Real Salt Lake - Seattle Sounders Football Club

Winner	Score	Game Coverage
Whitecaps FC	W, 3-2	Game Coverage
Chivas USA	W, 2-0	Game Coverage
Rowdies	L, 1-0	Game Coverage
Galaxy	L, 0-4	Game Coverage
FC Dallas	W, 4-2	Game Coverage

Game Location

Winner

Score

Game Coverage

Whitecaps FC

W, 3-2

Game Coverage

Chivas USA

W, 2-0

Game Coverage

Rowdies

L, 1-0

Game Coverage

Galaxy

L, 0-4

Game Coverage

FC Dallas

W, 4-2

Game Coverage

MEN OF THE MATCH

Sounders FC blanks Real Salt Lake

By Matt Gaschk
Sounders FC Insider

Fredy Montero found yet another way to make a name for himself in Major League Soccer and impress the crowd at Qwest Field.

With the Sounders FC leading 1-0 in the 77th minute and Real Salt Lake coming off of a stretch of 20 minutes where they pounded the offensive third, Montero took a pass from Osvaldo Alonso up the middle and carried the ball into space before uncoiling on a shot from 28 yards out.

The ball sailed through the air and looked to be drifting well over the crossbar. But then it seemed to stop in midair – as if to prepare the 28,548 in attendance for the wonder they were about to witness. Then it took a spectacular dive into the net, giving Seattle a 2-0 lead and virtually ensuring the club would improve to 2-0-0 on the season.

“At that point, they were dominating play but you have to come up with some good individual efforts and plays and that’s what Fredy gave us. Certainly that goal took a lot of pressure off of us,” Sounders FC head coach Sigi Schmid said. “It allowed us to relax a little bit even though I don’t think we ever looked relaxed in the second half.”

The goal was Montero’s third of the year after the Colombian sensation netted two goals in a 3-0 win over the New York Red Bulls in the team’s inaugural game March 19.

But the final 2-0 tally didn’t show the pressure Salt Lake put on the Sounders FC in the second half. After being outshot 8-3 in the first half, Real Salt Lake unleashed a flurry of shots over a 20-minute stretch to start the second half.

Yura Movsisyan got free in the 49th minute but Kasey Keller turned away the shot with a dive to his right. In the 67th minute, Movsisyan hammered a left-footed volley, but it popped into the turf and over the net. Keller finished with five saves on the way to his second consecutive shutout to start his MLS career.

“The one quality this team is showing at a very early stage is the ability to compete, the ability to cover for each other and that nobody is too proud to work a little bit extra. And that’s what you need to compete for a championship,” Schmid said.

Nate Jaqua scored his first goal of the season in the 17th minute to put Seattle up 1-0, continuing his run of strong play against Salt Lake. He now has six goals in his last six games against an RSL team that reached the Western Conference Finals last year.

Alonso sent a ball up the right side, where Steve Zakuani chased it down. He ran the ball into the box, juked Nat Borchers to the ground and crossed the ball to Jaqua, who hammered it in with his left foot to give the Sounders the early lead.

It was the second time Seattle had taken a lead within the first 20 minutes of the game.

“It definitely helps because the other team has to play catch-up,” Jaqua said of the importance of early leads.

Midfielder Freddie Ljungberg came on in the 61st minute to make his MLS debut.

“We wanted to be sure I wouldn’t have a setback, but I felt very good. It was quite nice to get some tackles because my hip felt great, so it’s not a problem,” said Ljungberg, who missed the season opener after off-season hip surgery.

It may have been best that Ljungberg test his hip against a physical team like Salt Lake. In the first half, they were given three yellow cards for hard tackles, often targeting Montero, who was sent to the ground on several occasions and was even pushed into the LED boards on one side of the field, earning Jamison Olave a caution for the foul.

“From the very first goal they showed they were going to be stronger and more physical,” Montero said. “But obviously this is a matter of playing with an attitude and skill and continue to ask for the ball, continue to make the plays.”

Overcoming the physical play made Montero’s goal all the more impressive, the ultimate response to the rugged maneuvers against him.

“It was a great shot,” said Ljungberg. “It killed the game, so happy days.”

The Sounders FC hit the road for their road opener April 4 against Toronto FC.

