Here's the latest game report from the Sounders:

Seattle Sounders FC got a second-half goal from guest player Diego Ferrerya to earn a 1-1 tie with CED Rosario at the Argentinos Juniors training grounds on Saturday afternoon.

Ferrerya, a midfielder who plays for local club Tigres, scored less than 8 minutes after coming on as a halftime substitute in left midfield. He finished a 15-yard shot into the upper left corner after taking a squaring pass from Fredy Montero. Stephen King started the sequence by feeding Montero the ball up the right side.

Making his debut in the Seattle central defense was Jhon Kennedy Hurtado. Hurtado, who arrived from Colombia on Wednesday, made several timely tackles in and around the Sounders FC box.

CED Rosario tied the game in the 53rd minute on a penalty kick.

Chris Eylander played the entire 70 minutes in goal for Sounders FC. Eylander made a diving save to his left in the 16th minute and full-stretch stop to his right in the 63rd.

Seattle meets Velez Sarsfield in the third game of its Argentine tour on Monday morning.

Scoring Summary
SEA-Ferrerya (Montero, King) 43’
CED-#11 (no names provided; penalty kick) 53’
Sounders FC Lineup (4-4-2): Chris Eylander; Zach Scott, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Tyson Wahl, Evan Brown; Michael Fucito (Diego Ferrerya 36’), Stephen King, Ryan Caugherty, Roger Levesque; Jeff Clark, Fredy Montero (Ely Allen 54’).

And some personnel news:

Joining the team on Saturday was Ely Allen, a former University of Washington midfielder waived earlier in the week by the L.A. Galaxy. Allen arrived about four hours prior to kickoff following an overnight flight from Los Angeles, and he relieved Montero for the final 16 minutes. He played in 12 games, starting 11,and scored one goal for the Galaxy as a rookie last season. He is a Kent native and graduate of Kentridge High School…Seattle’s opening night opponent, the New York Red Bulls, are also training and playing in Buenos Aires. Both teams will attend Sunday’s Argentine first division game between Boca Juniors and Huracan…The final game in the tour is now confirmed. Sounders FC will visit River Plate on Thursday at 3:30 A.M. PT. The flight home is later that night.

And some quotes from coach Sigi Schmid:

On the newcomers who appeared in the match: “It was good to see Michael Fucito on the field because he hadn’t been able to join us since we drafted him because of an injury. So it was nice for him to get his feet wet. It was a good situation. We had a trialist out there in Diego, who is a local player from here in Argentina we wanted to look at. And then we had Ely Allen, who has been released from the L.A. Galaxy. So we want to give Ely, a Washington guy, a good look while we’re here.”

On the debut of Jhon Kennedy Hurtado: “It was also good for him to get his first minutes. Obviously fitness is something he’s got to acquire, he’ll improve on that. But you could see his closing speed and 1-on-1 defending ability was very good.”

On the Seattle goal: “It was a good ball by Fredy Montero. We played a little bit better in the second half than the first half. I didn’t think we had played really well. We had not handled the ball really well, just didn’t keep the ball as we should have. In the second half we did a better job, got Fredy in on the right hand side. Fredy was able to hold the guy off the ball and then he cut the ball back to Diego, who obviously was in a good position to finish his goal well.”

On the lessons learned from the game: “We forced ourselves to do a lot of defending in the first half that we didn’t need to do. You live and learn and the guys learned a valuable experience in the game today. And for us as coaches it was valuable because we see who steps in those situations and who doesn’t.”

Single-game tickets for Seattle Sounders FC's inaugural MLS season will go on sale at 10 a.m. Monday.

About 4,500 tickets remain for each game, because the Sounders already have cracked the 20,000 mark on season-ticket sales. (A few extra sections will be used for opening day, creating a capacity of around 27,000 for that game, 24,500 for the rest.)

As this story in the Puget Sound Business Journal notes, those totals put the Sounders ahead of the Mariners in terms of season ticket sales. Well ahead.

Tickets will be available at www.SoundersFC.com, by calling 877-MLS-GOAL, all Ticketmaster outlets and the Qwest Field box office. Game tickets are priced at $20, $25, $30, $39 and $45; and Club Wells Fargo tickets priced at $49 and $85 per. The Sounders also are offering seven-game packages, starting at $126 per pack.

Fredy Montero scored twice in a four-minute span to lead Sounders FC to a come-from-behind 3-1 win over Estudiantes de La Plata on Friday afternoon in the opening game of their Argentina trip.

