green has scored at least one goal in all six meetings, including two or more goals on four occasions. Conversely, the Seattle defense has shutout the United attack twice. Seattle tends to score late in the half against D.C. as eight of the team's 12 goals have come in the final 15 minutes of either half. Sounders FC has outshot D.C. 92-59 (40-29 on goal).

Fredy Montero leads all players with three goals, three assists and 28 shots (13 on goal) in the series. Chris Pontius has proved to be the most successful striker for United as he has matched Montero with three goals.

About D.C. United

In its 16th season, D.C. United (1-2-1, 4 points) is one of the league's original clubs. United (496) has played nearly four-hundred more MLS games than Sounders FC (97). D.C. finished seventh in the East last season with 39 points and held a 4-5-8 mark at home. United beat FC Dallas, 4-1, in a home match on Friday night for their first win of the season. Prior to the win, the Red and Blacks hadn't won since September 24, 2011, going 0-7-2 in that span. The team struggled to score at the start of the season as they netted just one goal through the first three games before scoring four goals in their previous outing.

Reigning MLS MVP Dwayne De Rosario heads the United attack. De Rosario netted 16 goals with 12 assists last season despite playing for three different clubs. The Canadian international has settled into United's midfield but is yet to open his 2012 account, though he contributed two assists last Friday. De Rosario is joined in the attack by forward Maicon Santos, who scored a brace and an assist last week, Albanian newcomer Hamdi Salihi and U.S. midfielder Perry Kitchen. Chris Pontius, who has started twice this season, also adds to the depth in the attack. Pontius scored seven goals with five assists in 2011, and has scored three goals with one assist all-time against Seattle.

Goalkeeper Joe Willis has started the past three games as Bill Hamid was unavailable due to international duty and injury. Willis has made 11 saves and allowed four goals. The backline has stayed consistent with the likes of Brandon McDonald, Daniel Woolard and former Salt Lake man Robbie Russell.

San Jose Stats Breakdown

The result of Saturday's match against San Jose was determined by a first-half penalty kick, but despite the loss Sounders FC put up a rather solid performance. Seattle held 57-percent of the possession and completed 72-percent of its passes. Seattle (497) out-passed San Jose (384) by over one-hundred and won 52-percent of the duels. Sounders FC also attempted 12 more open play crosses and took a season-high 18 shots; the most since a 3-1 win at Vancouver on September 24, 2011. Through the first two games, Seattle scored five goals off of just 19 shots.

David Estrada is tied-second in MLS with four goals and Alvaro Fernandez is tied-third with two assists. Estrada is top 10 in total shots (T-9th with 12) and shots on goal (T-9th with 7). Michael Gspurning is tied-fourth with a 0.67 goals against average. Osvaldo Alonso leads Sounders FC with 141 successful passes, 13 tackles won (only two lost), 10 interceptions and 34 recoveries.

Seattle Sounders FC 0 vs. San Jose Earthquakes 1 - March 31, 2012

A first-half Chris Wondolowski penalty kick was the difference as the San Jose Earthquakes handed Sounders FC their first loss of the season in a 1-0 result on the Xbox Pitch at CenturyLink Field.

In the 24th minute, Wondolowski gave San Jose the only goal they needed when he converted a penalty kick after Steven Lenhart was taken down in the box. The shot went low and right into the back of the net after Michael Gspurning dove left.

It was first penalty kick of the season conceded by Sounders FC across all competitions. Wondolowski now has four goals on the season.

Despite not scoring, the Seattle attack was active throughout the match. They put up a season-high 18 shots, including six on goal.

In the 34th minute, Zach Scott put an accurate cross into the box that found Osvaldo Alonso, but his header was redirected for a corner kick.

Fredy Montero was very close on multiple occasions. In the 38th minute, a David Estrada cross from the left found Montero rising above charging Earthquake keeper Jon Busch, but his header went wide of the open net.

In the 70th minute, Montero flicked an Alvaro Fernandez free kick that found him in the box, but Busch dove to make the save, and also saved Scott's rebound attempt. In the 84th, Montero played a one-two with Sammy Ochoa, but Busch made another diving stop.

Busch made six saves and earned his third shutout of the season.

Six yellow cards were issued, three to each team--Steven Lenhart, Rafael Baca, and Alan Gordon for San Jose, while Alonso, Christian Sivebaek, and Scott were issued cautions for Seattle.

