2002 May 19

Vancouver Whitecaps  1 - 2  Seattle Sounders
Swangard Stadium, Burnaby, BC

Goals:
4' SEA - Gregor (Nguyen)
57' VAN - Valente (Morris)
63' SEA - Nguyen (Gregor)

Vancouver: Jim Larkin; Jeff Clarke, Nico Berg, Kevan Cameron; Paul Dailly, Steve Kindel, Tiarnan King (Spencer Coppin 46'), Andrew Veer, Alfredo Valente; Jason Jordan, Dave Morris (Rob Hall 69').

Seattle: Preston Burpo; Kieran Barton, Scott Jenkins, Ryan Edwards; Nate Daligcon (Zach Scott 76'), Jason Farrell (Zach Kingsley 46'), Andrew Gregor, Viet Nguyen, Leighton O'Brien; Darren Sawatzky, Brian Ching.

Additional match report by Whitecaps fan Brian Goldie.

Match report by Ron Stickney:

The Seattle Sounders won 2-1 on the road against the Vancouver Whitecaps, making it two wins over the Whitecaps in as many nights. Andrew Gregor scored early for Seattle, then Vancouver's Alfredo Valente tied it up early in the second half with a powerful goal. Viet Nguyen notched the match winner on a free kick play. Goalkeeper Jim Larkin was suspect on both Seattle goals.

The previous night these two teams combined for an amazingly low 15 fouls and zero cards. This night, it was 45 fouls and 7 cards, two of them red. There was more hacking going on than occurred the previous night, but the consensus of fans around me was that referee Gerry Proctor was tooting his whistle more often than needed. One fan yelled out that he paid to see these two teams perform, not the referee.

The Sounders are off to their best start ever at 5-0-0. They'll spend the next month playing matches away from home.

First Half

4' Gregor (Nguyen). Seattle struck early when Nguyen sent the ball sideways to the middle of Vancouver's half and Gregor tested the keeper with a 30-yard shot upstairs. Larkin looked like he was there for the save but the ball slipped through his hands and softly into the goal. As one of the Southsiders suggested, the Swangard dew probably deserves an assist. 1-0 Seattle.

The next chance came in the 18th minute when Brian Ching and Larkin met on a corner kick sent low to the near post. Larkin slid in to block Ching's attempt and the rebound was cleared. Ching tried a 10-yard header when Sawatzky crossed from the flag to the near side, but Ching couldn't reach enough of the ball to put it on goal. That would be Seattle's last good chance of the half.

Vancouver's first shot came in the 21st when Scott Jenkins couldn't control a loose ball at the top left corner of his penalty area and Andrew Veer fired it on goal. Burpo slapped the shot down and caught it on the bounce. Morris had a chance from a corner kick but headed it wide. Jason Jordan passed to Steve Kindel at the top left corner of the area and got the ball back for an open chance, sent a few yards wide of the near post.

Halftime: Vancouver 0 - 1 Seattle

Seattle's Jason Farrell was replaced by Zach Kingsley at the half and Farrell would later be seen heading to the bus on crutches. Farrell said he was kicked on the bottom of his left foot and it may be broken.

Vancouver maintained the momentum early in the second half. Jeff Clarke tried to catch goalkeeper Preston Burpo off his line with a long shot but was a yard too high. Valente was served on a run up the middle for an 18-yard shot that went wide of the near post.

57' Valente (Morris). Valente's goal was a beauty. After receiving the ball from Morris on the left side, Valente carried it through a couple of Seattle defenders and into the penalty area for an open shot, and he fired a rocket into the top far corner. 1-1.

63' Nguyen (Gregor). It didn't take long for the Sounders to regain the lead. From the right side, Gregor powered a 30-yard free kick at Larkin, who pushed the ball back the way it came. Nguyen was all alone to the right of the crowd and made the best of the gift ball, finishing inside the near post. 2-1 Seattle. These two would be the only shots taken by Seattle in the second half.

The 71st found Valente open on a counter attack and from the same place where he scored he this time fired it a yard over the bar. In the 77th Valente's cross from the right was volleyed a yard too high by an open Kindel 15 yards out, and both players were seen holding their heads in dismay.

The red card came out in the 78th minute. Paul Dailly chopped Nguyen down from behind and Dailly ended up standing on the fallen Nguyen. Dailly kept kicking and Nguyen kicked back, then Dailly turned on the still down Nguyen and looked ready to throw a punch. No punch was thrown, but referee Proctor sent the pair off when the yellow card may have sufficed.

Valente got one more chance in the 82nd when he received a pass 12 yards from the right post, but a defender poked a foot in to deflect Valente's shot wide. The last chance was Kindel who was open for a 30-yard attempt, but substitute Kingsley got there in time to block the shot.

Seattle escaped with a win despite taking just 6 shots all match.

Final: Vancouver 1 - 2 Seattle

Statistics:
        Vancouver  Seattle
Shots:      11       6
Saves:       3       3
Corners:     8       2
Fouls:      24      21
Offsides:    3       1

Misconduct:
39' VAN - Kindel cautioned for something he said to Sounders coach Schmetzer after being whistled for a late cleats-up challenge.
44' VAN - Berg cautioned for dissent after being called for sliding under Sawatzky from behind.
70' VAN - Cameron cautioned for sliding under Ching near the touch line.
74' SEA - Gregor cautioned.
78' SEA and VAN - Nguyen and Dailly sent off for kicking each other while tangled after Dailly took Nguyen down with a kick to the achilles tendon.
90' SEA - O'Brien cautioned for retaliation after being repeatedly hacked from behind while holding the ball to kill time.

Referee: Gerry Proctor; Simon Fearn, Tony Troughton; Andy Foster
Attendance: 3,171