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MLS Seattle Sounders FC

Sounders FC News & Notes

June 23, 2009 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Seattle Sounders FC News Release


Aiming to start the second half of the season in the same fashion as the first, Seattle Sounders FC opens a three-game MLS home stand by hosting the Colorado Rapids on Sunday afternoon in a match featuring two of the top four teams in the West. Game time is 1 p.m. PT on the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field.

With a league bye during the week of Independence Day, the only action next week is the Sounders FC's opener in Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play. Seattle visits the Portland Timbers of USL-1 for a third-round game on July 1 at PGE Park. Kickoff is 7 p.m.

Heading into the home stand Sounders FC (5-3-7, 22 points) owns a five-game home unbeaten streak (2-0-3). After Colorado, Seattle hosts Houston on July 11 and Chicago on July 25. In between is the nationally-televised friendly with England's Chelsea FC on July 18.

Seattle has earned five points from its last three games, defeating San Jose, 2-1, before drawing with D.C. United, 3-3 at home, and New York, 1-1 on the road. Sounders FC is third in the West and owns the fourth-best point total in MLS.

Colorado is fast closing ground in the Western Conference, having won 3-0 over D.C. United last Saturday. The Rapids (5-2-5) are now undefeated in seven games since April 25 and they are just two points behind Seattle in the West with three games in hand.

This will be the fourth meeting between the two clubs. They met in the final preseason friendly on March 12 (Colorado won, 1-0) on Xbox Pitch. Seattle defeated the Rapids, 4-1, in an Open Cup Play-In at Starfire Sports Stadium on April 28. The two teams settled for a 2-2 draw at Colorado on May 23.

Sunday's match will be aired live on KONG 6/16 and News Talk 97.3 KIRO FM. Kevin Calabro will be paired with Ty Keogh in the booth. Calling the game in Spanish on THIS-TV (Comcast channel 114) will be Jaime Mendez with analysis from Hugo Alcaraz-Cueller, and on 1210 AM Ke Buena will be Rene Aleman, Noe Menendez and Victor Hernandez.

The Open Cup match at Portland on July 1 will be televised live on FSN beginning at 7 p.m.

To purchase tickets to future home games, call 1-877-MLS-GOAL or visit www.SoundersFC.com.

Upcoming Competition Schedule (All times Pacific)

Sunday, June 28, 1:00 p.m. - Colorado Rapids; Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field

Wednesday, July 1, 7 p.m. - at Portland Timbers; PGE Park, Portland, Ore. (U.S. Open Cup)

Saturday, July 11, 1:00 p.m. - Houston Dynamo; Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field

Saturday, July 18, 12 p.m. - Chelsea FC; Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field (Friendly)

Saturday, July 25, 12 p.m. -Chicago Fire; Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field

Upcoming Training Schedule, June 24-30 (subject to change):

Wednesday, June 24 - Training at Starfire Sports Complex, 4 p.m.

Thursday, June 25 - Training at Starfire Sports Complex, 10 a.m.

Friday, June 26 - Training at Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field, 10 a.m.

Saturday, June 27 - Training at Starfire Sports Complex, 10 a.m.

Monday, June 29 - Training at Starfire Sports Complex, 10 a.m.

Tuesday, June 30 - Training tbd

Upcoming Training Schedule, June 24-June 30(subject to change):

Wednesday, June 24 - Training at Starfire Sports Complex, 4 p.m.

Thursday, June 25 - Training at Starfire Sports Complex, 10 a.m.

Friday, June 26 - Training at Qwest Field, 10 a.m.

Saturday, June 27 - Training at Starfire Sports Complex, 10 a.m.

Monday, June 29 - No Training

Tuesday, June 30 - Training at Starfire Sports Complex, 10 a.m.

Rebooting the Season

Coach Sigi Schmid gave the players two days off after returning from New York, with a rare afternoon training session on June 24 signaling the start of the second half. The eight days between the Red Bulls and Rapids matches is the longest since March, when nine days separated the first two games. Seattle started its inaugural campaign with three straight wins but has not managed consecutive victories since.

Fredy's En Fuego

Forward Fredy Montero finished the first half of the season just as hot as he started it. Montero has scored in three straight games and he has totaled four goals and three assists in the last six. He is now third in MLS scoring with seven goals and four assists. Montero began the season by earning March Player of the Month after scoring three times in the first two matches.

Upon Review: Jaqua Scores

Nate Jaqua, Montero's running mate up front, scored his fourth goal of the season in the draw with D.C. United. Originally the score was judged an own goal when Jaqua's shot caromed off a defender and into the net. Upon review by MLS officials, the goal and assist were credited to Jaqua and Montero, respectively. During Jaqua's seven-year career, June has been his most productive month, with 12 goals in 24 MLS games. He missed the June 13 game with San Jose as a result of receiving a red card the week prior. His game-tying goal against Columbus on May 30 earned MLS Goal of the Week.