Here's the report from SoundersFC.com.

Sounders FC will play its first training game of its current trip to Argentina at 5 a.m. (PT) Friday morning at Estudiantes de La Plata.

Tonight, Sigi Schmid and several staff members are scheduled to attend the Copa Libertadores group stage game between Estudiantes de La Plata and Bolivia’s Universitario.

On Sunday, the entire team will go to the La Bombonera, home of Boca Juniors, to see an Argentine first division game against Huracan. Schmid is also interested in attending training sessions held by the various Buenos Aires first division teams during the next week.

Some quotes from Schmid, provided by SoundersFC:

On how the team has responded to the travel:
“It’s gone all right. The second day is always the toughest day. The first day you’re sort of like a zombie and you just keep going, keep moving and you sort of don’t realize what you’re doing. The second day is where fatigue hits you a little bit and the time change will hit you. But the team’s done well.
“We play in a league where you go through three-hour time changes. It’s not six hours like this, but you have to adjust to it. There’s certainly a physiological adjustment, but also part of it is psychological, and in our league it’s important to deal with time changes and not let it slow you down psychologically.”

On how the points of emphasis while training and playing there:
“The emphasis is two-fold. One is on our collective defending because the Argentine teams are good at keeping possession. Defensively you have to be really good about keeping your shape and really good about your patience and really good about staying mentally focused because during their time of possession you can’t get exposed; you can’t get drawn apart. The second aspect is, because they hold on to the ball, you want to hold on to the ball when you get it. Otherwise you will feel like you played 75 percent of the game chasing the ball around. This will help our possession orientation because it makes you value your own possession. You realize if you don’t keep the ball, you’re going to be chasing it around for a long time. When you give it away, it will be a long time until you get it back. It works on both aspects of our game, but it’s important for us psychologically, defensively and possession-wise. That’s what we’re going to get out of these games.”

On attending games and training sessions:
“To watch other teams train is both fun and work. The way you learn is by always watching other teams train. You see if you can pick up something new, something different. You see how those coaches interact with their players. It’s a good learning experience, and gives you an idea how other players train, what kind of intensity, how they enjoy their training sessions.

“Watching games is a learning experience, and it’s also fun. The learning experience comes from the fact that you always see more live than you do on TV. So much of the game is played without the ball and on TV all you really see is the ball. When you go to a game live, you see how high they push the line of defense, where they establish their line of defense, how the players move away from the ball, how they set-up space on the far side of the field. You see all those things by watching the game live. And I love soccer, so I love going to soccer games. You feel the atmosphere in the stadium. This will be my first Copa Libertadores game and my first game at Estudiantes. That’s the fan aspect of it: now I can say I’ve done that.”

Personnel update:
Players present for the second day of training in Argentina:
Goalkeepers (3): Evan Bush, Chris Eylander, Kasey Keller
Defenders: Evan Brown, Taylor Graham, John Kennedy Hurtado, Patrick Ianni, Jared Karkas, Tyrone Marshall, James Riley, Zach Scott, Nathan Sturgis, Tyson Wahl
Midfielders: Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans, Sebastien Le Toux, Stephen King, Sanna Nyassi, Michael Fucito, Ryan Caugherty
Forwards: Jeff Clark, Nate Jaqua, Roger Levesque, Fredy Montero, Steve Zakuani
Graham (foot) remained on the sideline and Zakuani (ankle) was limited to fitness work.

The Sounders have arrived in Buenos Aires and have set a tentative schedule of five 70-minute training games.

The first of those comes Friday morning (11 a.m. there, 5 a.m. here) at Estudiantes La Plata.

Here's the rest of the schedule as provided by the Sounders:

On Saturday (10 a.m. PT) the opposition is CED, a squad comprised of local-based free agents.
Action resumes Monday at Vélez Sarsfield (4:30 A.M. PT) with a visit to Argentinos Juniors on Tuesday (4:30 A.M. PT). The final fixture will be either Wednesday or Thursday against River Plate. The Argentine clubs are expected to field a mixture of starters and reserves.

Joining practice for the first time were Michael Fucito, the fourth-round MLS SuperDraft pick out of Harvard (see blog post below), and invitee Evan Bush, a goalkeeper from the University of Akron.

