The Seattle Sounders put their CONCACAF Championns League loss behind them in a big way, beating Toronto FC 3-1 on the strength of a David Estrada hat trick. The Reds were hurt badly by the early loss of captain Torsten Frings and Estrada was quick to take advantage of the open space in the center of the pitch, latching on to through ball after through ball to put a tremendous amount of pressure on the Toronto back line.
Estrada's first goal was a lesson in pure resilience, latching onto a well placed pass from Alvaro Fernandeez before poking the ball away from Miloš Kocić twice and finishing amidst a goalmouth scramble. That's how it went to the half, but it wouldn't take long for the Sounders to double their lead with Estrada latching onto a wonderful ball from Alvaro Fernandez in the 51st minute. Toronto would bring some intrigue back to the proceedings after Ryan Johnson scored a tremendous curled effort from outside the are just ten minutes later but Estrada would put things out of reach within 60 seconds with another fantastic effort assisted by Fernandez.
This was a tremendous full-team win with excellent performances turned in by presumed second-choice players Patrick Ianni and all three goals courtesy of a striker whose most likely position was thought to be right back as recently as three months ago. After a disappointing (to say the least) result mid-week, this was the complete performance the Sounders desperately needed to get the season started on the right foot.