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Sounders open preseason with a pair of wins

April 5, 2007 - USL First Division (USL-1)
Seattle Sounders News Release


The Seattle Sounders opened their 2007 season with a 4-0 exhibition win over the Gonzaga Bulldogs Saturday night at Starfire Sports Entertainment Complex in Tukwila and followed it up with a 2-0 victory over the Puget Sound Soccer Academy Rapids at the Whatcom Community College field Sunday evening.

The Sounders opened the scoring Saturday in the 19th minute, when midfielder Leighton O'Brien played a short free kick to Kevin Sakuda, who fired a 20-yard shot past Bulldog goalkeeper Vito Higgins.

Eight minutes later the Sounders found the net again. A low cross by Santa Maria Rivera found its way to the feet of Cory Worfolk; the forward then drilled the ball into the upper corner from eight yards out.

In the 41st minute, Andre Schmid made it 3-0 for the Sounders. The 6-foot-4 forward beat Higgins in the air on a lob just inside the penalty box and the ball bounced in from a couple yards out.

Midway through the second half, the Sounders' attack extended the lead to four. Second-half substitute Colin Rigby headed home a cross from midfielder Craig Tomlinson in front of the net to cap the night's scoring.

The staring lineup featured newcomers Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar and newly-signed Schmid, in a Sounders uniform for the first time.

Fans were also treated to a look at French trialist Sebastian Le Toux at center midfielder and Georges Nnomo Ambassa at central defense.

The Sounder starting defense of Sakuda, who started at right back, Ambassa, Danny Jackson and Zach Scott bottled up All-West Coast Conference forward George Josten and the Gonzaga attack.

Goalkeeper Chris Eyelander had three saves in the shutout.

Before the game, many of the Sounders met with season tickets holders for a meet-and-greet.

The Sounders Lineup on Sunday featured an almost entirely different cast of characters as Head Coach Brian Schmetzer worked to maximize the exposure that he got to some of the new faces in camp.

In the 35th minute it was newcomer Ricardo Cuellar (Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar's younger brother) setting up Jamal Sutton for the first goal of the match after a captivating run up the right side of the field that saw him cut the ball back onto the foot of Sutton from the touchline. Sutton pounded the ball home with authority from eight yards out giving the Sounders the lead.

Seattle Pacific University product Rigby scored his second goal of the weekend with a nicely headed ball in the 53rd minute of play. The Sounders continued to push forward, but the Rapids defense was stingy in front of their home crowd of about 150 fans on a cold windy night and wouldn't allow the Sounders any further joy.

Next weekend the Sounder will travel to Kansas City for an exhibition against the Kansas City Wizards of Major League Soccer.

The regular season begins on April 21 with a road match against the defending USL First Division Champions, the Vancouver Whitecaps.

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