Players present for the first day of training in Argentina:
Goalkeepers (3): Evan Bush, Chris Eylander, Kasey Keller
Defenders: Evan Brown, Taylor Graham, Patrick Ianni, Jared Karkas, Tyrone Marshall, James Riley, Zach Scott, Nathan Sturgis, Tyson Wahl
Midfielders: Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans, Sebastien Le Toux, Stephen King, Sanna Nyassi, Michael Fucito, Ryan Caugherty
Forwards: Jeff Clark, Nate Jaqua, Roger Levesque, Fredy Montero, Steve Zakuani

Michael Fucito, the Sounders' fourth-round pick in the SuperDraft, is belatedly joining the team in Argentina.

I found this intersting update on him from the Harvard Crimson.

Merritt Paulson, owner of the Portland Timbers and would-be owner of an MLS expansion team for the Rose City, wrote a guest opinion in the Oregonian, making his case for funding to turn PGE Park into an MLS-ready stadium.

Here's his pitch.

The Sounders are off to Buenos Aires for 10 days of training tentatively scheduled to include four games against opponents yet to be announced.

The team returns on March 6 -- and it may really be The Team. Twenty-five players will be in Argentina, and the team needs to be roster-compliant by March 2: 20 senior players and four developmentals.

Here is a list of players training in Argentina (as provided by Sounders FC): Goalkeepers (3): Evan Bush, Chris Eylander, Kasey Keller; Defenders (10): Evan Brown, Taylor Graham, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Patrick Ianni, Jared Karkas, Tyrone Marshall, James Riley, Zach Scott, Nathan Sturgis, Tyson Wahl; Midfielders (7): Osvaldo Alonso, Ryan Caugherty, Brad Evans, Michael Fucito, Stephen King, Sebastien Le Toux, Sanna Nyassi; Forwards (5): Jeff Clark, Nate Jaqua, Roger Levesque, Fredy Montero, Steve Zakuani.

Once back from South America, Sounders FC will play a March 12 closed game against the Colorado Rapids at Qwest FIeld.

The MLS season opens March 19 with Sounders FC hosting the New York Red Bulls -- as you may have heard.

Here's is the remaining preseason schedule as it now stands:

Friday, TBD — Argentina
Saturday, TBD — Argentina
Tuesday, TBD — Argentina
Thursday, March 5, TBD — Argentina
Thursday, Mar. 12, 6:30 — Colorado Rapids; the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field (closed)

Upcoming Training Schedule, Feb. 25-March 11
The Sounders FC training schedule for the next week is as follows (subject to change):
Wednesday, Feb. 25 – Training in Buenos Aires, 4:30 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 26 – Training in Buenos Aires, 10 a.m.
Monday, March 2 – Training in Buenos Aires, 10 a.m.
Wednesday, March 4 – Training in Buenos Aires, 10 a.m.
Monday, March 9 – Training at Qwest Field, 10 a.m.
Tuesday, March 10– Training at Qwest Field, 10 a.m.
Wednesday, March 11– Training at Qwest Field, 10 a.m.

The Sounders concluded another phase of training this afternoon with a 4-0 win over Vancouver Whitecaps in a game at Qwest Field that was closed to the public.

(A full game report is available at the SoundersFC.com Web site. But here's the unit that started: Kasey Keller, Nathan Sturgis, Tyrone Marshall, Taylor Graham, James Riley, Sebastien Le Toux, Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans, Sanna Nyassi, Nate Jaqua, Fredy Montero.)

The win gives the Sounders a 5-1 record in training friendlies: going 3-1 in California, and adding the win over the Whitecaps to their 4-1 win Friday at the University of Portland.

Next, the Sounders leave Tuesday for four training games over 10 days in Argentina.

“Games are the most important thing,” coach Sigi Schmid said last week. “The reason you travel overseas in the preseason is to get competition. If you’re going to play games here to get the level of competition you need, in most cases you will end up playing teams you play in the regular season. It is nice to get different faces your playing against and it’s nice to get a different style of play.”

Schmid believes the Argentinian style of play will be useful to his team at this point in their training.

“It will be great for us because in Argentina, they are a possession-oriented country,” Schmid said. “When you play down there, they keep the ball and you have to keep your shape defensively. It will be good training for us. We expect to be a much better team defensively when we get back.”

The Sounders are scheduled to return to the Puget Sound area March 6 for their final wave of preseason work.

They will play another closed friendly against the Colorado Rapids at Qwest Field on March 12 before heading into final preparations for their regular-season opener March 19 against the Red Bulls.

Seattle Sounders FC made a successful Pacific Northwest public debut Friday night, defeating the University of Portland 4-1 at Merlo Field.

