2010 Oct 12 2010 Oct 12
Qwest Field, Seattle, WA
Goals:
5' SEA: Mike Fucito (Roger Levesque)
18' SEA: Nate Jaqua (Roger Levesque, Mike Fucito)
70' CHV: Marco Fabian (Mitchel Oviedo)
90' SEA: Sanna Nyassi (Fredy Montero)
Seattle: Terry Boss; Tyson Wahl (Akeem Adams 46'), Tyrone Marshall, Taylor Graham, Zach Scott; Roger Levesque, Alvaro Fernandez (Peter Vagenas 46'), Mike Seamon (Sanna Nyassi 88'), David Estrada (Miguel Montaño 59'); Mike Fucito, Nate Jaqua (Fredy Montero 75'). Substitutes not used: Kasey Keller, Patrick Ianni, Jeff Parke, Nathan Sturgis, Steve Zakuani.
Chivas: Luis Michel (Hugo Hernandez 46'); Christian Perez, Jorge Enriquez (Patricio Araujo 46'), Juan Ocampo (sent off 77'), Dionicio Escalante (Omar Esparza 30'); Edgar Mejia, Xavier Baez, Ulises Davila; Alberto Medina (Marco Fabian 64'), Jesus Sanchez (Miguel Ponce 63'), Mitchel Oviedo. Substitutes not used: Omar Arellano, Sergio Avila.
Match report from Ron Stickney:
The Seattle Sounders FC reserves pounced on the Chivas de Guadalajara reserves early to take a lead with goals by Mike Fucito and Nate Jaqua. Marco Fabian made the match close with a goal at 70', but it was Seattle's Sanna Nyassi who scored last, his fifth goal in four consecutive matches, giving the Sounders a 3-1 win.
In spite of injuries to a couple of top players, Seattle's balanced depth let them start a strong side that included none of the starters from the recent league matches.
The opening half hour was played with a lot of energy. Seattle's first chance came two minutes in when Jaqua muscled through up the middle to dish a ball to the left for Fucito, but it was a bit too far and goalkeeper Luis Michel got out to force Fucito's shot off target.
5' SEA: Fucito (Levesque). Fucito won a loose ball in the middle not far from the Chivas penalty area and sent it ahead to Roger Levesque, who was open and onside in the D. Levesque dished a nice pass into the area in front of Fucito's run, and Fucito beat Michel with a low shot that went in off the post. 1-0 Seattle.
18' SEA: Jaqua (Levesque, Fucito). On a Seattle attack, Fucito sent a diagonal pass forward and to the left side of the penalty area for an open Levesque, who crossed nicely to the far post from near the end line. Jaqua was on the far post run and got well above the crowd to head it in with Michel late in trying for the cross. 2-0 Seattle.
Just before the half hour mark David Estrada was sprung on the right and sent a cross to Fucito in the D, and Fucito turned and struck an excellent shot that hit the top far corner squarely.
The half hour chime woke Chivas up, and within two minutes they forced two saves from Terry Boss. Mitchel Oviedo's cross gave Alberto Medina a header on goal, but it was easily saved by Boss. A through ball went to Ulises Davila, who may or may not have been offside, and his 20-yard hard shot was saved low by Boss.
Seattle took back the initiative for the rest of the half. After a Chivas turnover in the middle third, Mike Seamon powered a long shot and Michel struggled on his dive but made the save. A Zach Scott cross at 41' was almost met by a wide open attacker at the penalty spot, but he missed the ball.
Seattle had the first chance of the second half when Jaqua was open for a header from Fucito's corner kick and the shot just barely missed the lower far corner.
Then the tide turned for Chivas, who had switched from a 4-3-3 formation to a 3-5-2. Medina put one in the net from Xavier Baez' through ball, but Medina was flagged offside on the play, although some judged from the replay that he was onside.
Second half substitute and guest left back Akeem Adams had one of his better moments when he sent a long cross to Mike Seamon for a header, but Chivas substitute goalkeeper Hugo Hernandez easily made the half's first save.
70' CHV: Fabian (Oviedo). Oviedo got open on the left for a nice cross to the far post, where it was just Fabian vs. Adams in the air. Fabian beat Adams to head the ball in, giving Adams a lesson. 2-1 Seattle.
Four minutes later Chivas substitute Miguel Ponce was wide open on the left to set up a shot and fire a rocket at the top near corner. Boss did very well with a flying two-handed parry to prevent the tying goal.
Fredy Montero subbed in for Jaqua at 75' and a minute later took his first shot, a 35-yard free kick that went yards too high. Nyassi came on for Seamon at 88' and soon had himself a goal.
Chivas' chance for a tying goal took a turn for the worse at 77' when Juan Ocampo committed a reckless foul on Seamon, earned his second yellow card, and had to leave the match.
90' SEA: Nyassi (Montero). From just above the arc, Montero drove a hard shot straight into the left post with Hernandez flying sideways to protect the goal. The rebound went rapidly up the middle, where it hit the onrushing Nyassi in the shin and went directly into the goal before Hernandez could get back to his home position. 3-1 Seattle.
