Seahawks winning streak halted by Redskins

'Skins end a six-game losing streak while snapping Hawks brief two-game winning streak 

SEATTLE - It looked like things were looking up for the young Seattle Seahawks. With the Washington Redskins coming into town with a horrible quarterback, Rex Grossman, and a six-game losing streak, Seattle had the potential to win and hold onto fleeting hopes of catching San Francisco for the division title. Now you can kiss that hope goodbye after the Redskins rallied for a 23-17 win over the Seahawks.

Marshawn Lynch continued to carry the team by rushing for 111 yards and caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Tavaris Jackson, but turnovers set up the game in the end for Washington to march down the field for the wininng touchdown. Seattle dropped to 4-7 with the loss, six games behind the 49ers in the NFC West.

Seahawks playing themselves out of Luck sweepstakes

Just when you think the Seattle Seahawks could not play any worse, they go out and beat the AFC North leading Baltimore Ravens, a team known for its stout defense.

Seattle’s 22-17 victory over Baltimore last Sunday at Century Link Field was shocking after disappointing losses to Cleveland, Cincinnati and Dallas the last three weeks gave the Hawks six losses midway through the season.

The Seahawks looked good from the start with Marshawn Lynch rushing for a touchdown and the special teams forcing a turnover to set up a field goal and 10-0 first quarter lead. From that point on, Seattle kept their lead by kicking field goals.

Lynch reached the 100-yard rushing plateau for the second straight week, the first time in his career he has done so. He has also rushed for a touchdown in the last five games he’s played, something no Seahawk back has done since the Shaun Alexander days.

It is hard to imagine the letdown Baltimore had considering they beat the Pittsburgh Steelers twice this season and many have predicted them to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. But two fumbles on punt returns cost them and Seattle took advantage of the 12th man support to notch their third victory on the season.

Seattle currently sits in second place in the NFC West behind the surging San Francisco 49ers. The Seahawks might as well be in no-man’s land because there is no way they can over take the Niners for the division lead. While the schedule gets easier for Seattle with upcoming games against the struggling St. Louis Rams and Washington Redskins, it is hard to imagine the Hawks putting a run together to clinch a playoff spot.

Let me be clear that I am NOT in favor of Seattle throwing in the towel for a high draft pick; it certainly looked at one point that is what Coach Pete Carroll was doing. The offense has really struggled with both Charlie Whitehurst and Tavaris Jackson at quarterback. A lot of the blame should go to the offensive line for not offering protection or blocking in the running game. But neither quarterback has shown an ability to lead while Matt Hasselbeck has had a great year for the Tennessee Titans while mentoring Ferndale’s favorite son Jake Locker.

The number one projected player coming out of college this year is Stanford’s quarterback and Heisman Trophy favorite Andrew Luck. After watching the winless Indianapolis Colts look helpless without Peyton Manning, it looks as though the Colts will win the Luck sweepstakes, getting the first overall pick for having the worst regular season record.

But there is still seven weeks left in the season and who knows what can happen. My hope is that Seattle will draft a quarterback in the first round and groom their franchise leader for the future. Maybe the Seahawks will get lucky.

Sounders eliminated again

SEATTLE - While the Seattle finally won their first playoff game after five tries in three years, the three goal deficit proved too much to overcome as the Sounders were eliminated by Real Salt Lake 4-3 on aggregates in the MLS playoffs.

The highest scoring team with the most comeback wins on the season, came one goal away from advancing in the playoffs. The loss is even more dissapointing considerig it was Kasey Keller's last playoff run and he ended his illustrious career without a league championship.

The L.A. Galaxy ended up winning the MLS Cup in front of their home fans while sending off David Beckham a winner in probably his last game in American soccer.

Sounders comeback win caps Keller's home finale

photo by Greg Pierce

SEATTLE – Arlo White said it best, ‘Who is writing the script for Kasey Keller?’

The legendary goalkeeper’s final regular season home game could not have had a better ending Saturday night.

