Preview: Seattle, Chivas set for Saturday afternoon rematch

SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC vs CHIVAS USA
CENTURYLINK FIELD, Seattle, Wash.
September 8, 2012 (WEEK 27, MLS Game #260)
1 p.m. PT (KONG/KOMO2; PT/KWHY)
Two weeks after Seattle Sounders FC posted a record victory against Chivas USA, the teams meet again, this time at CenturyLink Field on Saturday afternoon. On Aug. 25 at The Home Depot Center, Seattle took a 6-2 victory, matching the biggest win in the club’s MLS history. Sounders FC come into the game off a 1-1 draw at FC Dallas that left them in third place in the Western Conference. Chivas USA are fighting for their postseason lives after their winless streak hit five games in a 4-0 loss at San Jose last weekend.
REFEREE:
Kevin Stott. AR1 (bench): Mike Rottersman; AR2 (opposite): Jeremy Hanson; 4th: Kevin Terry Jr.
MLS Career: 228 games; FC/gm: 25.6; Y/gm: 3.4; R: 59; pens: 48
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INJURY REPORT:


SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC – OUT: FW Babayele Sodade (R knee ACL tear); FW David Estrada (L foot fracture); QUESTIONABLE: GK Andrew Weber (R adductor strain); PROBABLE: MF Osvaldo Alonso (head injury); MF Andy Rose (rib fracture)


CHIVAS USA – DOUBTFUL: MF Peter Vagenas (R hamstring strain); PROBABLE: MF Ryan Smith (R hamstring strain); MF Shalrie Joseph (R elbow)
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES:


SEA: Adam Johansson (Sweden), Mario Martinez (Honduras)


CHV: Ante Jazic (Canada); Oswaldo Minda (Ecuador)
SUSPENDED:
none
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD:


SEA: Eddie Johnson, Fredy Montero


CHV: Oswaldo Minda
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS:


SEA: Andy Rose, Zach Scott, Marc Burch, Osvaldo Alonso, Servando Carrasco, Leo Gonzalez


CHV: Shalrie Joseph, Ryan Smith
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (8 meetings): Sounders FC 3 wins, 12 goals … Chivas USA 2 wins, 8 goals … Ties 4
AT SEATTLE (3 meetings): Sounders FC 1 win, 2 goals … Chivas USA 0 wins, 1 goal … Ties 2
2012 (MLS):
5/26: CHV 1, SEA 1 (Agudelo 57 – Estrada 61)
8/25: CHV 2, SEA 6 (Agudelo 38; Bolanos 64 – Evans 10; Montero 27, 34, 67; Ochoa 80; own goal 91+)

• The teams are meeting for the third time this season. Two weeks ago, Sounders FC rolled to a 6-2 win at The Home Depot Center behind a hat trick from Fredy Montero, set up on all three goals by Mauro Rosales. On May 26, a Juan Agudelo goal for Chivas USA was answered by a goal from Seattle’s David Estrada as they reached a 1-1 draw at The Home Depot Center.
• Sounders FC are unbeaten in their last seven meetings with Chivas USA, since Chivas won the first two meetings ever between the clubs in 2009. Seattle has won three times with four draws.
• Coaches' records: Sigi Schmid vs. CHV: P15 W4 L5 D6 … Robin Fraser vs. SEA: P4 W0 L2 D2

LAST MEETING

• Sounders FC were up a goal after 10 minutes, when Fredy Montero slipped a ball to Brad Evans on the left side of the field, and he walked into the penalty area before easily beating goalkeeper Dan Kennedy.
• Montero then struck twice within seven minutes. In the 27th minute, on the counter, Evans found Mauro Rosales, who knocked it into Montero, who made no mistake from inside the area. Then, Montero again received a lovely pass from Rosales as he cut into the area, and ran onto the ball and chipped it coolly past Kennedy.
• Chivas pulled back into the match with goals on either side of halftime. In the 37th minute, Seattle defender Jeff Parke was whistled for a penalty kick, and Juan Agudelo easily beat Michael Gspurning from the spot. Then Miller Bolanos scored in the 64th minute, running at the Seattle defense before sending a blistering shot past Gspurning from 20 yards out.
• But just three minutes later, Sounders FC made 4-2 on the night as Rosales again set up Montero for a finish inside the penalty area.
• It was 5-2 to Seattle in the 80th minute when Sammy Ochoa buried a header from a Christian Tiffert cross from the left side, and in stoppage time the final margin was completed when Chivas USA's Ante Jazic headed a ball into his own net.
• CHIVAS USA (4-4-2): Dan Kennedy - James Riley, John Valencia, Bobby Burling, Ante Jazic - Miller Bolanos, Shalrie Joseph, Nick LaBrocca, Tristan Bowen (Jose Correa 69) - Casey Townsend (Juan Pablo Angel 86), Juan Agudelo.
• SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC (4-4-2): Michael Gspurning - Adam Johansson, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Leo Gonzalez - Mauro Rosales (Mario Martinez 78), Christian Tiffert (Steve Zakuani 84), Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans - Fredy Montero, Eddie Johnson (Sammy Ochoa 73).

SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC
Seattle Sounders FC made it three games without loss, coming away from FC Dallas with a 1-1 draw Sunday evening in Frisco. Sounders FC are in third place in the Western Conference with 44 points from 26 games.
LAST MATCH

• Sounders FC opened the scoring in the 20th minute. Steve Zakuani received the ball on the left wing and rounded FC Dallas right back Zach Loyd, before driving a low cross to the back post for Mauro Rosales to tap home.
• FC Dallas got their response in the 32nd minute. Blas Pérez controlled a cross from Zach Loyd before firing the ball across the goal, and it found Jackson unmarked at the far post to easily slide home the equalizer.
• Sounders FC head coach Sigi Schmid made two changes to the team that defeated Chivas USA 6-2 at The Home Depot Center. Patrick Ianni came into central defense for Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, and Steve Zakuani replaced Eddie Johnson.
• SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC (4-3-3): Michael Gspurning - Adam Johansson, Jeff Parke, Patrick Ianni, Leo Gonzalez - Brad Evans (Marc Burch 88), Osvaldo Alonso (Servando Carrasco 78), Christian Tiffert - Mauro Rosales, Fredy Montero, Steve Zakuani (Alex Caskey 66).

TEAM NEWS

• Sounders FC have lost just once in their last 10 games, recording a 5-1-4 mark in that span and rising up from fourth place in the Western Conference to second.
• “We couldn’t play our best match. We couldn’t. We tried, but it was too hot here. We were coming from Trinidad and Tobago and a 10-hour flight with delays with all this stuff,” said Sounders FC head coach Sigi Schmid. “We did a great job trying to win this game and to play to the same level as them.”
• Schmid ran out a new tactical look, with Fredy Montero operating as a lone spearhead striker and Mauro Rosales and Steve Zakuani in wide positions. Christian Tiffert tucked into a central midfield triangle with Brad Evans and Osvaldo Alonso holding.
• “It was a way I felt we had to play based on our personnel and what we had here today, so it worked out all right,” said Schmid. “Obviously for a guy like Adam Johansson who has never played in this kind of heat before or a guy like Christian Tiffert whose never played in this kind of heat either, for them psychologically it was even a more difficult game at times. … Fredy Montero was active and occupied the two center backs. Sometimes we needed a little more support from the wingers but if we play this formation more often we’ll work that out.”
• Steve Zakuani made his first start in 500 days, his second consecutive appearance and third overall in league play after suffering a leg fracture last season.
• “Steve shows that he still has that explosion, the ability to beat people. As he gains confidence hopefully those kind of opportunities will occur more often in the game. He’s shown that he can still do it. It was a tremendous assist. Now it’s just a matter of gaining game fitness and the ability to do that on a repetitive level,” said Schmid.
• Said Zakuani: “I’m just going to have to keep training and training to get my sharpness back again. The run I made I could have made, you know, 10 times. My fitness was really good and my goal is to be able to do that run a few times each half. That’s what I bring to the team. I just need to play my role.”
• Goalkeeper Michael Gspurning recorded five saves in goal for Sounders FC, tying a season-high set twice earlier, including in the Chivas USA victory when he faced a season-high seven shots.
• “That’s what you need from goalkeepers. They come up with saves at big times of the game,” said Schmid. “I coached Kevin Hartman for years. He’s a guy that’s done that in the years I coached him many times and Michael has done that for us this year as well.”
• Mauro Rosales scored his second goal of the season, his first since May 5. In the last eight games, Rosales has one goal and nine assists; Seattle is 5-1-2 in those contests. “I was just trying to put the ball in the net,” said Rosales. “It was good for me. I’m not used to scoring. I’m used to making the assist, but it was a goal for us and now we just have to keep going.”

