In a triumph of depth, Seattle Sounders FC secured their second win of the season over their club rivals, Toronto FC. Following the match, Sounders Head Coach Sigi Schmid stated “sometimes when we play at home, we rely on the crowd for our energy. Today, we tried to bring in our own energy and have the crowd play off of our energy instead.” The energy they brought was immense, enough for the 36,287 people in attendance to run off of for ninety minutes.
With the season-ending injury of Steven Zakuani and the uncertain absence of O’Brian White, Seattle depended on Alonso, Evans, Friberg, and Fernandez to control the midfield. Freddy Montero and Nate Jaqua led the offense as left and right strikers, respectively, although the highlight reel was hogged almost entirely by Brad Evans. He finished the night with one goal, a penalty kick, and an assist to Alvaro Fernandez who headed it into the back of the net. This was the first home game penalty kick scored for Seattle.
The beautiful and emotional performance of the sounders will surely be dedicated to missing players Zakuani and White. In a demonstration of coordination and remembrance of Zakuani, the crowd held up signs with “11”, shouting. The team’s stature, control, and vision was outstanding. The Sounders possessed the ball on the sidelines, making gorgeous one-twos past Toronto’s stunned defense in both halves. The midfield also put pressure on their opponents, turning steals into breakaway opportunities throughout the night.
Not much can be said for Toronto, who looked flat and distraught all night. They had very few chances on goal, all of which were thwarted by Kasey Keller’s diving saves and acrobatic, nimble fingertips. A key hand ball in the box by Toronto put the final nail in their coffin, making the score 3-0 and cementing a key win for Seattle.
The scoring summary is all Evans. In the 9th minute of play, a lofty and purposeful cross from outside the box met the head of eager Alvaro Fernandez, who put the ball past Toronto goalie Stefan Frei. Frei was tested so often that one may almost feel sorry for him and his team’s poor defense, almost. In the 52nd minute, a through ball to wide open Evans led to a strike past Frei to the far post. Evans also had great chance on goal, however in an effort to trap the ball for a left footed shot, his opportunity was ceased. Finally, in the 74th minute a handball was committed by Toronto. Brad Evans volunteered to take the penalty, and easily sealed the win at 3-0.
Now third in the west, the Sounders will have to further test their depth and capacity. If they play anything like they did against Toronto, there should be little doubt of their ability to progress to one of the top teams in the MLS. They currently have some of the most productive strikers and midfielders out there, sitting near the top for the categories of both shots on goal and total shots (Freddy Montero had 12 versus Toronto). If luck is where opportunity meets preparation, then their history of shots will hopefully pay off lucky in the long run. Going into the nation’s capital for their match on May 4th against red hot D.C. United, they are going to need all the luck, depth, and energy they can muster.
Sounders FC Starters: GK Kasey Keller, LDEF Mike Wahl, CDEF Patrick Ianni, CDEF Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, LDEF James Riley, LM Alvaro Fernandez, DM Osvaldo Alonso, AM Erik Friberg, LM Brad Evans, LF Freddy Montero, and RF Nate Jaqua
Toronto FC Starters: GK Stefan Frei, LDEF Danleigh Borman, CDEF Adrian Cann, CDEF Dicoy Williams, RDEF Dan Gargan, LM Jacob Peterson, CAM Maicon Santos, LM Julian de Guzman, LF Alen Stevanovic, CF Alan Gordon, and RF Javier Martina
