2000 May 19
 
San Diego Flash 1 - 0 Seattle Sounders
Douglas Stadium, San Diego, CA
 
74 SD - Jara (Legg)
 
San Diego: Tom Tate; David Banks, Jaime Munro, PJ Brown; Leighton O'Brien, Kevin Legg (Carlos Calderson 83), Nate Hetherington, Guillermo Jara (Jason Annicchero 78); Mark Baena, Mugurel Dumitru (Eric Chaisongkram 67), Jerome Watson (Carlos Farias 72).
 
Seattle: Preston Burpo; Ali John Utush, Scott Jenkins, Kieran Barton; Dick McCormick, Andrew Gregor, Greg Howes (Brian Wood 76), Darren Sawatzky, Sean Henderson; Rashid Utush (Craig Tomlinson 57), Viet Nguyen (Erik Storkson 71).
 

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Match report by Flash fan Eric Bekins.
 
Guillermo Jara was in the right place at the right time, and scored the only goal for San Diego, which was enough to get the win for the Flash over the visiting Seattle Sounders. Seattle had plenty of chances, but it was clear that they lacked a good finisher, such as last year's leading scorer Mark Baena. Tonight Mark was on the field, but in the opposite uniform, this time helping the Flash crack the Sounders defense. But while Mark was being closely guarded, Kevin Legg was able to thread a ball through to Jara for the Flash goal.
 
The first half saw Seattle come out strong. The Sounders seemed to have several chances early on. But at minute 11 Mark Baena made a great run and fed the ball to Kevin Legg who got a shot off that hit the right post. From minutes 15 to 20 Seattle had some really great chances right in front of the Flash goal, but it was here that we noticed the lack of a finisher for the Sounders. Then later in the half Darren Sawatzky got off a very good shot that hit the top of the crossbar and bounced out. The half ended 0-0, but the Sounders had many more chances at the goal than the Flash, and the Flash were lucky not to have gone in to the locker room with a deficit.
 
The second half started a little slower, with neither team really controlling possession. For about the first 15 minutes of the second half it appeared that the Sounders still had control of the game, yet they could not find the back of the net. Then the Flash started to step it up. Nate Hetherington had a great chance on goal, just missing wide. Later Baena had a shot on goal that required a great save by goalie Preston Burpo, leaving his feet to punch it away. The Flash really seemed to be asserting themselves on the field, and the Sounders were giving up ground.
 
At minute 69 there was a terrific scramble for a loose ball right around the penalty spot, and Mark Baena had a great chance to turn on it for a shot, or to dish it off to another player. But a sprawling Preston Burpo was able to reach out and grab Mark by the ankles, bringing him down. And of course, the ref didn't see it.
 
At minute 72 the Flash brought in Carlos "Chile" Farias, who made an immediate impression in the midfield by controlling possession, and working the ball forward with short, accurate passes. Just two minutes after his entry his passes brought about the winning result. From the back Flash defender David Banks passed forward to the midfield line to Chile. Chile then got by two Sounders, and delivered a great pass to a full speed Eric Chaisongkram. "Chai" then brought the ball down the left side, drifting to the outside. Chai then left the ball behind him, barely pushing it in the penalty area to Kevin Legg. "Leggy" then brought it across the area, and hit a hard pass right in towards goal. Burpo was a bit far off his line, and the ball got past him, and Guillermo Jara just walked in into the goal. It was a great sequence of passes that looked great at each level. And Jara was in the right place at the right time. The Flash's patience paid off, and they were able to score the only goal of the match.
 
Seattle did not give up. They tried hard to get the ball forward, and even made Flash goalie Tommy Tate make a save right on the goal line that could have gone in. But it was the Flash's night, and they got the W. Seattle proved to be a tough opponent, as they always have been, but the Flash were once again able to prevail. San Diego now lead the all time series history, 6-2.
 
Statistics:

	San Diego	Seattle
Shots:	11	8
Saves:	5	3
Corners:	4	3
Fouls:	20	19
Offsides:	10	3

 
Misconduct:
None
 
Referee: Theodore Bennett, Asst Refs: Eugene Selivanov, Bryan Elliott, 4th Official: Naaim Abassi
Attendance: 2,358