Two second half goals from Nate Jaqua gave Sounders FC the edge it needed to beat the LA Galaxy 2-0 in the US Open Cup on Wednesday night.

Seattle’s next USOC match will be against Chivas USA in the semifinals on September 1st. A match that is scheduled to be playe at Starfire in Tukwila.

Jaqua put Seattle on the board in the 50th minute when he followed up a Miguel Montano shot that bounced off of the crossbar.

In the 62nd minute, the 6′3″ Eugene Native headed in his second goal, again on a play initiated by the 18 year old Colombian, Montano.

Scoring Summary:
SEA — Nate Jaqua (unassisted) 50
SEA — Nate Jaqua (Miguel Montano) 62

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Seattle Sounders — Terry Boss, Zach Scott, Jeff Parke, Patrick Ianni, Tyson Wahl, Sanna Nyassi, Nathan Sturgis, Mike Seamon (James Riley 78), Miguel Montano (Leo Gonzalez 71), Roger Levesque, Nate Jaqua (David Estrada 83).

Substitutes Not Used: Fredy Montero, Pat Noonan, Steve Zakuani, Kasey Keller.

TOTAL SHOTS: 21 (Nate Jaqua 7); SHOTS ON GOAL: 7 (Nate Jaqua 4); FOULS: 13 (David Estrada 3); OFFSIDES: 3 (Sanna Nyassi 3); CORNER KICKS: 6 (Nathan Sturgis 6); SAVES: 2 (Terry Boss 2)

Misconduct Summary:
LA — Alex Cazumba (caution; Reckless Foul) 45
LA — Bryan Jordan (caution; Reckless Foul) 70
SEA — David Estrada (caution; Reckless Tackle) 89
LA — Alan Gordon (caution; Unsporting Behavior) 89

Referee: Jair Marrufo
Referee’s Assistants: -Mike Rottersman; Baboucarr Jallow
4th Official: Manuel Soledad
Attendance: 4,512
Time of Game: 1:49
Weather: Sunny-and-85-degrees

But those without tickets, fear not- the game will be shown live via a live videocast on SoundersFC.com.

Read about Starfire’s new Field Turf in Don Ruiz’s article in the Tacoma New Tribune.

Freddie Ljungberg has the same reaction as many Sounders Fans (by Chris Coulter)

Sounders FC suffered their third consecutive loss in MLS action as the Galaxy downed the club 1-3.

Seattle (4-8-3, 15 points) tried to ruin the homecoming for Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle, but the two connected in the 19th minute off of a corner kick to put LA up 1-0 which carried into the intermission.

Brazilian, Juninho, put the MLS-Leading Galaxy up 2-0 right after the break when he scored on a magnificent 30-yard shot perfectly placed in the upper 90.

The Rave Green saw some light and hope when Fredy Montero fed Steve Zakuani in the 66th. Zakuani split the defense and brought Seattle within 1. That hope faded eleven minutes later when James Riley pushed in an own goal in an effort to defend Landon Donovan.

The Sounders return to action on Wednesday against the same Galaxy as Seattle looks to continue their defense of the US Open Cup championship. Kickoff is slated for 7p from Starfire in Tukwila. [Tickets]

Seattle’s next match at Qwest is next Sunday, July 11th, when FC Dallas heads to town.

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Scoring Summary
LA – Buddle (Donovan) 19′
LA – Juninho (Stephens) 48′
SEA – Zakuani (Montero) 66′
LA – Own Goal (Riley) 77′

Seattle Sounders FC: Kasey Keller, James Riley, Jeff Parke, Tyrone Marshall, Leo Gonzalez, Patrick Ianni, Peter Vagenas (Michael Seamon 51), Freddie Ljungberg (Miguel Montano 83), Steve Zakuani, Pat Noonan (Nate Jaqua 45), Fredy Montero.

Substitutes Not Used: Terry Boss, Zach Scott, Nathan Sturgis, Sanna Nyassi.

TOTAL SHOTS: 9; SHOTS ON GOAL: 4; CORNER KICKS: 1; OFFSIDES: 4; FOULS: 12; SAVES: 2.

Misconduct Summary:

SEA – Marshall (caution; Tactical Foul) 82′
LA – Cazumba (caution; Reckless Foul) 89′

Referee: Silviu Petrescu
Referee’s Assistants: Anthony Vasoli; Ian Anderson
4th Official: Ricardo Salazar
Time of Game: 1:52
Attendance: 27,000
Weather: Clear and 73 degrees

Seattle (4-7-3) hits the half way point of the 2010 campaign with 15 points and face the first match of the week with the Galaxy as the two clubs will meet in Tukwila at Starfire in a Quarterfinal Match of the US Open Cup.

