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3-2 Fulltime
    28' - T. Marshall
    69' - R. Levesque (F. Ljungberg)
    76' - N. Jaqua (F. Ljungberg)
    51' - Zoltan (M. Harrington)
    53' - J. Wolff (D. Arnaud)
Match Date, Time:
10/17/09, 5:30 PM
Broadcast Coverage:
KONG 6/16, KIRO Radio, 1210AM Homero
Location:
Kansas City, KS
Attendance:
10,135

MEN OF THE MATCH

Sounders Clinch Playoff Berth With 3-2 Win

By MATT GASCHK
Sounders FC Insider

KANSAS CITY, Kansas – The Sounders FC is playoff bound.

It took a dramatic come-from-behind effort, but Seattle came back from a 2-1 deficit to top the Kansas City Wizards 3-2 Saturday night to clinch a berth in the MLS playoffs, making them only the second expansion team in league history to reach the playoffs.

Freddie Ljungberg instigated all three Seattle goals, as Tyrone Marshall, Roger Levesque and Nate Jaqua found the back of the net to improve Seattle to 11-7-11 on the season and seal a playoff berth with one game still remaining on the schedule.

“Obviously it's an important win,” Sounders FC head coach Sigi Schmid said. “I'm proud of our team, and I'm proud of what we've accomplished. We showed a lot of desire, a lot of will power, a lot of attitude at times on the field, and that's important to win games.”

Ljungberg’s impact on the game was felt early as he sent a cross to Fredy Montero at the far post in the sixth minute, but Kansas City goalkeeper Kevin Hartman got in front of Montero’s header for the save.

Hartman made another save in the 28th minute, this coming off of a corner kick from Ljungberg. Knowing the field was narrow, Ljungberg tried to bend his corner kick from the left side into the net, but Hartman jumped in front of it to knock it down, but it ended up at Marshall’s feet and he sent it home with a left-footed blast for his second goal of the season to put the Sounders up 1-0.

The Sounders continued to put the pressure on Hartman. In the 30th minute, Steve Zakuani lined a shot from long range that skimmed off the top of the crossbar, then he sent a cross to Jaqua for a header in the 35th minute, but Jaqua knocked it off the crossbar too. Another opportunity for Jaqua in the 38th minute spurned a strong save by Hartman and Seattle went into halftime with a 1-0 lead.

Kansas City came out on fire to start the second half.

In the 51st minute, Michael Harrington took the ball up the left side before slotting a ball through to Zoltan running at the far post. Zoltan popped a one-touch shot past Kasey Keller for his second goal of the season, knotting the score up at 1-1.

Before the Sounders had a chance to recover, Josh Wolff made it 2-1 with his 11th goal of the season, knocking in a bouncing ball from Davy Arnaud in the 53rd minute.

After that, Keller put up an impenetrable wall and came up with four saves to keep the Sounders in striking distance.

Schmid put Levesque into the game in the 62nd minute and his confidence in Levesque paid off.

After already scoring the lone goal in Seattle’s 1-0 win over the Columbus Crew Oct. 3, Levesque came up big again, heading in the game-tying goal in the 69th minute.

Ljungberg lofted a corner kick from the left side in front of Marshall, who was making a run at the near post. Marshall got a piece of it, bouncing it up to Levesque and he headed it in for his second goal of the season.

Ljungberg battled with Matt Besler against the right sideline, then darted toward the net, slipping the ball past Jimmy Conrad and Hartman to Jaqua coming down the middle of the box. Jaqua got his right foot on it for his eighth goal of the season, giving the Sounders a 3-2 lead that they would hold on to for the final 14 minutes of the game, making Seattle the first team to reach the playoffs in their inaugural season since the Chicago Fire accomplished the feat in 1998.

“We thought we had some chances definitely. We hit the crossbar and Hartman came up with a couple of saves,” Schmid said. “They scored a couple of good goals, and luckily for us, we had a lot of character. We stuck with it and came back and pulled out the win.”

Sounders FC playoff tickets will go on-sale Saturday, October 24 at 10 am through Ticketmaster.com and at 800.745.3000.  Season ticket holders must purchase playoff tickets no later than Monday, October 19.

Visit www.SoundersFC.com for the most up-to-date playoff match information and activities.