In front of a MLS record 64,140 Sounders fans, who came to honor America’s best goalkeeper, Keller, did not disappoint turning away seven shots while the Sounders once again won in comeback fashion with two late goals to edge the San Jose Earthquakes 2-1.

A defensive lapse by Jhon Kennedy Hurtado led to a break-away goal by San Jose’s Chris Wondolowski in the 24th minute.

From there Keller put up the wall, denying the Earthquakes with four saves in one exhilarating sequence that had the crowd chanting, “Kasey Keller!”

In the 65th minute, Sounders defender Patrick Ianni rolled a soft pass back to Keller that Earthquakes forward Khari Stephenshon charged on. Keller beat him to the ball and knocked it out to Wondolowski who took a shot off the rebound that Keller had to dive to make a foot-save to the right side of the box. Simon Dawkins then hit the rebound from the top of the box and Keller dove to his right to bat it away with his right hand. Wondolowski had another chance to get to the ball but Keller dove and slapped the ball away in time to keep the Sounders down a goal.

A couple Seattle substitutions in the second half made an impact coach Sigi Schmid was hoping for.

Maruo Rosales, playing in his first game back after missing five games due to injury, assisted on the first goal with a long pass over the Earthquake defense to rookie midfielder Sammy Ochoa. He hit it off the second bounce past the goalie for the equalizer.

Then came Fredy Montero to the rescue in the 85^th minute for the game-winner.

            Keller said after the game his final home game in Seattle was the most nervous he has ever been since his last World Cup appearance in 2006. If he was nervous, nobody noticed as Keller played composed and brilliant as always.

Sounders win Cascadia Cup

Latest win restores Seattle to second in West

VANCOUVER – In the last game in Empire Field, the temporary home of the expansion Vancouver Whitecaps, their northwest rival Seattle Sounders stole the show.

                                            

Fredy Montero took his game to another level, scoring two goals inside five minutes of the second half to lead the Seattle to a 3-1 victory over Vancouver to claim the first MLS Cascadia Cup presented to the best northwest team.

No surprise Seattle is the best northwest team already three years in the MLS with Portland and Vancouver in their inaugural season. With the win Seattle, with 15 wins and 54 points, moved back into second place in the Western Conference ahead of Real Salt Lake and behind the L.A. Galaxy. Vancouver on the contrary is last in the MLS with just four wins.

Camillo scored in the 19th minute to give Vancouver the first lead of the game. Brad Evans converted a penalty kick goal in the 33rd minute after handball in the box by Vancouver defender Jay DeMerrit drew a yellow card.

With the score tied going into the second half, Montero once again rose to the occasion to pick his team up. In the 63rd minute, Montero sent a ball to Nate Jaqua whose header missed the mark but while clearing the ball out, a Whitecaps defender bicycle-kicked the ball right to Montero 15 yards from the goal. With defenders quickly swarming him he side-stepped to his right and blasted a hard left-footed shot into the back left corner of the net, giving Seattle a 2-1 lead.

If one is nice, more is better. Not five minutes later did Montero find the ball at his feet within his range and he delivered a strong shot that deflected off DeMerrit and into the net for another goal.

Montero now has nine goals this season to lead Seattle and 11 career game-winning goals. Four times this season Seattle has comeback to win after the opposing team scores first.

Seattle finished with the best record in six head-to-head matchups between Portland and Vancouver. Not including a pre-season friendly match, Seattle did not lose to either team, beat each team once, and tied both once.

Seattle’s supporter came out in strong numbers overshadowing the Whitecaps crowd and turned home-field advantage over to the green team. With the win secured, Sounders fans serenades of chants took over the stadium. When the Cascadia Cup was presented to Seattle, Sounders fans were the only ones left in the stadium cheering on the victors. Keller and Montero held the trophy up to the fans as they reveled in celebration.

Rosales’ late game heroics lift Sounders over Sporting Kansas City

Coach Schmid wins 150th MLS game in comeback style

KANSAS CITY – It looked like the Seattle Sounders were heading for a disappointing 1-nil loss to Sporting Kansas City Saturday night when Mauro Rosales woke his team up in the 90th minute.