Defender Jeff Parke entered at the start of the second half for Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, who suffered a pelvic injury.

Sammy Ochoa made his 2012 Sounders FC debut when he came on for Christian Sivebaek in the 62nd minute. It was Sivebaek's first start for the Rave Green.

Midfielder Alex Caskey made his first appearance for Sounders FC when he came on for Servando Carrasco in the 74th minute. Caskey, who played for the Charleston Battery of the USL last season, was signed on March 13.

San Jose midfielder Ramiro Corrales suffered a right ankle injury near the end of the first half. Jason Hernandez subbed for him at the start of the second half.

Sounders FC and Slalom Consulting Announce Partnership

The Seattle Sounders FC today announced a partnership with locally-based Slalom Consulting to present the "Slalom Experience,"an exclusive set of 15 restaurant-style tables adjacent to the pitch that will be available for purchase at every Sounders FC home match. The Slalom Experience will be one of the most up-close-and-personal experiences fans can purchase at a professional sports stadium in the U.S.

The Slalom Experience offers fans exclusive on-field tables for four, as well as food and beverages with dedicated wait staff, a parking pass for the North Lot, private entrance into the stadium, and an on-field photo. A VIP option for fans includes the amenities above, along with a custom Sounders FC jersey, commemorative match scarf for each member of the group, valet parking, and a behind-the-scenes tour of CenturyLink Field, including the interview room, press box, and TV/radio booths.

Slalom has repeatedly earned recognition for not only its consulting excellence but also its community involvement. Every year, the firm's consultants create, organize, and participate in Slalom-sponsored charity and fundraising events. Slalom will donate six Slalom Experience tables to local charities to be auctioned at events this year.

For more information, visit www.SoundersFC.com.

Academy Update

Sounders FC U16 defender Jalen Markey scored a goal for the Under-18 U.S. Men's National Team in a 3-2 loss to Ventura County Fusion (PDL) on Saturday, March 31. Markey was named to the 35-man roster that spent last week (March 25-April 1) at U18 Men's National Team Camp in Carson, California.

Down 3-1 in the 69th minute, Markey rose on a corner kick from Dillon Serna (Colorado Rapids Academy) and headed the goal into the back of the net. It is his first goal playing for the national team. The 3-2 result was the second loss of the day for the U18's as they lost the earlier Saturday game 5-1 to the L.A. Blues (USL-Pro). Markey did not play against the Blues.

This is not the first time the current O'Dea High School student has excelled on a big stage. Back in December at the USSDA Winter Showcase in Florida, Markey was called up to play in the U17/18 Select Team scrimmage after helping lead the Sounders FC U16's to three straight wins. Playing for the "Red" side of the tournament's all-star game, he went the full 90 and assisted on the 61st minute equalizer in a 1-1 draw.

Markey now returns home and will compete again for the Sounders FC Academy U16's as they continue their USSDA Season. Both Sounders Academy teams play April 14-15 at home against the San Jose Earthquakes and Cal Odyssey.

Throw-ins

Marc Burch will be at the Pro Shop Downtown to meet fans on Tuesday, April 3 from 6-7 p.m...There will be a viewing party for the D.C. United game on Saturday, April 7 from 4-7:30 p.m. at O'Blarney's Irish Pub in Olympia, WA...The first MLS Reserve League home match is Tuesday, April 10 against the Portland Timbers at Starfire Stadium...The reserves played a training game on Sunday against Gonzaga University. Sounders FC won, 4-0, behind goal from Alex Caskey, Eddie Johnson, Cordell Cato and invitee Daniel Steres...Fredy Montero, Alvaro Fernandez, David Estrada and Leo Gonzalez will participate in a two man Xbox FIFA charity tournament against fans at the downtown Bellevue Microsoft Store on April 3 from 7-9 p.m. The event will benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society...Sounders FC invites volunteers to participate in a United We Serve event on Wednesday, April 4 from 3-4 p.m. at Merrill Gardens at Renton Centre...Cordell Cato and Babayele Sodade returned to the team after international duty. Sodade suffered a torn ACL in Canada's win over the USA and will be out indefinitely...On April 4, 2009, Sounders FC became the first MLS expansion team to start 3-0-0...On April 7, 2008, Seattle announced that the club was to be named Sounders FC.

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Major League Soccer Stories from April 2, 2012


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