Preseason Match Reports
Seattle - UW
0 - 0 (half 0-0)
3 - 2 (Shoot out)Where to begin on this one... I expected a blowout but instead was greeted by an aggressive Husky team and a complacent Sounders. The Huskies came out hard and a gave us, what looked like at times, a bit of a mean spirited match. Lots of pushing and tugging, lots of fouls on both sides. The pitch was slick and caused a number of errors.
The match did have it's beautiful moments though. At one point I must have counted 20 Sounders 1-2 passes where the Huskies were just there to watch. Really quit impressive. One of the main reasons for the draw was the Husky's 8 man defense. If the ball was in their end, every man but their forwards was in the box. Remember, Renton stadium is a gridiron field, no where near wide enough for a proper soccer match. 8 defenders in the box makes for one crowded goal.
Hahnemann was back in goal for the first half. Hudock got the honor of facing the "A-league Shootout" in the second half and did very well for himself. If you're not familiar with the shootout, it's a step up from penalty kicks, but I still don't know why they won't allow us to tie. Basically each team picks 5 players to alternate 35 yard runs on goal.
Each time, Hudock came out fast and cut down the angle quit effectively. For some reason the Husky keeper never caught on to this approach.
A few new names on the team. Let's see if I can run them down:
A-League commissioner Richard Groff was present for the match and in fact watched most of the second half in the seat in front of me. I suspect he's in town for the entire week. May 6th promises to be the biggest day in APSL history. I know I can't wait.
Seattle - Vancouver
2 - 0 (half 0-0)
Dunn (S) 15' (2nd)
Farrell (S) 37' (2nd)Two beautiful headers. Jason Dunn was in great form. He passed well, controlled the ball well. Hell, the whole team controlled remarkably well. They were in surprisingly good shape. Didn't start slowing down until the last 10 minutes.
Vancouver came out playing fairly rough. Nothing too bad, but they did get a yellow card in the first half.
The big news is the new center midfielder: Marcone de Oliveira. Man this guy is going to be fun to watch! Faster than shit, great ball control. Vancouver couldn't touch him, so they fouled him. The roster sheet says he's from Sao Paulo. It shows.
I had the great pleasure of sitting right below Hahnemann's mother and fiancee. He was of course absent. Something about Belgium... His mom's full-on German and a bit hard to understand. Both were very friendly and loved my new hooligan flag. "Just like Europe..."
Speaking of Marcus's absence, Hudock had a fantastic game. Several big saves. Lots of cheers for that man. Oh yeah, I guess he thinks he is Vialli, he has shaved his head.
A few odd notes:
It's nice to have Nike as a sponsor. Lot's of Sounders paraphernalia this year. About 6 different shirts, 3 different sweat shirts, caps, but no scarves!
I never heard the numbers, but attendance was excellent (especially for being in Renton). The main South stands were probably 80% full the the smaller North stands maybe 50%.
The weather was perfect. It never hit the claimed 70 degrees, but it was in the 60's. Clear and beautiful.
Canada ..... 0 3-3 Sounders ..... 0 0-0Shots: Seattle 17, Canada 11.
Well, it wasn't pretty, but it was about what I expected. The play was choppy with flashes of brilliance. With the notable exception of that 24' x 8' vertical area at their end of the field, the Sounders actually dominated the second half play. From the P-I:
Troy Wood scored two second half goals to lead the Canadian National team to a 3-0 exhibition soccer victory over the Seattle Sounders last night at Memorial Stadium. The Sounders outshot Canada 8-4 in the scoreless first half and 17-11 for the game.The good news is that the season opener was finally announced: May 6th against the Foxes.
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