Statistics:
SEA CHV
Shots: 14 10
Saves: 3 2
Corners: 4 5
Fouls: 7 10
Offsides: 1 4
Misconduct:
16' SEA: Fucito cautioned for handling
56' SEA: Adams cautioned for a tactical foul on Esparza
63' CHV: Oviedo with a delayed caution for a reckless challenge on Montaño
67' CHV: Ocampo cautioned for dissent
77' CHV: Ocampo cautioned for a reckless foul on Seamon and sent off for his second caution
Referees: Terry Vaughn; Jeff Hosking, Baboucarr Jallow; Josh Wilkins
Attendance: 41,047
Seattle Sounders FC Postmatch Quotes
Head Coach Sigi Schmid
General comments: "I thought we played well in the first half. We pretty much had the game. They had better possession than us, but we were more dangerous. In the second half, they went to a 3-5-2 and we made some changes and we lost the plot there. There was about 20 minutes where they definitely controlled the ball on us and we didn't get possession. At the end, even before the red card, we started to get more possession again and after the red card we were able to hold onto the ball. That's why we went to Montero and Nyassi, to help us hold onto it a little bit better."
On Chivas fans: "It's great for Chivas. It's the first time that I think the visiting team has had good representation. Even though they had their fans here, the Seattle fans still dominated and hopefully we convinced some of the Chivas fans that the Seattle Sounders are worth supporting as well."
On fan incident: "I don't really know exactly what that situation was, so that's something that is beyond my pay grade. The other guys get to figure that out. Certainly our fans have been there the whole time and I'm not going to get on their case. They've supported us the whole time and I expect them to be behind us full force on Friday night when we play Chivas USA."
On Seattle goals: "I think that one hit [Nyassi] on the shin as much as he hit it. It was a great shot by Montero. A good left-footed shot that beat the goalkeeper. And Fucito had a great shot in the first half and it hit the post. Sanna was there where he needed to be and sometimes when it's going well for you, it's really going well. I'll take that little bit of luck and his confidence continues to grow every time he makes a play like that."
On Mike Fucito: "I thought he did well. In the first half he did well. In the second half he disappeared a little bit. It could have been a little bit of fitness, a little bit of the game change, it was their possession and they held onto it more, he didn't find the game as well. But I thought in the first half that he was very dangerous."
On game affecting preparation for Friday's game: "If we wouldn't have had a game tonight we would have trained hard. Obviously, we didn't play some guys tonight and held them out and put some other guys in. Tomorrow it will be like two groups at training. We'll be ready to play Friday night, it's not going to affect us."
Mike Fucito
On his goal: "I thought we created a few opportunities pretty early and then were able to get two in so that definitely gave us the momentum and put them under pressure early."
On second half: "They were pretty good. They kept the ball well and they played five in the midfield, so there was a lot of interchanging and stuff. I think we could've probably done a little bit better job defensively but at least we kept them in front of us."
On his shot that hit the post: "It felt really good. I thought it was in and it kind of, that ball knuckles. So an inch to the right, that's off the post and in. I thought I hit it well."
On his effort: "I think first half I was more effective. I think I ran out of gas a little bit towards the end. I would've liked to be a little more effective in the second half but that comes with fitness. I think now that my ankle is better I'll be fine going forward."
Terry Boss
On the match: "I was real proud of the guys. The guys came out and gave a great effort, played pretty well, scoring two early goals always helps. I think it was a situation where halftime, 2-0, exact same situation we were in Monterrey. So I think that it was really nice to come out and remain focused and even though we gave up a goal we bounced back and got another one and solidified the victory. I think it was good for this group of guys who had been getting a run and a get that win against Marathón and then get this win here. I think a lot of the guys walked off the field feeling pretty decent about it. Obviously there are things that we can do better but I think it was nice to get a win."
On allowing a goal: "We have been there before. It's nice to draw on that experience and be able to bounce back and not let it slip away like it did in Monterrey."
On 74th minute save: "It was nice because he had a chance to push it and really wind up. I was tracking it right off his foot so wasn't like it was an unobstructed view or anything. It was nice to keep the ball out of the net, keep our team in the game."
David Estrada
On playing Chivas de Guadalajara: "It's either Chivas or America that my friends usually go for. I'm a Cruz Azul fan but it was obviously a great honor for me to step on the field with Chivas and actually beat them."
On the crowd: "A couple comments before the game started is that we are the away team today. Obviously at the end, it's the enjoyment of the fans and I think everyone enjoyed it."
Celtic FC
Head Coach Jose Luis Real
General comments: "It was a game that reaches expectations. In the first half, we had trouble on the field. What affected us was that there was an early goal by Seattle. We needed the break at halftime to have time to adjust our lineup. In the first half, Seattle had a great performance and in the second half I believe that Chivas had a better performance. The third goal was a circumstantial goal. Seattle is a great team that has quality players. They are a great rival for us and we are going to use this opportunity to train for our regular season."
On season expectations: "We had a great tournament last season. Hard to imagine yourself making it to Apertura. We would love to win all the matches and to win the league season this season, but we have to pay for it with having all the matches last year this time around."
