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Dempsey goal gives Sounders FC 1-0 win over Sporting Kansas City

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Sounders forward Clint Dempsey scored his 50th career goal in a Sounders uniform as Sounders FC  (10-7-7, 37 points) moved into first place in the Western Conference with a 1-0 shutout win over Sporting Kansas City (9-5-10, 37 points) Saturday afternoon in front of 43,530 fans on the Xbox Pitch at CenturyLink Field.

Dempsey’s 36th-minute goal was all the Rave Green needed to extend their MLS unbeaten streak to six games. The Sounders most impressive record during the unbeaten streak has been the four consecutive clean sheets Stefan Frei and his backline has produced. The last time Seattle surrendered a goal was the July 19th  4-3 win over D.C United.The current streak of 400 minutes without allowing a goal establishes a new club record, surpassing the previous record of 379 minutes set from July 25 – August 28, 2010.

Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer was impressed by his team’s effort from the back line to the front line.

“I’ll address it in the sense that when we made that announcement in the locker room, the first thing that Stef did was start pointing at all of his teammates and saying, ‘No, it’s you guys, it’s you guys,’ because that’s the kind of character that Stef has.  Certainly, when you talk about scoreless streaks, it goes to the goalkeeper. When you talk about scoring streaks — you know,Dempsey’s 50th goal for this club – that’s another individual stat on the other end, the attacking end. But the team, front to back, defended well – including Clint – in front of Stef. And from Stef going the opposite direction, the team was helping us get the ball front to back”

Dempsey now has 44 career regular-season goals for Seattle, three shy of Fredy Montero’s club record of 47. Only he and Montero have reached the 50-goal mark for the club, with Dempsey now 10 goals shy of the Colombian’s all competitions scoring mark for the Rave Green.

  • Sounders FC currently has an eight-match unbeaten streak (5-0-3), with the club’s last regular-season loss coming on June 17. The current mark is one shy of the club record of nine set from May 28 – July 16, 2011.
  • Seattle leads the all-time series with SKC 8-5-3, including a 4-2-2 mark at CenturyLink Field. Saturday’s result snapped a six-match winless run (0-4-2) in regular-season action against Sporting.
  • Sounders FC returns to action next Sunday, August 20 against Minnesota United FC at 7:00 p.m. PT with a nationally televised broadcast on FS1.

Dempsey Double leads Sounders FC to 4-0 win over Minnesota

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Dempsey splits two defenders on his way to the goal. ( SoundersFC)
Dempsey splits two defenders on his way to the goal. ( SoundersFC)

 

A Clint Dempsey brace was the exclamation mark at the end of the  Seattle Sounders ( 9-7-7) 4-0 statement win over  Minnesota United FC (6-13-4) Saturday night in Minnesota. The Rave Green win over  MUFC was one of those rare moments where the game plan was perfectly executed by the players.

After last Saturday’s lackluster  0-0 tie against the LA Galaxy in LA, Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer was determined to make sure that his team was ready to play when the whistle blew and stayed in attack mode. The Sounders needed to start the game on the front foot and stay on the front foot throughout the match. Schmetzer’s message to the team needed no translation.

This was a must win game. Minnesota was in tenth place in the 11 team  Western Conference and where giving up a league high 45 goals and was without top goal scorer Christian  Ramirez. Schmetzers strategy was simple. Push the Sounder forward up the field and put pressure on the home sides backline.

The high pressure on the MNUTD resulted in a Wil Bruin goal just ten minutes into the game.  Seattle’s high pressure caused another Minnesota mistake in the 18th minute leading to Clint Dempsey first of two goals.

“Yeah, it felt good. We still could, you know, sharpen up and we could have had a few more – I could have had a few more. ” Dempsey said after the game.”We gave away too many balls tonight, though, that led to counter-attacks. But we did well once we got through the line of pressure. Then we were able to open the game up and be a little bit more clinical in the final third.”

Jordan Morris joined the scoring party in the  71st minutes and Dempsey scored his second goal of the game in the 73rd minute as the Sounders finished one of their most complete games of the season.

 

The Sounders are undefeated in five MLS games and are now in fourth place in the Western Conference. The Rave Green have recorded three straight clean sheets and have not allowed a goal in 310 minutes.

