MLS Seattle Sounders FC

Sounders FC News & Notes

Published on August 10, 2009 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Seattle Sounders FC News Release


With an opportunity to regain second place in the Western Conference, the Seattle Sounders FC visits the L.A. Galaxy on Saturday night at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. Kickoff is 8 p.m. PT

Saturday's contest will be shown locally on KONG 6/16 and can be heard via webcast on www.mynw.com with Kevin Calabro and Greg Vanney calling the action. Saturday's game will be available in Spanish on THIS TV (Comcast Channel 114) with play-by-play from Jaime Mendez and Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar providing analysis, and on Ke Buena 1210 AM with Rene Aleman, Noe Menendez and Victor Hernandez calling the action.

This marks the third successive road game for Sounders FC (7-5-8 and 29 points), who have lost two in a row and gone winless in the last three MLS matches. Meanwhile, the Galaxy (7-3-10, 31) has won five and drawn once in its last six games. It will be the first league home game for L.A.'s David Beckham since his return from a loan to AC Milan.

Seattle and L.A. have met once before, a 1-1 draw on May 10 on Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field.

The Sounders FC is coming off a 1-0 defeat at Real Salt Lake. Last week the Galaxy defeated the New England Revolution, 2-1, in their first league action since July 25.

Seattle returns home August 20 to host New England at 7 p.m. PT in a match to be nationally televised on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes. It will be the first meeting with the Revs.

To purchase tickets to future home games, call 1-877-MLS-GOAL, visit www.SoundersFC.com, any Ticketmaster outlet or the Qwest Field Box office.

Upcoming Competition Schedule (All times Pacific)

Saturday, August 15, 8 p.m. - at L.A. Galaxy; Home Depot Center, Carson, Calif.

Thursday, August 20, 7 p.m. - New England Revolution; Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field

Sunday, August 23, 5:30 p.m. - at Houston Dynamo; Robertson Stadium, Houston, Texas

Saturday, August 29, 1 p.m. - Toronto FC; Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field

Wednesday, September 2, 4:30 p.m. - at D.C. United, RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.

Upcoming Training Schedule, August 11-19 (subject to change):

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

Tuesday, August 11 -Training at Starfire Sports Complex, 10 a.m.

Wednesday, August 12 - No Training

Thursday, August 13 - Training at Starfire Sports Complex, 10 a.m.

Friday, August 14 - Training at Starfire Sports Complex, 10 a.m.

Sunday, August 16 - No Training

Monday, August 17 - No Training

Tuesday, August 18 - Training on Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field, 10 a.m.

Wednesday, August 19 - Training at Starfire Sports Complex, 10 a.m.

No, Not Three

Seattle has lost two consecutive league matches once before, rebounding from April defeats to Kansas City and Chivas USA to blank San Jose, 2-0, at home. The attack is in the midst of its longest scoring drought, currently three games and 314 minutes, dating back to a 2-1 home win over Houston on July 11.

Colombia Calls Montero

Forward Fredy Montero has joined the Colombia National Team for its friendly with Venezuela in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Wednesday night. It will be Montero's first call-in to the national team since last October. The Sounders FC top scorer with nine goals, he has three caps. Montero will return to Seattle on Thursday afternoon and will be available for Saturday's game.

The Galaxy will also be missing players for midweek internationals. Landon Donovan will be with the U.S. National Team for Wednesday's World Cup qualifier in Mexico City and David Beckham will be with England's squad for Wednesday's friendly with Holland. Both players will be available for Saturday's game.

Hurtado Out; Riley Returns

Central defender Jhon Kennedy Hurtado will miss this week's match after accumulating his eighth yellow card. Returning from suspension will be right back James Riley, who was issued a red card at San Jose on August 2. Both Brad Evans and Freddie Ljungberg are carrying four cautions into this week.

On the Road Again

After earning at least a point in five of the first seven road matches, Seattle is now winless in four straight away games (0-3-1). The Sounders FC is searching for its first road win in nine games, going back to the franchise's first excursion, April 4 at Toronto FC (2-0). In going 1-4-4 away (0-4-2 versus the MLS West), Seattle has scored just seven goals. The four road losses at Chivas USA (twice), San Jose and Real Salt Lake were all by shutout. Eight of the final 12 MLS games are on the road.

Table Tightens

With last week's loss, Seattle slid from second to fourth in the division and to sixth overall in the MLS points table. Six more teams are within six points of Sounders FC. The top two teams in each conference qualify for the playoffs, along with the four teams with the next-highest point totals.

