Sounders and Toronto Play to Scoreless Draw
From Sounders FC…
SEATTLE- Held scoreless for the third consecutive home match, the Seattle Sounders FC battled to a 0-0 tie against Toronto FC at Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field on Saturday afternoon before a capacity crowd of 32,679.
By splitting points with Toronto (8-8-7) and beating the Reds on April 4th Seattle (8-6-10) earned its 6th series win in its inaugural season.
The Sounders FC, following a shaky first half, finished strong, and nearly took all three points in added time.
In the first minute of added time, Sebastien Le Toux took a feed from Brad Evans and forced a save from Toronto keeper Stefan Frei. Seattle’s final chance was in the 93rd minute, when from close range Osvaldo Alonso forced another save by Frei at the left post.
Despite weathering seven shots against in the first half Seattle outshot Toronto in the second half 8-4. Midfielders Freddie Ljungberg and Alonso led the team with three shots each.
Ljungberg broke free in the 63rd minute of the match from a pass up the middle by forward Nate Jaqua but his shot was tipped over the crossbar by Frei.
Toronto FC’s best opportunity came from midfielder Nana Attakora who hit the crossbar in the 23rd minute of the match from a shot just outside the box.
Seattle goalkeeper Kasey Keller only made one save to earn his eighth shutout. However, he came out of the goal box to force a shot wide right by Sam Cronin after a pass up the middle by Dwayne De Rosario split the Sounders defense and put he and Cronin one on one.
Ljungberg received his fifth yellow card of the season and will be suspended from the next MLS match against DC United on September 12th.
Defender Tyrone Marshall exited the game after a collision in the 40th minute with De Rosario and was replaced by Patrick Ianni.
Seattle has drawn two and lost once in the last three at home. The Sounders FC last scored a home goal in the 2-1 win over Houston on July 11.
Seattle heads east to the nation’s capital for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final against DC United on September 2 at RFK stadium. Kickoff is 4:30pm PT and will be nationally televised on the Fox Soccer Channel.
MLS play resumes when Seattle returns to Washington, D.C. to face United on September 12.
Toronto FC (8-8-7) vs. Seattle Sounders FC (8-6-10)
August 29, 2009 — Qwest Field
Seattle Sounders FC — Kasey Keller, James Riley, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Tyrone Marshall (Patrick Ianni 19), Leo Gonzalez, Freddie Ljungberg, Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans, Steve Zakuani (Sebastien Le Toux 67), Nate Jaqua, Fredy Montero (Peter Vagenas 67).
Substitutes Not Used: Terry Boss, Roger Levesque, Sanna Nyassi, Tyson Wahl.
TOTAL SHOTS: 10 (Osvaldo Alonso 3, Freddie Ljungberg 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (Freddie Ljungberg 2); FOULS: 9 (Freddie Ljungberg 3); OFFSIDES: 1 (Steve Zakuani 1); CORNER KICKS: 5 (Freddie Ljungberg 5); SAVES: 1 (Kasey Keller 1)
Misconduct Summary:
TOR — Nana Attakora (caution; Tactical Foul) 41
TOR — Emmanuel Gomez (caution; Dissent) 67
TOR — Dwayne De Rosario (caution; Unsporting Behavior) 73
SEA — Freddie Ljungberg (caution; Unsporting Behavior) 73
Referee: Jorge Gonzalez
Referee’s Assistants: -Paul Scott; Eric Boria
4th Official: Ramon Hernandez
Attendance: 32,679
Time of Game: 1:52
Weather: Partly Cloudy-and-67-degrees