Cristian Roldan brace powers Seattle Sounders FC to 3-0 win over San Jose

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Given their top four players were out due to suspension ( Nicolas Lodeiro), National team duty ( Clint Dempsey, Jordan Morris) and injuries ( Osvaldo Alonso), the Sunday night match between the Seattle Sounders FC (8-7-6) versus the  San Jose Earthquakes (7-9-5) had all the makings of a trap game.  Two second half goals by Cristian Roldan helped the Sounders overcome another lethargic start as the Rave Green used a focused and intentional second effort on their way to the 3-0 victory.

When the halftime whistle blew and the two teams walked off the field for the break, the score was 0-0 and the stat sheet showed the Sounders with zero shots on goal.  San Jose had just two shots on goal. While the Sounders defense improved from last games sleep walking slumber, that is they were alert and sharp right from the beginning, the offense had another late start.

Sounder players celebrate Roldan's goal. (SoundersFC)
Sounder players celebrate Roldan’s goal. (SoundersFC)

Rather than repeat last games feat of scoring four goals in 27 minutes, the Sounders offense was much more surgical and purposefully. The Rave Green scored three goals in eleven minutes and quickly dispatched the San Jose Earthquakes and put the game out reach with a quickness. Cristian Roldan scored in the 54th and 56th minute to record his goal scoring tally to three goals in two games

Kelvin Leerdam made it 3-0when his right footed shot found the back of the San Jose goal for his first goal as a Sounder.

 

The  Sounders have won thier last three MLS  games and  are now  just four points behind Western Conference  leaders FC Dallas

Joevin Jones picked up his ninth assist of the season and is one behind leaders  Michael Barrios ( FC Dallas), Victor Vazque ( Toronto) and Alex ( Houston) who all have ten for the season.

Seattle Sounders FC score four second half goals beat DC United 4-3

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Brad Evans celebrates his goal. ( SoundersFC)
Brad Evans celebrates his goal. ( SoundersFC)

The Seattle Sounders (7-7-6)became the first team in MLS  history to overcome a 3-0 deficit in regulation time Wednesday night and sent 42, 714 fans home with one of those, “I can’t believe what I saw memories”, as they beat D. C. United (5-3-12), 4-3 after scoring four second half goals in a span of 28 minutes.

The Sounders back line was lethargic and sleep walked the first 62 minutes of the game. The sleep walking routine saw the visitors take a 1-0 lead after just eight minutes of play. Deshorn Brown was left wide open in front of debutant goal keeper  Tyler Miller who was filling for injured Stefan Frei who was suffering from a hip flexor. Ian Harkes made it 2-0 in the  27 minute and you could hear a pin drop in CenturyLink  Field as fans playerss and coaches were asking questions of each other.

The question and answer session turned into a downright inquest when Llyod Sam’s right footed shot made it  3-0 after 62 minutes. The three spot deficit inexplicably woke up the Sounders from their sleep walking session and the Rave Green began its historic comeback.

Joevin Jones found Wil Bruin in the D.C United goal box and the prolific scorer found the back of the net to cut the deficit to 3-1 and give Sounder nation some hope. Jones had his second assist of the game when Brad Evans headed the Trinidad and Tobago defenders cross to make it 3-2 and hope turned into wishful thinking. Gustav Svenson tied the game at 3-3 all wishful thinking turned into  reason to believe for Sounder Nation.  Cristian Roldan put the Sounder ahead at 4-3 and turned CenturyLink into a block party that saw the Green Clad fans high fiving and slapping each other on the back!

Cristian Roldan celebrates his game winning goal. ( Sounders FC)
Cristian Roldan celebrates his game winning goal. ( Sounders FC)

 

The Sounders did receive one scare in the  88th minute when Nicols Lodeiro received a Red car for violent conduct in the 88th minute for kicking D.C. midfielder  Marcelo Sarvas. The Sounders were able to hang on to the lead win despite finishing the game with ten players.

 

The Sounders have a short turn around as they will be back on the pitch Sunday night( 7:30 P.M. ) to host the San Jose Earthquakes.

 

Demspey brace gives Sounders FC 3-1 victory over Colorado Rapids

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Sounders Clint Dempsey celebrates. ( SoundersFC.)
Sounders Clint Dempsey celebrates. ( SoundersFC.)

