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Sounders play to 0-0 draw in home opener

May 10, 2008 - USL First Division (USL-1)
Seattle Sounders News Release


On the night they very likely might have finished their five-year stay at Qwest Field, the Seattle Sounders weren't able to finish their goal-scoring opportunities.

The Sounders controlled the run of play through much of the match, and created half a dozen dangerous chances to put one into the net. None of them did go in, however, as Seattle settled for a 0-0 tie against the Portland Timbers in their United Soccer Leagues First Division home opener in front of 10,184 fans.

"It's early in the year and we have to get our timing down better. But we should have beaten that team," veteran midfielder Leighton O'Brien said. "We have to finish our chances."

The Sounders, who will play the rest of their 2008 home schedule at Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila beginning with Wednesday's 7 p.m. contest against Rochester, picked up a point in the standings, moving their record to 1-1-2 (5 points).

Portland -- despite getting off just one official shot during the 90 minutes -- remained undefeated and atop the table at 3-0-2 with 11 points. It was the second straight scoreless tie for the Timbers, who went 0-0 against Rochester on Thursday night at Portland.

"We had an opportunity to jump on top and get an early goal, and that would have forced them to come out," Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer said. "When we didn't they were able to make some minor adjustments, and we weren't able to get the ball behind their back four. They dropped deeper into their shell and kept people back there, and we weren't able to gain any sort of traction."

The Sounders came out and took the game to Portland through the first 30 minutes. They came within about a foot of getting a penalty kick in the sevent minute when Andre Schmid, taking a pass from LeToux on a breakaway, was tripped up just outside the box to the right of the restraining arc. The ensuing free kick by Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar bounced off the Portland wall.

Just two minutes later, Seattle came down on another breakaway. Alcaraz-Cuellar got the ball to LeToux flying down the right wing side. LeToux took it into the box, sent it across the goalmouth to Schmid, who had a wide-open on the front porch of Portland goalkeeper Ray Burse, but drilled it over the top.

Burse took the ball away from LeToux on a run into the box in the 16th minute. Then just before the end of the 20th, Josh Gardner took a shot from 25 yards straight in front that Burse leaped to tip over the crossbar.

Gardner had two more bang-bang tries in the 33rd minute. A corner kick from the right wing side came out to him at the top of the box, but his shot was blocked. The rebound came right back to Gardner, who wound up and fired again, only to have it saved by Burse.

The best try by Portland, which was kept in its own end of the field through most of the first 45 minutes, came right at the start of the 37th when Chris Brown caught up with a bouncing ball in the left side of the box. But Sounders goalkeeper Chris Eylander dove to grab it an instant before Brown could get a foot to it.

Seattle had two more near misses during the second half. A half-volley shot from the penalty spot by Sebastien LeToux midway through the 65th minute was pulled down by Burse.

Second-half substitute Jason Cascio ripped one from the top of the arc at the 87:32 mark, but Burse dove to his left to make the save.

"As long as they play that 4-5-1 (formation), it's hard to break them down," Schmetzer said.

The Sounders played without forward Roger Levesque, who was out with an ankle sprain. Schmetzer wasn't yet certain about his status for Wednesday's game against Rochester.

This was Portland's only regular-season visit to Seattle. The Timbers beat the Sounders at Portland on April 26 during Seattle's season-opening three-game road trip, 2-0.

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