Today’s match against the San Jose Earthquakes will be the 2nd Heritage Cup the Sounders will have played in. The Heritage cup is a annual game played by MLS teams that carried their NASL names with them into the MLS. Right now there is only two teams that participate in the cup, Seattle Sounders and San Jose Earthquakes.

Next year the Portland Timbers will be joining the MLS and will also participate in the Heritage Cup, which should help build the rivalry around the West Coast.

So, how did the Sounders fair last year during the Heritage Cup? Not bad is the answer.

The Sounders and San Jose are split on the results as you can see, but the Sounders beat San Jose in 2 out of 3 games last year. The Earthquakes are playing better then they did last year, but the Sounders should be able to hold back their offense and sneak past their well playing defense today.

The big question that’s on my mind about today’s game is, will we see Nate Jaqua out on the xbox pitch? Evans did a great job playing Fredy Montero through for a 1-0 victory last weekend, but Nate adds the ever-so-important size to the Sounders front line. I hope we get to see him today, if not as a starter, maybe a sub in the 60th minutes.

Kickoff is at Noon, don’t forget your scarfs!

San Jose Scouting Report

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Lets face reality. The Seattle Sounders are a better team then the LA Galaxy. Of course the Sounders season record do not confirm that conviction, but their play and style certainly says so. If the Sounders can pull off a victory today against LA they can walk away with the bragging rights of taking down a undefeated MLS team.

Needless to say, It would be very disappointing to see a loss today. Looking at last years stats against LA, which hasn’t changed much from last year besides Edson Buddle is actually scoring massive amounts of goals, the Sounders are undefeated and have proven they have the talent to dominate this LA Galaxy team.

If the Sounders can shut down Buddle and finally convert on their scoring opportunities, this should be a classic win. It will be interesting to see if Sigi goes with a 4-3-3 or a 4-4-2 lineup against LA. I was extremely excited to see the 4-3-3 last week, as I was hoping for to see Steve Zakuani in the front line somehow. Zakuani is our hot goal scorer at the moment, so if we can get him up top, our scoring should increase.

Whichever formation Sigi goes, with this should be a great match. See ya out there! GO SOUNDERS!

Match Preview Video

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In the 2009 MLS Season the Sounders went undefeated against Toronto FC and came away with one win and one draw. This year Toronto is off to a poor start, but are still not a team that should be underestimated. Dwayne Derosario has all 4 of Toronto’s goals this season and looks to be in some of the best shape of his career.

Last year Derosario walked away with 11 goals and came in third for shots on goal. 1 out of 3 of his shots are on goal, if your a goal keeper, you don’t like hearing that.

The Sounders will have to do a good job of keeping a lid on Derosario or else he will have at least a few chances on the goal.

After last game’s debacle, the Sounders need to pull out a win here. It would be tuff to settle for a tie… again. Hopefully Freddy L. will be starting the match and will be able to dictate the pace of the game so the Sounders can get some shots on goal. Kickoff is at 11:00 am PST.

[Update] Interesting, the Seattle Sounders lineup looks like it will be a 4-5-1 set up with Freddy L. up top and Patrick Ianni replacing Jhon Kennedy Hurtado. Also Nyassi, Nathan Sturgis, and Pete Vagenas are getting the start. Obviously this is all due to having 2 games lined up over 4 days. Should be interesting!

Match Preview Video

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One thing we know about FC Dallas is that they like to score. Their scoring strength comes from Jeff Cunningham, who led the league in goals last year with 18 strikes. A big key to the match against Dallas will be to not allow long shots at goal from just outside the box. If the Sounders can do that and press the FC Dallas defensive, they should come out with a victory.

Here are the 2009 Seattle Sounders vs FC Dallas stats from last year. The Sounders have a 1-0-1 career record against Dallas and have proven to be the dominant team in both games last year.

The Sounders ended their 2009 regular season last year with a 2-1 victory over Dallas. The game could have easily been a 4-1 victory with all of the chances the Sounders had on goal.

If this weeks games is anything like last years games against Dallas, it will be very physical and have lots of goal scoring chances in it. Anytime you get 18 shots and have 8 of them on goal, you are going to get some points.

Players to watch out for on Dallas are: Jeff Cunningham – Forward, Dax McCarty – Midfield, and Atiba Harris -Midfield

Hopefully the Sounders can get 3 points and start closing the gap between them and the LA Galaxy.

Match Preview Video

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This week the Seattle Sounders FC will be taking on the Kansas City Wizards in what should prove to be a exciting match. The Wizards are off to a great start this season and have 2 wins in 2 games. Also, they have yet to be scored on this year.

Hopefully the Sounders will put a end to Kansas City’s shutout streak tomorrow afternoon. The Sounders scored twice on one of the best teams in the MLS last weekend, so without saying to much, they should be able to get some goals in the net against the Wizards.

In the 2009 MLS season the Sounders lost to the Wizards in their first match against them, but in the second game they proved to be too much for them in a 3-2 victory.

