SB Nation Seattle - Seattle Sounders Thrash LA Galaxy 4-0, Put The Rest Of MLS On Noticehttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48997/seattle-fave.png2012-08-06T00:34:23-07:00http://seattle.sbnation.com/rss/stream/29867642012-08-06T00:34:23-07:002012-08-06T00:34:23-07:00Alex Caskey Out-David Beckhams David Beckham With A Brilliant Long-Range Goal
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.sounderatheart.com/">Seattle Sounders</a> ran <span>David Beckham's</span> <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.lagconfidential.com/">LA Galaxy</a> off the pitch on Sunday night with a 4-0 victory, and on a night full of memorable moments perhaps none was more stunning than Caskey's long-range chip that caught LA keeper <span>Josh Saunders</span> well off his line and put the Sounders ahead 3-0.</p>
<p>Caskey has been an up-and-down figure for the Sounders this season, showing flashes of brilliance marred by reminders of his youth and inexperience all year long, but his performance on Sunday evening was tremendous. Caskey was everywhere for Seattle, wreaking havoc down the Galaxy's right flank all evening long and figuring heavily in many of the Sounders best attacking moves of the evening. The young winger is still a work in progress, but in putting together the best game of his career in what was unarguably his team's most important game of the season, Caskey has clearly taken a step forward. If he can make good on the promise he's shown at times this season, tonight may well be looked back upon as his coming out party.</p>
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<h4>VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP </h4>
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https://seattle.sbnation.com/seattle-sounders/2012/8/6/3222769/alex-caskey-seatle-sounders-la-galaxy-golazoAaron Campeau2012-08-06T00:20:11-07:002012-08-06T00:20:11-07:00Seattle Sounders Run Rampant Over LA Galaxy 4-0
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.sounderatheart.com/">Seattle Sounders</a> side that everyone expected at the beginning of the season made their first appearance on Sunday at CenturyLink Field. Eddie Johnson put Seattle ahead in the 6th minute and the Sounders never looked back, adding another three in the second half and picking up an impressive win in the season's biggest game. Seattle's performance was as close to flawless as is likely to be seen, with the Sounders asserting dominance in every phase of the game and demonstrating the quality with which they're capable of playing against a very strong opponent.</p>
<p>Johnson's goal came from a piece of vintage <span>Mauro Rosales</span> playmaking, the Sounders captain sending a perfectly place early cross into the middle of the area for the striker to meet with his head and send the 60,000+ fans in attendance into rapture. Seattle would continue to boss play for the remainder of the half, but the Galaxy's defense would bend without breaking and leave the visitors with some hope as the teams made their way to the locker room. It wouldn't take long for the Sounders to extend their lead after the break, however; <span>Fredy Montero</span> backheeled a ball into the path of <span>Alex Caskey</span> whose first-time effort was blocked by <span>Josh Saunders</span>, but Montero latched onto the rebound and sent a floating effort past the Galaxy keeper and into the top right corner. Nine minutes later Alex Caskey put the game to bed, sending an audacious but perfectly taken chip past the off-his-line Saunders from long range. <span>Andy Rose</span> put the icing on the cake in the 88th minute, tucking home a first-time effort after a brilliant low cross from <span>Marc Burch</span>.</p>
<p>It's difficult to find fault with the performance of any Sounders player; on the offensive side of the ball the team showed a level of chemistry and understanding unlike anything that's been seen all season long, with each element of the attack playing off of the strengths of the other and tormenting the Galaxy back line all night long. Despite LA's statistical edge in possession, the Seattle midfield clearly bossed the game. The defense was largely impenetrable, and on the rare occasions that they did allow a Galaxy attack to threaten the goal there was some last-ditch defending or excellent goalkeeping from <span>Michael Gspurning</span> to keep LA at zero. The Sounders desperately needed a few big performances, and they got 14 of them; from top to bottom, Seattle was tremendous, and though the performances of Mauro Rosales, Alex Caskey, <span>Patrick Ianni</span>, and <span>Leo Gonzalez</span> will loom large there wasn't a single player in Rave Green that could be said to have put in a shift rating a level below excellent.</p>
<p>The key now is to make sure the quality of this performance can be carried over into the rest of the season. Wednesday brings the US Open Cup final and the possibility of an unprecedented fourth straight win and another season of CONCACAF Champions League play. The league-leading <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.centerlinesoccer.com/">San Jose Earthquakes</a> come to town on Saturday, and a win would bring Seattle to within four points of the top spot in the league. Just a week later, the Sounders will host the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.eightysixforever.com/">Vancouver Whitecaps</a> in a game that could have huge playoff implications where playoff positioning is concerned. This is brutal, brutal stretch of games. But if this team can play half as well over this run of games as they did tonight, this could turn out to be a very special season indeed.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></p>
https://seattle.sbnation.com/seattle-sounders/2012/8/6/3222731/seattle-sounders-la-galaxy-match-review-4-0Aaron Campeau2012-08-05T10:00:16-07:002012-08-05T10:00:16-07:00Seattle Sounders Host LA Galaxy In The Biggest Match Of The Season So Far