Play by Play

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Time Event Description
94+After three minutes of stoppage time the referee blows the final whistle. Sounders win 3-2 and clinch a berth in the playoffs.
93+ Chance Myers knocks a corner kick over the bar for a goal kick.
89 Sebastien Le Toux gets a shot off from 24 yards out, but it's punched away by Kevin Hartman for a corner kick.
82Sebastien Le Toux subs on for Steve Zakuani.
79Roger Espinoza subs on for Matt Besler.
77 James Riley subs on for Pete Vagenas, moving Brad Evans up to the midfield.
76Nate Jaqua puts in a smooth pass from Freddie Ljungberg to give the Sounders the lead. Great ball from Ljungberg and great finish by Jaqua. Sounders FC 3, Wizards 2.
75 Freddie Ljungberg made a run up the middle and passes to Steve Zakuani to his left, but Zakuani's return pass is knocked away by Kevin Hartman.
70Kei Kamara subs on for Zoltan.
73 Steve Zakuani takes a left-footed shot from the left side, but it just misses outside the far post for a goal kick.
69Goal by Roger Levesque off another corner kick. Freddie Ljungberg sent in the corner kick from the left side and it went through the box to Levesque at the far post and he found the back of the net for his second goal in as many games. Sounders FC 2, Wizards 2.
66 Josh Wolff got into space to get a shot, but Kasey Keller dove to his left to make the save.
63Roger Levesque subs on for Fredy Montero.
62 Seattle gets the ball into the box, but Nate Jaqua can't get enough of a foot into his shot and Kevin Hartman makes the stop.
56 Fredy Montero gets open in space one-one-one with Kevin Hartman, but his shot falls just wide left for a goal kick.
53Josh Wolff redirects a pass from Davy Arnaud into the net. Wizards 2, Sounders FC 1.
51Michael Harrington sent a ball to the far post for Zoltan, who redirected it into the net to tie the score 1-1.
50 Davy Arnaud gets around the endline and crosses a ball into the box, but Tyrone Marshall knocked it clear.
46Chance Myers subbed on for Jonathan Leathers to start the second half.
46 The Sounders kickoff to start the second half.
Stats Shots: Sounders FC 7, Wizards 4. SOG: Sounders FC 3, Wizards 1. Saves: Sounders FC 0, Wizards 2. Fouls: Sounders FC 3, Wizards 2. Corner kicks: Sounders FC 4, Wizards 4. Offside: Sounders FC 3, Wizards 1.
HalftimeThe yellow card in the 45th minute was to Pete Vagenas for a reckless tackle.
46+The referee blows the whistle to end the first half after one minute of stoppage time. Sounders FC 1, Wizards 0.
45Freddie Ljungberg is taken down hard at the top of the box with no call. The referee issues a yellow card, though he turned to Kansas City's Jimmy Conrad before raising the card.
40 Fredy Montero goes down after another hard foul in the midfield, giving Seattle a free kick.
38 Steve Zakuani to Nate Jaqua again, but this time Kevin Hartman makes the save at the near post.
35 Nate Jaqua took a shot off the cross from Steve Zakuani, but his header clanged off the crossbar and back in front of the net. Jaqua and Fredy Montero both converged on the loose ball, but the Wizards knocked it clear.
31 Steve Zakuani got some space on the left side and lofted up a shot from long distance on the open net, but hit the crossbar and out for a goal kick.
28Tyrone Marshall scores off a corner kick! Freddie Ljungberg took the corner kick from the left side and Kevin Hartman knocked down the initial shot, but Marshall was there for the rebound putback. Sounders FC 1, Kansas City 0.
27 Good ball to Steve Zakuani that is knocked clear for a corner kick.
26 Steve Zakuani got clear across the middle to take a pass, but was whistled offside.
23 Michael Harrington crossed to Josh Wolff from the left side, but Tyrone Marshall headed it clear.
20 Brad Evans had a nice throw-in up the right side to Fredy Montero, but Montero was pulled down without a whistle and the ball went through to the endline for a goal kick.
17 Great ball by Freddie Ljungberg. He worked his way to the endline on the right side and passed across the front of the goal, but Seattle couldn't get the final touch on it and the Wizards pushed the other direction, earning a corner kick that went harmlessly through for a goal kick.
13 Fredy Montero looped a ball to Steve Zakuani on the left wing and Zakuani worked his way into the box for a pass to the near post, but the Wizards knocked it clear.
10 Fredy Montero took a hard knock in the midfield and was late to rejoin the play.
08 Josh Wolff gets a shot away from the top of the box that misses wide, but was hit by Seattle, so the Wizards got a corner kick out of it.
06 Freddie Ljungberg swings a great cross from the left side to Fredy Montero for a header from the far post, but Kevin Hartman gets in front of it to make the save.
04 Kansas City put some pressure on the Seattle defense, but Jhon Kennedy Hurtado knocked the ball clear to put the Sounders on the attack earning their second corner kick.
02 Freddie Ljungberg took a corner kick from the left corner, but Kansas City defended it and knocked it up the field.
Kickoff Kansas City took the opening kickoff at 5:38.
Note In recognition of "Ladies Night," a promotion for breast cancer awareness, KC goalkeeper Kevin Hartman is wearing a pink keepers kit.
Note James Riley is out of the starting lineup tonight because of right ankle injury he sustained in training this week.
Officials Referee: Mark Geiger. Referee's Assistants: Kermit Quisenberry, Cyril Madukanya. 4th Official: Chris Penso.
Wizards Starters: GK Kevin Hartman, RD Jonathan Leathers, CD Jimmy Conrad, CD Matt Besler, LD Michael Harrington, RM Davy Arnaud, CM Jack Jewsbury, CM Graham Zusi, LM Claudio Lopez, F Josh Wolff, F Zoltan. Subs: Boris Pardo, Michael Kraus, Aaron Hohlbein, Kurt Morsink, Kei Kamara, Chance Myers, Roger Espinoza.
Sounders FC Starters: GK Kasey Keller, RD Brad Evans, CD Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, CD Tyrone Marshall, LD Leo Gonzales, RM Nate Jaqua, CM Pete Vagenas, CM Osvaldo Alonso, LM Steve Zakuani, F Freddie Ljungberg, Fredy Montero. Subs: Terry Boxx, Tyson Wahl, Roger Levesque, James Riley, Sebastien Le Toux, Patrick Ianni, Stephen King.
Weather 51°F; Cloudy; Wind: W at 3 mph; Humidity: 54%
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