2005 Jul 29

Vancouver Whitecaps  0 - 0  Seattle Sounders
Swangard Stadium, Burnaby, BC

Vancouver: Josh Wicks; Mark Watson, Kevin Harmse (Nick Dasovic 65'), Liam de Silva, Geordie Lyall; Steve Kindel, Jeff Clarke, Martin Nash (Dave Morris 72'), Steve Klein; Joe Gjertsen, Jason Jordan (Ian Fuller 76'). Substitutes not used: Serge Djekanovic, Alfredo Valente, Carlo Corazzin, Chris Franks.

Seattle: Preston Burpo; Taylor Graham, Billy Sleeth, Gabe Sturm (Scott Jenkins 46'), Ryan Edwards; Kevin Sakuda, Leighton O'Brien, CJ Klaas (Ben Somoza 65'), Andrew Gregor; Roger Levesque (Jake Sagare 70'), Welton (Brent Whitfield 61'). Substitutes not used: James Ward, Brett Wiesner, Chad Brown.

Goals:
none

Additional match report: Whitecaps, Sounders.

Match report by Ron Stickney:

Yikes, another nil-nil draw, third of the season, between the host Vancouver Whitecaps and the Seattle Sounders! Their other match this season was also a draw at 1-1. Shutouts went to the goalkeepers, Josh Wicks for Vancouver and Preston Burpo for Seattle. It was Burpo's league-leading 10th shutout in league play this year.

Including NASL matches and excluding preseason friendlies, this was the 100th match between Vancouver and the Sounders. It was not one to remember.

First Half

Good chances came in the opening minutes. In the 6th for Vancouver, Steve Kindel got around the corner on the left and from the bye line he sent a dangerous cross into the goal area. Burpo slid out to stuff Steve Klein's shot and the rebound fell right into Burpo's hands as he was laying on the ground.

Seattle's best shot of the half came in the 8th minute when left back Gabe Sturm was open on a run into the penalty area on the left and he rocketed a shot inches over the bar.

Then the chances became rare, as both sides were guilty of a lot of very poor passes for the rest of the match.

Leighton O'Brien had a couple of chances from Seattle free kicks midway in the half, sending a 30-yarder right to Wicks and later a 25-yarder into the wall.

In the 39th, Tacoma's Joey Gjertsen ran open on the right for a good chance for the Whitecaps, and his 15-yard low shot rolled just wide of the far post past a sprawling Burpo. Another attack by Gjertsen led to a great crossing opportunity as Vancouver continued to test Sturm at left back, but defender Ryan Edwards was first to the ball in front of goal to clear it out for a corner.

In the 44th minute every fan in the stadium thought that Vancouver had scored. Jason Jordan got around the corner on the left and in close for a low shot that hit the front of the near post and rebounded to Gjertsen for an easy finish into the open net. But assistant referee Jose Branco had his flag up for offside, and we were all baffled as to how that could have been the case. Referee Justin Tasev honored the offside flag, and for the rest of the evening the referee crew was the least popular team on the pitch, drawing boos when they left or re-entered the pitch.

Seattle had one more free kick up the middle to end the half, and Andrew Gregor sent it a yard high from 30.

Halftime: Vancouver 0-0 Seattle

To shore up the left side at the break, Seattle sent in veteran Scott Jenkins at left back for rookie Sturm.

The second half started slowly until in the 58th minute Vancouver's Jordan excited the crowd with a flying header at the far post from Geordie Lyall's cross, and it just missed the post by inches.

Seattle soon answered when Gregor's pass gave O'Brien a good chance from the 18, but O'Brien shot a yard too high. A minute later O'Brien dropped a pass to Welton, who sent a 25-yard low blast up the middle through a crowd, forcing Wicks to collapse and block with his legs, Wicks' best save of the match, and Roger Levesque's shot from the rebound was deflected wide by a defender. Another minute later a 25-yard quick shot was just a foot over the top near corner. Three minutes produced four shots, but then Seattle's offense was done for the night.

The 68th minute saw Gjertsen roll one just wide of the far post again after he shot quickly from 20 yards. Jordan was fed the ball in close with his back to goal and three defenders guarding him, but somehow he turned in a fine spin move and shot through the crowd, missing the far post by inches. In the 78th Burpo had to make an acrobatic leap backwards to push Jeff Clarke's 30-yard free kick over the bar. And then Vancouver's offense was done for the night, too.

Final: Vancouver 0-0 Seattle

Statistics:
         Vancouver  Seattle
Shots:      10         9
Saves:       3         3
Corners:     5         1
Fouls:      12         9
Offsides:    2         2

Misconduct:
16' SEA - O'Brien cautioned for a tactical foul in the middle of the pitch
20' VAN - Watson cautioned for a cleats-first challenge

Referees: Justin Tasev; Paul Ward, Jose Branco; Martin Reid

Attendance: 5,434