The Sounders marched towards the playoffs with a productive October that saw them lose only once in four matches.
Record: 2-1-1 in MLS play. 1-0-0 in the Champions League.
Player of the Month: It was a toss-up this month between Jeff Parke and Brad Evans, as both were playing their best soccer of the season and making incredible impacts for the club. Evans had two goals and an assist on the month while Parke anchored a defense that allowed two goals in four matches to close out the regular season.
The Matches: After finishing the month with a shutout of the Vancouver Whitecaps FC, the Sounders faced a tough schedule to close out the season and responded to the challenge. The Portland Timbers were playing for the chance to clinch the Cascadia Cup, while Real Salt Lake, FC Dallas and the LA Galaxy were all fighting for playoff spots. At home against Portland and FC Dallas, the Sounders dominated with a 3-0 win over the Timbers and a 3-1 win over FC Dallas. In between, they held RSL scoreless in a 0-0 draw. They continued their goal-scoring run though, with a 3-1 win over CD Marathon from Honduras to go unscathed at 4-0-0 in Champions League, but ended the month and the regular season with a 1-0 loss to the LA Galaxy at The Home Depot Center.
The Story: The month started with a 369-minute shutout streak and the Sounders only trailed for seven minutes out of the 450 minutes they played during the month.
The Emerald City Supporters encouraged the Sounders to go “All In” with a large tifo display before the match against Portland and the Sounders did just that. After demolishing the Timbers with goals from Eddie Johnson and Fredy Montero to add to an early own-goal, Seattle continued to show their synchronicity in a 3-1 win over FC Dallas when Evans scored two and Rosales notched his third goal of the season.
Adding to the team-wide camaraderie – and the theme of “All In” – Sammy Ochoa, Steve Zakuani and David Estrada all scored in the 3-1 Champions League win over Marathon to send the Sounders through as the third seed in the quarterfinals, which start in March.
However, they would face some strife in the final match, as Eddie Johnson pulled up with an injury in the 1-0 loss to the LA Galaxy at The Home Depot Center. Like Mauro Rosales in 2011, the Sounders would go into the playoffs without one of their top offensive weapons. How would that affect them in 2012?
