[Mental-Man]

Here we go again, the season kicked off to a sell out and packed Qwest field again and what a result. Grest to see Montero getting on the score sheet in the 1st game of the season. Sounders played brilliant

Sounders Take Opener
Posted by: Matt Gaschk

03/25/2010
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The Sounders FC opened the season on national television in front of a sellout crowd and get goals from Brad Evans and Fredy Montero in a shutout victory over the expansion Philadelphia Union.
SEATTLE - It was a bit of déjà vu Thursday night at Qwest Field.

The Sounders FC opened the season on national television in front of a sellout crowd and score in the 12th minute to take a 1-0 lead and get goals from Brad Evans and Fredy Montero in a shutout victory.

It happened in 2009 in a 3-0 win over the New York Red Bulls and all of those dominoes fell again in 2010. Evans scored in the 12th minute, Montero added an incredible goal in the 43rd minute and Kasey Keller had four saves to pick up the clean sheet in a 2-0 Sounders FC win over the Philadelphia Union to kickoff the Major League Soccer season.

“Hopefully we start something this year like we did last year. It’s important that we jump with three points and put the pressure on a bit early,” Evans said. “I don’t think it was as smooth as last year or as connected, but it’s always good to have three points.”

36,241 sprung to their feet at Qwest Field, as the largest crowd to attend an MLS game for the Sounders saw Seattle stand up to a physical Philadelphia side and come out with a convincing victory.

Union defender Danny Califf showed Philadelphia’s hand early, drawing a yellow card for an off-the-ball foul when he knocked Montero to the ground in the first minute of the match. They continued that physical tact for the entirety of the game, even after Toni Stahl picked up his second yellow card and was ejected in the 41st minute.

“We know guys are going to take us physical. I don’t think it caught us off guard,” Sounders FC head coach Sigi Schmid said. “We were able to deal with the physical nature of the game and still come up with a couple of goals and not give anything away in the back.”

Evans got the Sounders off to a strong start when he scored his first goal of the season in the 12th minute. Montero slotted a ball up the left side to Steve Zakuani, who took the ball to the endline before cutting it back to Evans coming hard to the near post. Evans then blasted a shot to the far post for the goal and the 1-0 lead.

“The first goal is always the most difficult goal or the most important one,” Zakuani said. “Before the goal Philly were doing ok, once we scored we used our experience against them. We managed to keep the ball and control the game. We got the second and they go the red card and I never really felt like we were going to lose the game.”

Montero added to his already solid night with what he described as the best goal of his career.

Union goalkeeper Chris Seitz came to the middle of the box to knock away a Freddie Ljungberg corner kick, but the ball landed at the feet of Osvaldo Alonso. The Sounders FC midfielder pounded the ball back toward the far post where Montero dove to get his head on it and knock it into the open corner for a 2-0 lead, just evading a collision with the upright.

“It was one of the toughest goals to score in my entire professional career. The only option that I had was to stick the ball into that small space,” Montero said. “Aside from that it was a fast ball that bounced right in front of me, but luckily it went in.”

The Sounders FC held a distinct advantage in shots (12-9) and held possession for most of the remainder of the game to seal the win.

“The good news for us is I think we can play a lot better soccer than we did tonight. At times it was not our best soccer but sometimes you have to win some games where you don’t play your best soccer,” Schmid said.

The Sounders will host the New York Red Bulls Saturday, April 3 in their next game.

Lineups
Sounders FC - Kasey Keller, Zach Scott, Tyrone Marshall, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Leo Gonzalez, Roger Levesque, Brad Evans, Osvaldo Alonso, Steve Zakuani (Mike Fucito 76), Freddie Ljungberg (Sanna Nyassi 60), Fredy Montero.
Union - Chris Seitz, Jordan Harvey, Danny Califf, Toni Stahl, David Myrie (Jack McInerney 78), Andrew Jacobson, Danny Mwanga (Stefani Miglioranzi 46), Roger Torres (Amobi Okugo 71), Michael Orozco, Sebastien Le Toux, Alejandro Moreno.

Scoring Summary
Sounders FC - Brad Evans (Steve Zakuani, Fredy Montero) 12; Fredy Montero (Osvaldo Alonso) 43.
Union - None

[Mental-Man]

Fucito Blasts Sounders FC To Victory
Posted by: Matt Gaschk

04/17/2010
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Mike Fucito scored in the 92nd minute and Kasey Keller had his second clean sheet of the season as the Sounders FC topped Kansas City 1-0.
SEATTLE - Call him Kasey the Prophet.

