Jaqua fights for the ball against a Dynamo defender.
Aaron Weinberg/NSS
It wasn't pretty. But it never is when the winning goal comes off the foot of a backup defender.
Thus was the case for the Sounders, as they pulled one game closer to the Western Conference leaders Houston Dynamo with a 2-1 victory today at the X-Box Pitch.
After gaining the equalizer late in the first half, the Sounders didn't take long to go up in the second. Defender Patrick Ianni scored his first goal of the season off a bicycle kick in the 46th minute.
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He said it was probably his first bicycle kick goal since he was 6 years old and didn't even know the ball went in until Fredy Montero grabbed his shoulders from behind.
"I thought I'd hear something a lot quicker than I did, and Fredy Montero shook me as if I'd fallen asleep," he said. "Obviously I'd never practiced anything like that. You try to do your best to put it on a frame, and fortunately it went in."
The goal began with a Freddie Ljungberg corner kick, which went to Jhon Kennedy Hurtado at the top of the goal box. Hurtado headed the ball to the right corner of the goal, where Ianni was one-on-one.
The Dynamo defender whiffed on the clear attempt, and with his back to the goal, Ianni performed his best attempt at a bicycle kick. It was good enough, as Dynamo goalkeeper Pat Onstad was out of position to even attempt a save.
The play came as a bit of a makeup to Ianni's mistake in the first half, which directly led to the Dynamo's only goal.
He lost control of the ball within the box, and the Dynamo were able to turn it into an open, dead-center shot, which Dynamo midfielder Brad Davis easily put past Kasey Keller into the back of the net.
The defense gave up a total of eight shots in the first half but picked up play in the second, Ianni included. James Riley especially played well all game long, shutting down the right side of the field.
He made perhaps one of the most important defensive plays of the game for Seattle, outright stealing the ball from the Dynamo, who had a two-on-two situation. It ended what could have been the Dynamo's best scoring chance in the second half.
Goalkeeper Kasey Keller said the team played with a much better attitude in the second half.
"We played a little sloppy to start the game, and we paid the price for it," he said. "But then we caught them sleeping at the beginning of the second half, and then we held out well. We were by far the team that looked more likely to get the next goal."
The equalizer came off the duo of Nate Jaqua and Montero, who played as well together as they have all season. After a few near goals, Jaqua connected with Montero on a deep one-touch lob.
Montero trapped it, he bobbled it, but then he finally found the back of the net, shooting over the head of Onstad.
Assistant coach Brian Schmetzer, who filled in today as head coach for Sigi Schmid, said he explained to Montero several weeks ago that he needed to work well on the field with Jaqua.
"I demanded this from him; he needs to be Nate Jaqua's best friend," Schmetzer said.
Montero said the two have been working well together, despite the language barrier, and it is beginning to show on the field with the goal.
"Nate controlled the ball, I had time to indicate where I wanted and with great mastery, he found the spot," he said.
It was Montero's team-high ninth goal of the season and extends his goal scoring streak to five games, more than any other player in the MLS this season.
Seattle would continue to get scoring opportunities in the first half, but Onstad made several saves, including a one-handed block of Steve Zakuani's point-blank shot in the 43rd minute.
The win vaults the Sounders FC into second place in the Western Conference standings, one point ahead of Chivas USA. They still trail the Dynamo in first by three points.
Reach Jeff Richards at nextseasonsports@gmail.com
