2007 Jun 2 2007 Jun 2
Friendly:
Seattle Sounders 1 - 3 Chivas USA
Qwest Field, Seattle, WA
Seattle: Chris Eylander; Noah Merl, Zach Scott (Adam West 79'), Jake Besagno; Danny Jackson (Craig Tomlinson 61'), Kevin Sakuda, Leighton O’Brien, Josh Gardner (Santa Maria Rivera 69'), Roger Levesque (Kenji Treschuk 74'); Sebastien Le Toux (Andre Schmid 69'), Greg Howes. Substitutes not used: Ben Dragavon, Gabe Sturm, Nate Boyden, Nate Knox, Colin Rigby.
Chivas: Preston Burpo; Claudio Suarez (Alex Zotinca 46'), Shavar Thomas (Jason Hernandez 41'), Jorge Barerra (Lawson Vaughn 46'), Orlando Perez; Francisco Mendoza (Erasmo Solarzano 78'), John Cunliffe, Rodrigo Lopez, Paulo Nagamura; Matt Taylor, Maykel Galindo (Anthony Hamilton 46'). Substitutes not used: Brad Guzan.
Goals:
12' SEA: Le Toux (O'Brien)
14' CHV: Suarez (PK)
27' CHV: Galindo (Taylor)
57' CHV: Cunliffe (Mendoza)
Additional match reports: Seattle Times, Sounders.
Match report by Ron Stickney:
In a friendly arranged as partial compensation for the transfer of ex-Sounder Maykel Galindo, it was Galindo who scored the winning goal as MLS side Chivas USA beat USL 1st Div side Seattle Sounders 3-1. Sebastien Le Toux gave Seattle the early lead, but a penalty kick by Claudio Suarez immediately leveled the score. John Cunliffe added the insurance goal in the second half. Ex-Sounder Preston Burpo played in goal for Chivas.
Chivas had the early chances. Galindo could have scored in the 4th minute from 3 yards when he was first to a nice waist-high cross through the middle of the goal area, but he got just a small piece of the ball and it continued past the goal. Paulo Nagamura just missed the far post with a 25-yard free kick. Galindo sprinted around the corner on the left for a shot that would have missed the far post but goalkeeper Chris Eylander pushed it wider, conceding a corner kick.
12' SEA: Le Toux (O'Brien). After Chivas' first foul, near the halfway line, Leighton O'Brien quickly took the free kick, catching the Chivas defense napping. O'Brien sent it over the crowd for Le Toux on the far post run, and from 8 yards on the left Le Toux volleyed it low past the charging Burpo. Burpo got his hand on a piece of the ball but couldn't stop it. 1-0 Seattle.
14' CHV: Suarez (PK). Seattle's lead was quickly squandered when Zach Scott miskicked a ball into his hand 2 yards inside the penalty area. The handling did not seem at all deliberate, but referee Jeff Hosking awarded the penalty kick. Suarez sent the PK to the lower left corner as Eylander dove the other way. 1-1.
27' CHV: Galindo (Taylor). For Seattle, Josh Gardner's long, crisp pass to the center of the 18-yard line nearly gave Le Toux a good shot, and on the counterattack it was Matt Taylor and Galindo vs. a pair of defenders. Taylor drew both defenders and passed left ahead of Galindo, who carried it into the penalty area and beat Eylander with a nice low shot to the far side. 2-1 Chivas.
It was back and forth for the rest of the half. For Seattle, Greg Howes just missed the top far corner from 18. For Chivas, Francisco Mendoza bent a shot around the far post from 18. Seattle's Danny Jackson won a loose ball in the Chivas penalty area, made space, and fired a rocket on goal, but Burpo made the save of the match to deflect it just over the bar. Chivas' Taylor missed the top near corner by a yard from 20.
In the 42nd minute, Chivas' Rodrigo Lopez netted the ball after a cross from Galindo, but Galindo was offside. In the 44th, Seattle's O'Brien netted, but he had knocked the ball down from overhead with his hand.
In added time at the end of the half, Galindo sped up the left side to blister a shot from the corner of the penalty area and Eylander made his best save, getting just enough of the ball to deflect it onto the underside of the crossbar, the rebound hitting a yard in front of the goal line. For Seattle, Kevin Sakuda earned a shot from the right end of the arc, but he bounced it right to Burpo.
Halftime: Seattle 1 - 2 Chivas
Seattle had a good chance in the first few minutes of the second half when Sakuda in the right corner earned a cross that a couple of short passes later gave Gardner a good look from 15 yards in the middle, but his right-footed shot just missed the right post.
57' CHV: Cunliffe (Mendoza). Mendoza near the 18 spun with the ball and served ahead to an open Cunliffe. From 8 yards, Cunliffe beat Eylander with a shot to the lower near corner. 3-1 Chivas.
A minute after entering for Seattle, the speedy Craig Tomlinson almost got sprung on the right, but his marker got a piece of the ball inside the penalty area and then Tomlinson tripped over the defender. Fans called for a make-up PK, but Hosking didn't grant their wish.
The game got a bit more chaotic for the last half hour, with both sides made 5 substitutions in the friendly. Seattle had three good chances left in them. Howes saw an opportunity from 25 yards after Burpo came out and punched the ball but right to Howes, but Howes' attempt to bend it over Burpo cleared the bar by a couple of yards. Howes crossed over the crowd to give Roger Levesque a nice header with only Burpo to beat, but it went just wide of the near post. From the left touch line at 73', substitute Santa Maria Rivera's shot/cross hooked sharply on goal but Burpo made the save overhead. That would be it for Seattle's offense.
In the final 10 minutes Chivas shot well twice, the first one a rocket from the 18 that was almost too hot to handle but Eylander managed to parry it. In the final minute a shot from the left hit the center of the bar and rebounded back into play.
Final: Seattle 1 - 3 Chivas
Statistics:
Seattle Chivas
Shots: 12 14
Saves: 3 5
Corners: 2 2
Fouls: 18 12
Offsides: 5 2
Misconduct:
18' SEA: Besagno cautioned
44' SEA: O'Brien cautioned
66' CHV: Mendoza cautioned
Referees: Jeff Hosking; Mike Rottersman, Scott Lawrence; Mark Matthews
Attendance: 5,599