Here's how they did it:

Sounders FC Lineups
1st Half:
GK Kasey Keller, LB Zach Scott, CLB Tyson Wahl, CRB Patrick Ianni, RB Evan Brown, LM Ryan Caugherty, CDM Densill Theobald, CM Stephen King, RM Sanna Nyassi, F Jeff Clark, F Nate Jaqua (Roger Levesque, 34)

2nd Half:
GK Chris Eylander, LB Zach Scott (Nathan Sturgis, 60), CLB Tyson Wahl (Taylor Graham, 60), CRB Patrick Ianni (Tyrone Marshall, 60), RB Evan Brown (James Riley, 60), LM Kevin Forrest (Steve Zakuani, 60), CDM Densill Theobald (Osvaldo Alonso, 60), CM Ryan Caugherty (Brad Evans, 60), RM Sebastien Le Toux, F Jeff Clark (Fredy Montero, 60), F Roger Levesque

Did not play:
Jared Karkas (hamstring), Mandou Bojang, Ben Dragavon, Michael Fucito (hamstring), Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (will join team in Argentina), Freddy Ljungberg (recovering from hip surgery), Jarrod Smith (hamstring), Peter Vagenas (recovering from arthroscopic surgery).

Scoring Summary
Sounders FC:
1 – Nate Jaqua, 4th minute (Sanna Nyassi)
2 – Jeff Clark, 32nd minute (Patrick Ianni)
3 – Fredy Montero, 71st minute (penalty)
4 – Brad Evans, 75th minute (Roger Levesque)

Portland:
1 - Logan Emory, 63rd minute (unassisted)

Caution
Austin Guerrero, 70th minute (yellow)

Here's a game recap provided by the Sounders:
The Sounders FC got everything they needed Friday night in topping the University of Portland 4-1 at Merlo field on the UP campus.

Former Pilots Nate Jaqua and Kasey Keller received a nice ovation when they were recognized before the game and they responded with a strong showing on the field – Jaqua with a goal in the fourth minute and Keller with a shutout for his half of play.

Head coach Sigi Schmid also got a good look at some players who are fighting for roster spots and they responded as well, as non-roster invitees Jeff Clark scored a goal and Roger Levesque set up another.

They also controlled the run of play for most of the game, finished the game without injury, got good support from a group of fans commuting from Seattle and opposition from a group of Portland Timbers fans positioned behind their second-half goal. They also had a correctible error that they can discuss on the way home Saturday – something to build off of heading into Sunday’s game against the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Jaqua wasted little time rewarding the UP faithful who applauded his return to his college playground, heading a cross from Sanna Nyassi past Pilots goalkeeper Austin Guerrero for a 1-0 lead in the fourth minute.

Seattle dominated the ball for most of the first half, pushing the ball into Portland’s 5-4-1 formation, and used that persistence and patience to earn a 32nd minute corner kick. Recent signee Evan Brown, Seattle’s second round SuperDraft pick, sent the corner kick into the box where Patrick Ianni got his head on it. Guerrero blocked that offering right to a waiting Clark, who headed the rebound into the open side of the net for a 2-0 lead.

They carried that lead into the second half and had a new lineup by the 61st minute. And UP took advantage of the new group within minutes of entering the lineup. After a turnover, the Pilots earned a free kick from 28 yards out. That shot clanged off the woodwork, falling to Logan Emory, who knocked it into the low-left corner to cut the lead in half in the 63rd minute.

That’s when the closing group, made mostly of projected starters, found their groove. In the 70th minute, Osvaldo Alonso led Steve Zakuani with a great ball over the middle. Zakuani raced past three defenders and even got past Guerrero, but overran his angle and had to cut back, forcing Guerrero to pull him down to earn a penalty.

Fredy Montero hammered the spot kick to take a 3-1 lead in the 71st minute, marking his second successful penalty kick in as many chances.
In the 75th minute Levesque got his foot on a ball in a rush in the box. His shot bounced to Brad Evans who thumped it into the net for a 4-1 lead.

Montero was featured in the final minutes of the game, but couldn’t generate any great scoring chances. In the end, Seattle outshot the Pilots 20-5. Keller was challenged by only one shot, a shot into his chest in the 11th minute.

The Sounders FC will face the Whitecaps in a closed-door friendly at Qwest Field on Sunday before departing for Argentina on Tuesday.

