2005 Sep 18

Playoffs, quarterfinals, second leg:
Seattle Sounders  2 - 0  Portland Timbers
Starfire Sports Complex, Tukwila, WA

Seattle: Preston Burpo; Taylor Graham, Billy Sleeth, Ryan Edwards (Scott Jenkins 59'), Zach Scott; Kevin Sakuda, CJ Klaas (Jake Sagare 81'), Leighton O'Brien, Gabe Sturm (Andrew Gregor 45'); Roger Levesque (Brett Wiesner 78'), Maikel Galindo (Brent Whitfield 69'). Substitutes not used: James Ward, Ben Somoza.

Portland: Josh Saunders; Scot Thompson, Lee Morrison, Garrett Marcum (Scott Benedetti 78'), Kevin Goldthwaite; Brian Winters, Edwin Miranda, Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar, Aaran Lines; Byron Alvarez (Shaun Higgins 61'), Dan Antoniuk. Substitutes not used: Sam Reynolds, Tom Poltl, Fadi Afash, Gavin Wilkinson.

Goals:
5' SEA - Levesque (O'Brien)
54' SEA - Levesque (Gregor)

Additional match reports: Seattle Times, Seattle P-I, King County Journal, Sounders, Timbers.

Match report by Ron Stickney:

The Seattle Sounders dominated the second leg of the playoff quarterfinal series with the Portland Timbers, winning the home match 2-0 and winning the series 3-0 on aggregate. Roger Levesque scored both goals, giving him sort of a hat trick with three goals on the weekend. Preston Burpo earned another shutout, this time needing just one save early in the match.

Maikel Galindo was a big factor in the match, repeatedly drawing tactical fouls when he was breaking towards goal, and eventually drawing some yellow cards. The Sounders shrugged off the Timbers' rough play, and then two yellow cards within two minutes sent off Portland's Aaran Lines in just the 27th minute, giving Seattle a man advantage to go along with the lead.

First Half

5' Levesque (O'Brien). After Garrett Marcum tripped Galindo from behind to prevent a breakaway, Leighton O'Brien took the 25-yard free kick and bent the ball to the spot, where Levesque dove for a flying header that flashed past goalkeeper Josh Saunders and inside the far post. For the second consecutive match Levesque had beaten Saunders for an early goal. 1-0 Seattle.

Portland's first shot came at 11' when Kevin Goldthwaite got a dropped pass in the penalty area, but he skied the shot. Byron Alvarez was next with a 20-yard shot up the middle while closely marked, and he didn't get much velocity on it, allowing Burpo an easy save that would be Burpo's only save of the match. Edwin Miranda had a chance, served at the top left corner of the penalty area by Goldthwaite's free kick, and Burpo watched the shot into the near side netting. In the 21st minute, Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar's corner kick gave Scot Thompson a header and he angled it down and watched it bounce over the bar, slightly deflected by a Sounders defender.

Meanwhile, Seattle had just one good shot in that stretch when O'Brien's free kick into the penalty area was knocked loose but right to Levesque, whose low shot just missed the far post.

Portland hurt their chances when Aaran Lines got yellow cards in the 25th and 27th minutes, first for a tactical foul on Galindo, then for a trip from behind on Klaas. Out came the obligatory red card for Lines.

At 28' Galindo got deep on the right with the ball for a 10-yard shot from a steep angle, and Saunders blocked it away for his first save. At 39' Kevin Sakuda was served on a run up the middle and his 25-yard shot just missed the left post. Last chance of the half was for Gabe Sturm from a loose ball in the penalty area, and he curled a shot just over the bar with the goal untended.

Halftime: Seattle 1-0 Portland

O'Brien was not happy when in the 47th he was kicked in the nose by Brian Winters, who was whistled for a foul but wasn't shown a yellow card. First shot of the half was a Levesque header from a throw-in at 48', and it landed on the roof.

Portland's first shot of the half was an Alcaraz-Cuellar free kick up the middle from 25 yards at 50', sent a half yard over the top left corner.

54' Levesque (Gregor). On a Seattle attack, O'Brien crossed over the crowd to Andrew Gregor, who was making a far-post run. Gregor slid forward to send a short, square pass into the path of Levesque, running up the middle, and Levesque powered a quick shot into the back of the net from 10 yards. 2-0 Seattle.

Portland's last good shot of the match was from Miranda in the 57th, a 25-yarder that went a half yard over the top far corner.

Galindo had a few good plays in the half, first when he was sprung on the right and while he could have shot he instead passed to Gregor on the far post run, but it was a bit too close to Gregor and he couldn't get much power on the shot, allowing Saunders to dive right and smother the ball near the goal line. Billy Sleeth's cross in the 65th gave Galindo a flying header that cleared the bar by a half yard. A minute later Galindo's cross gave Gregor a good chance, but the shot was yards too high. That was it for Galindo, who was fouled harshly one more time in the 68th and limped off to be replaced by Brent Whitfield.

The last good shot was from O'Brien in the 73rd minute, when he was served for a 20-yard hard, bending shot that slammed squarely off the crossbar.

Final: Seattle 2-0 Portland

Statistics:
          Seattle  Portland
Shots:      15         8
Saves:       1         3
Corners:     2         4
Fouls:      17        19
Offsides:    3         5

Misconduct:
17' POR - Marcum cautioned for a tactical foul on Galindo
22' POR - Alvarez cautioned for a late challenge
25' POR - Lines cautioned for a tactical foul on Galindo
27' POR - Lines cautioned for tripping Klaas from behind and sent off for his second caution
29' SEA - O'Brien cautioned for chopping down Marcum from behind

Referees: Fotis Bazakos; Josh Wilkins, Manuel Soledad; Brian Armes

Attendance: 2,543