2008 Jun 1

Miami FC Blues  0 - 0  Seattle Sounders
Tropical Park Stadium, Miami, FL

Miami: Josh Saunders; Eduardo Gutierrez, Chris Williams, Cristiano Dias, Avery John (Juan Pablo Galavis 72'); Walter Ramirez, John Pulido (Jarryd Goldberg 75'), Cauê da Mata (Nicolas Mosquera 82’), Sean Cameron; Sean Fraser (Sean Barrett 70'), Alex Alfonso.

Seattle: Chris Eylander; Taylor Graham, Zach Scott, Kevin Sakuda, Noah Merl (Adam West 32'); Kenji Treschuk, John Fishbaugher, Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar, Josh Gardner; Jason Cascio (Andre Schmid 45'), Sebastien Le Toux.

Goals:
none

Additional match reports: Blues.

Match report from the Sounders:

The Seattle Sounders finished an exhausting three game road trip in the southeast with a 0-0 draw against the Miami FC Blues. The match was their third in five days.

In a brutal game that saw 31 fouls committed and an ejection for Sounders midfielder Kenji Treschuk, Seattle fought hard, and down a man for much of the second half, escaped with a hard earned point.

Missing key starters Danny Jackson and Leighton O'Brien as well as Youssouf Kante for the trip, the Sounders roster was thin and had a hard time as an injury to Roger Levesque in Carolina gave an already thin lineup further trouble.

The injury problem didn't let up against Miami as Noah Merl was substituted out of the game in the 32nd minute with what appeared to be a thigh injury. Adam West came in for Merl and played left back with Zach Scott shifting to central defense.

Jason Cascio also left the game at halftime after receiving a hard tackle towards the end of the first half.

But it was the red card issued to Treschuk in the 68th minute for apparently stepping on the ankle of Blues midfielder, Cristiano Dias, that sent an already tired side into a scramble to pull a point out of the game.

While neither team found the back of the net, the run of play was mostly open as the two sides combined on 17 shots taken.

The Seattle backline had their hands full with the Blues new Brazilian striker, Alex Alfonso, who in his first season in the USL is tied for the most goals in the league with six. Alfonso tested Chris Eylander early with headers in the 10th and 15th minute, and took five shots overall.

Despite giving up the most goals in the league so far this year with 15, the Blues defense played with determination and the Sounders midfield found it difficult to pick out their strike force of Le Toux and Cascio.

Rookie John Fishbaugher had the best opportunity of the first half when a pass from Le Toux found him all alone with keeper Josh Saunders, but his effort was right at the Saunders who made the save.

Miami FC came out at the beginning of the second half looking for a goal and found one from Sean Cameron in the 47th minute, but goal was disallowed as Cameron was ruled offside.

Seattle's best chance of the game came in the 65th minute when after a foul, Kenji Treschuk restarted quickly with the Blues defense unprepared and passed to Sebastien Le Toux whose bending shot towards the far post was just saved off the fingertips of Saunders.

After Treschuk was sent off, Seattle sat back and defended. The Blues never seriously tested Eylander and the sides settled for a 0-0 draw.

Statistics:
           Miami    Seattle
Shots:       13         4
Saves:        4         4
Corners:      2         4
Fouls:       13        18
Offsides:     3         0

Misconduct:
29' MIA: John cautioned
33' SEA: Cascio cautioned
53' MIA: Pulido cautioned
67' MIA: da Mata cautioned
69' SEA: Treschuk sent off
79' MIA: Cameron cautioned
85' SEA: Eylander cautioned

Referees: Oscar Ortiz; Jonathan Weiner, Mark Cahen; Reggie Rutty

Attendance: 1,099