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Seattle Sounders FC

Sounders FC News & Notes

March 2, 2009 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Seattle Sounders FC News Release


With the Major League Soccer opener less than three weeks away, the Seattle Sounders FC completes its Argentina preseason tour this week with two training games in Buenos Aires. Hours after the fifth and final game, the team boards its flight to begin the long trip home. Training in Seattle begins on March 9 at the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field.

Sounders FC is unbeaten (3-0-1) in its last four preseason matches and 6-1-1 overall. The March 2 meeting with Velez Sarsfield was canceled due to heavy rains the previous night, leaving the field unplayable.

Seattle opened the Argentina trip on February 27 with a 3-1 win over Estudiantes de La Plata's selection comprised of first team reserves and younger prospects. On the following day it tied CED Rosario 1-1.

During the three-game win streak, which included wins over the University of Portland and the Vancouver Whitecaps FC, the attack produced 11 goals, with Fredy Montero and Nate Jaqua involved in nine of them.

No moves were necessary to make Seattle's roster compliant with MLS rules by the March 2 league deadline. There are 26 players, both signed and invitees, training in Argentina. Midfielders Freddie Ljungberg and Peter Vagenas will join the team upon its return to Seattle. Clubs are permitted to keep 20 senior players and four developmental players under contract.

The final preseason match for Sounders FC will be March 12, a closed-door game against the Colorado Rapids. The MLS season opens March 19 with Sounders FC hosting the New York Red Bulls in a game to be nationally televised on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes.

Preseason Competition Schedule

Tuesday, March 3, 10:30 A.M. local (4:30 A.M. PT) - at Tristán Suárez

Thursday, March 5, 9:30 A.M. local (3:30 A.M. PT) - at River Plate

Thursday, Mar. 12, 6:30 P.M. - Colorado Rapids; Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field (closed)

Upcoming Training Schedule, March 3-11 (subject to change):

Wednesday, March 4 - Training in Buenos Aires, 10 a.m.

Monday, March 9 - Training on the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field, 10 a.m.

Tuesday, March 10- Training on the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field, 10 a.m.

Wednesday, March 11- Training on the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field, 10 a.m.

Home Opener Sold Out

Single game tickets for the Seattle Sounders FC inaugural home opener on March 19 sold out this morning. Sounders FC will kick off the 2009 Major League Soccer season at Qwest Field versus the New York Red Bulls with more fans than originally planned.

Due to the anticipation and tremendous enthusiasm from soccer fans, the seating configuration for the March 19 home opener has been expanded to 32,400. Sounders FC will also cap season tickets at 22,000. The team recently surpassed 20,000 season tickets, the largest season ticket base in Major League Soccer.

The seating configuration for regular season matches will be increased to 27,700 seats, making it one of the larger venues in Major League Soccer. The upper bowl of Qwest Field will be covered to create a more intimate atmosphere.

Season tickets will be capped to accommodate group, partial season and single game ticket sales. Season tickets consist of 18 home matches, including the March 19 home opener and July 18 match versus English Premier League power, Chelsea FC.

Single game tickets for all other home matches are available at www.SoundersFC.com or by calling 877-MLS-GOAL. Individual game ticket prices per match are $20, $25, $30, $39 and $45. Ticket prices in Club Wells Fargo are $49 and $85 per match.

The Sounders FC also offers seven-game partial season ticket packages. There are two packages to choose from starting at $126 per pack.

Argentina Training Squad

The following players began the week training in Argentina: Goalkeepers (3): Evan Bush, Chris Eylander, Kasey Keller; Defenders (10): Evan Brown, Taylor Graham, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Patrick Ianni, Jared Karkas, Tyrone Marshall, James Riley, Zach Scott, Nathan Sturgis, Tyson Wahl; Midfielders (8): Ely Allen, Osvaldo Alonso, Ryan Caugherty, Brad Evans, Michael Fucito, Stephen King, Sebastien Le Toux, Sanna Nyassi; Forwards (5): Jeff Clark, Nate Jaqua, Roger Levesque, Fredy Montero, Steve Zakuani.