Sigi Schmid said:
On roster decision making: “Tonight’s important from the standpoint of looking at guys and making final decisions on people, but every time you play you learn something else about yourself. That was my conversation just now with James (Riley) and (Sebastien) Le Toux, ‘ok you know he likes to run. When he drops that ball, drop it in behind the defense sooner. So every time you play the game you learn something else about yourself. Certainly for the first group, it was a little bit of them learning about themselves. Evan’s (Brown) decisions coming forward at the right time. It’s also about people still fighting to either move themselves up within the roster, or to make sure they get a roster spot.”

On substitution strategy: “We’ll take the win. We wanted that group to go 60 minutes tonight, because the other group had gone 60 against San Jose, so we wanted to push that group a little bit. When we play Vancouver, we’ll do it the other way around.”

On the positive and negatives from the game: “You take the positives and the negatives. There are things that we certainly need to get better on. No matter what you do in practice, games clarify things. It was a bad giveaway that resulted in their goal. It ended up being a free kick. The positioning of the ball and the goalkeeper and that we had too many guys in the wall, those were the things that we talked about. Those are some of the negative things that you’re trying to pick up on. But then some of the positive things like the combination that sent (Steve) Zakuani through, that was a great combination. He showed his speed. He gets in behind. The timing of the run was good. So you also take some of those things away. Sometimes they overplayed a little bit. That was my comment to Fredy (Montero). You can crush the ball from 18 yards, don’t keep passing up your shot. Stay in good habits even though maybe the game was a little bit easier.”

Injuriest came up after the Sounders' practice at Qwest Field today, with coach Sigi Schmid saying this about the projected early- to mid-April return of designated player Freddie Ljungberg: "It hasn’t shifted backwards. The situation with Freddie is we want to optimize his rehab. With us going down to Ventura and now Argentina, these are not places that are optimal for his rehab. By him staying right now in Sweden to work on a daily basis, he has all the stuff he needs. When he comes and joins us after we come back from Argentina he will be at a stage where he can work on the field.”

I interviewed Brown earlier in camp, and I'll try to dig out some of those quotes. Meanwhile, here's the Sounders' announcement:

The Seattle Sounders FC signed defender Evan Brown, the 16th overall selection in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft out of Wake Forest. Per Major League Soccer and club policy, terms were not disclosed.

“We talked highly about Evan on draft day and we’re very pleased with his continued improvement,” said Sounders FC head coach Sigi Schmid. “He is an exciting, attacking fullback who will add a lot to our team.”

Brown, 21, was taken by Seattle with the first pick in the draft's second round on January 15. An outside back, Brown helped Wake Forest (21-2-1) hold opponents scoreless 14 times in 2008. He scored two goals, including the game-winning goal in an ACC Tournament quarterfinal victory over NC State, and added eight assists as a senior.

The Demon Deacons reached the NCAA College Cup each of his final three seasons, winning the national championship in 2007. Wake finished the 2008 regular season ranked No. 1 in the country. Brown was among six Wake players chosen in the draft.

The Sounders FC opens its inaugural MLS season on March 19, hosting the New York Red Bulls in a nationally televised game at the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field.

Seattle Sounders FC will open the upper deck of Qwest Field for its friendly against Chelsea, but it don't do so for any MLS games -- including the season-opener against New York.

“We will not do it for MLS games," said Gary Wright, vp in charge of Sounders business operations. "We will do it for big international games.”

However, the Sounders will open a few extra sections of end zone to accommodate probably an extra 3,000 fans or so who want to attend that historic inaugural game. That should bring allow something over 27,000 fans to watch the Sounders' first MLS game.

Here's more on the Sounders home field, from today's paper.

The Sounders have officially announced the rumored pickup of Columbian central defender Jhon Kennedy Hurtado.

Terms were not announced, and Hurtado’s signing isn't final until his international paperwork is complete.

Before the signing was announced, we asked coach Sigi Schmid how the march to his final roster is coming along.

“In regards to the total roster they’re still some positions open and decisions we have to make," he said. "It’s unfortunate it’s a professional sport and those decisions come a little later or sooner. Again it’s all about the players’ performance. I think we are probably about 75-80% of the way there, but there is still 20-25% we still need to do.”

Full information on the newest Sounder is available at SoundersFC.com.

Here's part of the announcement release from the Sounders:

Hurtado, 24, completed a trial with Italy’s AC Milan last month. He saw action in a January 22 exhibition between Milan and Germany’s Hannover, playing the second half along with Kaka, Andriy Shevchenko and Filippo Inzaghi.

Hurtado played the 2008 season for Deportivo Cali, where he was a teammate of Fredy Montero, a Sounders FC forward. In 2007, Hurtado played for Real Cartagena of the Colombian first division. He has played a total of 121 matches at the first and second division levels in Colombia since 2004.