 The Seattle Sounders  FC (6-7-6, 24 points) earned their second road win of the season thanks to a Clint Dempsey brace with a 3-1 victory over the hapless Colorado Rapids (6-11-1, 16 points), Tuesday night at Dicks Sporting Goods Park in Colorado. The win came at a high price for the Sounders who saw veterans Asvaldo Alonso and Chad Marshall leave the game with injuries within the first 23 minutes of the first half.

Dempsey gave the visitors a dream start in the 6th minute when he rifled home a Joevin Jones pass to give the Rave Green the 1-0 lead. The joy of the dream start turned into an unimaginable nightmare when Aaron Osvaldo Alonso suffered a serious-looking knee injury and had to be replaced by Aron Kovar in the 17th minute. The nightmare turned into insomnia when Chad Marshall suffered an ankle injury five minutes later and was replaced by Tony Alfaro.

Despite the depleted ranks, the Sounders were able to penetrate the lethargic Rapids defense which looked like it was in no mood to play defense in front of its own goal. Sounder players were left wide open in front of the Rapids goal.Wil Bruin’s right footed blast gave the Sounders a 2-0 lead and it looked like the Sounders would score plenty more given the Rapids cavalier attitude about playing defense.

While they were not up for playing defense, the Rapids were in the mood to play tough physical soccer and resorted to shoving, pushing, and kicking the Sounder players off the ball.The Rapids earned three yellow cards from the 48th minute to the 66th minute.Colorado had five total yellow cards in the game. Despite the aggressive tactics by the Rapids, the Sounders stayed focused and overcame a difficult and showed their true character. A performance that pleased Sounders coach Brina Schmetzer.

“They responded very well. Not just by the score line but certainly the difficulties of playing here because Colorado is a good team. Pablo does a good job of getting them prepared. They came through with some quality. The quality was very good. I just thought overall it was a gutty performance. I can’t just talk about Clint [Dempsey’s] two goals. I don’t know how that ball stayed out of the net in that scramble. That was unbelievable. Guys were laying their body on the line to try and block it, so it was good defensive effort and also good offensive effort.”

The insertion of Allan Gordon into the game and the Rapids rough and tumble play enabled them to get back in the game in the 78th minute when Dominique Badji’s right footed shot found the back of the Sounders net to narrow the visitors lead to 2-1. With the Rapids pushing for the equalizer, the Sounders were able to keep their composure and the patience paid off in the 85 minute when Clint Dempsey’s half-volley found the back of the Colorado net for his second goal of the game and secured the win for the Sounders.

GAME NOTES

Sounders FC is now  6-7-6 this season and sits in sixth place in the Western Conference. The victory moves Seattle to three consecutive matches with a result in league play following draws with Portland on June 25 and Orlando on June 21.

Next up, Sounders FC takes part in an international friendly this Saturday, July 8 against German side Eintracht Frankfurt on the Xbox Pitch at CenturyLink Field (12:00 p.m. PT / JOEtv, ROOT SPORTS, KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, El Rey 1360 AM).

 

Sounders FC bolster backline with Kelvin Leerdam signing

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Kelvin Leerdam ( SoundersFC)
Kelvin Leerdam ( SoundersFC)

The Seattle Sounders signed Dutch international Kelvin Leerdam  Saturday morning to help shore up a backline that has been inconsistent due to injuries, and bad team defense.  The Sounders have rotated multiple players at the right back position from Brad Evans, Oniel Fisher, Jordy Delem and midfielder Cristian Roldan.The revolving door at right back has made it difficult for the back line to create any type of cohesiveness when playing  team defense.

Seattle is  hoping Leerdam will be a consistent fixture at the right back position. Leerdam joins the Rave Green following nine professional seasons with Feyenoord and SBV Vitesse in the Eredivisie, the Netherlands’ top division.

The Utrecht native has amassed 186 career league appearances, with 16 goals and 8 assists in the Eredivisie dating back to 2008. After starring for Feyenoord’s youth club from 2005-2008, Leerdam signed a professional contract with the First Team and went on to become a regular for five seasons, accumulating over 100 appearances across all competitions for the Rotterdam side.

He moved to Vitesse in 2013, where he scored a career-high eight goals in the 2013-2014 campaign, leading the Arnhem-based club to a fourth-place finish in the table. He went on to make over 100 all-competition appearances across four campaigns for Vitesse. In total, Leerdam’s clubs have a record of 26-2-3 when the fullback registers a goal or an assist.

