Fredy Montero came off the bench in the second half and almost immediately scored a goal, and Eddie Johnson added an insurance tally 20 minutes later as the Sounders defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-0 in front of 55,718 at CenturyLink Field Saturday afternoon. The Sounders (11-6-7) collected three points with the Cascadia Cup victory and moved into sole possession of third place in the Western Conference.
The Whitecaps, who were tied for third with Seattle entering the match, dropped to fifth place.
The Sounders, 7-0-1 in their past eight home matches, did not allow Vancouver a shot on goal.
“We did well in the defense again,” said Sounders goalkeeper Michael Gspurning. “We had a tough start today and didn’t play well for the first 20 or 30 minutes. But finally we got the game under control. We did more in the second half. We earned three very important points today.”
The teams played to a 2-2 draw earlier in the season at B.C. Place and played to a 0-0 draw over the first 45 minutes. That nearly changed in the 49th minute when, with Seattle dominating the run of play, Osvaldo Alonso nearly scored two goals in a two-minute span. Johnson also just missed in the 53nd minute.
Montero, who did not start, came on in the 61st minute and changed the match in the 64th when he notched his sixth goal in seven Cascadia Cup contests. Montero floated into the box and connected on a right-footed dribbler past Whitecaps goaltender Joe Cannon. Assists went to Jeff Parke and Mauro Rosales.
Vancouver had a goal taken away in the 81st minute due to a tripping foul in the box.
In the 86th minute, defender Brad Evans placed an excellent ball in front of the net and Johnson easily knocked in his team-leading 11th goal of the season to effectively clinch the match.
Johnson has scored eight goals in his last 10 league outings, and scored eight of the team’s last 17 in MLS play.
Sounders will head out on the road for five of seven games across all competitions. Half the remaining 14 will be away, including the longest trips of the year to Trinidad and Honduras for CONCACAF Champions League play. Sounders travel to Los Angeles for their next league match against Chivas USA at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 25.
NOTES: The Sounders, 2-1-1 all-time in MLS play against Vancouver, have scored at least two goals in each Cascadia Cup match . . . Jhon Kennedy Hurtado received his first yellow card of the season in the 58th minute. He had a debatable red card earlier in the season . . . . The Sounders have attracted three crowds in excess of 50,000 in the past month. In addition to the 55,718 that watched yesterday, the Clink held 53,309 for the Chelsea friendly July 18 and 60,908 for the LA Galaxy match Aug. 5 . . . Sounders are now 6-2-5 when tied at the half and 11-0-1 when scoring first.
Seattle Sounders FC 2012 Schedule / Results
(10-6-7, 37 points, MLS; 2-1 CCL; 4-1 U.S. Open Cup)
| Date | Opponent | Time | TV | W/L | Score | Rec. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3/7 | *Santos | 7:00 | Fox Soccer | W | 2-1 | 1-0 |
| 3/14 | *Santos | 5:00 | Fox Soccer | L | 6-1 | 1-1 |
| 3/17 | ^Toronto FC | 7:00 | KONG | W | 3-1 | 1-0 |
| 3/23 | ^Houston | 7:00 | NBCSN | W | 2-0 | 2-0 |
| 3/31 | ^San Jose | 7:00 | KONG | L | 1-0 | 2-1 |
| 4/7 | ^at DC United | 4:30 | KING | D | 0-0 | 2-1-1 |
| 4/14 | ^Colorado | 1:00 | KING | W | 1-0 | 3-1-1 |
| 4/28 | ^at Chicago | 5:30 | KING | W | 2-1 | 4-1-1 |
| 5/2 | ^LA Galaxy | 7:00 | KING | W | 2-0 | 5-1-1 |
| 5/5 | ^Philadelphia | 1:30 | NBCSN | W | 1-0 | 6-1-1 |
| 5/9 | ^at FC Dallas | 5:30 | KONG | W | 2-0 | 7-1-1 |
| 5/12 | ^Real SL | 7:00 | KONG | L | 1-0 | 7-2-1 |
| 5/19 | ^at Vancouver | 1:00 | KING | D | 2-2 | 7-2-2 |
| 5/23 | ^Columbus | 7:00 | KONG | L | 2-0 | 7-2-3 |
| 5/26 | ^at Chivas | 7:30 | KONG | D | 1-1 | 7-3-3 |
| 5/30 | &Atlanta | 7:30 | Webcast | W | 5-1 | 1-0-0 |
| 6/5 | &Cal FC | 7:30 | Webcast | W | 5-0 | 2-0-0 |
| 6/16 | ^at Montreal | 4:30 | KING | L | 4-1 | 7-4-3 |
| 6/20 | ^Sport KC | 7:00 | KING | D | 1-1 | 7-4-4 |
| 6/24 | ^at Portland | 2:00 | ESPN | L | 2-1 | 7-5-4 |
| 6/26 | &at San Jose | 7:30 | Webcast | W | 1-0 | 3-0-0 |
| 6/30 | ^at New England | 4:30 | KONG | D | 2-2 | 7-5-5 |
| 7/4 | ^at RSL | 7:00 | KONG | D | 0-0 | 7-5-6 |
| 7/7 | ^Colorado | 8:00 | NBCSN | W | 2-1 | 8-5-6 |