LA (10-1-3, 33pts) has a 6 point lead in the West and welcome not only the return of World Cup teammates Donovan and Edson Buddle, but Eddie Lewis, Dema Kovalenko and Leonardo are due back from injuries as well.

Sounders FC did win this week in the US Open Cup, but the squad looks to end their current 2-6-2 form in league play that has seen Seattle lose its last two matches to MLS’s two worst teams- DC United and Philadelphia. The Sounders also look to avenge a 0-4 dismantling by the Galaxy two months ago.

Sigi Schmid noted that LA is “a team that puts a lot of emphasis on defending. They are looking to defend.” A note that is quite evident seeing that LA has given up four (4) all season long. If there is any solace for Sounders fans, 75% of those goals have been conceded at home.

Kickoff is scheduled for 730p and will be broadcast locally on KONG 6/16 and nationally on ESPN2.

Kickoff is slated for 730p PT.

In Seattle, the match will also be broadcast on KONG 6/16 with Arlo White calling the action.

PRESS RELEASE

NEW YORK (Thursday, July 1, 2010) – With the excitement surrounding the 2010 FIFA World Cup, ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes have added the LA Galaxy match this Sunday, July 4 (10:30 p.m. ET), against Seattle Sounders FC to their regular broadcast schedule.

U.S. National Team and LA Galaxy stars Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle are expected to return to MLS play for the first time since leading the U.S. Men’s National Team to a first place Group C finish and an appearance in the Round of 16 in South Africa. Donovan, who netted three goals for the United States in South Africa, is the league-leader in assists, while Buddle is the leading scorer in MLS.

The Galaxy are currently atop the League standings with a record of 10-1-3 for 33 points but will be tested by Freddie Ljungberg, U.S. World Cup veteran goalkeeper Kasey Keller, and Seattle Sounders FC.

Glenn Davis and Kyle Martino will call the Sounders FC – Galaxy match on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD (simulcast on ESPN3.com) from The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. The match will be joined in progress on ESPN Deportes following the Sunday Night Baseball game.

ESPN’s presentation of the 15th season of Major League Soccer continues all summer with MLS Game of the Week on most Thursday nights, and the Manchester United vs. MLS All-Stars match later this month (Wednesday, July 28 at 8:30 p.m.) from Reliant Stadium in Houston.

The match will be held on July 7th at Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila. All seats are $15.

GM Adrian Hanauer from SoundersFC.com

“We want to compensate our season-ticket holders for having to watch that yesterday…” -Adrian Hanauer

Sounders Season Ticket Holders can look for a 1-game credit for the 2011 season.

In response to Seattle’s horrible 0-4 loss to LA on Saturday, General Manager Adrian Hanauer suggested that the fans shouldn’t have had to pay for that match.

“The refund will come in the form of a credit against next year’s season tickets. We want our fans committed for the long haul and we think this is the right thing to do for our fans.”

The idea was Hanauer’s alone and after getting buy-in from Joe Roth and Tod Lieweke the idea was announced.

the elysian was packed, so we went to FX McRory’s. it was ok. my fish was small and dry and i can’t believe my dad paid $6 for it. after that, we caught the very end of the march to the match. i danced around the inflated soccer ball for ten minutes while the marching band played… i than sat on the pig for pictures. my parents were like tourists and took way too many pictures.

then, it was time to go inside for the sounders.

i wanted my face painted so even though we were in 1/2 hour before the match the line was so long that we missed kick off. i was so surprised that there were so many people there. it was also sooooo loud. a lot of people were yelling. i told my dad at least 5 times that it wasn’t nice to say “stupid”. he said a few other words i have never heard him say. i will have to repeat them and see what type of reaction i get.

i knew that we didn’t want the white team  to kick it in our goal so i don’t know why the guy in black seemed to not try and stop it in the first half. it seemed very easy.

i then asked my dad why that one guy in white was rolling around on the ground so much. my dad said his name was landy cakes… and that is just what he likes to do.

the guys in blue liked to blow the whistle when we are just about to score. my dad seemed to think these were really bad decisions and i would like to ask the guys in blue why they like to frustrate my dad.

at half time, i went potty and then ran around for 15 minutes. it got me tired.

after half, nobody noticed but me, but all the goals that the white team scored were in the wrong goal. it wasn’t the same goal as the first half, so that means that we actually scored 3 times and we won. i was describing this to my dad after the game and he seemed confused, but was happy to learn that we actually won the game.

i love the sounders and i can’t wait to go again.

thank you for reading…. everything i have wrote here is the truth and really really happened for real.

(On allowing four goals . . .) “The first goal you don’t expect a keeper like Keller to have that happen, but sometimes it does. The second goal was a good goal. Our marking could have been better but I thought we were tight and he put it in the corner. The third goal was inexcusable. It skipped past two guys. You have to not hope that someone else will do what you’re supposed to. On the fourth goal we were ducks in a shooting gallery.”