Marshall Leaving Town

Following Sunday's game, central defender Tyrone Marshall will report to the Jamaica National Team for duty during the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Marshall has 65 caps for and has served as the Reggae Boyz captain February friendly with Nigeria. He last played for his country in a February 11 friendly with Nigeria. Jamaica will face Canada (July 3), Costa Rica (July 7) and El Salvador (July 10) in Gold Cup group play.

Smith Back in Seattle

Jarrod Smith will return to training this week after completing his call-up to the New Zealand National Team for much of June. Smith started and played 55 minutes of a June 6 friendly with Botswana, one of three preparation games for the FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa. He did not see action in any of the All Whites' three Confederations Cup games. Smith, on the disabled list for MLS games since the start of the season, made his only Sounders FC appearance in an Open Cup Play-In on April 28.

Matinee Idols

Seattle's next four home games, including the Chelsea FC friendly on July 18, will all be played in the afternoon. Five of the final seven home MLS games start at either 12 noon or 1 p.m. To date, Sounders FC has played two days games, winning at Toronto, 2-0, on April 4 and tying Los Angeles at home, 1-1, on May 10.

Chasing History

At 5-3-7 through the first 15 games, Seattle is off to the best start for an MLS expansion franchise since the Chicago Fire (10-5-0) in 1998. Miami and Chicago are the only expansion teams to reach the playoffs, with the Fire winning both the MLS Cup and the U.S. Open Cup in its first season.

Previous Expansion Starts

Team 15 Games 16 Games 1st Season Notes

Chicago (1998): 10-5-0 11-5-0 Won MLS Cup, U.S. Open Cup

Miami (1998): 5-10-0 6-10-0 1st round playoffs

Salt Lake (2005): 3-9-3 3-9-4 Finished 5th, West

Chivas USA (2005): 1-11-3 1-12-3 Finished 6th, West

Toronto (2007): 5-7-3 5-7-4 Finished 7th, East

San Jose (2008): 3-10-2 3-10-3 Finished 7th, West

Seattle (2009): 5-3-7

Crowds to Swell

Due to the demand for Sounders FC tickets, the club is expanding its seating capacity beginning with Sunday's match with Colorado. The configuration will be the same as used for the inaugural game on March 19. Seating capacity for Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field will be approximately 32,400 with the addition of seats in the south end zone of the stadium's lower bowl. The team will utilize the full stadium capacity of 67,000 for Chelsea and FC Barcelona.

Attendance Record

Sounders FC is the first franchise in MLS history to have 28,000 or more fans at seven consecutive regular season or postseason home games. Each of the first eight games on Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field has sold out. The inaugural March 19 match drew the largest crowd in franchise history as 32,523 fans watched the Sounders FC defeat New York. The May 30 match with Columbus attracted the second-largest crowd to date (29,126). Seattle leads MLS with a seven-game average of 29,364.

Chelsea Tickets on Sale

Tickets for the Sounders FC-Chelsea match on July 18 are now on sale. To purchase, call 1-800-745-3000, all Ticketmaster outlets or the Qwest Field Box office, or visit www.SoundersFC.com.

Gold Cup Tickets on Sale

The two-time defending champion USA will play a first-round match of the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup on Saturday, July 4, on the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field. The U.S. will face Grenada at 6 p.m. PT in the second match of the Gold Cup double header. The first match will feature Haiti and Honduras at 4 p.m. PT. For ticket purchases and information visit www.Ticketmaster.com, www.GoldCup.org and www.CopaOro.org.

Barcelona Tickets on Sale

Tickets for the Sounders FC match with reigning European champion FC Barcelona went on sale to the public on June 15, at 10 a.m. Tickets will be available at www.SoundersFC.com or by calling 1-800-745-3000.

Barca will play Sounders FC on the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field on Wednesday, August 5. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. (PT).

Sounders FC season ticket holders have received tickets to the game as part of their 18-match package, which also includes Chelsea and the MLS Cup.

FC Barcelona - whose heralded roster of international superstars currently includes Lionel Messi, Rafa Marquez, Xavi, Carles Puyol, Thierry Henry and Andres Iniesta - secured its third UEFA Champions League crown on May 27 against Manchester United in Rome.

FC Barcelona has more than 150,000 voting members. Barcelona inspired formation of the Sounders FC Alliance, a supporters association which empowers members to have a vote in the club's direction.

Road Show for Supporters

Hundreds of Sounders FC faithful have made the commitment to travel south for next week's Open Cup match at Portland. The Emerald City Supporters have sold over 250 tickets to date and three other groups-Gorilla FC, Immortal Fury and the North End Supporters--are also organizing travel plans to PGE Park. Portland and Vancouver will join MLS as expansion franchises in 2011.