| 7/11 | &vs. Chivas | 8:00 | Web | W | 4-1 | 4-0-0 |
| 7/15 | ^at New York | 1:00 | ESPN | D | 2-2 | 8-5-7 |
| 7/18 | #Chelsea FC | 6:30 | ESPN2 | L | 4-2 | 0-1-0 |
| 7/28 | ^at Colorado | 6:00 | KING | W | 2-1 | 9-5-7 |
| 8/2 | *vs. Caledonia | 7:00 | FOX | W | 3-1 | 3-1 |
| 8/5 | ^vs. LA Galaxy | 6:00 | ESPN2 | W | 4-0 | 10-5-7 |
| 8/8 | &at Sport KC | 6:00 | GolTV | L | 2-1 | 4-1 |
| 8/11 | ^at San Jose | 7:30 | KONG | L | 2-1 | 10-6-7 |
| 8/18 | ^vs. Vancouver | 1:00 | KING | W | 2-0 | 11-6-7 |
| 8/25 | ^at Chivas | 7:30 | KING | — | — | — |
| 8/30 | *at Caledonia | 5:00 | None | — | — | — |
| 9/2 | ^at FC Dallas | 4:00 | KING | — | — | — |
| 9/8 | ^Chivas | TBD | KING | — | — | — |
| 9/15 | ^at Portland | 12:30 | NBC | — | — | — |
| 9/19 | *at Marathon | 7:00 | None | — | — | — |
| 9/22 | ^San Jose | 7:30 | KONG | — | — | — |
| 9/29 | ^at Vancouver | 6:00 | NBCSN | — | — | — |
| 10/7 | ^vs. Portland | 6:00 | ESPN | — | — | — |
| 10/21 | ^vs. FC Dallas | 6:00 | ESPN | — | — | — |
| 10/24 | *vs. Marathon | 7:00 | None | — | — | — |
| 10/28 | ^at LA Galaxy | 6:00 | ESPN | — | — | — |
*=CONCACAF; ^=Major League Soccer; #=International friendly; &=U.S. Open Cup
8 Comments
I know this is off-topic a bit, but was that Clipboard Jesus I saw slinging the ball around for San Diego on Sunday? I assume it had to be based on the prominent ‘stache. Wonders never cease.
I wouldn’t write Flynn off just yet. He’s proven at both LSU and Green Bay that he has a LOT of patience and can stand and deliver big-time when called upon in a pinch. Wilson has rightly earned the starter’s role so far, but we’re more than a week away from a 16-game regular season. Let’s see how things go when the games start counting.
Art nails one thing for sure: How can anyone look at Wilson and Flynn and not consider them a major upgrade over Jackson and Whitehurst?
Wilson/Flynn or Flynn/Wilson – I don’t care. While QB may be tied for third in priorities for this team, QB play remains the single most important position played in the game, and PC/JS know it. I’d hate to see Pete use early hooks on either starter, while at the same time, I am highly confident both could carry us to more wins than losses. Wilson has us all salivating like a St. Bernard, and has the tools to be great. Let the dynasty begin. Once we have sowed up the conference championship and cemented home field advantage for the playoffs, we can insert Flynn for the last couple of games to showcase him for a trade to one of the many teams with lesser talent at QB for appropriate draft choices.
One fact that seems to be overlooked a lot is that Flynn was acquired more than a month before the draft. At that time, no one could have known if a Russel Wilson would be available. I remember the consensus being that the Hawks got a pretty fair (as in not exorbitant) deal for Matt Flynn given the cost of free-agency. But when they found themselves looking at the board in the third round and Russell Wilson is still there…
I mean, the question – and I remember it being asked often – was why go after a QB when you already got what you wanted? And the only answer now seems to be, “Because this one’s even better.”
Don’t forget about how much they spent on Touchdown Jesus & how excited Pete was about him too
(great competitor no doubt)
Another great article. Thanks.
Nice article. I just don’t see how a QB who is somewhere between 5′ 8″ and 5′ 10″ can be successful over the long term. His game will involve running around, and two things happen when one is running for ones life… Injury and a decrease in completion percentage.
The difference in height between Wilson and Drew Brees is about the length of your finger nail. And if you take into account hand size and arm length, Wilson’s release point is probably “taller”. The height issue should really be put to rest.
And as for “running for ones life”, I don’t think anyone would describe Wilson’s running style that way. He has a deliberate running style, his head always up and eyes looking down field, and he’s smart enough to slide or run out of bounds before contact. He is not a reckless runner, nor does he have happy feet. He’s a pass first QB–in the KC game when the pass protection was better with the first string offense notice how he stayed in the pocket all game with the exception of the two break downs.