Montero fights for the ball today against the
Rapids. Aaron Weinberg/NSS
Nate Jaqua scored two goals and an assist to help Sounders FC solidify a comfortable 3-0 victory against the Colorado Rapids today at the XBox Pitch.
Fredy Montero scored the opening goal in the first half of the match for his eighth goal of the season.
"Obviously it's good to get three goals," head coach Sigi Schmid said. "Artistically, this was probably not our best match, but you have to find ways to win like that."
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The Colorado Rapids established possession early in the game, but several fouls led to three yellow cards for Ugo Ihemelu, Pablo Mastroeni and Scott Palguta in the first half.
Steve Zakuani did not feature at all due to an ankle injury he suffered during practice on Thursday. Sanna Nyassi was inserted into the starting lineup on the right of midfield and the winger's tenacity earned Seattle the corner that would lead to the first goal in the 23rd minute.
James Riley played a ball into the corner and Nyassi pressed the Colorado defender into losing possession over the endline for a corner.
Freddie Ljungberg stepped up to take the corner kick, which was flicked on at the near post by Jaqua right into the path of Montero, who drifted toward the goal line to guide the ball with his head into the back of the net.
After another Ljungberg set piece forced Colorado goalkeeper Matt Pickens into tipping the ball over the crossbar, Colorado were handed a lifeline in the 33rd minute thanks to a handball by Osvaldo Alonso on the other end of the field.
A Colorado free kick taken by Colin Clark struck Alonso on its way toward goal and the referee's assistant waved for referee Alex Prus to point to the spot. Omar Cummings stepped up to take the penalty kick in the 35th minute, but he sent his shot careening off the crossbar and away from Kasey Keller's goal.
Alonso was then substituted just before halftime with what appeared to be a left groin strain, and Patrick Ianni was called upon to replace the mercurial Cuban in the middle of the field.
Seattle found themselves up two goals three minutes into the second half, as Jaqua settled a ball with his back turned to goal. Jaqua flicked a ball to Montero, who returned the pass and Jaqua made no mistake, dispatching the ball into the left-hand corner with only Pickens to beat.
The second goal appeared to have taken the wind out of Colorado's sails. Although the Rapids outshot the Sounders 14 to seven, only two shots forced Keller into making saves.
In the 68th minute, there was no doubt of the victory as Jaqua and Montero again linked up for Seattle's third goal.
A long ball played by Ljungberg to substitute Sebastian Le Toux started a Seattle counterattack. Le Toux, who dribbled into Colorado's half, played a ball to Montero's feet at the edge of the 18-yard line.
Montero flicked the ball over his foot to a streaking Jaqua, who swept the ball past Pickens for his second goal of the match and his sixth of the season.
The Rapids had their best chance of scoring in the 90th minute as substitute Jacob Peterson made a run at the Sounders defense. Peterson's ball into the box found Cummings all alone in front of goal, but he was only able to blast the ball up over the bar with Keller completely beaten.
With the final whistle, Seattle wrapped up three points at home and have now taken eight points from the last four matches. The win gives the third-placed Sounders a four-point cushion over Colorado in the Western Conference, and Seattle has now won the season series over the conference rivals.
The Sounders will now turn their attention to a U.S. Open Cup match against the Portland Timbers on Wednesday in the hopes of staying in the knockout tournament.
Reach Jesse Amorratanasuchad at nextseasonsports@gmail.com