Leo Gonzalez Debuts

Costa Rican defender Leo Gonzalez made his Sounders FC debut at left back last week, starting both the Barcelona friendly and the MLS match at Real Salt Lake. He played 45 and 81 minutes, respectively. Gonzalez had signed on July 2 but was called in by the Costa Rica National Team for the CONCACAF Gold Cup. He has been capped 59 times by Costa Rica, including three starts during the 2006 World Cup.

Records Watch

The crowd of 66,848 for the Sounders FC-FC Barcelona friendly on August 5 was the largest for a soccer match played in Seattle.

The top 10 attendances are as follows:

66,848 August 5, 2009 Qwest Field Seattle v Barcelona (friendly)

66,830 August 9, 2006 Qwest Field Real Madrid v D.C. United (friendly)

66,722 July 22, 2003 Seahawks Stadium Manchester United v Celtic (friendly)

65,289 July 18, 2009 Qwest Field Sounders FC v Chelsea (friendly)

58,218 April 9, 1976 Kingdome Seattle v New York (friendly; Pele 2 goals)

56,416 April 16, 2008 Qwest Field Mexico v China (friendly)

56,256 August 25, 1977 Kingdome Seattle v Los Angeles (NASL playoffs)

49,606 August 9, 1980 Kingdome New York at Seattle (NASL)

47,052 May 31, 2008 Qwest Field Brazil v Canada (friendly)

43,651 January 29, 1994 Kingdome U.S. v Russia (friendly)

Chasing History

At 7-5-8 through the first 20 league games, Seattle is off to the best start for an MLS expansion franchise since the Chicago Fire (13-7-0) 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 20 Games 21 Games 1st Season Notes

Chicago (1998): 13-7-0 13-8-0 Won MLS Cup, U.S. Open Cup

Miami (1998): 9-11-0 10-11-0 1st round playoffs

Salt Lake (2005): 5-11-4 5-12-4 Finished 5th, West

Chivas USA (2005): 3-14-3 3-15-3 Finished 6th, West

Toronto (2007): 5-10-5 5-11-5 Finished 7th, East

San Jose (2008): 5-9-6 5-9-7 Finished 7th, West

Seattle (2009): 7-5-8

All or Nothing

Seattle has now been blanked for three consecutive games. Prior to the shutouts by Chicago, San Jose and Real Salt Lake, Seattle has totaled 11 goals over five MLS games. Ten of those goals were scored at home.

Back Four Shuffle Continues

In the past 13 MLS games, due to injuries, suspensions, and the unexpected, Seattle has been forced to shuffle its back four each time. The central defense tandem of Tyrone Marshall and Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, after starting and playing the entire 90 minutes of the first 11 games, has played together only three times in the nine games since. Each of the other absences was due to suspensions. After James Riley (right back) and Tyson Wahl (left) started nine consecutive matches, Brad Evans and Leo Gonzalez joined Hurtado and Marshall last week at Real Salt Lake. The back four will be shuffled again against the L.A. Galaxy due to the suspension of Hurtado.

First Meeting Recap

Sounders FC 1, L.A. Galaxy 1 - May 10, 2009

Sebastian Le Toux scored his first MLS goal to help the Seattle Sounders FC hold on for a 1-1 draw with the Los Angeles Galaxy before 29,025 fans on the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field.

Le Toux opened the scoring for Sounders FC (4-2-2) in the 22nd minute and Alan Gordon equalized for the Galaxy (1-1-6) in the 35th.

Despite playing a man down for the last 30 minutes of the match Seattle out-shot the visitors 7-6. Defender James Riley was sent off the field with a red card in the 57th minute, moments after drawing a yellow card.

The opening goal was set-up by midfielder Steve Zakuani, who chipped over the L.A. defense to Nate Jaqua. Jaqua beat Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts to the ball, tapping to Le Toux to shoot into an open net from 15 yards.

The equalizer from the Galaxy came following a turnover by Seattle in its own end. Mike Magee quickly crossed to Gordon, who headed past Kasey Keller from 8 yards.

Bone Marrow Registry set for August 18

The Sounders FC is hosting a bone marrow drive in honor of Real Salt Lake midfielder Andy Williams' wife, Marcia Williams. Healthy male and female fans ages 18-60, all blood types, all nationalities and all ethnicities are invited to participate in the August 18 event. It involves a swab of the inside of the fan's cheek after registering in the database. The registry will be from 4-7 p.m. in the Qwest Field North Plaza. Sounders FC players will be on hand to thank fans for participating.

