SB Nation Seattle - Seattle Sounders Vs. Colorado Rapids: Sounders Come Out On Top Thanks To Zach Scott Goalhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48997/seattle-fave.png2012-04-14T20:38:27-07:00http://seattle.sbnation.com/rss/stream/27134892012-04-14T20:38:27-07:002012-04-14T20:38:27-07:00Sounders Edge Rapids, Pick Up A Big Conference Win
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<p>In many ways, the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.burgundywave.com/">Colorado Rapids</a> had their way with the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.sounderatheart.com/">Seattle Sounders</a> this afternoon; the visitors had far more of the possession and largely shut down a hampered Sounders attack, allowing the home side 18 shots but harassing them enough that only 5 of them threatened the keeper. Colorado more than held their own in midfield and put <span>Michael Gspurning</span> under severe pressure for several heavy spells. But in the end, a goal from the unlikeliest source powered the Sounders to a gritty 1-0 win, giving Seattle 10 points on the season and putting them into 3rd pplace with a game in hand over the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.centerlinesoccer.com/">San Jose Earthquakes</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.rslsoapbox.com/">Real Salt Lake</a>.</p>
<p>Despite receiving a rude welcome that persisted throughout the game and inspiring the biggest cheers of the day when his apparent first-half goal was called back for offside and he received an 87th minute booking for a cynical challenge on <span>Osvaldo Alonso</span>, <span>Brian Mullan's</span> first appearance at CenturyLink Field since the injury to <span>Steve Zakuani</span> came off largely without incident. Though the boos rang throughout the stadium with every touch up until the final whistle, Mullan was far from a focal point on the afternoon; <span>Leo Gonzalez</span> kept the Rapids winger in his back pocket for the vast majority of the afternoon, the aforementioned canceled goal the one notable exception. Where the Rapids did manage to shine was in central midfield, with <span>Jaime Castrillon</span> and <span>Jeff Larentowicz</span> playing the possession game to near perfection and preventing Seattle from building the sustained pressure that makes them such a dangerous attacking side.</p>
<p>Not helping the Sounders cause was their wastefulness in the final third, with Eddie Johnson, <span>David Estrada</span>, <span>Fredy Montero</span> and <span>Alex Caskey</span> all doing far less with gilt-edged chances than would have been expected. Caskey atoned for any and all sins, however, with an inch-perfect corner that Zack Scott headed past <span>Matt Pickens</span> for the game's only goal in the 65th minute. Despite any specific shortcomings, the Sounders attack did look quite dangerous for large stretches; Eddie Johnson showed some very nice flashes of vision and positional awareness that have been sorely lacking in his prior appearances in Rave Green, while Fredy Montero dealt admirably with his standing as the focal point of the Rapids defensive efforts, soaking up a great deal of physical play and managing to keep his composure and spring several dangerous moves. In addition to his set-piece delivery, Caskey looked far from out of place on the wing, making few if any egregious errors and looking very much as though he belonged on the pitch. If any of the front four had an off day it was likely David Estrada, but his performance was far from poor and he was pressed into service at an unfamiliar position on short notice; his failure to shine is largely understandable.</p>
<p>It wasn't the most comfortable or convincing win, but with <span>Mauro Rosales</span>, <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/fifa/players/110948/alvaro-fernandez">Alvaro Fernandez</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/fifa/players/150862/adam-johansson">Adam Johansson</a> all sidelined it was certainly impressive. This is a much improved Rapids side that were more than willing to bring the game to Seattle, and without some of their biggest guns the Sounders adjusted to the circumstances, soaked up the pressure and found a way to win. <span>Jeff Parke</span> and <span>Patrick Ianni</span> put in excellent performances, while Osvaldo Alonso and <span>Brad Evans</span> largely abandoned their typical attacking responsibilities at times in order to provide the shield for Seattle's defense. It was a solid, gritty, all-around performance for the Sounders, the likes of which will be greatly appreciated once the team is back to full health and firing on all cylinders.</p>
https://seattle.sbnation.com/seattle-sounders/2012/4/14/2949457/sounders-edge-rapids-pick-up-a-big-conference-winAaron Campeau2012-04-13T14:22:57-07:002012-04-13T14:22:57-07:00Seattle Sounders Vs. Colorado Rapids: Oh, How These Teams Have Changed