 

He went on to make over 100 all-competition appearances across four campaigns for Vitesse. In total, Leerdam’s clubs have a record of 26-2-3 when the fullback registers a goal or an assist.

 

 

 

Seattle Sounders FC earn 2-2 playing with 10 men vs Portland Timbers

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Seattle Sounders FC( 5-7-6, 21pts) had their dream start against the Portland Timbers when they scored the game’s first goal. Unfortunately for the visitors, twenty-seven minutes of good quality soccer was wiped out by seven minutes of just plain bad soccer. The seven minutes of bad soccer was followed by a gritty, determined,  45-minute  effort that earned the visitors a 2-2  while playing a man down against the Portland Timbers.(7-7-4, 25pts)

The Seattle Sounders scored when Joevin Jones made good on his second attempt at goal to give the Sounders a 1-0 lead in the 27th minute. Jones first attempt at goal was saved by Timbers goalkeeper  Jake Gleason and the rebound fell to Jones who promptly slammed the ball into the back of the net.

The Sounders were in cruise control, winning the possession battle with crisp, penetrating passes until the 36th minute when Portland forward Dairon Asprilla hit the crossbar which was the home side’s first real clean cut shot at goal. The Sounders defense kept the Timber offense in check until the 43rd minute when  Sounder defender Brad Evans was issued a red card for bringing down Timber forward Darlington Nagbe inside the Sounder box.

In addition to the red card,  the Timbers were awarded a penalty kick which Fernando Adi blasted past Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei to tie the game at 1-1 after 43 minutes of play. The  game looked liked it would unravel for the  ten men Sounders when Asprilla  headed in a corner kick to give the Timbers a 2-1 lead  at the break

Rather than lick their wounds and go home, the Sounders continued to battle all the way into second half stoppage time when the determined effort paid off when Clint Dempsey scored in the 94th minute to tie the game at 2-2 . Dempsey started the game on the bench due to Nationa Team duty scored his ninth goal in nine games against the Timbers.

The tie against the Timbers restores some confidence to a Sounder team that gave up a stoppage time goal to Orlando City  Wednesday night and saw a win turn into a tie.

Seattle Sounders score three late goals earn draw versus New England

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Sounders Osvaldo Alonso completes Sounders comeback. ( SoundersFC)
Sounders Osvaldo Alonso completes Sounders comeback. ( SoundersFC)

The Seattle Sounders played their worst first half of the season and followed that lackluster performance with their best second half of the season. Yes, it was that kind of a game.

Depending on who you ask, Saturday nights 3-3 draw between the Seattle Sounders and the New England Revolution at CenturyLink Field was memorable. For the visiting the Revolutionary it was an unforgettable night. An MLS team that blows a three-goal lead in a matter of 13 minutes would soon forget that train wreck and move on to the next stop.

EARLY BLUNDER

The visitors from New England were gifted a 1-0 lead 15 minutes into the contest when Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei let a long distance shot from  Daigo Kobayashi squeak between his legs.

 

What looked like a harmless professional mistake by Frei turned into a severe blow ten minutes later when New England doubled it’s lead when Juan Agudelo headed across from Kelyn Rowe into the back of the Sounder’s net for the 2-0 lead. Eight minutes into the second half,  Agudelo scored his second goal of the game and made it 3-0 and gave the visitors what looked to be an insurmountable lead.

COMEBACK

While they were down, the Sounders never gave up and their 75% ball possession advantage finally paid dividends when in the 74th minute when Nicolas Lodeiro gave the home side its first goal of the game. Wil Bruin gave the team and the fans reason to believe ten minutes later when he narrowed the deficit to just one goal when he headed a Joevin  Jones cross past Revs goalkeeper Cody Crooper.

The Sounders continued to pressure the Revs defense and the comeback was complete four minutes later when Osvaldo Alonso headed home the equalizer after a header pass from Gustav Svensson in the 87th minute.

While the Sounders comeback earned them a point, coach Brian Schmetzer was upset that the team puts it’s self such a predicament.

 

The match marked the first time in club history that Seattle has overcome a three-goal deficit to earn a result, and extended the Sounders current home unbeaten streak to 14 matches across all competitions. The Rave Green now prepare for a nationally televised rematch of the 2016 MLS Cup against Toronto FC next Saturday at CenturyLink Field (12:00 p.m. PT / ESPN, KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, El Rey 1360 AM).

