Frequent Flyer Seattle Sounders Face Columbus Crew in Pivotal MLS Match

The frequent flyer Seattle Sounders played in San Jose, Costa Rica.  Their nearly 8,000 mile trip will be completed Saturday in Ohio’s capital city of Columbus.  They will confront the MLS Eastern Conference leader, the Columbus Crew, in a match set to begin at 4:30 p.m. PT. Columbus holds great significance for Sounders coach Sigi Schmid.  It is the city where he achieved an MLS Cup and Supporters' Shield in 2008, his third season of coaching the Crew. Saturday's match is also a preview of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final, between Seattle and Columbus slated for October 5 on the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field. Sounders FC reached the halfway point of its CONCACAF Champions League group stage campaign in a 0-2 loss to CD Saprissa in San Jose, Costa Rica on Tuesday night, leaving the team with an 0-3 mark in its first three Group C matches.  Earlier the Sounders lost 2-1 to CD Marathón in Honduras and 2-0 to CF Monterrey in Seattle.Sounders FC is last in its group, trailing Monterrey (3-0-0), Saprissa (2-0-1), and Marathón (1-0-2). The team is now 12-12-8 in overall competition and tied for fifth in the Western Conference of ...

Seattle Sounders Plagued by Red Card in Costa Rican Loss

It was a tough assignment in the first place, seeking to defeat a tough CD Saprissa squad on its home pitch of Estadio Ricardo Saprissa in San Jose, Costa Rica Tuesday night.The task became increasingly difficult when, in the 38th minute, Seattle Sounders FC defender Leo Gonzalez incurred a red card for a high kick foul in the thigh towards Jairo Arrieta.  Playing with 10 men for the remainder of the round three CONCACAF Champions League Group Stage match, the result was a disappointing 2-0 loss.The red card tragedy was made even harder to swallow in view of the fact that San Jose is Gonzalez’ home town.  This was his first trip back to Costa Rica in a year and the foul was incurred in front of friends and family members during a competition that he hoped would mark a successful homecoming.The Sounders, desperately needing at least a draw and one point after coming into round three action winless, began fast.  The team pressed the early action against a strong Central American rival known for its ability to play possession soccer and keeping the ball away from the opposition.After the red card misfortune with Gonzalez, Seattle was able to escape ...

Call Them The Frequent Flier Seattle Sounders

Seattle Sounders Coach Sigi Schmid might well have reacted to the schedule demands of his team by checking out his frequent flier miles. Seattle’s location alone necessitates travel beyond what other teams endure.  Now couple that with international play beyond the challenging Major League Soccer schedule and the frequent flier factor becomes all the more evident.Consider that a pair of homecomings and two significant matches await the Seattle Sounders FC on a journey of nearly 8,000 miles this week. Sounders FC reaches the halfway point of its CONCACAF Champions League group stage campaign when it visits CD Saprissa in San Jose, Costa Rica on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. PT. The match will be carried nationally by Fox Soccer Channel. Seattle then moves on to the capital of Ohio and a date with the Columbus Crew, leader of the MLS Eastern Conference, on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. PT.The Sounders seek their first points in the Champions League after falling to CD Marathón of Honduras and CF Monterrey last month. Monterrey leads Group C with six points while Marathón and Saprissa have three each. In MLS, Seattle (9-9-6, 33 points) is out to strengthen its hold on a playoff position. It is tied ...

Kasey Keller Saves Seattle Sounders in Scoreless Tie with Real Salt Lake

As the MLS season moves ever closer to the playoffs, the one thing that the Seattle Sounders did not want to endure was a loss in their match with red-hot Real Salt Lake Thursday night. Kasey Keller, the Sounders' team captain and most veteran player at 40, proved once more why he has become one of the enduring players of American soccer with an impressive resume of international professional activity along with spots on the American National Team.In a tightly locked defensive struggle where goals are at a premium, the surest route to victory often lies in making good on a penalty kick.  The odds are squarely in favor of the offensive side and a defending goalkeeper is compelled to initially guess right and then make a quick move to thwart a booming kick at close range.Veteran goalie Keller was the man for such a job, as he snuffed out Real Salt Lake’s golden opportunity and enabled the Sounders, who now stand at 9-9-6, to avoid the loss and garner a point.   Keller stopped a penalty kick in the 32nd minute by Robbie Findley, who had been tripped by Seattle defender Jeff Parke in the left side of ...

Seattle Sounders Face Defending MLS Champion Real Salt Lake

Seattle Sounders FC and reigning MLS Cup champion Real Salt Lake, two teams currently demonstrating winning ways, clash in a late-season Western Conference showdown Thursday night before a national television audience and capacity crowd on the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field. First kick is 8 p.m. PT with the match telecast live on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes.Undefeated in its last four games against Western Conference foes, the Rave Green seeks its fourth straight home win before beginning an odyssey of four road matches being played in three nations over 12 days. Real Salt Lake will be returning to the site of its most glorious night.  That occurred last November 22 when it prevailed over the L.A. Galaxy in a shoot-out to claim its first MLS Cup. Sounders FC has compiled a 9-9-5 mark for 32 points in league play.  The team stands 12-11-7 overall.  It has recently been on domestic tear, losing only once with a glossy 7-1-2 mark in 10 games. The next phase of matches will prove challenging as well as seasonally pivotal. The next two MLS games come against defending champion RSL and the Columbus Crew, winner of the last two Supporters' Shields and Coach Sigi Schmid’s former ...

