Obafemi Martins scored a heart-stopping goal in the eighth minute of Sounders FC's 1-0 win over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday and it earned him a place on the MLSsoccer.com Team of the Week for the second time this season.
Martins now has five goals and a league-best six assists, as he lead Seattle to its fourth consecutive home win to keep Sounders FC atop the Supporters' Shield standings at 8-3-1.
He was joined on Team of the Week by goalkeeper Tally Hall (Houston Dynamo); defenders Chris Tierney (New England Revolution), David Horst (Houston Dynamo), Steven Caldwell (Toronto FC) and Mark Bloom (Toronto FC); midfielders Federico Higuain (Columbus Crew), Diego Fagundez (New England Revolution) and Lee Nguyen (New England Revolution); and forwards Devon Sandoval (Real Salt Lake) 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.
Week 8: Clint Dempsey, Sigi Schmid.
Week 9: Chad Marshall.
Week 11: Obafemi Martins.
SOUNDERS LEARN OPEN CUP FOES
On Friday, Sounders FC learned how the path in the 2014 U.S. Open Cup would begin. The three-time champions (2009-2011) will enter the tournament in the fourth round and will face the winner of a May 28 match between LA Galaxy II and PSA Elite. If LA Galaxy II wins, the match will be held at the StubHub Center's Track and Field Stadium in Carson, Calif., and if PSA Elite wins it will be played at Starfire Sports Stadium in Tukwila.
LA Galaxy II is the USL Pro affiliate of the LA Galaxy and features several players on loan from the MLS club. PSA Elite is a US Amateur Soccer Association club based in Orange County, Calif.
The exact date of the match is yet to be determined, but the round will take place between June 10-18.
ON THE AIR
This week on Seattle Soccer Talk with Mike Gastineau, you can hear from Sounders FC Head Coach Sigi Schmid. A winner in five of its last six matches, Seattle faces the Vancouver Whitecaps this week. The show will broadcast from the George and Dragon in Fremont and can be heard on Sports Radio 950 KJR from 7-8 pm on Tuesday. It will also be available to hear via podcast after the conclusion of the show at www.sportsradiokjr.com/sst.
