2007 Apr 27

Miami FC  3 - 2  Seattle Sounders
Tropical Park Stadium, Miami, FL

Miami: Pat Hannigan; Stephane Guillaume, Cristiano Dias, Chris Williams, Jamil Jean-Jacques (Walter Ramirez 81'); John Pulido, Sean Cameron (Sergio Van Kanten 81'), Eric Vasquez, Zinho; Sean Fraser (Nacho Calcagno 84', Nicolas Mosquera 87'), Luchi Gonzalez (Douglas Gonçalves 86'). Substitutes not used: Kristian Gonzalez, JP Rodrigues.

Seattle: Chris Eylander; Danny Jackson, Noah Merl, Zach Scott, Adam West (Santa Maria Rivera 76'); Josh Gardner, Kevin Sakuda, Andre Schmid (Kenji Treschuk 74'), Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar; Roger Levesque, Nate Knox. Substitutes not used: Ben Dragavon, Jake Besagno, Nate Boyden.

Goals:
13' MIA: Cameron
14' SEA: Knox (Alcaraz-Cuellar)
62' SEA: Levesque (Alcaraz-Cuellar)
68' MIA: Vasquez
73' MIA: Gonzalez (Cameron)

Additional match reports: Miami FC.

Match report from the Sounders:

The Seattle Sounders lost 3-2 against Miami FC in the first of two road matches scheduled for the weekend.

Miami drew first blood in the 13th minute when Sean Cameron stole a pass in the midfield and jetted to the top of the 18 yard box where he unleashed a left footed drive beating Sounders keeper Chris Eylander high and to the right.

The Sounders responded directly from the resulting kickoff, stringing together three passes through the midfield and unlocking Nathan Knox who buried the Sounders first goal of the season in the back of the net.

Both teams began to settle in as the first half wore on and Seattle looked to control the majority of the possession much the same way they did last week against Vancouver. The absence of Leighton O'Brien in the midfield, who sat out with a strained hamstring, opened up more space in the middle of the field for Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar. He showed glimpses of brilliance that left defenders on the turf and smiles on the faces of the Sounders faithful.

The teams exchanged attacking opportunities through the first half with Cameron generating the majority of Miami's chances. It was Knox who had the best look at goal in the 42nd minute when he dove head first to connect with a Gardner cross just outside the Miami six yard box, only to see his effort driven just wide of goal.

The halftime whistle blew the end to an intriguing first half battle between two teams looking for their first win of the year.

The second half continued with Andre Schmid playing on the right side of midfield, as opposed to his starting position as the lone forward in Vancouver a week ago.

The second half saw Miami put the Sounders on their heels, but time and again the combination of Eylander and Captain Danny Jackson was enough to shut down the Miami attack.

It was Alcaraz-Cuellar, against the run of play, who set up Roger Levesque for his first of the season in the 62nd. Cuellar's cross from the touchline on the right hand side of the field punctuated a nice piece of work which left the defender behind him by finding the foot of Levesque barely a yard in front of the goal.

Just five minutes later, Miami FC forward Eric Vasquez threatened to turn the match into a shootout by capitalizing on continued Miami pressure and scoring with a shot from 16 yards out that somehow eluded three Sounders defenders and the keeper to find the top right corner of the net.

Miami kept on the front foot taking the game to the Sounders defense and finding a reward in the 73rd minute when Cameron worked the ball into the 18 yard box on the right hand side of the field before cutting it back to Lucci Gonzalez who converted to take the score to three two in favor of the South Florida side.

After the go ahead goal, the Sounders looked to get the bit between their teeth and began to work their way back into the match. Santa Maria Rivera and Kenji Treschuk came on for the Seattle side to add some energy to the midfield. Treschuk nearly drew the Sounders level in the 85th, with a powerful shot that came off the post and was eventually corralled by keeper Hannigan.

In the dying minutes, Vasquez forced Eylander into the save of the year so far, that saw him sprawl at full stretch to his left to tip a nicely bent shot just over the bar.

The Sounders once again found themselves in desperate search of an equalizer through extra time, but much the same as in Vancouver last weekend, the right combination to put the ball in the back of the net eluded head coach Brian Schmetzer and company.

Statistics:
           Miami    Seattle
Shots:       22        11
Saves:        4         4
Corners:      4         6
Fouls:       15        12
Offsides:     4         1

Misconduct:
73' MIA: Williams cautioned
73' SEA: Gardner cautioned
87' MIA: Zinho cautioned
87' MIA: Calcagno cautioned

Referees: Fotis Bazakos; Adam Nehme, Mark Cohen; Joe Caroccio

Attendance: 853