Marcia Williams has been diagnosed with leukemia and is receiving treatment in Seattle. Currently, 10,000 cancer patients need a bone marrow transplant, but only 3,000 will receive one.

Montero Scores in Bunches

Forward Fredy Montero is second in MLS scoring with nine goals and six assists, and those goals have come in bunches. Montero's streak of scoring in five consecutive games had been the longest in the league this season. He earned March Player of the Month after scoring three times in the first two matches.

Three Keys to Offense

Freddie Ljungberg, Fredy Montero and Nate Jaqua are the top three Sounders FC scorers and at least one of those players has scored or assisted on the team's last eight and 17 of the last 18 goals scored. Together, Montero (6), Jaqua (5) and Ljungberg (1) have scored 12 of the last 14.

Attendance Record

Sounders FC is the first franchise in MLS history to have 28,000 or more fans at 11 consecutive regular season or postseason home games. Each of the first 11 games on Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field has sold out. Seattle leads MLS with an 11-game average of 30,204. The MLS record for a season attendance average is 28,916, set by the L.A. Galaxy in 1996.

Crowds Swell

Due to the demand for Sounders FC tickets, stadium capacity has been expanded to 32,400 for the final seven MLS home games. Capacity was 27,700 for home dates between March 28 and June 17. The team utilized the full stadium capacity of 67,000 for Chelsea and FC Barcelona. A record crowd of 66,848 watched the Barcelona friendly and the throng of 65,289 for Chelsea friendly on July 18 was the fourth largest attendance ever to watch soccer in Seattle. The highest attendance for a league game this season was the 32,526 that watched the June 28 Sounders FC win over Colorado.

Last Game Recap: Sounders FC 0, at Real Salt Lake 1

Real Salt Lake's Robbie Findley scored the game's only in the 62nd minute as the Sounders FC winless string reached three games with a 1-0 loss at Rio Tinto Stadium on August 8.

With its second straight defeat Seattle (7-5-8, 29 points) slipped from second to fourth place in the MLS Western Conference, with the L.A. Galaxy (31 points) moving into second following a 2-1 road win at New England. Colorado (30) took over third place and Real Salt Lake (7-8-5) pulled within three points of the Sounders FC.

Despite earning 11 corner kicks, the Sounders FC was unable to convert those chances and was held scoreless for the third match in a row. Seattle has not won since its road opener, April 4 in Toronto.

Nick Rimando was required to make only one saves for Real Salt Lake to get the shutout. He also set-up Findley's goal with a quickly-taken, long ball following a Seattle offside.

Findley took the Rimando pass, shielded Seattle's Peter Vagenas from the ball and fired a low, 18-yard strike past Kasey Keller. It was Findley's eighth goal of the season.

Two of Seattle's best opportunities came in the four minutes of added time. A long ball by Brad Evans found Sanna Nyassi streaking into the box but he was bumped off the ball before shooting by RSL defender Nat Borchers.

Moments before the final whistle, a Nyassi corner resulted in a shot by Fredy Montero off the left hand of Salt Lake's Pablo Campos in the goalmouth without a penalty being called by referee Kevin Stott.

Keller, who made two saves, charged off his line to deny Findley in the 47th minute.

Sounders FC defender Jhon Kennedy Hurtado picked up his eighth yellow card of the season in the second half, and will now miss next Saturday's game at L.A.

Soccer Beach Blast at Alki

The Sounders FC Soccer Beach Blast, presented by Super Supplements, will be held on Alki Beach on Sunday, August 23. Registration is $75 per team. Interested teams can register at www.soundersfc.com.

The 32-team, 3-on-3 soccer tournament will be played on sand at Alki Beach. Each team is allowed up to five players and all participants must be 18-years-old. Each team will play a minimum of two matches. Each match will consist of two seven-minute periods with a one-minute halftime break.

Fans can visit a Western Washington Super Supplements location to pick up a coupon good for $15.00 off their team's registration fee. All registration will occur online at www.soundersfc.com/beachsoccer.

Tournament space is limited to the first 32 teams who register. For more information and to register visit www.SoundersFC.com/beachsoccer.

Now Appearing

Sebastien Le Toux, the only player to have appeared in each of the first 19 MLS matches ( starting 12) missed the trip to Real Salt Lake last week with an abdominal strain. Le Toux played in each cup play-in and tournament game. Kasey Keller leads the team in minutes played (1649).

