American Soccer News

Not even an opponent scoring three goals can stop the red-hot Seattle Sounders these days.

Behind goals from Alvaro Fernandez, Roger Levesque, Fredy Montero and Mauro Rosales, the Sounders knocked off the defending champion Colorado Rapids 4-3 at home on Saturday in a thrilling match. Seattle had to come back from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits, just as they had against Portland last Sunday.

“Who says soccer’s not exciting?” said Sounders coach Sigi Schmid. “Obviously the character we showed again coming back after being down twice was superb. My hat’s off to the team in that regard.”

Both sides hit the back of the net repeatedly, but it was Mauro Rosales’s goal in the 84th minute to make the score 4-2 that proved to be the difference.

The result continues a sparkling run for Seattle’s offense. The Sounders have an undefeated streak in their past 11 games. They have scored 10 goals in their past 3 games in all competitions – all of which were wins.

Just one minute into the game, it didn’t look like the run was going to be continued. Seattle gave the ball away easily and it fell to Wells Thompson at the top of the box, who lashed it into a net to give the Rapids a 1-0 lead inside of 70 seconds.

But the Sounders didn’t take long to respond, tying the game back up in the 5th minute. Alvaro Fernandez received a long pass, shook off his defender and sliced his shot home.

Colorado would re-take the lead towards the end of the first half on another Sounders defensive mistake. The home side left Jeff Larentowicz unmarked at the top of the box, and he slammed a left-footed shot off the far post, past Kasey Keller and in.

Keller was not entirely pleased with the defensive play from his side.

“That was shocking,” he said. “Our discipline and defending was just not there today. The positives you have to take out of that is that when you have a day like that defensively, and you’re able to win the game, that’s tremendous. It shows a lot of spirit.”

The Sounders tied the game for a second time just minutes into the second half, with Roger Levesque flicking in a cross from Mauro Rosales. Schmid said after the game that he thinks Levesque is playing as well as he has in his career.

Seattle’s other striker Montero took the lead for the Sounders in the 82nd minute. Substitute Brad Evans’s shot was deflected up into the air by Matt Pickens, and Montero was lurking at the far post to poke it home with a precise diving header.

Rosales put in the 4th goal of the afternoon for Seattle just two minutes later on a breakaway – and it was a goal that would prove crucial when Colorado scored again in the 90th minute.

“We never give up,” Rosales said. “They scored against us and we always work out to come back in the game. We score important goals in that game and I’m very happy about that.”

After a week full of games and goals, Seattle will get a bit of a break with no competitive games in the coming week – just a high-profile friendly match against Manchester United, one of the top teams in the world. But the way the Sounders are playing, they might be capable of beating just about anybody.

“Right now we’re 22 games in, and we have some more games to go and we want to maintain this,” Schmid said. “The guys have gone through a good run and now it’s time to relax a little bit, take a deep breath and prepare for the next stage.”

Week 15's Best XI has several new inclusions as we hit the halfway point of what has proven to be a very interesting season. Kansas City, however, looking lost for the past several weeks, rode the quality play of their shotstopper to a much-needed week of results. The Union found more late game dramatics to secure three points at PPL Park, led by a fan favorite who just celebrated an impressive milestone. The battle for Player of the Week in the end went against the grain and to someone that has kept his squad in a match more times than any of us could count. Read on here.

Sebastien Le Toux strengthened his bid for an All-Star spot with a goal and an assist as the Union got back to their winning ways in front of 17,251 at PPL Park. Breton Bonnette reports from Chester, Pa., with photo gallery supplied by Terry McLaughlin.

The New York Red Bulls played another listless performance Saturday night and this time were punished by an efficient Columbus Crew squad. By taking all three points from the match, the Crew move five points clear of the Red Bulls in the Eastern Conference standings. John Zidar reports from Crew Stadium. The RBNY reaction.

The Colorado Rapids found themselves down by a goal 20 minutes into the match against the Kansas City Wizards at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on Saturday night, but hometown striker Conor Casey scored the equalizer in the 74th minute and almost earned three points for his team with another shot in the 89th minute. Pat Shea reports from Commerce City, Colo., complete with player ratings from both teams so be sure to check it out!

A whirlwind start to post-World Cup 2010 life produced goals galore for some and continued heartbreak for many. Real Salt Lake and Los Angeles continue to show that their the cream of the crop while D.C. United and New England - once virtual locks for the top of the Eastern Conference - fall to the bottom of the league table. Week Thirteen's player of the week is a maestro that has followed up a down 2009 season with a 2010 season that warrants all of the MVP talk surrounding him. ASN Philly's got the goods so check 'em out!

The LA Galaxy enter the two-week World Cup break undefeated after beating the visiting Houston Dynamo 4-1. Forward Jovan Kirovski led the scoring charge with a first-half brace while forward Tristan Bowen and midfielder Alex Cazumba supplied the second half strikes. It took just 47 seconds for the Galaxy to get on the board. Ivan Yeo reports from the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.

From the nation’s capital, Steve Long reports on the changing fortunes of DC United and identifies the factors that have ushered in what could be a new era after all. Or is that an old one?

The New York Red Bulls defeated Chivas USA 1-0 in the last MLS match before the World Cup break for both teams. It was a lethargic affair from two very tired teams, punctuated only by Seth Stammler’s highlight goal, occasional roughhousing and questionable refereeing decisions (or non-decisions). Here ASN’s player rankings for the victorious home side.

Two organized defensive units grappled scoreless for 85 minutes at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on Saturday night, but three key changes late in the game gave the Colorado Rapids a dramatic 1-0 victory over the Columbus Crew. Pat Shea has that report , including Rapids player ratings.

The Chicago Fire were outplayed throughout the majority of their match against the visiting Philadelphia Union, but capitalized on their chances and reaped the benefits of all three points. Jeff Tobin has the partisan view from Bridgeview, Ill., and Breton Bonnette supplies player ratings for the Union.

The Seattle Sounders soundly defeated the New England Revolution by a score of 3-0. Here is a photo gallery supplied by David Lindsay.

That will do it for MLS coverage for a little while, at least from the ASN home page. Local team-specific sites (links in the right column) will have updates over the next two weeks, but this site will be mainly devoted to that little tournament in South Africa, where ASN will be on the ground.

Several performances were crowded out of the Best XI this past weekend with the LA Galaxy's Tristan Bowen, Michael Stephens, and Real Salt Lake's Fabian Espindola not making the cut despite stellar performances. It was an offensively charged week in Major League Soccer, with a couple players cut from Bob Bradley's final 23 out to make a statement. Both Conor Casey and Brian Ching tallied but only one found their way onto the Best XI. It was the DeRo show this week once again as Toronto FC continues their tear. Head over to ASN Philly to check it out.