After watching Kansas City’s game last weekend against the Colorado Rapids, one player clearly stood out on the Kansas City team. His name is Ryan Smith and I already don’t like him. Partially for his attitude on the pitch, but mostly because he is stellar on the ball.

At one point in the match against Colorado, Smith was improperly called for a illegal tackle. His response was to throw the ball at the ground in the general direction of the ref nearly hitting the ref and other players. If it had been any other ref in the MLS it would have been a automatic red card and ejection from the game. Luckily he had the most inexperience and youngest referee in the league managing the game.

With his attitude aside, Smith has already show this season that he is going to be a threat to any team in the league. He got his start in the same Arsenal Youth Development program as Steve Zakuani and has played for clubs such as Leicester City and Southampton in Europe. James Riley will be able to handle him, but he will need to be on top of his game if he is going to keep Smith from sending dangerous balls into the box.

Arlo White and Matt Gaschk go into more detail on Ryan Smith in the Seattle Sounders official match preview video below. Kickoff is noon at Quest Field so don’t be late!

Match Preview Video

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The Sounders are set up with a big challenge this week with their match against the defending champs Real Salt Lake. The last time these two teams met was back in August of 09, which resulted in a 1-0 loss for the Sounders. Redemption song.

As with any championship team, Real Salt Lake did not make a lot of drastic changes. Their starting lineup this year is very similar to last years. The keys to success for the Sounders today will be converting on goal scoring opportunities and occupying Kyle Beckerman in the midfield. Becherman may not be the biggest scorer in the league, but as a assist player he is in the top 5 for the league.

As you can see from the stats above, Real Salt Lake likes to win at home. Last year they conceded only one loss at home, while also scoring on average, over 2.2 goals a game at home. Thankfully, the Sounders are one of the best road teams in the league and should at least expect a tie out of today’s game.

Pat Noonan is expected to play a bigger roll in the match and hopefully will be able to score his Seattle Sounders FC debut goal today. Time to shake those “goal scoring drought” fears.

Players to watch out for today on Real Salt Lake: Javier Morales – M, Kyle Beckerman – M, Robbie Findley – F, and Jamison Olave – D

Match Preview Video

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Last season the Sounders had a 1-0-1 record against the Red bulls. The first game was the Sounders inaugural game that resulted in a 3-0 victory, the second was a 1-1 tie in New York. In the 1-1 tie at New York, Fredy Montaro had 1 goal and 2 shots hit off the post. You can see all three of Fredy’s shots in the match highlights video.

The Red Bull have acquired 10 new players that have not played in the MLS before and most likely at least 3 of those players will start the game on Saturday. It will be interesting to see how these new players work out for New York, especially defensive wise. The Players to look out for are Roy Miller – Defender, Tim Ream – Defender, and Joel Lindpere – Midfield.

Match Preview Video

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Tomorrow Sat the 24th is the Seattle Sounders final regular season game. Even if the Sounders FC do not win the MLS Cup, I think we call all be very proud of what they have accomplished in their inaugural season.

The Game will be against the hot Dallas FC team, which is on a impressive playing streak. Jeff Cunningham leads the league with 17 goals and will definitely be someone to watch out for.

The only sad news I have to report is that the game will be reffed by Baldomero Toledo, who is in my opinion, the worst ref in the league. I have watch too many games this season where Toledo played a pivotal role in the games outcome. The ref’s in the league should almost be translucent and should certainly not effect the game the way Toledo has.

We all remember the infamous double yellow car for Freddy lyungberg, first a yellow for flopping, then a second for arguing. Both were ridiculous cards and resulted in Freddy missing the majority of that game as well as the following game.

Kickoff is at 7:30 at Quest Field

It’s about 1 hour till game time and this should be a exciting match between the the two Washington’s. Sigi Schmid is planning to put out the best team possible for this match, which means all normal starters, that are available, will be on the pitch. I am sure DC will be on the same page and will be putting their top team out there as well.

Some interesting this to note about this game and the tournament:

• Jhon Kennedy Hurtado will be out due to yellow card accumulations
• Tryrone Marshal will be out with a hamstring injury
• Freddy Lyungberg will be playing for the first time in this tournament
• Kickoff is at 4:30 western time and 7:30 eastern time
• Sebastien Le Toux may get to start as he leads the Sounders with 5 goals in the cup
• If the Sounders win it will be a record for the MLS in regards to the Sounders being a new franchise

Coming off a 1-1 tie against the Houston Dynamo last weekend, the Seattle Sounders are preparing for their upcoming match tomorrow against Toronto FC, a team they beat early in the season 2-0. Toronto is tied for 3rd in the eastern division, with the NE Revolution, which proves they should not be counted out as a challenging team.

Some good things too note about the Sounders FC in regards to this Saturdays game are:

1. All Sounders players are available to play this Saturday
2. We have no serious injuries
3. We have no players suspended for the game
4. Freddy Lyungberg is ready to play
5. Fredy Montaro is back from suspension

The match starts at 1:00PM and should be a exciting game.