MLS Seattle Sounders FC

Sounders FC News & Notes

Published on March 11, 2013 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Seattle Sounders FC News Release


Quarterfinals Conclude, Cascadia Cup Begins

Seattle Sounders FC returns to the Pacific Northwest for two matches across two competitions in five days, seeking advancement to the CONCACAF Champions League Semifinals on Tuesday and kicking off the 2013 Cascadia Cup on Saturday on the Xbox Pitch at CenturyLink Field.

First comes the second leg of the Champions League Quarterfinal series with Tigres UANL on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. PT. Seattle trails 1-nil following last Wednesday's opening game in Monterrey, Mexico. Sounders FC looks to become the first MLS team to oust a Mexican club from the Champions League tournament. Only once has an MLS side reached the final as Real Salt Lake fell to CF Monterrey in 2011.

A win by two or more goals would secure advancement to the tournament semifinals for the first time in club history. A 1-0 result would force overtime, and any other result would end Seattle's run.

The winner of the series will meet the Houston-Santos victor, with the Dynamo leading 1-0 going into the away leg. The winner of the CONCACAF Champions League earns a berth to the FIFA Club World Cup, where they will represent North America, Central America and the Caribbean to earn the title of world's top soccer club.

Tuesday's match will be nationally televised on FOX Soccer with JP Dellacamera and Brian Dunseth calling the action. Ross Fletcher and Kasey Keller will be on the call for KIRO Radio 97.3 with a postgame show featuring Matt Johnson, Alan Hinton, Pete Fewing and Taylor Graham.

Tickets to the Champions League match against Tigres are available through www.SoundersFC.com or by calling 800-745-3000.

The focus then shifts back to league play as Sounders FC (0-1-0, 0 points) hosts its second match of the regular season following a Week 2 bye. The Portland Timbers (0-1-1, 1 point) visit the Emerald City on Saturday evening in the opening match of the Cascadia Cup. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. PT on the Xbox Pitch at CenturyLink Field.

Saturday's match will be nationally televised on NBC Sports Network with John Strong and Brian Dunseth on the call. The match will also be carried on KIRO Radio 97.3 with Ross Fletcher and Kasey Keller, and can be heard in Spanish on La Gran D 99.3 FM with Rene Aleman and Victor Hernandez calling the action.

Seattle opened the regular season with a 1-0 home loss against the Montreal Impact on March 2. The Timbers kicked off the 2013 campaign with a comeback 3-3 draw vs. New York, followed by a 2-1 home loss to Montreal.

The match is the first of six Cascadia Cup games this season against rivals Portland and Vancouver, including four at home. Sounders FC finished second in last year's competition with a 2-1-3 record as the Timbers took the trophy. Seattle last won the Cup in 2011 - the first year it was contested at the MLS level.

It will be the 80th meeting between Seattle and Portland soccer sides, dating back to the first NASL match in 1975. Seattle holds the all-time advantage at 41-28-10.

On Sunday, the two teams will meet in the opening match of the 2013 MLS Reserve League at Starfire Stadium in Tukwila, Wash. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. PT. There is no charge for admission at Sounders FC Reserves home matches. However donations will be accepted at the gate ($5 suggested) with proceeds directed toward the Sounders FC community partners. Parking is $5 or free with a Starfire membership.

Sounders FC will finish the month with a pair of road matches, beginning March 23 at San Jose followed by a March 30 meeting at Real Salt Lake.

Single-match tickets to Sounders FC home matches are available through SoundersFC.com, all Ticketmaster Outlets, CenturyLink Field Box Office or by calling 800-745-3000. Ticket availability on a match-by-match basis is limited.

Sounders FC Fast Facts

Champions at Home - Sounders FC has won its past three Champions League home matches, dating back to the March 7, 2012, victory over Santos Laguna, outscoring opponents 8-3 in that span. Overall, Seattle is 7-4-0 at home in CCL play with a plus-14 goal differential, averaging 1.73 goals per game while allowing just 0.45.

Two Goals or More - Four times Sounders FC has won by two or more goals in a CCL home match. This year's Group Stage featured two such victories for Seattle, 3-1 over Trinidad's Caledonia and 3-1 against Honduras' Marathon. The team earned a 2-nil overtime victory in the second leg of the Preliminary Round over San Francisco FC of Panama in 2011, followed by a 4-1 win over Guatemala's Comunicaciones.

Second Leg at Home - Sounders FC has won every second leg home match in club history, beginning with the win over San Francisco FC two years ago. Seattle also beat Real Salt Lake in the 2011 MLS Cup Playoffs, 2-0, and the LA Galaxy in the Western Conference Championship last season, 2-1. There have been 42 home-and-home series in MLS Cup Playoffs history and home teams have gone 24-9-9 in the second leg.