After the Sounders FC allowed a stoppage time goal last week on the road against Real Salt Lake to turn a 2-1 Seattle victory into a 2-2 draw, goalkeeper Kasey Keller predicted that Seattle would find themselves on the positive side of a stoppage time goal changing the result of a game. He didn’t know that it would be the very next game when Mike Fucito scored in the 92nd minute to give the Sounders a 1-0 victory over the Kansas City Wizards in front of 35,924 at Qwest Field Saturday afternoon.

“I’m so happy. The guys fought so hard the whole 90 minutes and it would have been a shame to come away with a nil-nil or a 1-1,” Keller said. “I’m just very proud that we were able to hold off and get the good win.”

Fucito’s game-winning smash was his first MLS goal after spending most of his time with the team in 2009 on the injured list, rewarding not only Fucito for the late-game heroics, but also head coach Sigi Schmid, who subbed on Fucito and Brad Evans, who assisted the goal, in the second half.

“That’s the best feeling in the world, scoring a goal,” Fucito said. “I’m glad that it was at such an opportune time.”

The Sounders and Wizards played a tight battle through 90 minutes, though Kansas City held the statistical advantage through most of the match. Neither team had any particularly threatening goal-scoring chances until stoppage time.

After the clock locked in on 90:00, Evans took a throw-in 25 yards out on the right sideline, finding Fucito racing into an open area on the right side of the box. He looked far post, drawing Wizards goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen one step to his right, then blasted it past his left hand and into the net for a 1-0 lead.

“I remember from film that on throw-ins Sigi always wants someone to stretch. I saw Brad had the ball and I ran through trying to stretch them,” Fucito said. “He made a great throw right in my path and I was one-on-one with the goalie. I hit it and I finished it well. … It was unbelievable.”

The excitement was nearly short-lived, though, as the Wizards raced up the other way on the ensuing kickoff and forced Keller into a dramatic save to hold the lead. Chance Myers carried the ball up the right side of the box and took a low-angle shot that Keller parried away for a corner kick.

“We almost fell asleep there for a second,” said Schmid, was trying to sub Patrick Ianni into the game after the goal, but couldn’t get him on the field. “I think Mike was in a state of euphoria still and didn’t get back on the left side on defense. I think he’ll be in that state for the next 72 hours.”

Despite the enthusiasm of the dramatic home victory, Schmid knows the Sounders are far from where they want to be.

“I’m happy with the win. I’ll always take a win. It felt good to win on a late goal,” Schmid said. “We played better than we did in Salt Lake, but still not up to standards we set for ourselves.”

The win moves the Sounders FC to 2-1-1 (7 points) and drops the Wizards to 2-1-0 (6 points). Seattle will now take to the road for two games in four days, facing FC Dallas at Pizza Hut Park Thursday night and Toronto FC on Sunday afternoon at BMO Field.

Lineups
Sounders FC - Kasey Keller, James Riley, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Tyrone Marshall, Leo Gonzalez, Pat Noonan (Brad Evans 70), Osvaldo Alonso, Peter Vagenas, Steve Zakuani (Mike Fucito 85), Freddie Ljungberg (Patrick Ianni 89), Fredy Montero.
Wizards - Jimmy Nielsen, Michael Harrington, Jimmy Conrad (Matt Besler 32), Pablo Escobar, Roger Espinoza, Davy Arnaud, Stephane Auvray, Jack Jewsbury, Ryan Smith, Kei Kamara (Chance Myers 89), Josh Wolff (Teal Bunbury 82).

Scoring Summary
Sounders FC - Mike Fucito (Brad Evans) 92+.
Wizards - None

[Mental-Man]

Sounders FC Concede Late Penalty, Draw
Posted by: Matt Gaschk

04/22/2010
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For the second time in two weeks, the Sounders FC allowed a stoppage time goal and had to settle for a 2-2 draw on the road.
FRISCO, TEXAS -- The Sounders FC has been down this road before. Already in the young 2010 season they have twice gone into stoppage time toting a 2-1 lead on the road. It happened two weeks ago as the Sounders drew with Real Salt Lake on the road and after allowing a penalty in the 94th minute against FC Dallas on Thursday night, they have now settled for 2-2 draws on both occasions.

