Montero led the Sounders with two goals.
Aaron Weinberg / NSS
The Sounders stunned Major League Soccer, becoming only the second of seven expansion teams to win its inaugural game, joining the Chicago Fire, who won its first in 1998.
MLS First Kick saw an onslaught of goals and only two teams (Seattle and New England) recording shutouts during opening weekend. The win saw Seattle jump into the top 10 in ESPN's MLS power rankings, behind Chicago, Columbus, Houston, New England and Toronto.
To continue...
Thursday March 19, 2009
Sounders FC 3 - 0 NY Red Bulls
Fredy Montero (12') scored the first MLS goal for Seattle, slotting the ball into the bottom left corner after being played in by Sebastian Le Toux from the left side. Brad Evans (25') gave the Sounders a 2-0 lead going into halftime, Montero providing the chance and Evans rolling the ball between NY keeper Danny Cepero's legs.
Sounders goalie Kasey Keller had nothing to do in the first half, but was called into action in the second, making two key saves against Jorge Rojas and Macoumba Kandji. Montero (75') sent the Red Bulls packing, nabbing the ball from NY defender Mike Petke before lifting the ball past Cepero for his second goal of the game. Montero was named Man of the Match and MLS Player of the Week.
Saturday March 21, 2009
Columbus Crew 1 - 1 Houston Dynamo
Brian Ching (53') gave Houston a second-half lead before Columbus rallied behind 2008 MLS-Cup MVP Guillermo Barros Schelotto (83'), who scored a controlled volley to level the match. Both clubs left the game with a point after some promising soccer throughout.
Chicago Fire 3 - 1 Dallas FC
Pizza Hut Park was home to a possible goal of the year candidate after Dallas's Kenny Cooper (9') scored from midfield to give the Texas club an early lead. Chicago's Justin Mapp (38') leveled the match before half time. The Fire scored two goals in the second half through Brian McBride (51') from the penalty spot and Cuauhtemoc Blanco (94') from a late freekick in stoppage time.
Toronto FC 3 - 2 Kansas City Wizards
Toronto were never behind during the match, a goal from Jim Brennan (33') giving them a first half lead. Amado Guevara (53') made it 2-0 before Davey Arnaud (56') brought Kansas City closer with a stunning left-footed strike from 25 yards to make it 2-1. Guevara (62') settled matters six minutes later before Arnaud (76') scored his second goal with his right foot from a similar position as his first goal.
Colorado Rapids 1 - 2 Chivas USA
Chivas USA rallied in the second half after Omar Cummings (30') gave Colorado a first-half lead. Chivas midfielder Paulo Nagamura scored two goals in four minutes (55' & 59') to give the Los Angeles club the victory.
New England Revolution 1 - 0 San Jose Earthquakes
New England keeper Matt Reis recorded the only other shutout during the MLS opening weekend, Kheli Dube (55') nabbing a second-half goal to give the Revolution the win. Dube was played through by Jeff Larentowicz before finishing with his left foot from six yards out.
D.C. United 2 - 2 L.A. Galaxy
The Galaxy left it late to grab a point at home against D.C. Christian Gomez (44') scored from the penalty spot just before halftime and Chris Pontius (62') looked to have solidified a 2-0 win for United. U.S. International Landon Donovan (80') scored from the penalty spot with ten minutes left before tying the game five minutes later with a strike in the 85th minute.
Check out the league tables after the first week at MLSnet.
Reach Jesse Amorratanasuchad at nextseasonsports@gmail.com