“Jhon has good speed, he’s a good man-to-man marker, a good tackler and uses his speed to close people down,” said Sounders FC technical director Chris Henderson. “We had a chance to see him play 2-3 times, plus some video. We’re excited to have him join our team.”

Hurtado will meet the team in Argentina on February 25.

The Sounders FC opens its inaugural MLS season on March 19, hosting the New York Red Bulls in a nationally televised game at the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field.

Transaction: Seattle Sounders (MLS) – Signed D Jhon Kennedy Hurtado
Position: Defender
Height: 6-0
Weight: 183
Birthdate: 5/16/1984
Hometown: Palmira, Colombia
Last club: Deportivo Cali

Cox speaks about training camp with Major League Soccer's - Real Salt Lake

Shot of Raphael Cox at the MLS Combine. Photo courtesy of RealSaltLake.com

The latest Tacoma Tide draftee to the MLS is Raphael Cox. A member of the Tide over the last two summers, Cox was drafted to Real Salt Lake in the 4th Round of the 2009 MLS SuperDraft. Now almost a month into preseason, Raph talks about how things are going for his team, and for himself.

CLICK HERE for the TacomaFC.com exlusive Q & A with Raphael Cox.

Seattle Sounders FC is working on its home pitch at Qwest Field for the first time, and you will be happy to know that it is absolutely impossible to tell that they share the surface with the Seattle Seahawks. There is no trace of football lines. No trace of Seahawks logo.

In short, it’s beautiful.

"The field and surface was good it looks nice with only soccer lines on it," coach Sigi Schmid said. "I know (Seahawks coach) Jim Mora might not be to happy about that right now, but we will get the football lines back on there for him.”

“It is important for us to get comfortable. We want to have a number of training sessions here before we play our first game. We want to make sure when we step out here for our first game it is our sixth or seventh time out here. We want to be a lot more familiar with the field than New York [Red Bulls]. We want the players to be familiar with the directions of the field, how it feels standing wide when nobody is out there, what the visual cues you see on the field. I think the more you play the more comfortable you become."

I also spoke to some of the players and Sounders executives about their new home today, and I'll turn that into a story for the Thursday paper.

Chelsea FC, winner of five major English titles over the past five seasons, will meet Seattle Sounders FC at noon July 18 at Qwest Field, the clubs announced Tuesday.

“This will be unlike any international game ever played in the Pacific Northwest,” Sounders majority owner Joe Roth said through a press release. “Chelsea is one of the top clubs in the world, and they are playing the home team – our Sounders FC – backed by our loyal supporters. The atmosphere that afternoon will be incredible.”

This will be Chelsea’s fourth visit to Seattle. In 1967, the Blues beat a Seattle area amateur team, 5-0, at Memorial Stadium. In 1977, they were shut out by the original North American Soccer League Sounders, 2-0, at the Kingdome. In 2004, they defeated Scottish club Celtic, 4-2, at Qwest Field.

Since then, however, Chelsea has raised its status among the top clubs in the world by winning the English Premier League championships of 2004-05 and 2005-06, the 2007 FA Cup and Carling Cups of 2005 and 2007. The Blues have finished second in the past two EPL seasons and were runners-up in the 2008 UEFA Championship League.

Their roster includes captain John Terry and midfielder Frank Lumpart, both members of the English national team, along with midfielder Michael Ballack of Germany, striker Didier Droba of the Ivory Coast, and midfielder Deco of Portugal.

The friendly will be part of preseason training for Chelsea. But will come near the middle of the Sounders’ inaugural Major League Soccer season, which opens March 19 when the New York Red Bulls visit.

“We are delighted to be opening our preseason in Seattle,” Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon said through the press release. “…We will be bringing a full-strength squad, so it should be a great game.”

The match is included as part of the Sounders’ season ticket package. The club reports that 19,800 season tickets already have been sold.

Individual game tickets will go on sale in spring. And unlike Sounders’ MLS games, the upper deck of Qwest Field will be open for the Chelsea visit, creating a capacity of 67,000.

The game will be televised on ESPN2.

The Sounders are back from California, apparently satisfied with the progress that was reflected in their 3-1 record in training games there.

“We’re pleased," coach Sigi Schmid said through a Sounders press release. "From the standpoint of injury wise we’re pretty. Only Ryan Caugherty, one of the trialists, is carrying a little bit of a knee, everyone else is healthy, so that’s good."