Steve Zakuani and Fredy Montero both notched their second goals of the season, but the Sounders FC conceded two penalties, both of which were converted by Jeff Cunningham.

Jason Yeisley collected the ball at the top of the penalty box and pushed the ball forward between the legs of Jhon Kennedy Hurtado and Leo Gonzalez, who had converged in front of him. Yeisley then took one step and fell to the ground while trying to fight his way through the Sounders FC defenders and was awarded the controversial penalty.

“Bad call,” Sounders FC head coach Sigi Schmid said. “There were couple of bad calls near the end of the game. When you’re leading the game 2-1 and a guy gets fouled … that’s just not understanding what’s going on in the game. I haven’t seen the replay, but everyone who has says it was a bad call.”

Adding injury to insult, goalkeeper Kasey Keller had to leave the game when he was kneed in the head by Cunningham while sliding out to stop a run from the FC Dallas striker. He had blurred vision, but remained in the game for the remainder of the first half, only to be replaced at halftime by Terry Boss, who made his Major League Soccer debut.

Boss finished with one save in 45 minutes, but couldn’t stop the decisive stoppage time penalty and came away with the draw. Keller, meanwhile, will be reevaluated Friday morning, at which point his availability for Seattle’s next game against Toronto FC will be determined.

Cunningham got the home side off to a first-half lead when he raced out in front of the Seattle defense to chase a slow ball rolling back to Keller to earn the penalty. Cunningham scored the penalty to put FC Dallas up 1-0 in the 27th minute.

Seattle evened the score in the 38th minute when Osvaldo Alonso sent a long ball forward for Zakuani up the left side. Zakuani carried the ball into the Dallas box without any resistance from the defense and blasted a shot past Dario Sala for his second goal of the year, beating the Dallas keeper inside the far post.

That score held into the second half when Montero was brought down for a foul 41 yards out on the left side. Montero then stepped over the free kick and bent a shot high and inside the left post for his second goal of the season, giving Seattle a 2-1 lead in the 55th minute.

It looked as though Seattle would finish with the road victory, but the stoppage time bug bit them for a second time in two road matches, as Cunningham scored his third goal of the season and second of the night with a 94th minute penalty to tie the score at 2-2.

“The Salt Lake game was less disappointing because we gave ourselves away there. This one sort of got taken away from us,” Schmid said. “It was like Christmas and someone stole your present.”

Seattle is now 2-1-2 (8 points) while FC Dallas remains winlees at 0-1-3 (3 points). The Sounders will remain on the road to face Toronto FC Sunday at 11 am Pacific Time at BMO Field in Toronto.


Lineups
Sounders FC: Kasey Keller (Terry Boss 46), James Riley, Tyrone Marshall, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Leo Gonzalez, David Estrada (Pat Noonan 69), Brad Evans, Osvaldo Alonso, Steve Zakuani, Fredy Montero (Freddie Ljungberg 78), Roger Levesque.
FC Dallas: Dario Sala, Zach Loyd (Jason Yeisley 81) Ugo Ihemelu, George John, Jair Benitez (Brek Shea 73), Atiba Harris, David Ferreira, Dax McCarty (Eric Avila 64), Daniel Hernandez, Heath Pearce, Jeff Cunningham.

Scoring Summary
Sounders FC: Steve Zakuani (Osvaldo Alonso) 38; Fredy Montero 55.
FC Dallas: Jeff Cunningham (pk) 27; Jeff Cunningham (pk) 94+.

[Mental-Man]

De Rosario Lifts Toronto Past Sounders FC
Posted by: Matt Gaschk

04/25/2010
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The Sounders FC were left with one point out of a two-game road trip after Dwayne De Rosario powered Toronto FC to a 2-0 win at BMO Field.
In Major League Soccer, players can’t afford to make critical mistakes.

Particularly when a player the caliber of Dwayne De Rosario is the benefactor.

De Rosario took advantage of two second half miscues from Seattle and got a goal and an assist to power Toronto FC to a 2-0 win over the Sounders FC.

“I thought we were doing alright and were pretty comfortable, then we made a big mistake in the back and that was a big shot of adrenaline for Toronto,” Sounders FC head coach Sigi Schmid said. “Then we made another mistake and then after that Toronto dominated the game the last 20 minutes.”

