Things didn't get off to the best start for Seattle with Sainey Nyassi scoring from outside the box off a short corner to put the New England Revolution on top 1-0, and Sigi Schmid was forced to burn a sub in the 17th minute when Jeff Parke left the game with a migraine. The Sounders were the better side for the majority of the first half but New England's defense was solid and the Revs held onto their lead as the clock ticked past the half hour mark.
In the 34th minute Seattle won a free kick at the edge of the box and Tyson Wahl curled an absolute stunner into Matt Reis' top right corner, leveling terms and bringing CenturyLink Field to full voice. It was Wahl's first MLS goal and was as good as any the Sounders have scored all season, and just over five minutes later Alvaro Fernandez put Seattle ahead 2-1 after getting on the end of a beautiful sequence of passes from Mauro Rosales and Roger Levesque and finishing well past Reis.
The Sounders were clearly looking for a third and come out with attacking intent on display in the second half, but the Revolution looked significantly more organized at the back than they had in the final quarter hour of the first and the Sounders had a great deal of difficulty finding a way through. Sigi Schmid opted to attempt a style more geared towards controlling possession, bringing on Pat Noonan to improve the hold-up play in transition. The strategy was successful, but the end of the game was not without its heart-in-throat moments; Kasey Keller was forced into a fantastic save after Shalrie Joseph nearly equalized with a headed chance off a corner and Zack Schilawski saw a driven chance from well outside the box beat Keller but deflect off the woodwork.
In the end, the Sounders were able to capitalize on their dominant performance and run their unbeaten streak to six games. Seattle have now picked up nine points in eight days, bringing them within four points behind their next opponent LA Galaxy in the same number of games played and level with FC Dallas in second place in the Western Conference. Though Seattle are still a tick behind LA and Dallas in terms of points per match, no team in MLS is on better form over the past few months and with reinforcements likely to begin arriving with the open of the transfer window on July 15th, the Sounders have to be considered contenders for the Supporters Shield. It's a fairly stunning turnaround from the earlier part of the season, when injuries and poor results making even a solid playoff seeding look a tall order.
Seattle take on the Kitsap Pumas on Tuesday at Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila before traveling to Los Angeles to face the Galaxy in the season's first real "six-pointer" on the 4th of July. If the Sounders manage a result at the Home Depot Center, the second half of the year could shape up to be very interesting indeed.