Obafemi Martins and Chad Marshall were named to the MLSsoccer.com Team of the Week on Monday, putting Sounders FC players on the list for the third consecutive week after Seattle went 2-0-1 in a stretch of three straight road matches.
Martins scored the game-winning goal while Marshall bottled up Erick Torres, also adding an assist to his effort on the night as Seattle came back from a fifth minute penalty to top Chivas USA, 2-1, at the StubHub Center. It was the first time making Team of the Week for both players, who became the fourth and fifth different Seattle players to make the list.
Martins and Marshall are joined by goalkeeper Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake), who was also named MLS Player of the Week; defenders Aurelien Collin (Sporting Kansas City), Matt Hedges (FC Dallas) and David Horst (Houston Dynamo); midfielders Ned Grabavoy (Real Salt Lake), Perry Kitchen (D.C. United) and Lloyd Sam (New York Red Bulls); and forwards Darren Mattocks (Vancouver Whitecaps FC) and Dom Dwyer (Sporting Kansas City).
Sounders FC’s representatives on Team of the Week have been:
Week 1: DeAndre Yedlin.
Week 3: Djimi Traore.
Week 5: Clint Dempsey.
Week 6: Clint Dempsey, Sigi Schmid.
Week 7: Obafemi Martins, Chad Marshall.
EVANS RETURNS
After missing the last four matches with a calf injury, Brad Evans returned to the field for Sounders FC on Saturday, coming on as a substitute in the 67th minute of Sounders FC’s 2-1 win over Chivas USA. Evans showed no ill effects from being sidelined and said afterward that he felt “good” and Sigi Schmid said after the match that he was pleased with what he was able to contribute.
“It was good to get him back out on the field. We brought him in on the right hand side because that’s another option for us to play and Alonso and Pineda were doing alright in the middle,” Schmid said. “It was good for him and we’ll see now how he goes forward and we’ll build from here.”
The Seattle midfielder and U.S. National Team defender worked out back in Seattle on Sunday all while celebrating his 29th birthday.
MONTERO EARNS CHAMPIONS LEAGUE BID
Former Sounders FC forward Fredy Montero had a stellar first season in Europe, scoring 13 goals in 26 appearances for Sporting Lisbon in Portugal and on Saturday clinched a spot in the 2014-15 UEFA Champions League with a 1-0 victory over Belenenses. Sporting has just two matches remaining on the season and is second in Portugal’s Liga at 20-2-6, behind only Benfica (23-1-4). Sporting will be among the 22 teams to enter in the Group Stage, which will be drawn on August 28 and open play on September 16.
Montero is Sounders FC’s all-time leading scorer with 47 goals in 119 matches from 2009-2012. In addition, he also had six goals and six assists in 18 matches in CONCACAF Champions League.
TIME TO PAY UP
Sounders FC defender DeAndre Yedlin and Colorado Rapids defender Shane O’Neill spent quite a bit of time together during U.S. National Team camp in January. By the end, they decided to make a friendly wager on the Super Bowl, as the two Homegrown Players both are big fans of this year’s opponents, the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos.
If the Broncos won, Yedlin would have been eating a Rocky Mountain oyster on Sounders FC’s trip to Denver to face the Rapids in October. However, since the Seahawks won 43-8, O’Neill will eat a geoduck this week when the Rapids visit CenturyLink Field.
“I’ll be out there Instagramming him eating one,” Yedlin laughed. “I’ve got to text him and see when he’s free. I’m not going to eat one though. I won the bet.”