Injuries forced Schmid to shake up the lineup a bit, but it didn’t deter Seattle’s play on the field. In the first half they moved the ball well, even after Toronto took a physical approach to the game. The home side committed 13 fouls in the game, and made them count as hard tackles left the Sounders on the ground and the referee looking to the book to issue three yellow cards to Toronto for reckless tackles.

Seattle controlled much of the first-half possession and had the best scoring chance early when Patrick Ianni raced down the middle of the box to get his head on a Freddie Ljungberg corner kick, missing high on the attempt in the 9th minute. Brad Evans, starting up top in Schmid’s reconfigured lineup, got three first half shots to lead the team, but was unable to find the net and the two sides went into the intermission in a scoreless tie.

“With (Mike) Fucito going down and with (Pat) Noonan going down, we didn’t have a lot of forward options,” Schmid said. “I thought Evans played well for us up there and I thought Sanna (Nyassi) gave us a good 55 minutes and (Steve) Zakuani gave us some good moments at the end.”

Early in the second half, Toronto gained momentum on De Rosario’s fifth goal of the season. In the 58th minute a Toronto cross attempt hit the referee, knocking it back to Osvaldo Alonso at the top of the box. De Rosario regained possession from the stunned Alonso and fired off a shot to beat Kasey Keller inside the far post to put Toronto FC up 1-0.

“It’s just one of those things where something happens that you’d like to get back. In the end it falls to their hottest player and he smashes the ball into the goal,” said Keller, who was largely untested and finished with one save on the game.

De Rosario then sparked another Toronto goal, feeding second-year forward O’Brian White on a run up the left side of the box. White got behind Seattle’s defense and shot to the far post to put Toronto up 2-0.

Seattle continued to pour on the pressure, though. Toronto FC goalkeeper Stefan Frei was forced into four second-half saves to preserve his first shutout of the season, including one on a chance from Evans in the 60th minute when he took a pass from Zakuani up the right side and took a first-time shot that Frei deflected clear.

“You can make mistakes and that’s part of the game, but with the two big mistakes we made, you will never win the game. It doesn’t matter how good you play,” Ljungberg said. “It’s extremely disappointing that we’re not winning when we play so well. Next time we won’t make those mistakes and we’ll win the game.”

The loss drops Seattle to 2-2-2 (8 points), keeping them in third place in the Western Conference standings. Toronto improves to 2-3-0 (6 points). The Sounders return home after the cross-continent road trip to face the Columbus Crew on Saturday at Qwest Field. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 pm.

Lineups
Sounders FC - Kasey Keller, James Riley (David Estrada 79), Tyrone Marshall, Patrick Ianni, Tyson Wahl, Sanna Nyassi (Steve Zakuani 60), Osvaldo Alonso, Peter Vagenas, Nathan Sturgis (Fredy Montero 71), Freddie Ljungberg, Brad Evans.
Toronto FC - Stefan Frei, Maksim Usanov, Raivas Hscanovics, Adrian Cann, Nana Attakora, Julian de Guzman, Martin Saric, Nick LaBrocca (Sam Cronin 74), Chad Barrett (Dan Gargan 62), Dwayne De Rosario (Gabe Gala 79), O’Brian White.

Scoring Summary
Sounders FC - None.
Toronto FC - Dwayne De Rosario 58; O’Brian White (De Rosario) 76.

[Mental-Man]

Union open new park with 3-1 win over Sounders

Union open new park with 3-1 win over Sounders

by Associated Press

NWCN.com

Posted on June 27, 2010 at 7:03 PM


CHESTER, Pa. -- The Philadelphia Union opened their new stadium in style.

Fred scored the go-ahead goal in the 79th minute to help the Philadelphia Union open their new stadium with a 3-1 win over the Seattle Sounders on Sunday.

Sebastien Le Toux, who assisted on the Brazilian's goal, scored on a penalty in the 55th for his team-leading sixth goal. Seattle's Tyrone Marshall took down Alejandro Moreno in the box.

"It's good to be home," Union manager Peter Nowak said. "This is our place to play and it was fantastic with the fans supporting the team."

Five minutes later, the Sounders were also awarded a penalty, but Noonan's shot was saved by Chris Seitz.

"I watch a lot of tape of players' tendencies, and I think it helped," Seitz said. "I guessed right, and the save kept the crowd into it. We took back the momentum from there and got a huge win."

Rookie Danny Mwanga added a goal in the 85th minute to seal the win at $122 million PPL Park, where some of the crowd of 18,755 arrived four hours before the game.

