2005 Jun 26

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

Vancouver: Mike Franks; Mark Watson (Kevin Harmse 78'), Liam de Silva, Geordie Lyall, Steve Kindel; Jeff Clarke, Martin Nash, Steve Klein (Nick Dasovic 56'), Dave Morris (Ryan Trout 74'), Carlo Corazzin (Ian Fuller 55'), Joe Gjertsen (Jason Jordan 60'). Substitutes not used: Josh Wicks, Chris Franks.

Seattle: Preston Burpo; Taylor Graham, Ryan Edwards, Scott Jenkins, Billy Sleeth; Kevin Sakuda, Leighton O'Brien, Ben Somoza (Brent Whitfield 69'), Gabe Sturm (Franklin Chacon 46'); Roger Levesque, Welton (Brett Wiesner 81'). Substitutes not used: James Ward, Josh Hansen, Jake Besagno, Andrew Gregor.

Goals:
none

Additional match report: Whitecaps.

Match report by Ron Stickney:

It was another draw as the Vancouver Whitecaps hosted the Seattle Sounders at Swangard Stadium, the third draw in three contests between these sides this season. Men of the match would have to be Seattle goalkeeper Preston Burpo and Vancouver goalkeeper Mike Franks, who earned their 7th and 5th shutouts of the season, respectively.

First Half

A scoreless draw seemed an unlikely outcome after each side developed two scoring chances in the first 8 minutes. For Seattle, Ryan Edwards got his head on a Leighton O'Brien corner kick but popped it up. Welton's short through pass to Roger Levesque was promising, but Levesque touched it too far, allowing Franks to come out big and block the shot.

Carlo Corazzin had the early shots for Vancouver, forcing a diving save with a low shot up the middle, then heading a nice shot off the top of the crossbar at the far corner in the 8th minute.

Each side would manage 6 shots in the first half, but the notable shots were Vancouver's. Joe Gjertsen was served on the right at 19' for an open 15-yard shot, but he sent it wide of the far post. Dave Morris' blast in the 32nd was right at Burpo, and the keeper did well to hold onto it. Morris hammered another shot in the 41st after a Vancouver corner kick was pushed to the side by Burpo, but Morris missed wide of the near post.

Halftime: Vancouver 0-0 Seattle

Vancouver pressured the Seattle goal in the first 3 minutes of the second half, forcing Burpo to push a shot wide for a corner kick, then Martin Nash curled a shot right into Burpo's bread basket. The Vancouver offense then was stymied by the Seattle defense until the 85th minute, when substitute Jason Jordan beat his marker to get in close to the left post for a shot, but Burpo made the chest block and Taylor Graham cleared the leftovers.

Seattle had the better chances in the half, outshooting Vancouver 6-3. In the 57th Kevin Sakuda tried a quick 20-yarder but missed the far post by two yards. In the 74th Levesque headed a cross just wide of the far post. In the 84th Levesque was fed the ball in close to the left post, but Franks slid out to stuff the shot with his best save. Substitute Brent Whitfield got open for a shot from 10 yards in the 86th and blasted it at the near post, but it went wide leaving Whitfield holding his head after what would be the last good scoring chance of the match.

The 89th minute saw an ugly incident as Leighton O'Brien, on loan from Real Salt Lake for the weekend, deliberately slid under a Whitecaps attacker at the touch line when there was no need for a tactical foul. It was O'Brien's second yellow card, followed by the obligatory red card. It was the only uncivil moment in the pair of weekend matches between these rivals.

Final: Vancouver 0-0 Seattle

Statistics:
          Vancouver  Seattle
Shots:       9        12
Saves:       4         4
Corners:     5         3
Fouls:      16         9
Offsides:    3         1

Misconduct:
23' VAN - Clarke cautioned
34' SEA - Sakuda cautioned
80' SEA - O'Brien cautioned
89' SEA - O'Brien cautioned and sent off for his second caution

Referees: Daniel Belleau; Paul Ward, Kevin Duliba; Domenic Cimaglia

Attendance: 5,422