Seattle Sounders  3 - 0  Richmond Kickers
Memorial Stadium, Seattle, WA

Goals:
3' SEA - Tomlinson (O'Brien)
18' SEA - Farrell (Barton)
71' SEA - Farrell (O'Brien)

Seattle: Preston Burpo; Ali John Utush, Mike Casale, Ryan Edwards; Scott Jenkins, Kieran Barton, Sean Henderson (Chad Brown 80'), Leighton O'Brien; Viet Nguyen (Kei Kinoshita 67'), Jason Farrell (Peter Hattrup 88'), Craig Tomlinson (Kyle Smith 80').

Richmond: Mike McGinty; Josh McKay (Kevin Jeffrey 62'), Peter Luzak, Rumbani Munthali (Clifton Waugh 74'), Chris Brown (Rob Ukrop 32'), Ray Goodlett; Kevin Knight, Mike Burke (Keith Donohue 74'), Marco Ferruzzi (Kevin Alvero 64'), Tony Williams; Josh Henderson.

Match report by Ron Stickney:
 
The host Seattle Sounders took a convincing 3-0 win from the Richmond Kickers, who flew into town with the top record in the A-League. Craig Tomlinson opened the scoring in just the 3rd minute and Jason Farrell added a goal in each half. Farrell played a great match under difficult emotional conditions, as his father had passed away earlier in the week.

Seattle's defense was sharp all night, particularly the back three: AJ Utush, rookie Mike Casale and Ryan Edwards. Preston Burpo was consistently in the right position, recording 8 saves to earn the shutout. Richmond outshot Seattle 19-14, but Seattle had the best chances.

Seattle were successful with a new lineup. Scott Jenkins and Kieran Barton were outside midfielders in a 3-4-3 formation. Farrell and Viet Nguyen played as forwards along with Tomlinson, who got his first home start of the season. Richmond started with a 5-4-1 lineup, but had to bring in more forwards when they fell behind early.

First Half

3' Tomlinson (O'Brien). The match had hardly started when Leighton O'Brien sent a through ball to the top of the penalty area for Tomlinson. It looked like a defender would get to the ball first, but speedster Tomlinson beat him to it and with one touch chipped the ball over goalkeeper Mike McGinty, who got caught in no man's land. 1-0 Seattle.

Farrell was soon sprung up the right side and carried the ball into the penalty area with only McGinty to beat, but Farrell rolled his shot just wide of the far post.

Richmond responded with a dangerous cross from the right by Rumbani Munthali, but Burpo dove way out to snare the cross. In the 10th, Kevin Knight got a 15-yard shot from a square pass in the area, and Burpo made a fine diving save. Mike Burke saw Burpo off his line and from 40 yards put a shot to the bar, but Burpo was able to backpedal for the catch.

Farrell was nearly sprung again with a through ball in the 15th, but McGinty slid out at the 18-yard line and kicked the ball up the middle to a teammate.

18' Farrell (Barton). Barton received the ball at the right touch line near the halfway line and put a ball over the defense, springing Farrell again. Farrell was a a full step ahead of his marker and got to the ball at the 18, chipping his shot over McGinty, who was again caught in no man's land. 2-0 Seattle.

Midway in the half, a Richmond cross gave Tony Williams a 15-yard shot, but he just missed the lower near corner. An indirect free kick inside the arc was touched to Burke, who curled his shot just wide of the post.

In the 32nd minute, forward Rob Ukrop entered for defender Chris Brown as Richmond were forced to play catchup.

Barton sent a Seattle free kick from the right side in front of goal, and Tomlinson's header was wide as he couldn't reach enough of the ball.

A surprise 30-yard shot by Richmond's Knight was aimed at the far post, and Burpo did well to dive sideways and make the catch.

Halftime: Seattle 2 - 0 Richmond

Richmond earned a 30-yard free kick early in the 2nd half when O'Brien was cautioned for tripping Burke. Marco Ferruzzi's free kick curled around the wall but right to Burpo's feet.

Farrell broke up a Richmond corner kick and launched Tomlinson on a counterattack, but the shot from inside the penalty area on the left missed the far post by a yard or two. A nice cross found Nguyen open in the middle 10 yards from goal, but his first touch gave the ball to a defender.

In the 62nd minute, Richmond brought in forward Kevin Jeffrey for defender Josh McKay in search of goals.

71' Farrell (O'Brien). Peter Luzak was cautioned for knocking Tomlinson down a few yards from the right flag. O'Brien took the free kick and sent it in the air to the far side, where Farrell powered a header into the top left corner. 3-0 Seattle.

Richmond took control for the next 10 minutes. Substitute Kevin Alvero blistered a 30-yard free kick on goal, and Burpo parried it overhead to take the sting out of it before gathering it in. Alvero's 15-yarder from the right just missed the far post. Jeffrey shot from a cleared corner kick but wasn't close.

For Seattle, Kyle Smith replaced Tomlinson in the 80th and within a minute Smith trapped, turned and shot from 20, missing the far post by a yard.

For Richmond, Alvero's pressured header from a corner kick was well over the bar. Ukrop was 10 yards from the right post to chest trap a ball sent into the area, then turn and volley, glancing the shot off the top of the crossbar near the far corner.

In the final minute, Jeffrey pressured Seattle substitute Chad Brown into letting a ball run over the touch line, and when the throw-in call didn't go Jeffrey's way he responded with enough unsporting behavior to earn a yellow card. Jeffrey was still fuming after the final whistle. When Brown walked in front of the Richmond bench on the way to the locker room, Jeffrey approached Brown from behind, pushed him, and poured water from a bottle onto Brown's head. Before Brown could retaliate, a Seattle teammate rushed in and pushed Brown on his way to the locker room, preventing what could easily have turned into a brawl.

Final: Seattle 3 - 0 Richmond

Post Match Quotes: Sounders Forward Jason Farrell:
"It did not feel appropriate to go out and play tonight. It might sound cliche, but it's what my dad (David) would have wanted. I believe that there was an angel out there for me tonight. I know he was out there with me tonight, and that makes it a little easier to play."

Statistics:
         Seattle  Richmond
Shots:      14       19
Saves:       8        3
Corners:     3        6
Fouls:      23       18
Offsides:    4        1

Misconduct:
50' SEA - O'Brien cautioned for tripping Burke.
70' RIC - Luzak cautioned for knocking Tomlinson down in the corner.
77' SEA - Farrell cautioned for shooting after he was whistled offside.
90' RIC - Jeffrey cautioned for unsporting behavior after a throw-in call didn't go his way.

Referee: Jayson Transtrum; Asst Refs: Mohammed Zarrabi-Kashani, Brian Armes; 4th: Steve Brannon.
Attendance: 1,362