Philadelphia plays 13 of its next 20 games at the new stadium.

The Philadelphia suburb has been operating under a state of emergency after rash of shootings killed four people in eight days.

The city of Chester has had 11 homicides this year, compared with seven in the same period last year. In recent years, the murder rate has averaged about 20 per year.

At halftime, Union President Tom Veit said the circumstances in Chester didn't hinder the gameday experience.

Veit noted that 400 of 600 game-day employees are current Chester residents.

"I've talked to a large number of fans, and I haven't heard one complaint," Veit said

[Mental-Man]

Another good result for the Sounders FC, Ljungberg has been traded to Chicago,Montero is back on form again.

Montero's goal lifts Sounders past Earthquakes
Credit: AP


by Associated Press

NWCN.com

Posted on July 31, 2010 at 11:46 PM



SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) -- Fredy Montero continued his hot streak for Seattle, scoring in the 26th minute and leading the Sounders to their third consecutive victory.

Montero has now scored or assisted on the Sounders' last eight goals and 12 of their last 15. Seattle (7-8-4) moved past both San Jose and Colorado into fourth place in the Western Conference.

Playing their first match since trading high-profile designated player Freddie Ljungberg to Chicago, the Sounders didn't miss his presence. They easily could have scored three more goals if not for leaping or sprawling saves from Earthquakes goalkeeper Jon Busch.

San Jose (6-5-5) tried everything in the second half to generate more offense, but came up with only two shots on goal all nigh

[Partizan]

Is there anything more irritating than American English. Qwest Field..... What next? Castle Greyskull.

[Mental-Man]

Sounders on a roll and Montero is back on form again ...

Presented By:
Sounders Win Fourth Straight
Posted by: Matt Gaschk

08/9/2010
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Fredy Montero registered his ninth straight match with a goal or an assist - and did both as the Sounders improved to 6-0-2 in their last eight matches overall.
SEATTLE - The Sounders FC continues to barrel through all competition thrown in front of them. Sunday night, the Houston Dynamo did some barreling of their own, but Seattle held their ground and fought back to a 2-0 win in front of a sellout crowd of 36,111 at Qwest Field.

Fredy Montero scored one and assisted to Alvaro Fernandez on the other while Kasey Keller picked up his seventh shutout of the season and the Sounders improved to 4-0-1 in their last five MLS matches.

“Today was a good result, especially against Houston,” Sounders FC head coach Sigi Schmid said. “Last year and in the past when we’ve played teams that are more physical or robust are teams that have given us a hard time. We were able to match that and came out ahead at the end of the day, so I was very pleased.”

Montero has been the spark plug for the Sounders in their stellar stretch of play, scoring or assisting in each of their last nine matches. Sunday night was no different as Montero ignited the team with his eighth goal of the season in the 64th minute.

After a back-and-forth scrum of a first half that saw the Sounders outshoot the Dynamo 5-2, Seattle exploded for nine second half shots while opening the game up to their attack and allowing midfielder Osvaldo Alonso space to shoot from just outside the box.

But in the 64th minute, it was Keller who got the Sounders out on the run. Keller collected the ball and caught the Dynamo on the counter attack by sending a long punt into Houston’s end. The ball bounced high into the air and Montero shielded Eddie Robinson, who has four inches and 25 pounds on the young Sounders striker. Montero collected the ball with Robinson on his back, pivoted around the veteran defender and blasted a shot past Tally Hall for the 1-0 lead.

“The credit goes to Kasey Keller for the long pass. It’s really difficult to defend when you get control of the ball in the area,” Montero said. “This time I got the better of it and it turned out positive.”

Keller was credited with the assist on the play, marking the first time a Sounders goalkeeper showed up on the score sheet. Keller, however, was more impressed with Montero’s incredible run of play.

“Fredy is on fire. He’s working extremely hard. He is doing some great stuff,” Keller said. “What I like so much about his game right now is that he has got a ton of assists as well. He is really turning into a complete player and I’m proud of him.”

Montero would add an assist in the 88th when he slid the ball forward for Fernandez on the run on the left side of the circle. All alone on the left side, Fernandez drew Hall off his line and shot past him and into the net for his first MLS goal.

It was his second goal overall after scoring a header to draw Isidro Metapan in the preliminary round of the CONCACAF Champions League. It was also his first appearance at Qwest Field.

