The Sounders had their most successful month of the season so far in May as the club went 3-2-1 overall.
May Record: 3-1-1 (3-2-1 overall)
MLS Results: @ Philadelphia Union (2-2), @ Sporting Kansas City (1-0), vs. San Jose Earthquakes (4-0), vs. FC Dallas (4-2), @ LA Galaxy (0-4).
USOC Results: @ Tampa Bay Rowdies (0-1).
Overall Record: 4-4-3 (5-7-4 overall)
How will the month of May be judged for the Sounders FC?
Seattle braved a rigorous schedule to finish the month 3-1-1, leaving the big picture for the month quite positive. However, the month ended with a devastating loss to the LA Galaxy followed by the Sounders bowing out in the third round of the US Open Cup to the second-division Tampa Bay Rowdies, leaving an extreme dichotomy of emotion for the month.
When the Sounders FC entered May, it looked like a dog of a schedule. Already struggling with just one win through the first six matches of the season, they would take to the road for grueling contests against the Philadelphia Union, Sporting Kansas City and the Galaxy with two home matches against the San Jose Earthquakes and FC Dallas mixed in. The resulting 3-1-1 record was just what the team needed to get their season back in order, although they stumbled to the finish line in the month with a 4-0 defeat to the LA Galaxy and an upset loss to the Rowdies in the third round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.
After squeaking out a 2-2 draw with Philadelphia, they got a stoppage time victory over Kansas City, coming back from an eight-day road trip with four points – and seven from three straight road matches dating back to an April 20 win over Colorado. Then they exploded with two home wins over San Jose and Dallas before their road trip to end the month saw them drop consecutive matches in MLS and Open cup play.
Offensively, the Sounders had a good month that looked great after consecutive four-goal games against San Jose and Dallas. In total, they scored 11 goals in five matches after scoring just three in their first six.
Mauro Rosales finished the month with two goals and two assists while Brad Evans had three assists. Obafemi Martins had two goals as well, both coming in a reserve role after he missed the first two matches of the month while recovering from a knee injury.
However, the best offensive performances of the month came from Lamar Neagle and Eddie Johnson. Filling in for Martins in those first two matches, then continuing to get regular minutes after Martins made his return, Neagle had three goals and an assist on the month, matching the totals for Johnson for top scoring honors on the team.
On the defensive side, Michael Gspurning posted shutouts against two high-scoring sides in Kansas City and San Jose, but finished the month with a 1.60 goals against average, bringing his season mark to a 1.18 GAA.
In all, head coach Sigi Schmid used 17 different starters and 18 players total in the five league matches. Seven players appeared in all five MLS matches while six players started all five. Five different players scored Seattle’s 11 goals, while their 12 assists came from seven different players.
At the end of May, the Sounders sat in sixth place in the Western Conference at 4-4-3.
The Sounders started off the month of June with a 2-0 win over Chivas USA and will have a light month, playing just three matches total. They will host Vancouver Whitecaps FC next on Saturday and then will have a weekend off before playing their final match of the month at Rio Tinto Stadium against Real Salt Lake on June 22.
