2008 Aug 15 2008 Aug 15
Seattle Sounders 0 - 3 Puerto Rico Islanders
Starfire Sports Complex, Tukwila, WA
Seattle: Chris Eylander; Taylor Graham, Danny Jackson, Kevin Sakuda, Zach Scott; Nik Besagno (Michael Rodríguez 55'), Kenji Treschuk (Kevin Forrest 61'), Ciaran O'Brien (Adam West 69'), Youssouf Kante (John Fishbaugher 82'); Roger Levesque (Andre Schmid 71'), Sébastien Le Toux. Substitutes not used: Ben Dragavon.
Puerto Rico: Mike Behonick; Daniel Ojeda, Nigel Henry, William Yomby, Alexis Rivera; James Marcelin, Sandy Gbandi, Osei Telesford (John Krause 89'), Noah Delgado (Edwin Miranda 69'); Edson Elcock (Josh Hansen 77'), Kendall Jagdeosingh. Substitutes not used: Bill Gaudette, Scott Jones, Petter Villegas, Cristian Arrieta.
Goals:
38' PR: Delgado
59' PR: Elcock (Jagdeosingh)
65' PR: Elcock (Gbandi)
Additional match reports: Seattle Times, Seattle P-I, Sounders, Islanders (Spanish), GOALSeattle.com, Prost Amerika, Seattle Soccer Show player ratings.
Match report from Ron Stickney:
Fans were wondering how the Seattle Sounders would respond in their return to league play four days after their heartbreaking loss after extra time in the US Open Cup Semifinal. The answer to that question was not pretty to watch, as the Sounders were beat up and down the pitch by the visiting Puerto Rico Islanders. The Sounders were there physically, but not sharp mentally. In the end it was Puerto Rico three to nil, powered by a first half goal from Noah Delgado and a pair in the second half by Edson Elcock.
The Islanders nearly got on the scoreboard in the 6th minute when a long free kick somehow found Kendall Jagdeosingh close to goal, and it took a fine save by Chris Eylander to push it wide.
A minute later Nik Besagno took Seattle's first shot from a broken free kick play, but a defender blocked it part way to goal. At 13' Ciaran O'Brien's shot/cross forced Mike Behonick's first save, and he would need only one more on the way to the shutout. Puerto Rico's defense was well organized the whole match.
Midway in the half signs of trouble appeared when Alexis Rivera was allowed to carry the ball from the halfway line to the top of the arc for a shot that missed the left post by inches. At 34' Sandy Gbandi was served open on the right for a shot powered at the near post, and Eylander did well to palm it wide.
38' PR: Delgado. Delgado saw a seam open up for a shot from 25 yards, and Eylander must have been distracted as he was slow to respond and was easily beaten to the nnear side by a roller with medium pace. 1-0 Puerto Rico.
Jagdeosingh had a good chance 3 minutes later with a point blank header from a free kick play that went across the goal face, and Alexis Rivera's diving header couldn't quite keep it in bounds.
Seattle finally had a chance just before the end of the half when Kevin Sakuda got near the right post for a shot, and Behonick used one hand to deflect it past the goal mouth.
Early in the second half Elcock bent a free kick nicely around the wall to the lower far corner, but Eylander dove for the save.
With the Sounders' only corner kick of the match, Roger Levesque headed the ball to the far post to give Sébastien Le Toux a good chance from 5 yards, but he popped it over the bar.
At 54' a giveaway in the Sounders' end let Jagdeosingh serve Delgado open on the left for a great chance, but he hit the near post squarely.
59' PR: Elcock (Jagdeosingh). Another giveaway in the Sounders' end led to this goal. Jagdeosingh at the arc served right side to a wide open Elcock, who finished textbook style with a low shot to the far corner. 2-0 Puerto Rico.
A Seattle free kick gave Zach Scott a rare chance when he got the ball on a run past the defense. He chested the ball down and volleyed a shot, but bent it away from the goal. O'Brien from 35 yards almost hit the top left corner with a surprise shot.
65' PR: Elcock (Gbandi). On a Puerto Rico counterattack, Gbandi fed Elcock on the right facing Michael Rodríguez, who had come on 10 minutes earlier. Rodríguez went for the feint, and Elcock was open for a corkscrewed shot that beat Eylander to the top near corner. 3-0 Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico were content to defend for the final 25 minutes, and yielded just three shots to Kante, none of them good chances, none of them close.
Statistics:
Seattle Puerto Rico
Shots: 10 12
Saves: 3 2
Corners: 1 6
Fouls: 14 14
Offsides: 1 1
Misconduct:
46' SEA: Scott cautioned
66' PR: Jagdeosingh cautioned
66' SEA: Jackson cautioned
71' PR: Rivera cautioned
Referees: Richard Heron; Jeff Hosking, Mark Matthews; Cory Dean
Attendance: 3,266
