2003 Jul 19

Seattle Sounders  1 - 1  Vancouver Whitecaps (AET) 
Seahawks Stadium, Seattle, WA

Goals:
7' VAN - Heald (PK)
20' SEA - Gregor (Nguyen)

Seattle: Preston Burpo; Danny Jackson, Ryan Edwards, Zach Scott; Andrew Gregor, Alex Bengard (Craig Tomlinson 101'), Sean-Michael Callahan (Marco Velez 62'), Jason Farrell, Viet Nguyen (Chad Brown 80'); Darren Sawatzky, Kyle Smith (Scott Jenkins 91'). Substitutes not used: Rich Cullen, Kevin Sakuda, Ben Somoza.

Vancouver: Mike Franks; Chris Franks, Nico Craveiro, Geordie Lyall; Nick Dasovic, Oliver Heald, Tiarnan King (Andrew Veer 64'), Johnny Sulentic (Gordon Chin 84'), Steve Kindel (Alfredo Valente 70'); Jason Jordan, Carlo Corazzin (Dave Morris 106'). Substitutes not used: Alex Marques, Jeff Skinner, Paul Dailly.

Match report by Ron Stickney:

A draw was a just result in this evenly played match. Oliver Heald put Vancouver up a goal from a penalty kick, and Andrew Gregor put in the equalizer in the 20th minute. By our count, the two sides had exactly the same number of shots in the first half, second half and extra time.

The match was played on grass in Seahawks Stadium, the grass having been put down for next week's Manchester United - Glasgow Celtic match.

First Half

Vancouver took it to Seattle in the opening minutes and came away with a goal. In the 2nd minute the Whitecaps nearly scored when Carlo Corazzin headed one off the crossbar and back into play after Geordie Lyall served a nice cross.

7' Heald (PK). When Jason Jordan entered the penalty area on the left side, Ryan Edwards made a clean tackle the first time but his second tackle might have gotten Jordan in the back of the ankle. The fans nearby didn't think Edwards touched Jordan, but down Jordan went a foot inside the penalty area, and referee Jayson Transtrum awarded a penalty kick. Heald shot it to the lower left corner with goalkeeper Preston Burpo guessing the other way. 1-0 Vancouver.

Vancouver kept up the attack, with Heald serving Corazzin on a near-post run, the shot going just wide. Nick Dasovic headed a Heald corner kick well over. Jordan beat two defenders and drew Burpo out wide of goal before crossing from the end line, but Burpo recovered in time to catch Corazzin's shot.

20' Gregor (Nguyen). On a Seattle attack, Gregor sent a square pass above the 18-yard line for Viet Nguyen, who made space and bent a nice shot over goalkeeper Mike Franks and onto the underside of the crossbar, and the ball bounced down almost all the way over the goal line and jumped back onto the pitch. There was a crowd going after the rebound, and Gregor found a path through to the net waist high. 1-1.

The rest of the half saw a few shots either way, but no worthy efforts.

Halftime: Seattle 1 - 1 Vancouver

The defenses ruled the opening 20 minutes of the second half, the only decent chances being Seattle's a Sean-Michael Callahan shot from left of the penalty area that curled just wide, and Corazzin's stretch try at Tiarnan King's cross, sent two yards wide.

In the 66th Seattle's Kyle Smith first-timed an Alex Bengard cross and was a yard wide from 20. Substitute Marco Velez had a good chance from 23 but was 2 yards wide. Smith got his head on Nguyen's cross, but Franks easily saved.

Vancouver took the momentum in the 73rd when Johnny Sulentic fired from 20 yards but right at Burpo. Sulentic shot another one from the right side, and Burpo pushed it wide and collected the leftovers. Substitute Andrew Veer's hard cross from the right was caught at the near post by Burpo.

Back Seattle's way in the 87th, Bengard's hard shot from a corner kick was chest-blocked at the goal line by Nico Craveiro. Gregor's free kick from 25 yards, up the middle, was touched over the bar by Mike Franks.

The red card came out in the 90th minute after the players clustered. We're not sure what the referees saw, but Zach Scott and Gordon Chin were sent off, leaving ten on each side for the extra time periods.

Regulation: Seattle 1 - 1 Vancouver

Seattle wasted a good opportunity when Darren Sawatzky neaded down a cross for an open Edwards 8 yards from goal, but Edwards skied the shot with plenty of open net available. Velez shot from the arc, and Franks pushed it wide for a corner.

Vancouver launched a counterattack in the 109th when Jordan saw substitute Dave Morris open on the right, and Morris took an excellent shot from 25 yards. Burpo backpedaled and just barely pushed the shot onto the bar, then went wide of goal to collect the loose rebound.

Final: Seattle 1 - 1 Vancouver

Statistics:
         Seattle   Vancouver
Shots:      20        20
Saves:       7         4
Corners:     8         5
Fouls:      13        16
Offsides:    1         8

Misconduct:
45' VAN - Chris Franks cautioned for tripping Callahan on a 50-50 air ball.
62' VAN - Dasovic cautioned.
69' SEA - Farrell cautioned for a foul in front of the Vancouver bench.
90' SEA and VAN - Scott and Chin sent off after a brouhaha.
105' SEA - Sawatzky cautioned either for diving or for complaining when he didn't get awarded a penalty kick.
110' VAN - Valente cautioned for getting Jackson from behind outside Seattle's penalty area.

Referees: Jason Transtrum; Jason Panos, Josh Wilkens; Shahram Pourazari
Attendance: 4,296