Tyrone Marshall: Seattle Sounders Defender, Jamaican National Team Member

Tyrone Marshall wears the smile of a content man.  Spend a few minutes talking to him and you immediately learn why. Following a recent workout at the Seattle Sounders’ Tukwila training facility, Marshall spent some time talking about his career.  He promptly revealed the basis for his happiness.“From the time I was a very young boy I wanted to be a soccer player,” Marshall said.  “I got my dream fulfilled by getting to make my living playing the game I love.”Marshall was born in Kingston, Jamaica and moved with his family to Fort Lauderdale at the age of 14.  He still retains some of his Jamaican accent along with certain customs, as evidenced by delivering the nation’s customary greeting of, “Hey, mon!”Soccer was a byproduct of Marshall’s genes, which explains at least in part why he was kicking a soccer ball around by the age of four.  Marshall’s father, bearing the distinguished British first name of Cornell, had a distinguished career in the sport.“My father began by playing semi-pro soccer,” Marshall said, “And finally he became a member of the Jamaican National Team.”The link to the Jamaican National Team is one in which son would ultimately follow father.The younger Marshall’s natural ...

Quick New England Revolution Surge Sinks Seattle Sounders 3-1

How does an eruption cause destruction? Ask Seattle Sounders coach Sigi Schmid.  He could supply sad reflection on that point following his team’s 3-1 loss against the New England Revolution at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts Saturday night before 13,124 onlookers. The home team stood in last place while the Sounders due to a recent hot streak had finally clawed their way into playoff standing in the MLS Western Conference.  Additionally, the Sounders had scored their most decisive win of the campaign when the Revolution visited Qwest Field and scored a 3-0 win after gaining all of its goals in an explosive first half.Saturday’s encounter looked like it might have another smooth and favorable outcome for the Sounders when they got on the scoreboard with Steve Zakuani doing the honors.  The Congo-born and British-bred speedster delivered his goal in the 59th minute. The goal was generated on a feed from recent Uruguayan acquisition Alvaro Fernandez.  His delivery to James Riley was followed by a pass back to Zakuani, who beat Matt Reis with a low shot to the far left side for his eighth goal of the season. Not long after that the contretemps started and the Sounders were not the ...

Seattle Sounders Take Playoff Quest To New England

As the 2010 season reaches its final stages a Sounders team that has attained ts optimal level of play seeks to achieve post-season playoff status.  The latest effort in that direction occurs Saturday at 4:30 PT as the Sounders tackle the host New England Revolution at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.After pleasing the home faithful Wednesday night at Starfire Stadium in Tukwila, Washington with an impressive 3-1 victory over Chivas USA to advance to the finals of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup championship, Seattle Sounders FC switches gears and moves back into MLS competition. Wednesday night Nate Jaqua scored twice and Steve Zakuani supplied two assists.  The Rave Green will continue its bid to repeat as Cup champions when it hosts the Columbus Crew in the Open Cup Final on October 5 on the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field. The Sounders have achieved a seasonal MLS mark of 9 wins with 8 losses and 5 draws for 32 points.  Overall after including friendlies and international competition the team stands at 12-10-7 overall.  Seattle is on a current domestic hot steak with only one setback in the team’s last 11 matches.After coming from behind to beat Freddie Ljungberg and the Chicago Fire ...

Nate Jaqua Pushes Seattle Sounders Past Chivas USA 3-1

The Sounders will face its Coach Sigi Schmid’s last team, Columbus Crew, in the Open Cup final October 5th on the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field.  Columbus outlasted D.C. United 2-1 in extra time Wednesday night in the other semifinal match. Nate Jaqua scored two goals as Seattle Sounders FC forged its way to the finals of Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup competition with a 3-1 victory over Chivas USA in the very friendly confines of Starfire Sports Stadium in Tukwila, Washington before a capacity throng of 4.547. The victory enabled the Sounders to shut the door on an unenviable statistic they sought to eliminate.  Since the franchise’s inception last season Seattle had been unable to penetrate the Chivas USA goal in four matches.Sounders FC is bidding to become the first repeat U.S. Open winner since 1982-83. It is unbeaten at Starfire, which also houses the team’s training facility, in six matches.Eager to erase the scoreless string against the visitors, the team of forward Jaqua and Steve Zakuani went to work early to produce the first goal of the evening in the 11th minute.  A Fredy Montero pass enabled Zakuani to break free behind the Chivas USA defense on the left ...

Seattle Sounders Battle Chivas USA In U.S. Open Cup Action

The Sounders are pitted against Chivas USA in a sold-out U.S. Open Cup semifinal at Starfire Sports Stadium with first kick at 7:30 p.m. Last year Seattle Sounders FC garnered the U.S. Open Cup.  When the Rave Green takes the pitch Wednesday night in Tukwila, Washington it will be with an eye toward repeating last year’s feat. The scene then shifts 2,500 miles to the east and Foxborough, Massachusetts on Saturday when Seattle faces the New England Revolution at 4:30 p.m. PT. Over the past two months since beginning Open Cup play, Sounders FC (9-8-5, 32 points in league; 11-10-7 overall) has been on domestic tear, losing only once in 10 games. If it can advance past Chivas USA (6-11-4, 22 points), Seattle will host the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final on October 5 on the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field. The Columbus Crew and D.C. United meet in Wednesday's other semifinal.The Rave Green are cup holders but have yet to score a goal in four MLS meetings with Chivas USA, which defeated D.C. United 1-0 at home on Sunday to snap a three game losing string. Seattle will face Chivas USA again in its final regular season home game  October ...