No. 24 - Tuesday's match will be the club's 24th CONCACAF Champions League game - the most of any U.S. club since 2010. The club's all-time record in the tournament is 11-10-2 with a plus-two goal differential (35/33).

Back-to-Back - The losses on Saturday to Montreal and Wednesday at Tigres made for the first back-to-back losses for Sounders FC since a 3-1 defeat at Houston on July 30, 2011, followed a 1-nil result at Panama's San Francisco FC four days earlier. Seattle has not lost consecutive MLS matches since March 19, 2011 - the longest streak in league history (723 days).

Vamos Sounders - Seattle has played Mexican opposition seven times in Champions League play, going 2-5-0 overall, including a 1-2-0 mark at home with three goals scored and five allowed.

Cascadia Kings - In the 208 all-time games against Portland and Vancouver soccer teams since June 9, 1974, Seattle reigns supreme with 103 wins, 74 losses and 31 draws.

Bright Lights, Big Stage - Both of Seattle's games this week will be shown on national television. Saturday's match will be the team's first nationally televised MLS game of the season. Sounders FC will play 14 of its 34 regular-season matches in front of a national audience, including nine of its final 11, and a minimum of 16 across all competitions.

Quarterfinals Conclude: Eight Teams, Four Spots

Over the next two days, four of the remaining eight teams will clinch advancement to the Semifinal Round of the 2012-13 CONCACAF Champions League. The three teams representing Major League Soccer earned workable results in the first leg as Seattle kept within one goal on the road at Tigres, Houston used the home-field advantage to go up 1-0 on Santos Laguna and the LA Galaxy kept it scoreless at Costa Rica's Herediano. The winner of the Seattle-Tigres series will play the Houston-Santos victor while Monterrey/Xelaju will face LA Galaxy/Herediano.

Quarterfinal Round - Leg One Results

Date Result Location

March 5 Houston Dynamo 1 vs. Santos Laguna 0 BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston

March 6 Xelaju 1 vs. Monterrey 3 Estadio Mario Camposeco, Quetzaltenango

March 6 Tigres UANL 1 vs. Seattle Sounders FC 0 Estadio Universitario, Monterrey

March 7 Herediano 0 vs. LA Galaxy 0 Estadio Eladio Rosabal Cordero, Heredia

Quarterfinal Round - Leg Two Schedule

Date (kickoff times PT) Matchup Location

March 12, 5 p.m. Monterrey vs. Xelaju Estadio Tecnologico, Monterrey

March 12, 7 p.m. Seattle Sounders FC vs. Tigres UANL CenturyLink Field, Seattle

March 13, 5 p.m. Santos Laguna vs. Houston Dynamo Estadio Nuevo Corona, Torreon

March 13, 7 p.m. LA Galaxy vs. Herediano The Home Depot Center, Carson

Tide is Turning: MLS Success in Champions League

The CONCACAF Champions League brings a special, unique opportunity to its MLS participants. So far, only two MLS teams have made the semifinals of the prestigious tournament, an opportunity well within reach of Sounders FC on Tuesday night. No MLS club has ousted a Mexican team in the knockout rounds of the competition. Sigi Schmid won the previous tournament, the Champions Cup, with the LA Galaxy in 2000.

Aside from Real Salt Lake's run to the 2011 final, every Champions League final has featured two Mexican sides. Even in the tournament's predecessor, the Champions Cup, American success was rare. In the 47-year existence of the competition, U.S. clubs reached the final just four times (LA Galaxy lost in 1997 and won in 2000; DC United won in 1998; and RSL lost in 2011).

CCL Format Notes

The quarterfinal round is structured in a two-leg, aggregate goal series. The second leg will be played at the higher seed's home stadium. The winner of the series is determined by most total goals over the two matches. If the score is tied at the end of regulation of the second leg, away goals will be used as the tie breaker. Therefore, unless the score of the second leg is exactly the reverse of the first leg, a winner will be named in regulation. If, considering away goals, the score is still tied the teams will play an overtime period followed by penalty shootout, if necessary.

Red cards or two yellow cards in the same game result in a one-game suspension. Any player who accumulates two single yellow cards in two different matches will be suspended for the following game. Yellow cards reset at the beginning of the Quarterfinal Round and for the Final.