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<p>Two clubs expected to challenge for the Supporters Shield nearly saw their season derailed by injuries and long stretches of under-performance. With both seemingly having put the worst behind them, Sunday's clash between the Galaxy and the Sounders could go a long way towards determining which side's early season struggles will have the biggest impact on postseason positioning. </p> <p>The last time the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.lagconfidential.com/">LA Galaxy</a> visited Seattle, the Sounders dispatched them with ease as they continued on with the best start in team history. The Galaxy were struggling mightily, near the bottom of the Western Conference standings, their era of dominance appearing to have come to an end. Just ten days later, the Sounders lost at home to <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.rslsoapbox.com/">Real Salt Lake</a> and didn't win another game in MLS for another two months. Meanwhile, in LA, the Galaxy would start to get healthy and shortly thereafter, they'd start to look something like their old selves. Now, coming into this game, the Sounders are unbeaten in MLS in over a month and the Galaxy have rocketed up the standings with as good a run of form as you're likely to see all year.</p>
<p>That's not to say things are back to where they were expected to be at the beginning of the season; though their performances over the past month have been a significant improvement over the mid-season slump, it's still apparent that the team is often underplaying its potential. And despite the Galaxy's scorching form in July, they still are only in fifth place in the Western Conference, good enough for the last playoff spot. As it stands the Galaxy would be forced to win an opening round playoff game, while the Sounders would once again be forced to face off against Real Salt Lake-this time without the benefit of home field advantage in the playoff's second leg. Another slip could see Seattle drop out of the top three and into a place that would require them to participate in the single-elimination opening playoff round.</p>
<p>For both sides, preseason hopes of a Supporters Shield run have taken a back seat to hopes of avoiding a torturous path to the MLS Cup. And with things as tight as they are at the back end of the Western Conference playoff race, this game could have a huge impact in the way things look come November. Seattle has two games in hand over LA and will have another crack at the Galaxy when they travel to the Home Depot Center for the season's final game, but a win in this game would give the Sounders some much-needed breathing room. By the same token, the Galaxy would leapfrog both Vancouver and Seattle by picking up three points, and putting their disastrous start to find themselves in a position to avoid the play-in round of the playoffs would be a major boost heading into the last ten games of the season.</p>
<p>In addition to their strong form, the Galaxy have one other significant advantage heading into this game; Seattle is currently in the middle of the biggest stretch of their season, with Sunday's crucial match followed on Wednesday by the US Open Cup final in Kansas City and a date with the league-leading <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.centerlinesoccer.com/">San Jose Earthquakes</a> looming large on Saturday. Seattle has three games in the space of six days that could all go a long way towards defining their season; wins against both LA and San Jose would bring the Sounders to within four points of the Earthquakes, while the importance of winning a fourth consecutive US Open Cup likely can't be overstated. And once this current four-games-in-nine-days gauntlet has completed, Seattle will get a week off before hosting the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.eightysixforever.com/">Vancouver Whitecaps</a>, who currently sit directly behind them in the standings.</p>
<p>The importance of this game certainly won't be lost on the team, but actually winning the game is quite another matter. And as is the case with most teams, defensive organization is going to be key to accomplishing that goal. When the Sounders have struggled, a lack of discipline at the back has more often than not been one of the biggest contributing factors; Seattle's defense has looked to be among the league's best for long stretches of the season, but at other times it's looked a complete shambles. The Sounders have shown a particular weakness to defending the counter -which likely won't be much surprise to those that have been watching the team from the beginning- and against a team that features <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/fifa/players/110934/landon-donovan">Landon Donovan</a> on the wing and <span>David Beckham's</span> right foot in the middle. The Sounders have also had issues closing down players outside of the box, allowing a frustrating number of long-range goals and the poaching that often accompanies deflected long range attempts at goal. With <span>Robbie Keane</span> in the Galaxy side, there's ample threat of both. The Galaxy's three Designated Players are just too good to be neutralized if they're on their game, but they can be impeded; quite simply, Seattle must force LA to beat them rather than the Sounders doing the damage to themselves. </p>
<p>From an attacking standpoint, the Galaxy defense is significantly better than it was prior to the return of <span>Omar Gonzalez</span>, but it's far from the elite unit that allowed just 28 goals in 2011. Seattle has the attacking firepower to break them down, but it will need a big game from at least one of <span>Fredy Montero</span> and <span>Mauro Rosales</span>. Montero has cooled noticeably in recent weeks, while Rosales has been inconsistent all season. Montero was tremendous in mid-week against Caledonia, but that quality needs to return to MLS play if he hopes for 2012 to show marked improvement over 2011. Rosales has battled against injury and the poor form that often accompanies recovery all season, and though he's been much better over the past month he's still not back to consistently being the player he was last year. If the Sounders are going to fully turn things around and make a deep run into the playoffs, they need their captain to find his stride once again.</p>
<p>There's a tremendous amount riding on this game, and coming as it does in the middle of such a crucial string of games it could set the tone for the remainder of the season. The Sounders are talented enough to be the best team in the league, and at times this season they've shown it. But they haven't done it nearly often enough. Thankfully, there's still plenty of time left to find a winning rhythm that can carry them down the stretch and into the playoffs at their best. But if they can't find it for this game, the window to do so will become just that much smaller. </p>
https://seattle.sbnation.com/seattle-sounders/2012/8/5/3221008/seattle-sounders-la-galaxy-match-previewAaron Campeau