The Sounders will get their first workouts at Qwest Field this week, although both are closed to the public. Then they'll make their Northwest debut Friday at the University of Portland. Then they'll return to Qwest next Sunday, meeting the Vancouver Whitecaps in another closed training game.

“The thing I’m not happy is conceding soft goals," Schmid said after the Sounders' 3-2 loss to San Jose on Friday. "As we go into the next phase of training back in Seattle and then on to Argentina, is to keep possession and to do a good job defending in the final third of the field.”

The LA Galaxy will be at Qwest Field to play the Sounders
on May 10.

Will David Beckham be there too?

Yes.

No.

The Sounders and San Jose Earthquakes resumed a rivalry that dates back a quarter century tonight.

The Earthquake defeated the Sounders, 3-2, at San Luis Obispo, Calif., in the first MLS meeting of the two sides. Each team scored two first-half goals – both of Seattle’s coming from forward Fredy Montero. However, Quincy Amarikwa got what proved to be the winner for San Jose in the 46th minute.

Neither franchise is directly descended from the North American Soccer League teams that last met in 1982. But even without that connection, they also are linked as the two newest teams in MLS. And that makes comparisons inevitable between the expansion Earthquakes of 2008 and the Sounders of 2009.

I was in the Bay Area last week and talked to Quakes coach Frank Yallop about that.

“They’re off to an easier start than we had, but still it’s going to be difficult,” he said. “I think you don’t know what you’ve got until you get them in camp. That was my big thing: You don’t want to cut anyone too short and not give them a chance. It might have cost us half a season and it might have cost of a chance of making the playoffs -- but I’m not sure we were ready to make the playoffs right off the bat.”

San Jose went 8-13-9 last season – tied with the Galaxy with a league-low 33 points. However, the Quakes went 6-5-4 after the all-star break, showing progress they hope to build on this season.

“We’re into a rhythm,” Yallop said of the difference between Year One and Year Two. “The guys that are coming in now, the new guys, are getting taught by the guys on the field: what to do, how to go about business, what to expect from me and each other. I think that is the big difference. We had a bunch of strangers last year, and I think coupled with not a great amount of talent to start with, I think we didn’t get off to a great start. Having said that, we were competitive in every match, and with a little bit of luck we could have won a couple of games early and we might have made the playoffs.”

Yallop also said he thinks that's a logical goal for these Sounders, even in their first season.

“Sigi’s a great coach in this league,” he said. “I think they’ve got a great organization up there and they’re going to be fine. How well they do is a little bit of lady luck here and there. But all the teams in the league are pretty close. We were one of the teams that wasn’t too bad last year, and same with Seattle I think. They’ll be good.”

There's more on all of this in our Saturday paper.

The Sounders continue their march to their eventual 24-man roster with the release of GK Kevin Guppy, D Danny Jackson, M Quavas Kirk, M Leighton O'Brien, M Ryan Pore, M Fernando Screpis and D Adam West.

O'Brien and West are both former USL Sounders from the TNT circulation area -- Federal Way and Gig Harbor, respectively.

Here's the release from the new-look SoundersFC.com:

Seattle Sounders FC sent forward Khano Smith to the New York Red Bulls on Thursday in exchange for allocation money. Per league and club policy, terms were not disclosed.

Smith, 27, was selected by Sounders FC in the MLS Expansion Draft on November 26, 2008. He had played the past four seasons for the New England Revolution. He played in 85 games for the Revolution, scoring eight goals and adding 11 assists. In 2008, Smith played in 23 games with 18 starts, and scored two goals and three assists.

Seattle Sounders FC got its third straight training win Wednesday, beating the Ventura County Fusion, 6-1 at Buena High School in Ventura, Calif.

Here are the details, as provided by the Sounders:

LINEUPS
1st Half
Sounders FC: Chris Eylander, Evan Brown, Tyson Wahl, Patrick Ianni, Nathan Sturgis, Steve Zakuani, Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans, Lamar Neagle, Nate Jaqua, Fredy Montero.

2nd Half
Sounders FC: Chris Eylander, Zach Scott, Taylor Graham, Ryan Caugherty, Quavas Kirk, Emerald George, Stephen King, Roger Levesque, Ryan Pore, Leighton O'Brien, Jeff Clark

SCORING SUMMARY
Sounders FC -
Fredy Montero, 7th minute (Lamar Neagle)
Steve Zakuani, 9th minute (unassisted)
Steve Zakuani, 21st minute (Nate Jaqua)
Nate Jaqua, 43rd minute (Steve Zakuani)
Nate Jaqua, 44th minute (Lamar Neagle)
Roger Levesque, 83rd minute (Jeff Clark)

Ventura County -
Arthur Aghaysyan, 13th minute (unassisted)

RECAP
The Sounders FC utilized their speed up front and on the wings and got balls to Jaqua to distribute from the target forward position.

