MATCH: Seattle Sounders FC (7-2-1, 23 points, 3rd, West Conf.) at Vancouver Whitecaps (5-3-2, 17 points, 4th, West Conf.). TYPE: MLS. WHEN: Saturday, 2 p.m., B.C. Place, Vancouver, B.C. MEETING: 3rd (Sounders lead 1-0-1). TV: KONG 6/16. RADIO: 97.3 KIRO FM; SPANISH: La Gran D 99.3 FM.
Although the Sounders’ (7-2-1, 22 points) franchise-best, five-match winning streak is history, the club will be out to extend an MLS-best eight-game (7-0-1) road unbeaten streak when they take on the Vancouver Whitecaps (5-3-2, 17 points) Saturday.
The Sounders won both road matches against Vancouver and Portland in 2011, becoming the first of the teams in the MLS era to hold the Cascadia Cup.
The Whitecaps had a three-match winning streak snapped last weekend with a 4-1 loss to New England and sit in fourth place in the Western Conference, one notch behind Seattle.
Vancouver began 2012 by winning two and drawing two, then dropped consecutive matches to San Jose and Kansas City. Then came the three-match winning streak that the Revolution ended. The Whitecaps have been held scoreless once this season and have six shutouts (tied-first with Seattle). Vancouver’s 1.10 goals against average is fifth in MLS.
Coach Martin Rennie uses 4-3-3 attack led by former-Sounder Sebastien Le Toux, Eric Hassli and Camilo Sanvezzo up front. Le Toux leads the Whitecaps with three goals and has compiled 28 goals and 21 assists since the beginning of 2010. Hassli and Camilo each have two goals and two assists, while midfielder Davide Chiumiento leads with three assists.
SERIES: Dates to June 19, 1974, when the Sounders, then of the North American Soccer League, met the Whitecaps at Vancouver’s Empire Stadium. Since then, the franchises have met 125 times while playing in various leagues, Seattle winning 61 and Vancouver 45. There have been 19 draws. Since Vancouver joined MLS in 2011, the teams have met twice. The clubs last played Sept. 24, 2011, Seattle winning 3-1 with two goals from Fredy Montero and a third from Brad Evans on a penalty kick.
LAST MATCH (Sounders, May 12): A second-half goal from Fabian Espindola proved the difference as Real Salt Lake defeated the Sounders 1-0 at CenturyLink Field. The loss snapped Seattle’s five-match winning streak and six-match unbeaten streak, dating to March 31. In the 51st minute, Espindola got around the defense on a ball from Luis Gil and half-volleyed a left-footed shot past Bryan Meredith. The goal ended Seattle’s 321-minute shutout streak, as well as Meredith’s individual streak of 275 minutes.
LAST MATCH (Whitecaps, May 12): Though they took the lead early on an Eric Hassli goal, the Whitecaps saw their best run as an MLS club come to a halt in front of 12,112 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA., after New England scored four unanswered goals. Former Whitecaps FC player Lee Nguyen scored the Revolutions first and fourth goals.
SOUNDERS STATS / NOTES
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Sounders continue to lead the league in points per match (2.2), and is one of just three teams with only two losses.
- Sounders have not allowed multiple goals in a game and the 0.40 goals against average is comfortably best in MLS.
- Heading to Vancouver, Sounders own the longest active road unbeaten streak in MLS at 7-0-1.
- Sounders own two of the six longest shutout streaks this season: 335 minutes from March 31-April 4 and 322 from April 28-May 12.
- The five-match winning streak that ended last Saturday against Real Salt Lake tied the longest in club history and was the second-longest this season to Kansas City (seven).
- Seattle’s six-game unbeaten streak (5-0-1) was the second-longest this season (Kansas City, San Jose and DC United, 7 games).
- Fredy Montero leads MLS with 48 total shots.
- Bryan Meredith began his career with a 274-minute shutout streak (third-longest in MLS history).
- Salt Lake’s goal was the first goal allowed by Seattle in the run of play in 798 minutes.
SOUNDERS LEADERS
| Category | Skinny |
|---|---|
| Starts | Estrada 10, Montero 9, Alonso 9, Evans 7, Parke 7, Gspurning 7 |
| Goals | Estrada 4, Montero 3, Johnson 2, Rosales 1, Evans 1, Scott 1 |
| Assists | Fernandez 2, Caskey 2, six player tied with one each |
| Shots | Montero 48, Estrada 19, Johnson 15, Alonso 8, Evans 7, Caskey 7 |
| Shots On Goal | Montero 16, Estrada 8, Johnson 3, Rosales 2, Evans 2, Scott 2 |
| Fouls Caused | Montero 21, Alonso 14, Johnson 10, Parke 9, Scott 8 |
| Fouls Suffered | Montero 24, Alonso 19, Estrada 11, Fernandez 11, Johnson 8 |
| Offsides | Johnson 10, Montero 6, Estrada 4, Fernandez 1 |
| Corner Kicks | Fernandez 16, Rosales 13, Caskey 9, Burch 2 |
| Cautions | Montero 3, Johnson 3, Scott 2, Alonso 2 |
| Ejections | Scott 1 |
COACHES: Sigi Schmid became first head coach of Seattle Sounders FC Dec. 16, 2008, and is in his fourth year. Born in Tübingen, Germany, Schmid relocated with his family to the U.S. in 1956, and to Torrance, CA., in 1962. He was a four-year starter at UCLA (1972-75) and graduated with a B.S. degree in economics in 1976.