“He made a good run and then his composure showed because he mistouched it on his first touch, but he was able to recover and his composure on finish was very good,” Schmid said. “Being able to finish plays is something that allows you to win games and he’s done it twice for us now in the past two games.”

The Sounders improved to 8-8-4 (28 points) on the season, retaining fourth place in the Western Conference standings. They are unbeaten in their last eight matches overall. Houston, meanwhile, are winless in their last nine league matches and fell to 5-9-5 (20 points).

Seattle’s next match comes Saturday night at the Home Depot Center against last place Chivas USA.

Scoring
Sounders FC - Fredy Montero (Kasey Keller) 64; Alvaro Fernandez (Montero, Nate Jaqua) 88.
Dynamo - None.

Lineups
Sounders FC - Kasey Keller, James Riley, Patrick Ianni, Jeff Parke, Leo Gonzalez, Sanna Nyassi (Mike Seamon 85), Osvaldo Alonso, Nathan Sturgis, Steve Zakuani (Alvaro Fernandez 69), Fredy Montero, Blaise Nkufo (Nate Jaqua 87).
Dynamo - Tally Hall, Eddie Robinson, Bobby Boswell, Andrew Hainault, Mike Chabala, Corey Ashe (Brian Mullan 58), Danny Cruz (Dominic Oduro 76), Richard Mulrooney, Brad Davis (Geoff Cameron 58), Joseph Ngwenya, Brian Ching.

[Mental-Man]

Montero is in blistering form this season .....


Man On Fire
Posted by: Matt Gaschk

08/28/2010
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Fredy Montero continued his stellar run with two goals as the Sounders extended their unbeaten streak to seven MLS matches with a 2-1 win over the Chicago Fire.
SEATTLE - The Sounders FC may have played bigger matches than their meeting with the Chicago Fire Saturday night at Qwest Field.

None, however, carried the drama that Seattle’s 2-1 win brought to the equation.

In a match that saw the celebrated return of Freddie Ljungberg to Seattle, Fredy Montero stole the show with two goals, including an exclamation point in stoppage time to punctuate the Sounders victory.

“It is pretty exciting,” Sounders FC head coach Sigi Schmid said. “You do all the hard work and when you win one like that and you score late like you do, it's such an outstanding feeling. That's something that sometimes becomes defining moments for teams in a season. Hopefully this will help us in becoming a defining moment for us.”

Seattle conceded a first-half lead to Chicago when Jeff Parke was whistled for a handball in the box when a backpass from Patrick Nyarko caromed off his thigh and into his arm. John Thorrington converted on the penalty, going to the top right corner for the 28th minute lead.

Although they hadn’t had a comeback win in the 2010 season, the Sounders never wavered in their confidence and kept pressing for the equalizer.

It didn’t take long though.

Patrick Ianni darted out to midfield to pick off a free ball, then passed to Tyson Wahl on the left sideline and Wahl tight-roped the painted line to keep the ball in play. He whipped a ball into open space at the top of the box, leaving Montero alone behind the Chicago defense. He touched the ball down off a bounce, hesitated to let the defense race past him, then blistered a shot inside the far post to even the score at 1-1 in the 36th minute.

That score held into stoppage time, but like a rising tide it felt to the 36,386 in attendance that the game-winner was just around the corner.

Two minutes into stoppage time, it came off the head of Montero.

James Riley took a quick throw-in to Nathan Sturgis on the right sideline. Sturgis turned away from the net and put the ball on his left foot while Riley charged up the sideline to occupy the nearest defender. Sturgis saw Montero all alone at the far post and Montero nodded the cross past Sean Johnson to give Seattle the lead.

“I think any team, any situation you can get a quick restart and sometimes in that situation the defense kind of shuts down a little bit and aren't really paying attention, aren't seeing guys behind them,” Sturgis said. “I think anytime you can get a quick restart or anything to change the pace of the game that you can catch defenses off guard.”

For Montero, it was his team-leading tenth goal of the year, putting him third in MLS behind just Edson Buddle with 13 and Juan Pablo Angel with 12.

“It was a very big goal. We have been dreaming about this situation and a goal so late in the game, giving us three points, got us closer to the playoffs,” Montero said.

Kasey Keller finished with three saves to earn the victory as the Sounders move to 5-0-2 in their last seven MLS matches, improving to 9-8-5 on the year and putting them sixth overall in the MLS playoff picture.