Leaders of the Pack

Kasey Keller is No. 3 among MLS goalkeepers with a GAA of 0.98. Keller is also tied for fifth in wins (7) and fourth in shutouts (6). Forward Fredy Montero is No. 3 in goals (9) and tied for fourth in assists (6) and third in game-winning goals (3). Montero is second in fouls suffered (44) and shots (60). Nate Jaqua is tied for 13th in goals (6) and fourth in assists (6). He is third in fouls committed (36). Freddie Ljungberg is tied for first in game-winning assists (3).

Sounders FC ranks ninth in scoring average (1.30) and tied for second in goals allowed per game (1.05). Its 33 assists are tied for second in the league. Seattle is the team with most fouls suffered (264) and seventh in fouls committed (241). The 44 cautions are second in the league.

LA is Home (or close to it)

Several members of the Sounders FC team staff have ties to the Los Angeles area. Head Coach Sigi Schmid grew up in Torrance, played at UCLA (1972-75), and later served as assistant coach (1977-79) and head coach of the Bruins (1980-98). His professional coaching career began with the L.A. Galaxy (1999-2004) and he maintains a residence in Manhattan Beach.

Assistant coach Ezra Hendrickson played for the Galaxy (1997-2003) and Chivas USA (2005).

Assistant coach/scout Kurt Schmid attended UCLA, and he was an assistant coach the past two years at UC Irvine and also coached for West Coast FC. Technical director Chris Henderson played (1989-90) for Sigi Schmid at UCLA.

Several players have seen action for club, college or pro teams in the L.A. area. Defender Tyson Wahl is a native of Newport Beach. Midfielder Peter Vagenas attended St. Francis High School, lives in Pasadena and played at UCLA (1996-99). His first nine MLS seasons were spent with the Galaxy.

Midfielder Brad Evans played at UC Irvine (2003-06), defender Patrick Ianni played for UCLA (2003-05), and central defender Tyrone Marshall played for the Galaxy (2002-07). Evans and Wahl also played for USL PDL club Orange County Blue Star, which once featured Chivas USA star Sacha Klijestan.

Sigi's Galaxy

After 19 years at UCLA (1980-98), current Sounders FC head coach Sigi Schmid began his MLS coaching career with Los Angeles in 1999, serving as head coach for six seasons (1999-2004). Schmid's L.A. Galaxy teams won four major competitions: 2002 MLS Cup, 2002 MLS Supporters' Shield, 2001 U.S. Open Cup and the 2001 CONCACAF Champions Cup. He was voted the MLS Coach of the Year in his first season, 1999. Altogether, his Galaxy teams were 79-53-32 and reached the MLS Cup final four times and won three division crowns.

SFC and the 2002 Galaxy MLS Cup Champions

Sounders FC has three former players from Sigi Schmid's 2002 MLS Cup champion Galaxy team: assistant coach Ezra Hendrickson played for the Galaxy for seven seasons (1997-2003); before coming to Seattle; Tyrone Marshall played six seasons for the Galaxy (2002-07); and midfielder Peter Vagenas spent his first nine MLS seasons with the Galaxy (2000-08). Vagenas, recovering from offseason knee surgery, has yet to play this season.

Been There Before

This will be Seattle's third visit to the Home Depot Center (HDC). In each of the first two visits the Sounders FC fell to Chivas USA. Peter Vagenas, who played nine seasons for the Galaxy, has played 71 times at HDC since it opened in 2003. Nate Jaqua has played 16 times at the HDC, including the 2003 MLS Cup Final when his Chicago Fire fell to San Jose, 4-2. Sigi Schmid, Ezra Hendrickson and Brad Evans were with Columbus last season when the Crew defeated New York, 3-1, to lift the 2008 MLS Cup at Carson.

About the Galaxy

The Galaxy has gone undefeated in its last six games (5-0-1) to move up to second place in the Western Conference standings. The six-game undefeated streak ties Seattle for the longest this season.

Last weekend, Los Angeles defeated New England, 2-1, behind Landon Donovan's bender that was nominated for goal of the week, and Jovan Kirovski's game-winner.

In his second year as head coach, Bruce Arena has a record of 9-8-13 with the team and is 86-59-23 over seven seasons in MLS. Donovan tops the Galaxy in points with nine goals and five assists. He is tied for third in the Golden Boot standings with Montero and Dallas' Jeff Cunningham. L.A. is second in fouls committed with 255 and sixth in fouls suffered with 221. It has just 31 cautions which is tied for 12th in MLS.