Fredy Montero brace give Whitecaps 2-1 win over Sounders FC

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Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer.( Tatenda Productions)
Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer.( Tatenda Productions)

Former Seattle Sounder FC player Fredy Montero’s  two second half goals gave the Vancouver Whitecaps a much needed 2-1 win over Cascadia Rivals Seattle Sounders in front of a capacity of a crowd of 22, 120 fans Friday night at  BC Place in Vancouver British Columbia.

The win by Whitecaps  (2-3-1) snapped a two-game losing streak in all competitions and the victory was just the second in MLS play. For Brian Schmetzer and his visiting Sounders (1-2-3), the loss put an exclamation mark on the Sounders lack  of centration and inability to play team defense inside their defensive half of the field.  While both of Montero’s goals were exquisite, the inability for Sounders to put pressure on the man with the ball and cover opposing players making runs in the goal box showed the Sounder are in full communication breakdown.

After a rocky defensive start in which they gave up two goals in each of the season’s first two  games which were on the road, a  2-1 loss at Houston and a 2-2 draw at Montreal , the Sounders looked to have shored up their lapses in concentration and defensive communication woes in the 3-1 win home opener against the New York Red Bulls. A 0-0  shutout home draw game Atlanta had the Sounders feeling that much more confident about their defense.

That defensive confidence was shaken when San Jose Earthquake forward Chris Wondolowski scored a 90th-minute goal to give the Earthquake 1-1 draw. After the game and during practice the following week, Schmetzer was adamant that his team’s defensive play would improve.

Sounder FC goalkeeper Stefan Frei.( SoundersFC)
Sounder FC goalkeeper Stefan Frei.( SoundersFC)

TROUBLING COMMUNICATION

While the Sounders backline has been hit with injuries to Brad Evans, Chad Marshall, Oneill Fisher, and Roman  Torres, Schmetzer a believer in team defense and total concentration at all times is no doubt having some sleepless nights trying to a find a way for the message to stick with his players. “

“Well we had worked on it earlier in the week. Blocking crosses in and staying with Wondolowski, Montero, all of the good forwards in the league. That’s standard training for us, but we’ll certainly ramp that up ”, Schmetzer said in his post game interview after the loss to the Whitecaps.

Sounders  FC will finish their current three-game road trip next Saturday against the LA Galaxy in Southern Californa.  After the Galaxy game, the Sounders will return home for two matches.

Seattle Sounders defense improving despite rotating line up

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Brian Schmetzer gives instruction to goal keeper Stefan Frei. ( Sounders FC)
Brian Schmetzer gives instruction to goal keeper Stefan Frei. ( Sounders FC)

Forgive Seattle Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer if he has turned into somewhat of a mad scientist and doing his best Dr. Frankstein impression regarding the team’s backline.

INJURIES AND SUSPENSION

The Dr. Frankstien routine by Schmetzer was more forced than by choice. The Sounders have undergone some unexpected injuries and suspension in this early season. The unexpected preseason injury to Brad Evans and Oneil Fisher has caused a rotating door philosophy regarding the Sounders starting backline.

Roman Torress marks Montreal's Chris Duvall. ( Sounders FC)
Roman Torress marks Montreal’s Chris Duvall. ( Sounders FC)

 

Evans had a calf injury while  Oniel has started just two games due to being put on concussion protocol, Jamaican National team duties and suffering a  hamstring during the team’s game against Atlanta United. Gustav Svenson started the first two games at right back.

Defender Roman Torres was given a one-game suspension and sat out Seattle’s game against the New York Red Bulls for violent conduct during the Sounders match against Montreal. Torres suspension meant another lineup shuffle.

A Chad Marshall illness just before kickoff and a jet legged Roman Torres from playing for Panama during the FIFA qualifiers saw Schmetzer start a back line of Jody Delem at right back, Tony Alfaro, and  Svenson as the center backs and Joevin Jones at left back against Atlanta United. Not quite the lineup Schmetzer had imagined during the preseason.

SURPRISING RESULTS

Despite the makeshift lineup the Sounders played their best defensive game last Friday’s  0-0 draw against Atlanta United.The one constant in the back of the Sounders defensive line has been Stefan Frei, arguably one of the best keepers in the league.