MONTREAL - Obafemi Martins scored his first goal of the season as Seattle Sounders FC (2-1-0, 6 points) defeated the Montreal Impact (0-3-0, 0 points), 2-0, at Olympic Stadium. Stefan Frei recorded his second clean sheet in three games as Seattle earned three points in their first road fixture of 2014.
A Montreal own goal in the eighth minute put Sounders FC up early. Following a foul on Martins, Gonzalo Pineda's free kick found Neagle in the box for a flick header that hit the crossbar and deflected off Montreal keeper Troy Perkins into the goal.
The Rave Green made it 2-0 in the 58th minute when Kenny Cooper tracked down a loose ball near the touch line and sent a first-time cross to Martins, who headed it past Perkins for his first goal of 2014. It marked the first Sounders FC point for Cooper, who started at forward for the second time this season.
Sounders FC is now 10-1-0 all time when Martins records a goal (9) or an assist (5).
Seattle nearly added two more in the first half on a couple of combination plays between Neagle and Martins. In the 17th, Neagle crossed to Martins in the box for a point-blank header, but Perkins made a one-handed save. In the 31st minute, Martins played Neagle through the middle of the defense for a low shot that got past Perkins but bounced off the post.
The win marked Seattle's first ever against Montreal (1-2-0) since the Impact joined MLS in 2012. The Impact out-shot Sounders FC 25-9 and held a 10-2 advantage on corner kicks.
Frei made five saves en route to his second shutout of the season. In the 30th minute, the keeper saved a close shot from Felipe amidst chaos in the box before the defense was able to make the clearance. The Swiss national saved another Felipe shot from inside the box in the 64th minute, and in the 67th he stopped a Wenger volley after a dangerous ball from Justin Mapp into the box.
Leo Gonzalez made his first appearance of 2013 when he came on for Neagle in the 72nd. Active in the attack, the Costa Rican nearly scored in the 75th when his curler was saved by Perkins, then minutes later sent in a dangerous cross that was cleared away for a corner kick.
Djimi Traore, who wore the captain's armband, made a couple of acrobatic plays late. After an 80th minute corner kick, he wound up and smashed a 12-yard bicycle kick right at Perkins, then made a crucial stop in the 84th when he blocked a Mapp blast off the line.
Michael Azira made his MLS debut when he came on for Cooper in the 66th minute. Cam Weaver made his first appearance for Sounders FC when he came on for Martins in the 86th.
Sounders FC returns to action next Saturday, March 29, with a home matchup with the Columbus Crew. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. PT on the Xbox Pitch at CenturyLink Field.
Scoring Summary:
SEA - Own Goal (Troy Perkins) 8'
SEA - Obafemi Martins (Kenny Cooper) 58'
Seattle Sounders FC - Stefan Frei, DeAndre Yedlin, Chad Marshall, Djimi Traore, Dylan Remick, Gonzalo Pineda, Osvaldo Alonso, Andy Rose, Kenny Cooper (Michael Azira 66), Obafemi Martins (Cam Weaver 86), Lamar Neagle (Leo Gonzalez 72).
Substitutes Not Used: Marcus Hahnemann, Jalil Anibaba, Marco Pappa, Sean Okoli.
TOTAL SHOTS: 9 (Martins, Neagle 2); SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (Martins, Neagle 2); FOULS: 8 (Alonso, Martins 2); OFFSIDE: 2 (Gonzalez, Weaver 1); CORNER KICKS: 2 (Azira, Pineda 1); SAVES: 6 (Frei 5).
Montreal Impact - Troy Perkins, Eric Miller, Hassoun Camara, Matteo Ferrari, Jeb Brovsky (Heath Pearce 70), Hernan Bernardello (Santiago Gonzalez 78), Patrice Bernier (Blake Smith 70), Collen Warner, Felipe Martins, Justin Mapp, Andrew Wenger.
Substitutes Not Used: Maxime Crepeau, Wandrille Lefevre, Karl W. Ouimette, Calum Mallace.
TOTAL SHOTS: 25 (Martins 5); SHOTS ON GOAL: 6 (Martins 2); FOULS: 11 (Camara 5); OFFSIDE: 0; CORNER KICKS: 10 (Bernadello 6); SAVES: 3 (Perkins 3).
Misconduct Summary:
MTL - Hassoun Camara (caution) 45+1'
Referee: Armando Villareal
Referee's Assistants: Corey Parker, Craig Lowry
4thOfficial: Mathieu Bourdeau
Attendance: 27,702
Time ofGame: 1:51
Weather: Clear and 18 degrees