Week of Firsts

This past week was the first instance of Seattle playing multiple league games in one week. Sounders FC went undefeated (1-0-2) in the three games over eight days. It began with a defeat of San Jose, 2-1, on Saturday (6/13), followed by a 3-3 draw in Seattle's first midweek league game of the season (6/17), and ended in a 1-1 draw at New York.

Osvaldo Alonso, who started the season's first 10 games and was sidelined for two games with a quadriceps strain, returned to the starting lineup vs. D.C. United on Wednesday night and scored his first MLS goal on a 30-yard blast in 38th minute.

Sounders FC allowed three goals in a match for the first time against D.C. United and the match was the first Seattle had not been issued a single caution..

Needed: A Trip to the Cleaners

An unsettled lineup could be one factor in Seattle's inability to earn a clean sheet in the last nine games. Sounders FC posted shutouts in four of its first six games, and all occurred in matches when the central core of Tyrone Marshall, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado and keeper Kasey Keller played the entire match. Seattle's last shutout was against San Jose (2-0) on April 25.

Back Four Shuffle

In the past eight games due to injuries, suspensions, and the unexpected, coach Sigi Schmid has been forced to shuffle his back four each game. Schmid has deployed seven different players and his central defense tandem of Tyrone Marshall and Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, after starting and playing the entire 90 minutes of the first 11 games, played together for the first time in three games against D.C. United on Wednesday. That lasted just one game. Patrick Ianni stepped in at central defense during those games, and Ianni has also been used at right back in place of James Riley. At New York, Ianni played in place of Hurtado, who had taken a flight back to Seattle after his wife gave birth to their first son. Each of the other absences was due to suspensions. Riley and left back Tyson Wahl have started each of the last five matches.

Keller's Nearly Unbeatable

Seattle is 5-1-7 when goalkeeper Kasey Keller goes the entire 90 minutes, including 4-0-3 at home. Keller set an MLS record for consecutive scoreless minutes to start a season (457), and he is the only goalkeeper in league history to post three complete shutouts to start an MLS career.

Leaders of the Pack

Kasey Keller is No. 3 among MLS goalkeepers with a goals-against-average of 0.90. Keller is tied for third in wins (5) and shutouts (4). Forward Fredy Montero is tied for third in goals (7), and tied for 3rd in game winning goals (2). He leads MLS players in fouls suffered (35) and he is third in shots (47). Seattle is the team with most fouls suffered (204) and fifth in fouls committed (173). The 32 cautions is second in the league. Sounders FC ranks third in goals allowed per game (1.00).

Into the Cup

Next week's U.S. Open Cup match will provide a glimpse of the future in MLS as Sounders FC faces the Portland Timbers of USL-1. Portland will field an MLS expansion team in 2011, along with Vancouver. If Seattle advances to the Open Cup quarterfinals it would either host Kansas City or visit Minnesota (USL-1) on July 7.

On the Drawing Board

Seattle will be making its first trip to the Eastern Time Zone since early April when it visits New York. Sounders FC defeated Toronto FC, 2-0, in its first road game on April 4. That game, like Saturday's at Giants Stadium, will be played on artificial turf. Seattle is 5-1-2 on such surfaces. Seattle, with an away mark of 1-2-3, has earned at least one point at every road stop except the Home Depot Center, where it has lost twice to Chivas USA.

Three Now on IR

Seattle has three players on the disabled list. Defender Taylor Graham sustained a fractured third metatarsal of his right foot during training on May 27 and was placed on the IR later that week. He is eligible to return to league play for the July 11 game versus Houston. Graham was in uniform for four league games. He started and played the full 90 minutes of a U.S. Open Cup Play-In game on April 28. Forward Jarrod Smith and goalkeeper Chris Eylander had been placed on IR earlier. Eylander, who started one MLS game and an Open Cup Play-In, is eligible to return as of June 20.

Zach Scott, who has missed the last six games with a partial tear of an abdominal muscle, is expected to participate in full training this week. Of the 26 players on the roster, all but newly-signed midfielder Lamar Neagle have been used during the MLS and USOC play-in games played to date.

Getting Involved

Eleven players have been involved in the 21 goals scored by Seattle to date, including nine different goal scorers: Fredy Montero (7), Nate Jaqua (4), Steve Zakuani (2), Brad Evans (2), Freddie Ljungberg (2), Tyrone Marshall, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Sebastien Le Toux, and Osvaldo Alonso.

Trends to Date

Of Seattle's 21 goals in the first 15 games, 13 have come in the first half and 17 in the first 60 minutes. Only two have come from set pieces, both corner kicks by Freddie Ljungberg. Of the seven games in which Sounders FC has scored multiple goals, five have been at home.