“We need to win our games at home. To end the season a lot of games are on the road so it's really important for us to get three points at home so we don't have as much pressure on the road to get points,” Sturgis said. “I think it was a really big game for us.”

Seattle’s next MLS match will come next Saturday in Gillette Stadium against the New England Revolution, but they have the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup semifinal first on Wednesday night at Starfire Stadium against Chivas USA. SoundersFC.com will be hosting a live webcast of that match with kickoff slated for 7:30.

[Mental-Man]

Sounders Streak Stops At Seven
Posted by: Matt Gaschk

09/4/2010
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Steve Zakuani scored Seattle's only goal in a 3-1 loss to New England, ending their unbeaten streak at seven MLS matches.
FOXBORO, Mass. - All good things must come to an end. On Saturday night, that was the reality for the Sounders FC, who watched their unbeaten run of seven straight MLS matches finished off with a 3-1 loss to the New England Revolution in front of 13,124 at Gillette Stadium.

Steve Zakuani gave Seattle a 1-0 lead in the 59th minute, but Seattle couldn’t hold on and allowed three goals in an 11-minute stretch to concede their first defeat since July 4 - a 3-1 road loss to the LA Galaxy.

“That was the worst ten minutes we played all year. That can’t happen again if we want to continue on,” goalkeeper Kasey Keller said. “We’ve got to get this out and learn from it and if we don’t learn from it, then I’m sure there’ll be some changes.”

Keller made the first of his six saves in the second minute when Ilija Stolica got a shot away and Seattle’s defense continued to bend, but not break, through the first half and the game went to half with a 0-0 scoreline.

Zakuani then notched his eighth goal of the season early in the second half. James Riley threw the ball in for Roger Levesque, who touched it back to Riley against the right sideline. Riley then played it back to Alvaro Fernandez who sent it through for Riley on a run toward the box. He laid it back to Zakuani who took one touch, then blasted it inside the far post for the goal.

“If I can contribute scoring goals it helps the team. I don’t think it’s my main job for the team, but if I can score goals it’s going to be good for me,” said Zakuani, who hadn’t scored since a two-goal effort against the Colorado Rapids July 25. “I’d rather have won the game today and not scored.”

In the 69th minute, New England took a long throw-in that didn’t result in a goal, but was doubly important on the outcome of the game. Kevin Alston sent a ball in from the right side on a throw that was tipped to Chris Tierney at the far post, but Seattle had three defenders converge to prevent a goal and Tierney knocked it out of play.

New England was awarded a corner kick on the play and in the setup for the corner kick, Patrick Ianni and Shalrie Joseph came together in a small tussle in the box. It is unclear on the replays as to what Ianni did to Joseph, but the New England midfielder clearly takes a swing at Ianni in retaliation and both players went down.

After the ensuing mayhem on the field, New England took the corner kick and one moment later earned another throw-in from the same spot. Alston sent this one into the box and it bounced off of Joseph to Tierney at the far post. Keller beat him to the post, but Tierney sent it back to the opposite post for the goal, evening the score at 1-1 in the 70th minute.

“We haven’t made mistakes back there in a while. I didn’t think we defended the throw-in well. We just cleared one on the line right before and nobody took charge of it and figured out that they were going to do the same thing again.”

Just three minutes later, Marko Perovic got to a loose ball at the top of the Seattle box, but couldn’t control it and it bounced around, eventually popping off of Osvaldo Alonso’s foot and back toward Seattle’s goal. Perovic got to the ball before Seattle could respond and poked it into the net for a 2-1 lead in the 73rd minute.

Then in the 81st minute Kheli Dube added his first goal of the season on a blast on the run to give New England the final 3-1 edge.

“I don’t know what happened. We just uncharacteristically just absolutely fell apart after we scored our goal,” Keller said. “They picked up the pace and we melted, which is just not like us.”

The Sounders will look to bounce back on Thursday against Real Salt Lake at Qwest Field.

“We’re going to find out how good we really are by how we recover from this adversity,” Zakuani said. “The last time we lost was to LA, 3-1 as well. And then we went on a seven game unbeaten run. We can do the same thing. We’re still in a very strong position. It’s tough to swallow, but we’re already focused on Salt Lake.”

Kickoff is set for 8 pm in a nationally televised contest on ESPN2.

[Bluebeard]

Is that 8 Pacific or Eastern? I might catch some of it if Eastern.