Sounders FC had an incredible match to move to 3-0-1 on the season against the Portland Timbers on Sunday, capping off a stretch of five games in 15 days. With that result came accolades for defender Chad Marshall and forward Obafemi Martins when the two were named to the MLSsoccer.com Team of the Week.
Marshall played a key role in keeping Portland off the board until Seattle had a controlling 3-0 lead in Portland. Martins, meanwhile, earned MLS Player of the Week honors with two goals and one assist against the Timbers.
The Seattle duo is joined on Team of the Week by goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth (New England Revolution); defenders Zach Loyd (FC Dallas) and Steve Birnbaum (D.C. United); midfielders Sebastien Le Toux (Philadelphia Union), Perry Kitchen (D.C. United), Justin Meram (Columbus Crew) and Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy); and forwards Fabian Espindola (D.C. United) and Thierry Henry (New York Red Bulls).
Marshall became the first Sounders FC player to earn a spot on Team of the Week four times this season, while it was the third appearance for Martins.
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.
Week 13: Marco Pappa, Sigi Schmid.
Week 14: Lamar Neagle.
Week 16: Gonzalo Pineda.
Week 18: Chad Marshall, Marco Pappa.
Week 23: Chad Marshall, Obafemi Martins.
REIGN O’ER STARFIRE
The Seattle Reign have a chance to put an exclamation point on its stellar 2014 season on Sunday when it hosts FC Kansas City in the NWSL final at Starfire Stadium. Seattle went 16-2-6 in the regular season to finish on top of the NWSL standings. In the semifinal, the Reign ousted the Washington Spirit 2-1 on Sunday to punch its ticket to the championship match.
Tickets are available beginning Tuesday at noon PT by visiting ReignFC.com or calling (855)REIGNFC.
COLLEGE KICKOFF WEEK
Several Sounders FC Academy alums will kick off the 2014 college seasons this week, including those at the University of Washington and Seattle University. Both the Huskies and Redhawks will open the season on the road on Friday, with UW facing Gonzaga in Spokane and Seattle U meeting Furman in Charleston, SC.
UW features seven players from the Sounders FC Academy and Seattle U has three on its roster. The two Seattle schools will meet head-to-head on September 4 at Husky Soccer Stadium.
ON THE AIR
This week on Seattle Soccer Talk on Sports Radio 950 KJR, Mike Gastineau will be joined by Sounders FC defender DeAndre Yedlin. With his recent transfer to Tottenham Hostpur, Seattle’s 3-1-1 record over a 15-day stretch including an emphatic win over the Timbers and a return to the Open Cup final, there will be plenty of topics on the table. The show will broadcast live 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.
