Seattle Sounders FC did what no other MLS team has been able to do this season -- defeat D.C. United on their home turf in a league match. Completely against the run of play, Sounders FC got an 84th-minute goal from Fredy Montero to defeat United 2-1 at RFK Stadium for the second time in 10 days and collect a critical three points in the crowded playoff standings.
Sounders FC had also defeated United by the same score on Sept. 2 to capture the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, their first trophy as an MLS club.
Sounders FC picked up right where they left off from that match, briefly quieting the energetic crowd as Steve Zakuani slipped behind Bryan Namoff and nutmegged goalkeeper Josh Wicks to give Seattle an early 1-0 lead. Peter Vagenas played a long, low ball out of the back perfectly through the inside-left channel, and with Wicks hesitating just slightly in his decision to come off his line, the first overall selection in this year's SuperDraft took advantage for his fourth goal of the season.
The home side didn't take the early deficit lying down, however. After some nifty, bordering on clumsy, dribbling by Santino Quaranta that kept the ball alive for United near the left side of midfield, he collected himself enough to exchange a ball with Ben Olsen and play a wonderful diagonal ball to Fred, who snuck in behind Leo Gonzalez on the back side. The lanky Brazilian's touch failed him however, allowing Kasey Keller to sweep up the loose ball just in time and avert potential danger in the 10th minute.
Both teams exchanged decent possession in and around midfield, creating some marginal chances as the half progressed with neither team having many fruitful ideas in the final third. The Sounders looked to continue to exploit Zakuani's speed down the left flank as his supreme battle with Namoff spilled over from the U.S. Open Cup final last week.
In the 37th minute, Sebastian Le Toux won a foot race and found and finally found a crease but an alert Wicks atoned for his earlier gaffe, darting out with a strong slide to deny the Frenchman. However, Montero collected the rebound and with ample space on the left side of the penalty area, fired a bullet that missed over the top.
Sounders FC missed the savvy and creativity of Freddie Ljungberg in the midfield as the Swedish legend was suspended for yellow card accumulation. Jhon Kennedy Hurtado returned to his customary location in the middle of central defense after missing the U.S. Open Cup win on red-card suspension from Seattle's semifinal win against Houston.
After an uneventful start to the second stanza, the suspense of the match took a sharp upturn in the 54th minute when Rodney Wallace equalized for United, picking up a loose ball in the penalty area and slotting past Keller just inside the left.
Despite struggling with his first touch for most of the night, the United rookie ventured forward with a probing run through midfield. He tried to play wide to Luciano Emilio from an innocuous run from midfield, and when the ball was deflected back into the center by a Sounders defender, Wallace alertly picked it up and raced into the box.
Seattle countered quickly with Le Toux bending a perfectly weighted, chest-high ball into Montero's path at the near post, but Wicks beat the Colombian sharpshooter to the spot to foil the chance.
Sounders FC followed that up in the 65th minute on a play where Zakuani appeared to be offside, but as the speedy winger was allowed to continue with his deep run, his last touch got away from him, giving Wicks the opportunity he needed to knock the ball away. That rebound went only as far as the edge of the 6-yard box where Montero blasted a left-footed shot into the side netting from a severe angle.
United tilted the field in their favor for a significant stretch as Ben Olsen responded with two cracks from distance in the 67th and 72nd minutes that required capable efforts from Keller to keep the score deadlocked.
Emilio then had two turns a few minutes later, muscling through James Riley to collect a flick-on from Moreno but wasting the chance with a weak shot from inside the box that barely got Keller's attention. He got his attention a few minutes later however -- going through Hurtado and losing a shoe in the process -- but was dismissed on a good save by Keller at the left near post.
United continued to pour it on late as Moreno, despite being openly held by Patrick Ianni, got free to deliver a crafty ball to the near post for a sliding Olsen, who had crept behind the back line on an opportune run from the back side.
But as the game seemed to sour for Seattle, Montero darted into an open space behind the United back line, latching on to a quick ball from Riley and pounding a right-footed shot, beating Wicks to the upper near corner from 14 yards out for the winning tally.
Seattle will play host to Chivas USA in a pivotal match with playoff implications next Saturday at Qwest Field, while D.C. United next face league competition when they entertain San Jose on Sept. 27 in a crucial game to keep their postseason ambitions alive.
Chris Snear is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