(On moving forward from this loss . . .) “It’s not time to panic but it’s time for some people to wake up and for character to step forward. When you’re down two, three or four to nothing, you have to step up. Some guys we’ve asked to step up and it hasn’t happened so changes are forthcoming. You have to play with energy. We let them control the game. We had to speed it up and no one on our side made that happen. We got hammered on the field and they should feel hammered in the locker room. They need to go inside and find their reaction and their inner core.”

(On offside calls . . .) “A couple times we got called because guys were lazy coming back. A couple offsides weren’t offsides – bad calls by the linesmen. A couple of them the ball was played too late. I thought we were inches off breaking them down in the first half. Then we came out and gave up the second goal seven minutes into the second half and a horrendous third goal. It’s embarrassing.”

(On lack of offense . . .) “Close to creating things but not creating things. We need guys that will give up their body in the box. We don’t need six playmakers. We need guys who can score. We need more movement, harder running.”

(On loss of Osvaldo Alonso to injury . . .) “I thought [Nathan] Sturgis did fine. I don’t think that having Ozzy would have had an impact on the second or third goal.”

(On team’s effort . . .) “They have to believe in themselves and learn how to transfer that belief into effort. Not pleased with the effort when we were three goals down. Have to show character and say if we’re going down, go down swinging and get a couple goals. Some had that attitude and some phoned it in.”

(On worst loss as Sounders FC head coach . . .) “It is the toughest loss. Remind me to never wear a sport jacket again. It was the first time I’ve worn one and it will be the last time. When I was with the Galaxy, we took a few shellackings along the way. Sometimes something like this is good because when you get your rear end handed to you, people are a little more attentive to what you’re telling them.”

“We compete for spots every week. I’ve given some guys a longer leash than others. That leash just tore today.”

US Men’s National Team captain, Landon Donovan assisted on LA’s first 3 and scored the  fourth.

It was a match that saw the Sounders dominate from 18 to 18. Sadly, LA dominated inside the 18 on both ends of the pitch.

The game became frustrating to watch and everything seemed to crumble when Osvaldo Alonso was pulled in the 35th minute with a “right hamstring strain”. The match also let Sounders fans see 18 year old Miguel Montano for the first time.

LA is now 7-0-1, 22 points (out of 24) and Sounders FC is at 9 points with their 2-3-3 record.

Scoring Summary

LA — Jovan Kirovski 1 (Landon Donovan 7, Michael Stephens 3 ) 22
LA — Omar Gonzalez 1 (Landon Donovan 8 ) 52
LA — Todd Dunivant 1 (Landon Donovan 9 ) 57
LA — Landon Donovan 1 (Edson Buddle 2 ) 67

Los Angeles Galaxy — Donovan Ricketts, Bryan Jordan, Omar Gonzalez, Gregg Berhalter, Todd Dunivant, Michael Stephens, Christopher Birchall, Chris Klein (Tristan Bowen 63), Landon Donovan (Clint Mathis 71), Edson Buddle (Alex Cazumba 75), Jovan Kirovski.

Substitutes Not Used: Alan Gordon, Mike Magee, Juninho, Josh Saunders.

TOTAL SHOTS: 13 (Edson Buddle 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 7 (Edson Buddle 2, Jovan Kirovski 2); FOULS: 15 (Jovan Kirovski 4); OFFSIDES: 2 (Landon Donovan 1, Tristan Bowen 1); CORNER KICKS: 2 (Landon Donovan 2); SAVES: 4 (Donovan Ricketts 4)

Seattle Sounders — Kasey Keller, James Riley, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Tyrone Marshall, Leo Gonzalez, Brad Evans (Sanna Nyassi 70), Osvaldo Alonso (Nathan Sturgis 37), Peter Vagenas, Freddie Ljungberg, Fredy Montero (Miguel Montano 57), Steve Zakuani.

Substitutes Not Used: Patrick Ianni, Roger Levesque, Tyson Wahl, Terry Boss.

TOTAL SHOTS: 9 (Osvaldo Alonso 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (Freddie Ljungberg 2); FOULS: 9 (Leo Gonzalez 3); OFFSIDES: 10 (3 tied with 3); CORNER KICKS: 6 (Freddie Ljungberg 6); SAVES: 3 (Kasey Keller 3)

Misconduct Summary:
SEA — Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (caution; Reckless Tackle) 38
SEA — Leo Gonzalez (caution; Reckless Tackle) 48+
SEA — Tyrone Marshall (caution; Unsporting Behavior) 62
LA — Tristan Bowen (caution; Reckless Tackle) 64

Referee: Kevin Stott
Referee’s Assistants: -Nate Clement; Frank Anderson
4th Official: Edvin Jurisevic
Attendance: 36,273
Time of Game: 1:51
Weather: Clear-and-60-degrees