The first MLS game of the season is in the books and what a game it was.  Not only was it the debut of the Seattle Sounders in MLS, but the product on the field was some of the best we’ve seen in MLS and the atmosphere was electric.  Poor defending and careless passing in the midfield spelled doom for the the NY Red Bulls.  NY started out brightly controlling most of the possession.   Seattle’s pressure and discipline proved too much for the Red Bulls and Seattle took control.  Poor marking allowed Le Toux to find a wide open Montero for Montero and Seattle’s first goal ever in MLS.  Montero turned provider a few minutes later, as he cleverly snuck a ball into the box for Brad Evans to slot home between Cepero’s legs.  Osorio quickly replaced Andrew Boyens with first round draft pick out of Maryland, Jeremy Hall. Hall helped stabalize the defense and keep Seattle in check until the half.  NY struggled in the second half as well, but did enjoy a few moments of good possession.  Unable to break Seattle’s backline, NY gave up one more goal in the 75th minute when Montero stripped Petke for a breakaway and cooley put the ball in the upper V.

In the end it was great peformance by Seattle and terrible day for New York.  To be fair, NY will probably never use that lineup again.  Players such as Johnson and Pacheco in the backline and former Real Madrid man, Celades, in the defensive mid spot could have helped keep the score more respectable.  We also can’t forget that Seth Stammler and Khano Smith should be ready go soon.  On the bright side Jeremy Hall had a great game.

Coach Schmid must be beaming with joy after his teams 3-0 performance.  Seattle showed that it has the players to be real contenders this year, but they can’tget over excited just yet.  NY was shakey at best and they will have much tougher competition down the road.  I think it was a great start for the expansion side both on and off the field. It was a positive start to what should be a great MLS season.

Here are my player ratings:

NY Red Bulls

Danny Cepero: 5, Did what he could with the defense he had in front of him.

Kevin Goldthwaite: 3, Didn’t close down on Montero for the first goal, gets a yellow card up field in the first half, and gets owned by Nyassi all game.

Mike Petke: 5, would have been 6 or 7 but getting stripped by Montero for Seattle’s 3rd goal dropped his rating.  One of the few bright spots on the NY team.

Andrew Boyens: 4, Taken off early by Osorio for Hall.  Probably should have been Goldthwaite taken out, but no other left back on the roster.

Carlos Mendes: 4, Seattle scored 3 goals.  It wasn’t a good day for any defender playing for the Red Bulls.

Sinisa Ubiparipovic: 4, Off night for the midfielder.  Didn’t show much during the first half and was substituted for the more athletic Borman at the half.

Juan Pietravallo: 5, not a bad game for the Argentian, but the Seattle Midfield is too much for him.  Started the game off very well, but Seattle quickly took over.

Dane Richards: 4, completely neutralized the whole game.

Jorge Rojas: 5, too slow.  Had moments of good skill but was overwhelmed by Seattle’s pressure.

Macoumba Kandji: 5, Hurtado’s bitch.  Was more of a factor than Dane Richards, but that doesn’t say much. Forced a great save from Keller in the second half.

Juan Pablo Angel: 5, smothered all night. The Seattle defense gave him no space despite all his hard-work.

Subs:

Jeremy Hall: 6, Looked good when he came on for Boyens.  Added some stability to the right side and helped stop the bleeding.

Danleigh Borman: 4, Should have just left Ubiparipovic on the field and saved a sub.

SeattleSounders

Kasey Keller: 6, only tested twice and came up with a brilliant save against Rojas.

Zach Scott: 6, Great game from the USL standout.

Tyrone Marshall: 7,  was the leadership the  back-line needed. Ran an organized and impenetrable defense.

Jhon Kennedy Hurtado: 7, dominating presence.

James Riley: 6, Defended well and got up the field well.

Sanna Nyassi: 7, owned the right side.  Displayed great speed, skill, and imagination. All that was missing was a goal.

Osvaldo Alonso: 8, One of Seattle’s best players.  Owned the middle of the pitch through hard tackling and great passing.

Brad Evans: 7, A goal and solid on both sides of the ball.  Making a case to keep his starting role once Ljunberg is healthy.

Sebastian Le Toux: 7, Proved he could handle the play in MLS.  Had a great assist on Montero’s first goal.

Nate Jaqua: 6, Did what was expected of a target forward.  Showed off some moves and was a great compliment for Montero.

Fredy Montero: 10, if there was ever a 10 performance, Montero had it.   He scored two goals, assisted one, and entertained with slick moves and passing.  Seattle hit the jackpot with this kid.  It is still very early in the seas0n but he showed he has the potential to be a weekly game breaker.  Also an early favorite for goal celebration of the year.

Subs:

Steve Zakuani:  6, did great in his limited time. I’d like to see what he can do with a full 90.

Roger Levesque: N/A

Seattle Sounders Front Office: 10

Seattle Sounders Fans: 11 !!!!!!!!

This entry was posted on Friday, March 20th, 2009 at 5:15 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.