Seattle Pitch - Seattle v. Colorado

May 11, 1996

Seattle Sounders  2 - 1  Colorado Foxes

Seattle own goal  (V)  41'
Chance Fry  (S)        49'
Nate Daligcon  (S)     75'

Seattle: #18 Marcus Hahnemann (GK), #4 Neil Megson, #19 James Dunn, #6 Billy Crook, #2 Wade Webber, #14 Jason Dunn, #5 Dick McCormick, #15 Tom Bialek (46' #17 Sidney Zanin), #10 Joey Leonetti (63' #8 Nate Daligcon), #9 Chance Fry, #13 Jason Farrell.

Colorado: #1 Trey Harringson (GK), #3 Robert Lipp, #5 Scott Patterson, #6 Chris Martinez, #19 Anthony McCreath, #4 Stoner Tadlock, #7 Carsten Siersbaek (63' #13 Wolde Harris), #8 Henrik Fig, #14 Arron Lujan, #10 Jeff Hooker, #11 Walter Boyd (70' #12 Jerome Watson).

Cautions: no cards (there were a few hard fouls, but resulting from agressive play, not from dirty play).
Offside Fouls: Seattle 2, Colorado 4.
Other Fouls: Seattle 15; Colorado 10.
Corner Kicks: Seattle 4; Colorado 1.
Shots: Seattle 11; Colorado 6.
Saves: Hahnemann 1; Harringson 3.
Referee: Oscar Meyer.
Attendance: 3,056 announced (I would estimate only 2,000 actual attendance).

Match report courtesy of Ron Stickney:
Rookie Nate Daligcon, from Seattle Pacific University, was the critical difference for the Sounders, scoring the match winner with a beautiful chip over the goalkeeper after coming on as a substitute in the second half. Jason Dunn made a nice diagonal pass forward to spring Daligcon free behind the defense. Daligcon nearly followed the goal with another one four minutes later, but his second chip over the 'keeper was denied by the face of the crossbar, and Sounder Dick McCormick lost the battle in front of the goal for the rebound.

The first goal for each team resulted from defensive mistakes. Late in the first half, Seattle's James Dunn attempted to clear a long air ball, but his pressured header went past goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann, who was rushing out, and the ball rolled 20 yards into the goal to give the Foxes a 0-1 halftime advantage.

Not wanting to be outdone by Seattle's defense, a Colorado defender handled a ball just inside the 18-yard line early in the second half. The ball had been passed forward by Seattle, intended for Joey Leonetti. Chance Fry converted the penalty kick to level the score at 1-1, shooting left while goalkeeper Trey Harringson dove in the opposite direction.

Sounders Jason Farrell and Wade Webber returned to the Seattle starting lineup. Farrell had played for Kansas City in the recent NPSL indoor championship series. Webber played his first A-League match since suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament during last year's playoffs. Webber was true to his old form, winning most of the "50-50" balls near him both in the air and on the ground. Farrell's dribbling skills and speed made him dangerous up the left touch line, earning him several crosses from the left.

While Jason Farrell and Jason Dunn started at forward and midfield, respectively, in the second half they switched places to return to their 1995 roles.

Brazilian Sidney Zanin, a 32-year-old who last played for the Hibernian Saints, made his A-League debut to start the second half for Seattle.

Much heralded Jamaican rookie Wolde Harris, from Clemson University, came on as a substitute for the Foxes in the second half, but couldn't match Sounders rookie Daligcon's heroics. Harris had been drafted by the Atlanta Ruckus, from whom Colorado acquired his rights.

The Sounders tried some new tricks with the clock on the scoreboard. In the first half, the clock started at 0:00 and counted up! We were impressed, believing at the time that someone who understood soccer had decided to run the clock the way it is done outside the US. But then at about 43 minutes, the clock changed to 0:00 and stayed there! I overheard a fan say, "Now they're confusing me!" Then in the second half, the clock started at 45:00 and counted up until it reached 88:00, then froze.

Open note to the Sounders: Start the clock at 0:00 each half and let it run until the referee whistles the end of the half. Yes, it will run past 45:00, but we fans want to know how deep we are into added time when those last-minute goals are scored. That is how it is done in the rest of the world!