            Rosales took a pass on the right side of the box while two defenders collided at a failed attempt to clear the ball, both slipping to the turf. Rosales was left open to fire a shot into the left corner of the goal to tie the game.

            On Seattle’s next possession just a minute later Rosales dribbled the ball into the middle of the box and passed it off to Michael Fucito who then passed it to his left to Lamar Neagle took a quick right footed shot past SKC goalie Jimmy Neilson into the right corner of the net.

Seattle won in dramatic comeback fashion, 2-1 over SKC. The goal for Seattle marked the third straight game against SKC that ended in a Sounders game-winning goal in stoppage time. Both of Seattle’s two goals were scored in the five minutes of the game. Sounders Recap video

Seattle’s win is the first by an opponent at Livestrong Park. The Sounders broke SKC’s 14-game unbeaten streak. SKC started the season 1-6-3 before the streak begun. After running up an 11-game unbeaten streak of their own before losing last week to Houston, Seattle’s win kept them in third place in the Western Conference four points ahead of the reigning MLS Champion Colorado Rapids.

Substitutions for Seattle proved to make a difference late in the game under the sweltering Kansas City heat.

A double substitution in the 55th minute, Fucito came in for Freddy Montero up front and Pat Noonan replaced Alvaro Fernandez in the midfield.

A critical moment came shortly after Noonan entered the game. A little controversy emerged when a kick toward Sounder defender James Riley appeared to be a handball in their zone, but no penalty was called. Then Riley broke for the ball and intercepted a SKC pass that Noonan picked up but a hard sliding foul on Bravo brought a Red Card out from the referee, ejecting Bravo and leaving SKC down one player. It got tense when Bravo bent down and made a comment to Noonan while he was on the ground. Noonan burst up and looked to head butt Bravo, but Bravo put a little acting into his fall, trying to get Noonan pulled from the game as well.

Seattle brought a furious attack in the 68th minute with the score still 1-0. Moments earlier Neagle came into the game replacing Roger Lévesque. Fucito took a hard shot that Neilson made a strong save on but the ball rebounded right to Neagle. He kicked it aimed for the right corner of the net but Neilson scrambled for the ball and made a diving kick save, reminiscent of a hockey goalie, kick save and a beauty. Seattle’s best scoring chance went away.

In the end Seattle came back to rally for another comeback win. Sounders coach Ziggy Schmid reached a big milestone in MLS history becoming the first coach to reach 150 wins. With the win the Sounders kept within one point of FC Dallas for second place behind the L.A. Galaxy, who had a long winning streak snapped by the Portland Timbers last week.

Next up for the Sounders is Chivas USA Saturday, August 13 at Century Link Field in Seattle.

Sounders comeback wins continue unbeaten streak

Sounders dispatch Rapids, Timbers to run unbeaten streak to 11 games

The Seattle Sounders are en fuego.

With two come from behind wins against their Cascadia rivals the Portland Timbers and MLS Champion Colorado Rapids in which they combined for seven goals, the Sounders extended their unbeaten streak to 11 games. Including two US Open Cup wins, Seattle has not lost since May 25, a 1-0 defeat to FC Dallas.

With 10 wins and 38 points in MLS play, Seattle is now just one point behind the L.A. Galaxy for the best record in the league.

The Sounders have emerged as one of the highest scoring teams during the unbeaten streak, scoring 23 goals in the past 11 games. While Designated Player Fredy Montero got off to a slow start to the season, he has quickly ignited Seattle’s offense with three goals in the last two games. Montero leads the Sounders with six goals this season.

The Sounders have been great at overcoming deficits late in games when the pressure is on. Seattle has scored 11 goals in the last 15 minutes of matches this season, a league high. Wins over the Rapids and Timbers have demonstrated Seattle’s resiliency and toughness to come back and take games over.