About Tigres

Club: Tigres UANL (MEX)

Founded: 1960

City: San Nicolas de los Garza, Nuevo Leon

Stadium: Estadio Universitario

Manager: Ricardo Ferretti

Qualification method: 2011 Mexican Apertura champion

Previous CONCACAF Champions League appearances: None

Honors: Mexican Primera Division champions - 3 (1977-78, 1981-82, 2011 A); Copa Mexico - 2 (1975-76, 1995-95); Interliga - 2 (2005, 2006)

Official website: http://www.tigres.com.mx

The 2011 Mexican Apertura champion is making its first appearance in the CONCACAF Champions League after beating Santos Laguna to win the Mexican Apertura title, the club's first championship in 29 years and third in its history. Tigres is led by Argentine captain Lucas Lobos, Mexican international Carlos Salcido as well as Brazilians Juninho and Edno. Forward Taufic Guarch, who was a standout for Mexico at the U-20 World Cup in Colombia last summer, arrives on loan from Estudiantes Tecos, joining Alonso Zamora from Atlas, Henry David Lopez from Brazil's EC Noroeste and Dieter Vargas from San Luis. The club is coached by Brazilian Ricardo Ferretti, who is in his third stint with Tigres, having previously coached the club from 2000-03 and again in the 2006 season when he led it to the InterLiga title and qualifying the club for the Copa Libertadores. However he was let go when Tigres failed to qualify for the Clausura playoffs. He made his triumphant return, though, in 2010, guiding Tigres to the Apertura title. Tigres plays at 42,000-seat Estadio Universitario, nicknamed El Volcan (The Volcano), a venue that has hosted several matches of the 1986 World Cup as well as the 2011 U-17 World Cup.

Tigres Wins over Weekend

Tigres continued their league-leading form in Liga MX on Saturday with the seventh win of the season, beating last-place San Luis, 2-1 on the road. Coach Ricardo Ferretti made two changes to the Starting XI from last Wednesday's match, re-inserting goal scorer Alan Pulido and second-half substitute Danilinho into their starting midfield roles. Lucas Lobos and Luis Garcia were the goal scorers.

CCL Recap: Seattle Sounders FC 0 at Tigres UANL 1 - March 6, 2013

Sounders FC kept Tigres UANL scoreless for 74 minutes of play, but second-half substitute Alan Pulido scored the game's lone goal in the first leg of the quarterfinal series last Wednesday in front of 33,810 fans at Estadio Universitario in Monterrey, Mexico. The loss marked the first for Sounders FC in the 2012-13 CCL after going undefeated (4-0-0) in the Group Stage.

Despite an 18-3 shot advantage for Tigres, the Rave Green kept within one goal of the Liga MX Clausura leaders heading into the second leg thanks to some big defensive plays. In the third minute, Leo Gonzalez cleared a close, open shot off the line and in the 66th minute, Alex Caskey blocked a header on frame with his head.

Scoring Summary:

TIG - Alan Pulido 74'

Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning, Zach Scott (DeAndre Yedlin 81), Djimi Traore, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Leo Gonzalez, Alex Caskey, Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans, Mario Martinez (Marc Burch 89), Mauro Rosales (Lamar Neagle 68), Eddie Johnson.

Tigres UANL - Enrique Palos, Israel Jiminez, Juninho, Hugo Ayala, Jorge Torres, Alberto Acosta (Danilinho 76), Jose Torres, Lucas Lobos, Carlos Salcido, Elias Hernandez (Alan Pulido 66), Luis Garcia.

Cascadia History: The Cup Turns 10

The Cascadia Cup is entering its 10th year in existence after its creation in 2004 when fans from the Seattle Sounders, Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps sponsored a cup to be awarded annually to the club that finishes with the best record. Seattle won the competition in 2006 and 2007, as well as 2011 - the first time the Cup was contested at the top tier of professional soccer. Vancouver took the trophy in 2004 and 2005, and again in 2008 while current Cup-holders Portland beat out the 'Caps in 2009 and 2010, and regained the top spot among the three rivals last season.

Seattle is 4-1-5 in Cascadia Cup play at the MLS level, going 2-1-3 last season as four of six matches were played away from home. This year, Sounders FC will host four rivalry games at CenturyLink Field as Portland will host two and Vancouver three.

2012 Cascadia Cup Standings

Team GP Record (points) Goal Differential (GF/GA)

Portland Timbers 6 2-1-2 (11 points) +3 (7/4)

Seattle Sounders FC 6 2-1-3 (9 points) +4 (9/5)

Vancouver Whitecaps FC 6 0-3-3 (3 points) -4 (4/8)

2013 Cascadia Cup Schedule

Date Matchup Location

March 16 Seattle Sounders FC vs. Portland Timbers CenturyLink Field, Seattle

May 18 Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs. Portland Timbers BC Place, Vancouver

June 8 Seattle Sounders FC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC CenturyLink Field, Seattle

July 6 Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs. Seattle Sounders FC BC Place, Vancouver

August 3 Portland Timbers vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC JELD-WEN Field, Portland

