Second Glance: Kitsap Pumas

The Sounders FC began defense of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup on Tuesday night with a 2-1 win over the Kitsap Pumas at Starfire in Tukwila.  They got two goals from Mike Fucito and the Sounders defense limited the Pumas to just one shot on goal.

Turning Point
Fucito’s goal in the 39th minute didn’t eliminate the belief that kept the Pumas alive in the early-going, but it did spur the confidence of the Sounders, reminding them that they should be able to beat a PDL side.  A goal seemed inevitable with the sheer number of shots for Seattle – to finally get it was a boost.

Standouts
Fucito scored both goals in his 68 minutes of action and made several runs into and around the box, capitalizing on the success Nate Jaqua was having in the air.
For his 36 minutes of action, Pat Noonan played particularly well.  While he was in a bit more of a defensive role than what he thrives in, he was still able to string together some passes to make things dangerous.  It was his pass to Mike Seamon that set up Fucito’s run on his second goal in the 62nd minute.  The praise from Sigi Schmid after the match was well-warranted.

What We Learned
The Open Cup Is A Different Beast – Not that we didn’t know this already, but Tuesday night’s match cemented it in the minds of many in MLS.  Of the eight matches, none were blowouts and the Columbus Crew fell to the Richmond Kickers.  No other MLS team lost, but many came shockingly close – and that’s a reason many people love the Open Cup so much.
Winning Is What Matters – It doesn’t matter how you get to the next round, as long as you live to see another day in the US Open Cup.  It is a tournament spread over several months, so there is no such thing as momentum in the tournament.  Just live to see another day and you could find yourself lifting the cup before you know it.

Next In Line
The Sounders will host the LA Galaxy at Starfire either on July 12 or 13 in the quarterfinals of the tournament.  The Galaxy topped the LA Blues Tuesday night, coming back from a 1-0 deficit to win 2-1.  Seattle beat LA in the quarterfinals in the Open Cup in 2010.