Postcard from Buenos Aires

Seattle's training headquarters in Buenos Aires is the home of Argentinos Juniors, a first division team most famous for producing a young Diego Maradona, once considered the world's top player and inspiration for Argentina's 1986 World Cup championship. He now coaches his national team.

Coach Sigi Schmid and his staff attended two games as spectators during the first three nights. They watched Estudiantes defeat Bolivia's Universitario, 1-0, in a Copa Libertadores group stage game and the next evening saw Banfield beat Rosario Central, 3-1, in a first division game.

For last Sunday's first division match between Boca Juniors and Huracán, all players, coaches and staff who went witnessed firsthand the impassioned atmosphere of La Bombonero stadium. They stayed until the final whistle despite a thunderstorm which resulted in a drenching rain and, at times, hail, particularly in the final 20 minutes. Boca prevailed, 3-1.

On Saturday night, the team attended a dinner hosted by their tour director at his home. The team presented a Sounders FC jersey to the director following the meal. They were treated to a performance of traditional Argentinean music and dances, including the tango. The evening concluded with a magic act.

Last Week's Preseason Game Recaps

Sounders FC 3, Estudiantes de La Plata 1

Fredy Montero ignited the attack in the second half, scoring two goals within a 4-minute span as Sounders FC came from behind in its tour opener. All three Seattle goals occurred during a 12-minute stretch in the second half of the 70-minute match. Nate Jaqua equalized in the 46th minute, then found Montero open on the right for a 2-1 lead on a 24-yard blast in the 54th minute.

Shortly after Estudiantes put a shot off Kasey Keller's crossbar, Montero all but sealed the result with his second goal in the 58th minute. Osvaldo Alonso won the ball deep in the offensive third and fed Montero, who rounded the keeper and scored easily from 12 yards. Estudiantes had taken a 1-0 lead into halftime by virtue of an own goal. Brad Evans and Sanna Nyassi assisted on Jaqua's Seattle opener in the 46th minute.

Sounders FC 1, CED Rosario 1

A second-half goal from guest player Diego Ferrerya earned a draw with CED Rosario, a collection of local free agents on February 28. Ferrerya, a midfielder who plays for local club Tigres, scored less than eight minutes after coming on as a halftime substitute. He finished a 15-yard shot into the upper left corner after taking a squaring pass from Fredy Montero. Stephen King also assisted on the goal. CED Rosario tied the game in the 53rd minute on a penalty kick. Chris Eylander played the entire 70 minutes in goal for Sounders FC. Eylander made a diving save to his left in the 16th minute and full-stretch stop to his right in the 63rd.

Making his debut in central defense was Jhon Kennedy Hurtado. After arriving from Colombia on Wednesday, Hurtado trained once with his teammates prior to the game. In addition to Ferrerya and Hurtado, also making their first preseason appearance were rookie midfielder Michael Fucito and invitee Ely Allen. Fucito, the fourth-round MLS SuperDraft pick out of Harvard, started on the left side of midfield. Allen, a Pac 10 Co-Player of the Year and All-American midfielder at the University of Washington in 2007, had been waived by the L.A. Galaxy earlier in the week. The Kent, Wash., native had played in 12 MLS games last season, starting 11.

Throw-Ins

General manager Adrian Hanauer and technical director Chris Henderson are now with the team in Buenos Aires, having arrived Thursday and Friday, respectively. Argentina print and broadcast media have followed the Sounders FC team to training and training games, conducting interviews with Montero, Hurtado and Keller.

Training Room Report

Jared Karkas (hamstring) is probable for Tuesday's training game. Steve Zakuani (ankle) has been limited to partial training during the past week. Taylor Graham (foot) has been held out of training. Jarrod Smith (hip flexor) remains in Seattle. Peter Vagenas (knee) and Freddie Ljungberg (hip) have not yet joined the team for training.

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