Despite a fifth minute injury to star midfielder Mauro Rosales, Sounders FC maintained their pace into the playoffs with a 3-1 victory over Chivas USA. The Sounders entered the match with confidence as the lineup featured all the regular starters with Fredy Montero in goal scoring form. But a reckless tackle shifted Seattle’s lineup as Rosales was forced to leave the pitch with a knee injury. Cult favorite Roger Levesque entered the match and the Sounders resumed play. The first half proved uneventful as the Sounders shifted tactics in Rosales' absence.
The second half, however, displayed much more entertainment. It was Chivas who drew Seattle's first blood, scoring an own goal in the 53rd minute. In the 64th, Sammy Ochoa entered the game for Mike Fucito to give Ochoa more playing time before the playoffs as he will more than likely be an important focal point for the Sounders’ attack in the post season. Minutes later, a Brad Evans pass found Alvaro Fernandez on the far post to make it 2-1 for the Sounders. From there the Sounders began to lock down the game, forcing the attack and taking a third goal by way of an Ochoa header in the 73rd minute. Ochoa’s goal was assisted by Montero who superbly took on the orchestration of the offense after Rosales left the match. The only blight in Seattle’s play came in the 83rd minute when Chivas scored for themselves to make it 3-1. Up next comes a first round playoff match at Rio Tinto stadium versus Real Salt Lake on October 29th. Hopefully this last regular season victory against Chivas bodes well for the Sounders race for the MLS Cup.
On a commonly chilly October night the atmosphere in Century Link Field was far from common. Standing 64,140 strong, Sounders fans arrived in mass to pay tribute to Captain Kasey Keller in his last regular season match as a professional. The stage was set and no better script could be better written for the legendary Keller as he led his team to a 2-1 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes.
Like in any good sports movie, the opponent scored first. San Jose’s forward Chris Wondolowski received the ball off of an illegitimate free kick and found the back of the net in the 25th minute.
The Sounders’ offense was lacking an essential spark. In the 65th minute a defensive blunder by Patrick Ianni left Kasey Keller exposed. What followed was arguably Keller’s greatest performance as a Sounder if not as a professional. Four point blocks and four spectacularly stalwart saves sealed the legend status for Keller. The crowd exploded with as much elation as a response to a goal would have.
Time: 7:00 PM
TV: FSC
Two of the most storied clubs in the US Open Cup history will face off today in the US Open Cup finals. The Chicago Fire will be looking to win their fifth total title (ties Open Cup Record) and the Sounders will be looking to win their third consecutive straight title (ties Open Cup Record). Who wants their record more?
In the Sounders' brief history in the MLS, the team has reached the finals every year and won it. This year is no different as the Sounders have gone through the tournament and are contending for their third straight title. This has not happened since 1969 when Greek American AA won three titles from 1967-69. In addition, no MLS team has ever won three straight US Open Cup titles.
The Sounders are looking strong as they head into their third straight U.S. Open Cup final as they beat New England 2-1 in league play. After a long away series the Sounders arrived at Gillete Stadium to face the Revolution and finish the away series on a high note.
Early on in the match it appeared that that the Sounders would not be able to achieve that goal. Kasey Keller was the busier of the two goal keepers, having to save several high threat shots. In the 35th minute, the Revolution broke through off of a cross from Benny Feilhaber which was scored by 16-year old phenom, Diego Fagundez.
Time: 4:30 PM
TV: KONG 6/16
After their the first two road games, in the three game stretch, the Sounders have the Cascadia Cup in hand, a playoff spot clinched and have advanced to the second round of the CONCACAF Champions league. They are looking to prove themselves as an elite team in the MLS.
After visiting Vancouver on the September 24th, the Sounders flew down to Guatemala for a match on the 27th and now end with an east coast game against New England. Overall, the Sounders have traveled a little over 9000 miles in a span of nine days. While usually this tires teams out and leads to lackluster games, the Sounders have been able to show the strenth of their depth on the roster.
All week, players in the Sounders FC camp awaited the derby match that would decide the winner of the Cascadia Cup, the regional trophy played for by the Seattle Sounders, Vancouver Whitecaps, and the Portland Timbers.
The tradition dates back several decades to the NASL days but was brought back this season as Vancouver and Portland entered the MLS. But of course, the three year MLS veterans in the Sounders were not about to play nice with their new MLS counterparts. Seattle plays to win and last night the Sounders took the Cascadia Cup in a 3-1 win away over the Vancouver Whitecaps.
TV: KONG 6/16
Time: 7:30 PM
Five games remain in the season for the Sounders and two things are for certain this week: if we win we are officially in the playoffs and with a win comes the Cascadia Cup Championship. With the Sounders pulling out two ties in the first two matches the Sounders took control after beating the Timbers 3-2 in Portland. This week the Sounders face of against Vancouver in the final game played at Empire Field.
The last time these two teams met they tied 2-2 in a wild finish with three of four goals coming in the final 10 minutes. Since then the Whitecaps have not had too much success only winning three games, tying two and losing ten.
After a peculiar little hiccup against Real Salt Lake the Sounders bounced back in a dominating 3-0 victory over visiting DC United. The Sounders showed they were well prepared for the match from the first whistle, dominating possession and looking dangerous every time they moved into DC United’s defensive zone.
It was not until the 35th minute that Seattle broke through when Mauro Rosales sent the ball down the right side for Mike Fucito who spun his defender and darted into the box before slotting the ball into the net for his second goal of the season.
TV: KONG 6/16
Time: 6:30 PM
With the season coming down to the wire, teams are making their final playoff push. While most teams are trying to make the playoffs, the Sounders are fighting this week to become the second team in the league to clinch a playoff berth (LA clinched last week).
In order for this to happen the Sounders must win, the Timbers need to loss and Houston needs to tie or lose. While this is unlikely to happen tonight, this is a good sign that the Sounders are close to the playoffs and hopefully will grab a high seed. This week the team the Sounders must beat is DC United.
Read the rest of the game preview after the jump.
After an impressive string of five wins including a thrashing of the Columbus Crew, the Sounders looked poised to widen the gap between themselves and the rest of the West. But due to a strange series of events the Sounders fell 2-1 to Real Salt Lake.
The first 45 proved to be as action packed and surprising as a Hollywood blockbuster as goal keeping hero Kasey Keller allowed a bizarre own goal in the 13th minute as he tried to sweep up a ball from an onrushing Alvaro Saborio.
