2008 Apr 12

Preseason match:
Seattle Sounders  5 - 0  U Washington Huskies
French Field, Kent, WA

Seattle: not reported.

UW: not reported.

Goals:
19' SEA: Levesque (Scott)
23' SEA: Le Toux (Alcaraz-Cuellar)
43' SEA: Le Toux (Levesque)
73' SEA: Alcaraz-Cuellar (PK)
86' SEA: Treschuk (Alcaraz-Cuellar)

Match report from the Sounders:

One week before the Seattle Sounders get back into games that count in the standings, Sebastien Le Toux, Roger Levesque and Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar are getting back into their grooves.

Le Toux scored two goals, Levesque had a goal and assisted on LeToux's second tally, and Alcaraz-Cuellar put together another one-goal, two-assist performance in Seattle's 5-0 preseason victory against the University of Washington on Saturday afternoon at French Field.

Le Toux had 10 goals last year to share United Soccer Leagues First Division top honors in that department. He now has four in preseason play as the Sounders won their fifth straight and improved to 5-0-1.

Levesque, who had eight goals and seven assists for the Sounders last summer, scored for the second time in the preseason. Alcaraz-Cuellar's output on Saturday matched what he did in Seattle's 4-2 victory against the Hispanic All-Stars on March 30.

The Sounders conclude their exhibition schedule on Sunday at Whatcom Community College in Bellingham against the Puget Sound Soccer Academy Rapids. Kickoff is at 5 p.m.

The USL regular season begins next Saturday when Seattle travels to Charleston to take on the Battery at 4:30 p.m. PDT.

The Sounders play two more road games -- April 26 at Portland and May 2 at Atlanta -- before their home opener on May 10 at 7 p.m. against the Portland Timbers. That will be Seattle's only game at Qwest Field before the rest of the home schedule shifts to Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila.

The Huskies were coming off a 9-8-4 season last fall. They earned a trip to the NCAA tournament, beating Portland in the first round, 1-0, before being eliminated by UC Santa Barbara, 1-0.

Seattle came out with a starting group that very likely could be the 11 on the field for next Saturday's regular-season opener at Charleston. With Chris Eylander in goal, the Sounders went with a 4-4-2 alignment that included Zach Scott, Kevin Sakuda, Taylor Graham and Danny Jackson in the back; Josh Gardner, Leighton O'Brien, Kenji Treschuk and Alcaraz-Cuellar at midfield, and the front-line duo of Levesque and Le Toux.

All except O'Brien, Levesque and Gardner played the entire 90 minutes.

The Sounders got off just five shots during the first half, but put three of them past Washington goalkeeper Rylan Hawkins.

Levesque put Seattle on the board early in the 19th minute. O'Brien started the play with a free kick near midfield on the right wing side. He sent the ball clear across the field to Scott, who playing just to the left of the penalty area. Scott crossed it into the box to Levesque, who tapped it into a wide-open net.

Le Toux doubled the lead to 2-0 in the 33rd minute. Alcaraz-Cueller sent a short pass to Le Toux, who was positioned just inside the top of the box straight in front of the net. Hawkins came out to play it, but Le Toux managed to get the ball around him, and had an unguarded net at which to shoot from 10 yards away.

Gardner started Seattle's third scoring play. Playing on the left side of the box, he crossed the ball toward the right side, where it landed at Levesque's foot. Levesque lofted a short pass goalward, and Le Toux went up and headed it in midway through the 43rd minute.

Le Toux had a chance at a hat trick early in the 73rd minute as he scrambled for a loose ball on the front porch of Husky goalkeeper Hawkins. Le Toux and two Husky defenders went down on the ground, and a hand ball was called, giving the Sounders a penalty kick. Alcaraz-Cuellar converted, going to the back left corner while Hawkins moved the other way.

Alcaraz-Cuellar set up a goal by Kenji Treschuk in the 86th minute. Playing just outside the box on the right wing, he floated in a cross that bounced high into the air, and Treschuk went up to head it just under the crossbar.

The game had its chippy moments, as six yellow cards were issued -- four of which came during a 75-second span midway through the first half. O'Brien and Washington's George John were both booked for a shoving match at 20:30; Jackson saw yellow at 20:53, and Casey Cunningham of the Huskies was carded at 21:45.

Statistics:
          Seattle      UW
Shots:        9         3
Saves:        2         4
Corners:      2         3
Fouls:       10        13
Offsides:     2         2

Misconduct:
21' UW: John cautioned
21' SEA: O'Brien cautioned
21' SEA: Jackson cautioned
22' UW: Cunningham cautioned
47' SEA: Gardner cautioned
55' UW: Cox cautioned