2002 Jun 15

Indiana Blast  2 - 4  Seattle Sounders
Indianapolis, IN

Goals:
3' IND - Costa (Vaughn)
10' SEA - Nguyen
32' IND - Vaughn (Tenoff)
39' SEA - Nguyen (Jenkins)
77' SEA - Ching
87' SEA - Ching

Indiana: Josh Lynk; Mark Allen, Vorgen Less, Jeff Samples (Ezzy Ihekoronye 15', Eric Rue 81'); Dustin Ottesen, Godfrey Tenoff, Jeremy Sweet, James Prosser, Myron Vaughn (Justin Pratt 46'); Jeff Dresser, Rodrigo Costa.

Seattle: Preston Burpo; Kieran Barton, Scott Jenkins, Ryan Edwards; Nate Daligcon, Andrew Gregor, Leighton O'Brien, Jason Farrell, Viet Nguyen (Greg Foisie 89'); Darren Sawatzky (Chad Brown 81'), Brian Ching (Kyle Smith 86').


Match report from Blast fan Mike Battreall.

Match report from the Sounders:

After losing their first game of the 2002 season Friday night, the Seattle Sounders bounced back to defeat the Indiana Blast 4–2 in the final game of their two-game road trip.

The Blast got on the board first in the 3rd minute when Myron Vaughn played a beautiful cross to Rodrigo Costa. Costa volleyed the ball into the lower right side of the net past Sounder keeper Preston Burpo.

It didn’t take the Sounders (9-1-0) long to answer. Viet Nguyen received a pass inside the six yard line and made three moves to elude two Blast (3-8-0) defenders. He rocketed a shot past Blast keeper Jim Lynk for the 1-1 tie.

The 32nd minute saw Myron Vaugh break the tie. He received a Godfrey Tenoff pass and lobbed the perfect shot over the head of Burpo. But once again the Sounders countered with another Nguyen goal. His shot in the 39th minute, courtesy of a Scott Jenkins cross, bounced off the crossbar and into the back of the net.

A chippy game in the first half continued that way in the second. Kieran Barton and Jason Farrell each received yellow cards early in the half and a questionable call in the 70th minute saw Farrell get his second yellow of the game, thus earning the red card ejection.

But the Sounders and Brian Ching dominated the second half. Playing a man down, he scored the game-winning goal in the 77th minute. With a defender breathing down his neck he went in one on one with Lynk, who was out of his net and rapidly approaching. Ching calmly touched the ball past Lynk for the 3-2 lead.

Ching struck again in the 87th minute, again one on one with Lynk. He drove a shot off the right post and into the net for the 4-2 lead.

Head coach Brian Schmetzer said, “It’s great to end the road trip with a win.” He continued, “The guys played well tonight and deserved this game.”

The win gives the Sounders 42 points, good for first place in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference.

The Sounders loss to the Cincinnati Riverhawks last night ended their eight-game win streak. The streak marked the Sounders best start in franchise history. Schmetzer commented, “What a great start to the season, with the 8-0 start.” He continued, “You never like to lose but better now than later.”

Sounder rookie Zach Kingsley, having a great first year as a professional, did not make the trip with the Sounders. Because of his noticeably outstanding play, the Colorado Rapids invited him to train in Denver.

The Sounders return home and face the Hampton Roads Mariners Saturday night, June 22nd at 7 p.m. This will be the Sounders first home game since May 18, 2002.

On July 28, the Sounders will open brand new Seahawks Stadium when they face the Vancouver Whitecaps at 8 p.m.

Statistics:
        Indiana  Seattle
Shots:      9       20
Saves:      8        4
Corners:    0        6
Fouls:      8        8
Offsides:   1        4

Misconduct:
16' IND - Costa cautioned
51' SEA - Barton cautioned
54' SEA - Farrell cautioned
58' IND - Ihekoronye cautioned
70' SEA - Farrell cautioned and sent off for his second caution

Referee:
Attendance: 2,147