The defense has not allowed more than one goal in seven of eight home games on Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field. Three of the four shutouts have been at home.

15 Game Totals

Seattle is off to the second-best start in MLS expansion history, and has done so despite facing its fair share of adversity. Sounders FC has stayed above .500 through the first 15 games despite finishing five games shorthanded, going 0-2-3 in those contests. Resulting suspensions, injuries and the unexpected have allowed Sigi Schmid to pick his starting lineup from his top players on only four occasions to date.

Score and Earn

When Sounders FC scores, points in the standings have followed, and when Seattle scores first, so much the better. It is 5-0-3 when striking first and 5-0-7 when scoring at least one goal. Each of Seattle's three losses has been by shutout.

Zakuani on FSN's In My Own Words

Sounders FC rookie midfielder Steve Zakuani is scheduled to appear on the FSN series In My Own Words. The debut of his interview will be June 29 at 7:30 p.m. PT.

Sounders FC owner Drew Carey, head coach Sigi Schmid, technical director Chris Henderson and goalkeeper Kasey Keller have previously been on the series.

Taylor Graham to Appear on CBS' Price Is Right

Central defender Taylor Graham will appear on Wednesday's airing of The Price Is Right. The show, hosted by Drew Carey, a Sounders FC owner, will be aired on CBS. Locally, it can be seen on KIRO TV channel 7, from 10-11 a.m. PT.

Rapids Return

Sunday marks the fourth meeting with the Rapids; second league game. Colorado was the first MLS team to visit Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field this season. The Rapids played a dress rehearsal game on March 12 behind closed doors, with the game's sole goal coming from a Conor Casey penalty. Seattle came from behind to earn a 2-2 tie in their first league game played in Commerce City on May 23, and defeated the Rapids, 1-0, in a USOC play-in game on May 26.

About Colorado

Colorado is coming off a convincing 3-0 win over D.C. United. Although the Rapids played without top scorer Conor Casey they had plenty of firepower in Omar Cummings. Scoring two goals and setting-up another, Cummings was named the MLS Player of the Week. Cummings assisted on Colorado's opening goal in the May 23 draw with Seattle. Casey, who scored the second, is currently with the U.S. National Team in South Africa. Casey's eight goals ranks second in MLS scoring.

Last League Game Against Colorado: Sounders FC 2, Colorado Rapids 2

Seattle scored first. In the 17th minute Fredy Montero got his fourth goal of the season. Montero, making a near-post run, received a James Riley cross and shot off the post. The ball ricocheted back to Montero and he converted past goalkeeper Matt Pickens. The goal was Montero's first since scoring three in the season's first two games.

In the 25th minute Colorado's Colin Clark evened the score. Omar Cummings sent in a cross from Clark coming from the far-post and redirected it right for his second goal this season.

Seattle keeper Kasey Keller was able to get a finger on a Conor Casey header hammered point-blank in the 35th minute, and in first-half extra time made another sprawling save and poked the ball away off the foot of Nick LaBrocca in a one-on-one situation.

The Rapids took the 2-1 advantage early in the second half. Casey got past a two defenders in the box using a step over move, delivered far post with his left foot and the ball deflected off Seattle's Peter Vagenas and past Keller for the go-ahead in the 47th minute.

Nate Jaqua scored the equalizer in the 76th minute. The play was set up by a Riley cross to Montero, who headed the ball down to Jaqua and he knocked it past Pickens for his second goal of the season.

Sigi's Final Countdown

Schmid is approaching the summit of two MLS coaching categories. The league's active leader in wins (118), Schmid is six wins shy of Bob Bradley's MLS record 124 victories. New England's Steve Nicol is No. 2 among active coaches in wins (90) and No. 3 overall. Schmid (271) is two matches away from surpassing Bradley's MLS record of 272 career games coached.

More About Schmid

Schmid's career mark against Colorado is 14-9-7 in regular season play, and 5-1-0 in playoffs.

Current Training Squad

The following players begin the week training in Seattle: Goalkeepers (4): Terry Boss*, Ben Dragavon*, Chris Eylander, Kasey Keller; Defenders (9): Evan Brown, Taylor Graham, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Patrick Ianni, Tyrone Marshall, James Riley, Zach Scott, Nathan Sturgis, Tyson Wahl; Midfielders (8): Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans, Michael Fucito*, Stephen King, Sebastien Le Toux, Freddie Ljungberg, Sanna Nyassi, Peter Vagenas; Forwards (7): Kevin Forrest, Nate Jaqua, Roger Levesque, Fredy Montero, Lamar Neagle, Jarrod Smith, Steve Zakuani.

Check out the Seattle Sounders FC Statistics



Major League Soccer Stories from June 23, 2009


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