Beginning the Final Third

With the match at Real Salt Lake the Sounders FC have completed two-thirds of the season. Of Seattle's 26 goals in the first 20 games, 17 have come in the first half and 21 in the first 60 minutes. Four have come from set pieces, all from corner kicks by Freddie Ljungberg. A goal has yet to be scored from either the penalty spot or free kick. Of the nine games in which Sounders FC has scored multiple goals, seven have been at home. The defense has not allowed more than one goal in 10 of 11 home games on Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field. Five of the six shutouts have been at home.

Soldiering On

Seattle is off to the second-best start in MLS expansion history, and has done so despite facing its fair share of adversity. The Sounders FC has stayed above .500 since the outset despite finishing seven games shorthanded, going 0-3-4 in those contests. Resulting suspensions, injuries, national team call-ins and the unexpected have allowed Sigi Schmid to pick his starting lineup from his top players on only four occasions to date.

Score Equals Points

When Sounders FC scores, points in the standings have followed, and when Seattle scores first, so much the better. It is 6-0-3 when striking first and 7-0-7 when scoring at least one goal. Each of Seattle's four losses has been by shutout.

Sigi's Final Countdown

With 120 victories, Sigi Schmid is four career wins shy of Bob Bradley's MLS record total of 124. Schmid is the career leader with 276 games coached, surpassing Bradley (272). New England's Steve Nicol is No. 2 among active coaches in wins (93) and No. 3 overall. Schmid is 3-1-3 against the L.A. Galaxy (3-1-2 with Columbus; 0-0-1 with Seattle) in the regular season.

On to the USOC Final: Next up D.C. United

Stephen King scored the game-winning goal in the fifth minute of overtime to give the Seattle Sounders FC a 2-1 comeback win over the Houston Dynamo in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup semifinal match.

Seattle's Nate Jaqua sent the match into overtime with a goal in the 89th minute. Seattle finished with a 26-7 advantage in shots, including a second-half drive off the post by Zakuani, who led the team with five shots.

Houston had opened the scoring in the 32nd minute of the match with an unassisted goal from Ade Akinbiyi.

The Sounders FC played the final 10 minutes of overtime without defender Jhon Kennedy Hurtado who was issued his second yellow card. Hurtado must now miss the Cup Final.

Sounders FC defeated Real Salt Lake 4-1 and Colorado 1-0 at Starfire in USOC Play-ins, and then beat the USL-1 Portland Timbers 2-1 in the third round, and Kansas City Wizards 1-0 in the quarterfinal round.

The Sounders FC will now face defending champion D.C. United in the Cup Final on September 2 at 4:30 p.m. PT at RFK Stadium in Washington D.C. The game will be televised on Fox Soccer Channel.

D.C. United defeated the Rochester Rhinos of USL-1, 2-1, in the other semifinal.

Getting to the Final

Seattle reached the Open Cup final by virtue of five consecutive knockout victories. It claimed one of eight MLS slots in the Open Cup with two play-in wins. Sebastien Le Toux scored two goals and assisted on scores by Sanna Nyassi and Stephen King in the 4-1 defeat of Real Salt Lake. Kevin Forrest's header from Roger Levesque and Nyassi assists fueled the 1-0 shutout of Colorado, with Kasey Keller posting the clean sheet.

Once in the tournament proper, Seattle earned a 2-1 road win at Portland of USL-1. Levesque and King connected on first-half goals. Le Toux's penalty was the difference in the quarterfinal result with Kansas City. Jaqua scored the equalizer in the 89th minute to send the semifinal to overtime, and King added the winner, his third in cup play.

Current Training Squad

The following players begin the week training in Seattle: Goalkeepers (4): Terry Boss, Ben Dragavon*, Chris Eylander, Kasey Keller; Defenders (10): Evan Brown, Taylor Graham, Leo Gonzalez, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Patrick Ianni, Tyrone Marshall, James Riley, Zach Scott, Nathan Sturgis, Tyson Wahl; Midfielders (9): Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans, Michael Fucito, Stephen King, Sebastien Le Toux, Freddie Ljungberg, Lamar Neagle, Sanna Nyassi, Peter Vagenas; Forwards (4): Nate Jaqua, Roger Levesque, Fredy Montero, Steve Zakuani.

*invitee

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Major League Soccer Stories from August 10, 2009


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