2012 Season In Review: May

After a slow start to the year, Fredy Montero took control of the team's attack and registered an impressive four goals and three assists during the season's third month.

Record: 3-2-2 in MLS play, 1-0-0 in the US Open Cup

Top Highlight: Fredy Montero provided some of his best highlights in the month of May, opening the month on May 2 with his first goal of the season, a Goal of the Year finalist against the LA Galaxy when he ripped a 38-yard shot into the top corner of the net in a 2-0 win. That masterful moment was matched by the drama of his 90th minute equalizer in Vancouver against the Whitecaps FC on May 19.

Player of the Month: It’s hard to argue with Montero’s four goals and three assists. After scoring his first goal of the season against the LA Galaxy, he entered as a second-half substitute and added two against FC Dallas, then notched the 90th minute equalizer against Vancouver to cap an incredible month. He also assisted on a game-winning goal by Mauro Rosales against the Philadelphia Union and game-tying goals by Eddie Johnson earlier in the match against Vancouver and at the end of the month by David Estrada against Chivas USA.

The Matches: The month opened with consecutive shutout wins at CenturyLink Field against the Galaxy and Union. They then alternated road and home games, starting with a win at FC Dallas. However, the next four matches were a bit of a struggle, as the Sounders lost home matches against Real Salt Lake and Columbus Crew and drew road matches against the Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Chivas USA. At the end of the month, though, the Open Cup got under way at Starfire with a 5-1 win over the Atlanta Silverbacks from the North American Soccer League.

The Story: As much success as the Sounders had in the early part of the month, it came despite losing starting goalkeeper Michael Gspurning, who suffered a hip injury at the start of the month, adding to the Seattle’s injury woes.

Already with Alvaro Fernandez and Leo Gonzalez out and defender Adam Johansson limited in his return from injury, head coach Sigi Schmid continued to explore the team’s depth. Marc Burch stepped in seamlessly for Gonzalez and Zach Scott provided cover for Johansson when he was held out. Alex Caskey continued to get playing time, then when Brad Evans and Osvaldo Alonso had to miss a series of games, Andy Rose stepped to the forefront.

Rose would start three games in eight days after making his MLS debut, proving that he could be a valuable asset to Schmid and the Sounders.

Meanwhile, Bryan Meredith started off strong in his MLS debut, as well. After finishing off the shutout against the Galaxy, he got clean sheets against the Union and FC Dallas before finally allowing his first goal in a 1-0 loss to RSL, ending his shutout streak after 274 minutes, marking the third-longest shutout streak to start a career in MLS history. While ending the match with a four-match winless streak, they earned a valuable win in the Open Cup to end the month on a positive note.