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<p>Brian Mullan returns to CenturyLink Field for the first time since breaking Steve Zakuani's leg, but these two teams are quite different from the last time they faced.</p> <p><span id="internal-source-marker_0.7535847139079124">When the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.burgundywave.com/">Colorado Rapids</a> take to the pitch at CenturyLink Field on Saturday, it will have been 358 days since the tackle that forever changed the lives of <span>Steve Zakuani</span> and <span>Brian Mullan</span>. The Sounders would go on to win that game and eventually put together a run of dominance the likes of which had seldom been seen in MLS history, but they would never really escape from the shadow of what could have been had that one regrettable moment not occurred. A great many things have changed since then; in the wake of the loss of Zakuani, the Sounders discovered the extent to which they'd lucked out in stumbling upon <span>Mauro Rosales</span>. The Rapids have undergone a complete overhaul that has resulted in their being one of the more attractive teams in MLS so far this season, beginning to move beyond a history of occasionally effective but perpetually unattractive soccer.<br><br>To this point, it's been a bit of a mixed bag results-wise for Óscar Pareja's side. While there's little doubt that the Rapids have been exponentially more enjoyable to watch this season, the transition to fluid, attacking soccer has not been without growing pains; at home Colorado have managed a pair of 2-0 wins over Columbus and Chicago, but on the road they've had a tougher time of things. A 2-1 win over an horrendous Philadelphia team is the outlier amongst a pair of lopsided losses to New York and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.rslsoapbox.com/">Real Salt Lake</a>. But at this point, it's far too early to pick up on specific trends; on the balance, the Rapids have been a good team against mediocre-to-poor competition and a poor team against strong competition. That's really all we have to go off of.<br><br><span>Omar Cummings</span>, one of Colorado's most potent weapons in years past, has had some trouble adjusting to his role as the lone central striker in the Rapids new configuration, as the position has a very different set of responsibilities than those to which he is accustomed. Cummings is gifted enough as an athlete and talented enough as a player to think that there's little reason to doubt his ability to eventually flourish, but as of yet it's been a struggle; though Cummings has netted two goals on the season, he's clearly looked uncomfortable a great deal and disappeared for long stretches of time (which is somewhat difficult when you're the lone striker in a 4-5-1 formation.) Without Cummings in the mix the Rapids are a significantly less dangerous side, reliant on goals from a midfield that is instead configured to get the ball to the striker.<br><br>It's always a bit difficult to know what to expect from a team playing such a drastically different style at such an early point in the season; gone is the long-ball heavy, physical, aerial-assault of years past. In its place is a much more fluid and technical style played out of a formation that has been described as a 4-3-3, a 4-2-3-1 and a 4-5-1; in truth, none of those descriptions is really inaccurate. The Rapids employ a very densely packed midfield that can be reconfigured on the fly to suit the situation, one of the few constants being young Argentine Martín Rivero acting as the central playmaker. Rivero seems to be a strong candidate for being man-marked by <span>Osvaldo Alonso</span>, as without his contributions the creativity level of the Rapids goes down significantly. Though they're playing a far different style (and at times doing so quite well) this is still largely Gary Smith's Rapids team, and words such as "creativity," "vision," "technique" and " flair" were removed from the Smith family dictionary generations ago.<br><br>The Rapids are clearly moving in a positive direction, but the transition is not yet complete; Pareja will need a bit more time for that yet. The key for Seattle will be to take advantage of those growing pains; if the Sounders can choke off the supply to Cummings, dominate the midfield battle and break down what has at times looked like a shaky Rapids defense, they'll likely coast to victory. That would be true of almost any game, but in this instance there is legitimate reason to believe that all of those goals are achievable. The biggest concerns for Seattle will be Fredy Montero's ability to deal with the Rapids' double-pivot midfield and how the right side of the attack copes with being forced to play without Mauro Rosales and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/fifa/players/150862/adam-johansson">Adam Johansson</a> once again. If Montero can be neutralized, <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/fifa/players/110948/alvaro-fernandez">Alvaro Fernandez</a> will be the Sounders primary attacking option; that's in no way a concern if he's at his typical level, but one need only look at the DC United game to see how anemic Seattle's attack can be if both Montero and Fernandez are non-factors.<br><br>Ultimately, just as Mullan's appearance in Seattle has overshadowed a lot of potentially interesting pre-match storylines, it will likely overshadow much of what takes place during the game. Mullan will not get a lukewarm reception from the crowd at CenturyLink, that much is certain. Every tackle will be scrutinized, every touch met with boos, every success jeered. It's understandable, but one can hope that once the whistle blows the focus will shift to what could be a very important early-season result for both sides.</span></p>
https://seattle.sbnation.com/seattle-sounders/2012/4/13/2946948/seattle-sounders-vs-colorado-rapids-oh-how-these-teams-have-changedAaron Campeau