JULY 16 - Colorado Rapids @ Seattle Sounders

SEATTLE - The Sounders came from behind twice against the Rapids before putting the game away late. In the 82nd minute with the game tied at 2, substitute Brad Evans got open in the right corner of the box and crossed the ball to the far post where Fredy Montero was ready for the deflection, knocking the ball in with a low diving header to give the Sounders a 3-2 lead.

            The fans were still cheering the first goal when Seattle struck again. Just one minute later, Montero sent a soft pass over Colorado defense to Mauro Rosales whose shot fired past Pickens putting the Sounders up 4-2.

            The Rapids scored in the opening and final minute, capitalizing on poor clearing by the Sounders defense. Despite the start and finish, Seattle controlled the quick pace for the majority of the game with 11 shots. The Sounders responded in the 7th minute when  Osvaldo Alonso sent a long pass to Alvaro Fernandez up the middle who beat his defender with nifty slide to get open and held him off to fire a hard shot past goalie Matt Pickens for his fifth goal of the season.

            Colorado reclaimed the lead on a Jeff Larentowicz goal in the 42nd minute and took a 2-1 lead into halftime. The Sounders responded quickly in the second half. Mauro Rosales sent in a cross from the right side that found Roger Levesque in the middle box and he redirected the shot in for a goal to tie the game. Levesque’s goal was his third this year with Rosales picking up his sixth assist to lead the team.

            With the win, Seattle completed a season sweep of the Rapids, also winning 1-0 April, 22 in Colorado. In that game a hard tackle from Colorado’s Brian Mullan broke Seattle Midfielder Steve Zakuani’s leg and ended his season. Mullan, who did not play in Seattle, was suspended for 10 games for his foul on Zakuani.

JULY 10 – Seattle Sounders @ Portland Timbers

PORTLAND – The Seattle Sounders found themselves in hostile Timber country on Sunday at Jeld-Wan Field. With the sound of chanting Portlandia fans and chainsaws cutting into logs, the smell of freshly cut wood was in the air. Fans in forest green jerseys with their scarves up looked to intimidate the Sounders fans who traveled down the freeway for another Cascadia rivalry game for soccer supremacy in the Pacific Northwest.

            While Portland’s excitement for their team is impressive being the second best attendance in MLS (behind Seattle) in their first season, the Timbers play has yet to reach the level the Sounders are playing now.

            After a scoreless first half, the pace picked up right out of the gate after halftime. Timber’s forward Kalif Alhassan ran down the right sideline and crossed a ball in for Jorge Perlaza whose shot deflected off Sounders defender Jeff Parke past Kasey Kellar for an own-goal.

            Seattle answered with a set play off a foul 27 yards out. Montero stepped up with a shot that bent over the Portland wall and snuck into the left corner of the goal to tie the game.

            Just 10 minutes later Perlaza struck again with his shot deflecting off Tyson Wahl past a diving Kellar to put the Timbers back on top.

            Montero would bring the Sounders back even once again receiving a pass from Rosales to the middle of the penalty box to tap in the pass off a bounce for his second goal.

            The Sounders broke free in the 83rd minute when second half substitute Lamar Neagle outran Eric Brunner in the box chasing after a pass from Alonso. Brunner took down Neagle which called for a penalty shot and red card for taking away a scoring opportunity. Alonso netted the penalty shot past Perkins to give the Sounders a 3-2 lead.

            Montero nearly scored a hat-trick goal in the 87th minute heading a ball down from Rosales but Perkins made the hand save and the ball bounced just in front of the goal line.

The Sounders defense took a hit in the 53rd minute when Jhon Kennedy Hurtado went in on a tackle and injured his right knee.  He was replaced by Patrick Ianni and will be further evaluated in Seattle. Hurtado is an instrumental part of Seattle’s back four, named MLS defender of the year in 2009 but missed all of 2010 with an injury. With Seattle’s defense being the only suspect part of the team; it will be difficult for the Sounders to compete for the MLS Cup without their best defender. 

            Seattle’s win was the first over their Cascadia rivals after a draw with Portland and Vancouver earlier in the season. A win over Vancouver in September will clinch the Cascadia Cup for Seattle as the best team in the Pacific Northwest.