CHIVAS USA
Chivas USA saw their winless run reach five games with another heavy defeat, falling 4-0 to the San Jose Earthquakes on Sunday evening at Buck Shaw Stadium. Chivas USA are in seventh place in the Western Conference with 28 points from 25 games.
LAST MATCH

• The Quakes took the lead in the 11th minute. Victor Bernardez slammed an audacious free kick from 35 yards around the wall and toward the lower left corner. Chivas goalkeeper Dan Kennedy got a hand to it, but failed to push it wide and the ball settled into the goal.
• The Quakes doubled their lead in the 39th minute. Chivas were caught in possession in his own half, San Jose’s Marvin Chavez fed Chris Wondolowski, and he slotted a pass into Simon Dawkins as he angled into the box. Dawkins took one touch and buried his shot past helpless Kennedy.
• Another free kick made it 3-0 for San Jose in the 71st minute. This time, Ramiro Corrales dipped a left-footed free kick over the wall and into the lower right corner.
• And 10 minutes later, Corrales did it again, bending a quickly struck free kick from 25 yards as Chivas were still organizing, into the left side of the goal to complete the rout.
• Chivas USA head coach Robin Fraser made one change to the team that came back for a 3-3 draw with the New England Revolution at Gillette Stadium. Oswaldo Minda came back into the team in place of Nick LaBrocca.
• CHIVAS USA (4-4-2): Dan Kennedy - James Riley, Rauwshan McKenzie, Danny Califf, Ante Jazic - Tristan Bowen (Nick LaBrocca 69), Shalrie Joseph, Oswaldo Minda (Ben Zemanski 84), Miller Bolanos - Juan Agudelo, Casey Townsend (Jose Correa 72)

TEAM NEWS

• Chivas USA saw their winless streak extended to five games, with three losses in that time. In three games in a week’s time Chivas allowed 13 goals; they’ve allowed 18 over the five-game streak.
• “Really the goals that we have given up in the past three games have been just subpar, and inexcusable to be quite honest,” head coach Robin Fraser said. “As I said, for most of the year we have been talking about the fact that we are not creating enough, and over the past couple of games we have created enough chances, but we have given up some really, really poor goals.”
• Said center back Danny Califf: “I’m running out of things to say. I’m running out of ways to explain how we’re giving up four goals on a regular basis.”
• After scoring five goals over the previous two games, the first time this season Chivas USA had hit for multiple goals in back-to-back games, they were shut out offensively for the 10th time this season.
• “Because we’re throwing a lot of numbers forward, we’re getting exposed in the back,” Danny Califf said. “When you don’t convert chances, you’re going to get a lot of scores like this, where it goes from bad to worse in a hurry. It’s very frustrating to be a defender in that position.”
• Coming into the San Jose, Chivas had not allowed a goal this season from a free kick, and they had allowed just five goals on set piece situations.
• “The better question is how are we giving up free kicks or how are the free kicks coming about? Losing on three free kicks; certainly San Jose executed well, but the first one was pretty far out, the second one, I think a player doesn’t jump in the wall, that might have been the third one, but it is frustrating,” said Fraser. “It is frustrating no matter what the goals are.”
• For the first time in four matches, and the second time since his acquisition from the New England Revolution, Shalrie Joseph started in a deep-lying central midfield axis alongside Oswaldo Minda.
• The trip to Seattle concludes a three-game road swing for Chivas USA, but after a return match with San Jose on Sept. 15, Chivas goes to the East Coast for a two-game swing at Columbus and D.C. United. Chivas USA still owns the second-best road record in MLS at 4-3-5.
• “Winning fixes everything. There’s going to be stretches in the season when you don’t play well and you don’t get results, even though you feel like you don’t play all that poorly. You get beat down too many times and the confidence erodes,” said Califf.
• “We’ve been struggling finding our identity in terms of defensively and offensively. I think we fought, we had some chances early on and we didn’t capitalize on them, and a good team like San Jose, if you don’t score goals, they are going to score on you and that’s pretty much what happened,” said Tristan Bowen.