Play by Play

Time	Event	Description
Fulltime		Sounders FC 2, Real Salt Lake 0.
90+1		Roger Levesque subs on for Sebastien Le Toux during the two minutes of stoppage time.
89		Kasey Keller punches out a corner kick and Osvaldo Alonso clears the rebound for another corner.
89		Jean Alexandre subs on for Clint Mathis.
84		UW product Raphael Cox subbed on for Tony Beltran for Real Salt Lake.
81		Fredy Montero tries to one-up himself from 40 yards out, but the shot goes high.
78		Kasey Keller jumps to grab a header from RSL.
77		Fredy Montero blasts a shot from 28 yards out and it dives into the net for his third goal of the year. Sounders FC 2, RSL 0.
74		Andy Wiliams subs on for Robbie Findley.
71		Nathan Sturgis subs on for Nate Jaqua. Sturgis moes to a right mid and Sebastien Le Toux moves to a forward.
67		Yura Movsisyan takes a great left-footed volley from 8 yards out, but it bounces over the crossbar.
65		Kasey Keller drops to a knee to save a Will Johnson shot from 22 yards out.
63		Robbie Findley and Tyrone Marshall butt heads in Seattle's defensive box while going after a cross. Both players are taken off the field and return shortly after the ensuing corner kick.
61		Freddie Ljungberg subs on for Steve Zakuani to a rousing ovation from the crowd as he makes his MLS debut. He plays a central midfield and Brad Evans shifts out to the left wing.
60		Sebastien Le Toux jukes Jamison Olave at the left side of the box, but his shot is high.
59		Salt Lake is spending a lot of time in the attacking right corner, but have been unable to get much of a threatening shot off.
56		Nate Jaqua serves up a ball to James Riley overlapping up the right side. His cross is headed free for a corner kick. Sebastien Le Toux finds the head of Zach Scott on the corner kick, but the ball sails high.
52		Sebastien Le Toux leads Fredy Montero with a cross from the right side, but Nick Rimando comes out to grab it before Montero can reach it.
49		Mura Yovsisyan gets behind Jhon Kennedy Hurtado on a ball forom Clint Mathis and Kasey Keller dives to clear away the shot at the top of the 18.
46		Sebastien Le Toux takes a corner kick from the right side, that pops out for a goal kick.
46		Seattle kicks off to start the second half, attacking the south goal.
45+		During the 2-minute stoppage time, Seattle gets three corner kicks, the last of which finds the head of Nate Jaqua, but it skips over the penalty box without any harm.
Halftime		At the half - Sounders FC 1, Real Salt Lake 0.
45		Jamison Olave and Fredy Montero jockey for a ball near the right sideline. Olave is given a yellow card after shoving Montero into the LED board near the sideline.
38		Javier Morales takes a corner from the right corner. Clint Mathis gets off a shot from 17 yards out that is cleared back to the right side. Morales crosses a pass back to the middle, where Keller reaches out for it, but loses control. Sebastien Le Toux makes the recovery and runs up the right side to clear the danger.
37		Sebastien Le Toux takes a corner from the left side that Nick Rimando punches clear.
34		Sebastien Le Toux's corner is cleared to Steve Zakuani, whose shot from 24 yards out goes high.
33		Yura Movsisyan sends in a cross from the right side right into Kasey Keller's hands unobstructed in front of the net.
31		Clint Mathis gets around Steve Zakuani on the right side and fires a pass into the box that skips right between the legs of Yura Movsisyan and out for a goal kick.
31		Nate Jaqua gets another shot, but shoots high.
29		Fredy Montero shot from teh right side, but his shot skips wide left.
25		Seattle gets off a flurry in front of Salt Lake's net, but Brad Evans' final shot goes wide for a goal kick.
24		Javier Morales sends a ball in from the right sideline and Kasey Keller snares it off a bounce.
22		Javier Morales is issued a yellow card for a hard tackle on Osvaldo Alonso. He is taken off the field, but returns when the ball is put back into play.
21		Osvaldo Alonso gets a yellow card for a hard tackle in the midfield, taking down Will Johnson on the play.
17		Osvaldo Alonso sends a ball to Steve Zakuani up the right side. He gets the ball into the box, jukes Tony Beltran to the ground and whips a ball to Nate Jaqua who hammers in his first goal of the season. Sounders FC 1, Real Salt Lake 0.
16		Fredy Montero rips a shot from 12 yards out on the right side. Nick Rimando punches it out for the save, resulting in a corner kick, but Seattle can't make anything of it.
15		Steve Zakuani gets away a shot from the right side that is blocked by a defender. His second shot off the rebound was knocked out for a corner kick.
14		Tyrone Marshall makes a great tackle up the right side with Yura Movsisyan charging up the sideline.
12		Javier Morales takes the corner kick and findes Nat Borchers for a header, but he just misses. Steve Zakuani takes off up the right side on the counter, but can't make anything of it.
12		Yura Movsisyan shot from just outside the box on the right side. Kasey Keller paried the ball over the bar for a corner kick.
10		Kyle Beckerman is yellow-carded for a hard tackle of Fredy Montero in the midfield. If not for the foul, Montero had Steve Zakuani alone up the left wing.
05		Javier Morales fouled Brad Evans in the midfield and Osvaldo Alonso took offense when there was some post-whistle contact.
04		RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando comes off his line to snare a ball near the 18. Nate Jaqua collided with him in the chase.
01		Jamison Olave is called for a foul against Fredy Montero in the midfield.
Kickoff		RSL will kick off, attacking the south goal. Opening kick came at 7:41.
Pregame		Today marks Tyrone Marshall's 250th career game in the MLS.
Pregame		Sounders legend Jimmy Gabriel was honored with the Golden Scarf prior to the match today. He played for the Sounders in the NASL from 1974-1979 and coached the team from '77-'79. He has since been an assistant coach for the University of Washington and the Sounders in the USL.

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