August 25 Seattle Sounders FC vs. Portland Timbers CenturyLink Field, Seattle

October 6 Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs. Portland Timbers BC Place, Vancouver

October 9 Seattle Sounders FC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC CenturyLink Field, Seattle

October 13 Portland Timbers vs. Seattle Sounders FC JELD-WEN Field, Portland

All-Time Series with Portland

The rivalry between Seattle and Portland soccer teams dates back nearly four decades when the Sounders and Timbers first met in the NASL. The sides went on to battle each other in the WSL, USL and U.S. Open Cup before reuniting in Major League Soccer in 2011. Seattle holds the all-time series lead with 41 wins, 28 losses and 10 draws in 79 matches.

All-Time Series Record

Year League Record

1975-82 NASL Sounders 13 wins; Timbers 8 wins

1985-90 WSL FC Seattle 5 wins; FC Portland/Timbers 6 wins; 2 draws

2001-08 USL-1 Sounders 20 wins; Timbers 13 wins; 5 draws

2009-10 U.S. Open Cup Sounders FC 1 win; Timbers 0 wins; 1 draw

2011-12 MLS Sounders FC 2 winS; Timbers 1 win; 2 draws

Totals: 79 matches played; Seattle 41 wins; Portland 28 wins; 10 draws

Portland Series Notes

Sounders FC holds a 2-1-2 advantage over the Timbers in league play. Seattle has outscored Portland 9-6, including four goals scored with just one allowed at home. The lone loss came on the road last June, followed by a 1-1 road draw and a 3-nil home win in the most recent meeting - the first shutout by either team in the series. Seven of Seattle's nine goals scored in the series have come in the final 45 minutes, and Sounders FC has scored three goals in two of the five all-time meetings. Eddie Johnson leads all active players with two goals. The two sides also met in preseason play with the Timbers winning, 1-0.

Derby Boy: Eddie Johnson

Eddie Johnson knows the importance of the Cascadia Cup. In six games last season versus the Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps FC, Johnson scored four goals with one assist for a strike rate of 0.67 goals per 90 minutes. The U.S. international took just two shots on goal against Portland last year and scored twice, and he played every minute in the six derby matches.

2012 Cascadia Cup

Opponent GP Minutes Goals Assists

Portland Timbers 3 270 2 0

Vancouver Whitecaps 3 270 2 1

Timbers Notables

The Portland attack features dynamic midfielders Darlington Nagbe and Diego Valeri. The pair are responsible for both Timbers goals this season. The 22-year-old Nagbe is in his third MLS season and scored six goals in his sophomore campaign. The newcomer Valeri joins the Timbers after nine years playing professionally in Argentina, Portugal and Spain. Former Salt Lake midfielder Will Johnson joined the team in the offseason and has assumed captain's duty, playing alongside Colombian Diego Chara in the midfield. The club also brought in forward Ryan Johnson from Toronto FC, the scorer of the MLS Goal of the Week last season against the Sounders. Former Manchester United man Mikael Silvestre has joined Portland's backline, and the 2010 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Donovan Ricketts is in his first full season with the Timbers.

SEA/POR Connections

Seattle's Djimi Traore (Liverpool) and Portland's Mikael Silvestre (Manchester United) played against each other in the English Premier League from 1999-2006. Eddie Johnson played with Timbers captain Jack Jewsbury at Kansas City from 2006-07. DeAndre Yedlin and (2011-12) Steve Zakuani (2007-08) played for Portland head coach Caleb Porter at Akron. The Timbers Darlington Nagbe (2008-10), Ben Zemanski (2006-09) and Michael Nanchoff (2007-10) attended Akron as well. Marc Burch played with Rodney Wallace for two seasons with D.C. United. Portland forward Brent Richards, a native of nearby Camas, Wash., and Bainbridge Island native Dylan Tucker-Gangnes both attended the University of Washington.

Throw-ins

The last meeting between Seattle and Portland was played in front of 66,452 - the second-largest standalone MLS crowd in league history and largest for an MLS match at CenturyLink Field. It also marked the opening day of Seattle's landmark General Manager vote...On March 17, 2012, forward David Estrada became the third player in club history to score a hat trick in a 3-1 home win over Toronto FC in the regular-season opener...Sounders FC will wear Cascadia Shale kits on Tuesday and Tigres will wear gold with blue. The referee crew is from El Salvador, led by Elmer Bonilla with assistants Douglas Bermudez and Hector Recinos. The fourth official is Ruben Medrano... The officials for Saturday's match are referee Kevin Stott, assistants Frank Anderson and Mike Rottersman, and fourth official Drew Fischer.

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Major League Soccer Stories from March 11, 2013


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