Seattle Sounders News Release - www.seattlesounders.com

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

TUKWILA, WA -- Another game against Chivas USA, another victory -- and another trip to the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals for the Seattle Sounders. Taylor Graham headed in a Josh Gardner corner kick in the 43rd minute, and Sebastien LeToux bounced in a shot at the outset of the 80th minute, giving the Sounders a 2-0 victory against Chivas on Tuesday night at Starfire Sports Complex in front of 2,997 fans.

“Because we beat them last year (3-1 in a third-round game at Qwest Field), expectations were a little different,” Graham said. “We feel we’re a good team and can compete against any team in this country. We relish the opportunity to do that against an MLS team.”

Now, having made it to the quarterfinals for the second straight season, the Sounders will take on the Kansas City Wizards of MLS next Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Qwest. Tickets go on sale Wednesday morning at www.ticketmaster.com. Prices are $17 in advance, or $20 on game night.

It will be the second time Seattle and Kansas City have matched up in quarterfinal play. The Wizards rolled to a 4-0 victory at Kansas City in a second-round game in 2001.

“This makes people truly believe we have good players on this team,” Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer said, “and that (last year) wasn’t a fluke.”

The Sounders got one in late in the 43rd minute after a near-miss moments earlier.

Kenji Treschuk started the original play that almost resulted in a goal. Playing on the right wing just on Seattle’s side of the midfield stripe, Treschuk sent a long through ball downfield, where LeToux got behind his defender and caught up to it. He went one-on-one with Chivas goalkeeper Brad Guzan, but Guzan made a sliding save, sending the ball over the goal line to set up the corner kick.

Gardner took the kick from the right quadrant. Graham came all the way across the box from the left side, met the ball at the right post, and flicked it across the goalmouth and into the back left corner.

Seattle was still hanging onto that lead at the approach of the 80th minute when Chivas took a dangerous free kick 20 yards up from the net just to the right of the arc. Sacha Kljestan, Chivas’ leading scorer with five goals for the season, blasted a shot toward the right post that Sounders goalkeeper Chris Eylander went to his knees to save.

Eylander punted the ball way downfield, and LeToux, crossing the turf from the left side of the box, caught up with it. He played it on a bounce off the turf, and with Guzan also having come out to play the ball, he launched it toward the open goalmouth. Before Guzan could turn around and get back to the net, it bounced in for a 2-0 lead at 79:02.

In addition to LeToux’ try that Guzan saved late in the first half, the Sounders had another near-miss. Late in the 18th minute, Gardner took a corner kick from the right side that went all the way to the far post, where Zach Scott was waiting. Scott and a Chivas defender got tangled, and Scott went down, but no call was made.

Unlike last Saturday night, when Seattle scored a late goal, only to give up a late one that allowed Montreal to escape with a 1-1 tie in a United Soccer Leagues First Division game, it kept the defense tight this time.

“There’s not all that much time to work on stuff, so it’s more of a mentality. It’s something we discussed in the locker room,” Graham said. “We have to close out games.

“That goal at the end, it feels so good to have that cushion,” he added. “We learned the hard way after giving up one to Montreal on Saturday, it felt like a loss, even though we drew.”

QUICK KICKS -- The Sounders return to USL-1 play on Thursday with a trip to Carolina. The Railhawks, coming off their Open Cup loss to Kansas City on Tuesday, dealt Seattle one of its two defeats in league play, 2-1 in Cary, N.C., on May 28. The Sounders will remain on the East Coast after the game, playing at Charleston on Saturday. The Battery joined Seattle as one of three lower-division teams to beat MLS competition in Open Cup play on Tuesday. Despite playing with just nine men for the last 17 minutes of extra time, Charleston ousted defending MLS Cup champion Houston in penalty kicks, 4-3, after the teams battled to a 1-1 draw through 120 minutes. … Crystal Palace Baltimore of the USL Second Division, beat the New York Red Bulls, 2-0. ... Defender Danny Jackson returned to action for the first time since Seattle’s 2-0 win at Vancouver on May 23. Jackson missed eight games with a foot injury.