Schmid later earned a M.A. in business administration from Southern California. A certified public accountant, Schmid coached the Los Angeles Galaxy from 1999 through 2004, winning four major competitions: 2002 MLS Cup, 2002 MLS Supporters Shield, 2001 U.S. Open Cup and the 2001 CONCACAF Champions Cup. He coached the Columbus Crew from 2006-08, winning the MLS Cup in his final season.
In 2009, under Schmid’s direction, the Sounders became the first expansion team to reach the MLS playoffs since the 1998 Chicago Fire. The Sounders also won the U.S. Open Cup in Schmid’s first season. They added their second and third U.S. Open Cup titles in 2010 and 2011.
Martin Rennie: A native of Thurso, Scotland, Rennie was appointed head coach of the Whitecaps Aug. 9. He came to Vancouver after three impressive seasons as head coach of Carolina RailHawks at the North American second division level. Prior to joining the RailHawks, Rennie enjoyed two successful seasons with Cleveland City Stars in the old third-tier United Soccer Leagues Second Division (USL-2). Rennie holds a bachelor of arts degree in Business Administration and Management from Glasgow Caledonian University in Scotland.
COMING UP: The busiest month in club history will conclude with two MLS matches, including a home contest with the Columbus Crew Wednesday and a road match at Chivas USA May 26. An additional game will be added at the end of the month as Sounders FC will begin its run to a fourth straight Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The opponent and location of the third-round fixture are yet to be determined.
Seattle Sounders FC 2012 Schedule / Results
(7-2-1, 22 points, MLS; 1-1 CCL)
| Date | Opponent | Time | TV | W/L | Score | Rec. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3/7 | *Santos | 7:00 | Fox Soccer | W | 2-1 | 1-0 |
| 3/14 | *Santos | 5:00 | Fox Soccer | L | 6-1 | 1-1 |
| 3/17 | ^Toronto FC | 7:00 | KONG | W | 3-1 | 1-0 |
| 3/23 | ^Houston | 7:00 | NBCSN | W | 2-0 | 2-0 |
| 3/31 | ^San Jose | 7:00 | KONG | L | 1-0 | 2-1 |
| 4/7 | ^at DC United | 4:30 | KING | D | 0-0 | 2-1-1 |
| 4/14 | ^Colorado | 1:00 | KING | W | 1-0 | 3-1-1 |
| 4/28 | ^at Chicago | 5:30 | KING | W | 2-1 | 4-1-1 |
| 5/2 | ^LA Galaxy | 7:00 | KING | W | 2-0 | 5-1-1 |
| 5/5 | ^Philadelphia | 1:30 | NBCSN | W | 1-0 | 6-1-1 |
| 5/9 | ^at FC Dallas | 5:30 | KONG | W | 2-0 | 7-1-1 |
| 5/12 | ^Real SL | 7:00 | KONG | L | 1-0 | 7-2-1 |
| 5/19 | ^at Vancouver | 1:00 | KING | — | — | — |
| 5/23 | ^Columbus | 7:00 | KING | — | — | — |
| 5/26 | ^at Chivas | 7:30 | KING | — | — | — |
| 6/16 | ^at Montreal | 4:30 | KING | — | — | — |
| 6/20 | ^Sport KC | 7:00 | KING | — | — | — |
| 6/24 | ^at Portland | 2:00 | ESPN | — | — | — |
| 6/30 | ^vs. New England | 4:30 | KING | — | — | — |
| 7/4 | ^at RSL | 7:00 | KING | — | — | — |
| 7/7 | ^Colorado | 8:00 | NBCSN | — | — | — |
| 7/15 | ^at New York | 1:00 | ESPN | — | — | — |
| 7/18 | #Chelsea FC | TBD | TBD | — | — | — |
| 7/28 | ^at Colorado | 6:00 | KING | — | — | — |
| 8/5 | ^vs. LA Galaxy | 6:00 | ESPN2 | — | — | — |
| 8/11 | ^at San Jose | 7:30 | KING | — | — | — |
| 8/18 | ^vs. Vancouver | 1:00 | KING | — | — | — |
| 8/25 | ^at Chivas | 7:30 | KING | — | — | — |
| 9/2 | ^at FC Dallas | 4:00 | KING | — | — | — |
| 9/8 | ^Chivas | TBD | KING | — | — | — |
| 9/15 | ^at Portland | 12:30 | NBC | — | — | — |
| 9/22 | ^San Jose | 7:30 | KONG | — | — | — |
| 9/29 | ^at Vancouver | 6:00 | NBCSN | — | — | — |
| 10/7 | ^vs. Portland | 6:00 | ESPN | — | — | — |
| 10/21 | ^vs. FC Dallas | 6:00 | ESPN | — | — | — |
| 10/28 | ^at LA Galaxy | 6:00 | ESPN | — | — | — |
*=CONCACAF; ^=Major League Soccer; #=International friendly