Seattle erupted for five first half goals, getting two before the Fusion, who are in their third season in the Premier Development League – the fourth division in the US, knew what hit them.

In the 7th minute, Montero fielded a pass from non-roster invitee Lamar Neagle and whipped it into the net for his second goal of the preseason, knocking this one home from 17 yards out.

Zakuani followed that up in the 9th minute, working his way up the middle and firing away from 18 yards out for the 2-0 lead.

Seattle’s only folly of the game came in the 13th minute when Ventura County forward Arthur Aghaysyan broke free up the right side and snuck a shot past goalkeeper Chris Eylander – who played the full 90 minutes.

That one-goal margin didn’t stay that way long.

In the 21st minute Brad Evans took a shot from about 40 yards out right into a crowd of players. The ball ricocheted into the air and landed at the feet of Jaqua, who found Zakuani just behind him and the 21-year-old draftee knocked it in for his second goal of the night and third of the preseason.

Then Jaqua showed his own scoring touch, scoring twice in a two-minute span before the halftime whistle.

In the 43rd minute, Montero turned his defender to the sideline and crossed the ball to the front of the goal. Zakuani headed it down to Jaqua, who thumped it into the net for a 4-1 lead.

One minute later, Jaqua knocked in a cross from non-roster invitee Lamar Neagle to propel the Sounders FC into the half with a 5-1 lead.

The second half saw the Sounders FC continue their control of the ball, though they were only able to capitalize with one more score. That came in the 83rd minute when non-roster invitee Jeff Clark passed to Levesque with a looping ball into the penalty area. Levesque squared up and volleyed a lob shot into the top corner of the net for a goal, his second of the preseason.

The Sounders FC head to San Luis Obispo, Calif., for a Friday meeting with the San Jose Earthquakes. They return to Seattle Saturday and will resume training there next week.

SIGI SCHMID SAID
On the latest win: “The guys are getting to know each other a little bit better. The movement of the ball is pretty good. The quickness of (Steve) Zakuani and Fredy Montero create some problems. Nate (Jaqua) did a good job. I thought Lamar Neagle had a good game as well on the right. The movement of the ball at midfield from (Osvaldo) Alonso, from (Brad) Evans was good. When we had opportunities we used them and were very decisive.”

On Chris Eylander in goal: “He did well… Let him manage the game. I thought he did a good job with that. You heard him. It’s one of the aspects of his game he needs to work on. He’s got it, but he’s not very vocal. He was a lot more vocal today. And he also did a good job, not only organizing the defense, but he did a good job with his distribution. I thought his kicking was good. I thought a couple of his throws that he made; the one that he threw to Steve Zakuani on the left and got him out quickly, I thought those were very positive.”

On Steve Zakuani making similar runs to Sanna Nyassi the previous day: “Having never been a player who was exceptionally known for quickness, having speed and quickness is such a great blessing. Obviously as a defender, you don’t want to have those guys running at you with the ball. One does it with quick pure speed, and the other one does it with a little move and speed. They’re guys that put defenders on their heels, and when you have players like that, it makes the game easier for the other players around them.”

On scoring two goal in nine minutes against a team that had gone 180 minutes without conceding to MLS teams: “It was important for us as a young team, we’re starting to get to know each other offensively. For us getting goals tonight, and not just getting goals, but the type of goals we got, the combination plays…That’s what I was most happy about.”

STEVE ZAKUANI
On winning against a PDL team: “Coach always says, ‘it’s always better to win then to lose’. He’s right about that. It doesn’t matter who you’re playing. It doesn’t matter which level they’re at. It’s preseason for us an expansion team, it’s an important time of the year. And to keep winning like that, it’s going to give us a confidence going into that first game against New York.”

NATE JAQUA
On moving the ball well in the first half: “I think we moved the ball around pretty well today. We were able to create some chances. With Steve (Zakuani) on the left and Lamar (Neagle) on the right, we were able to get some balls in…Good things happen for the forwards.”

Two Michael Bradley goals -- one late in the first half, the other late in the second -- pushed the USA to a 2-0 win over Mexico and a solid start in the final round of World Cup qualifying Wednesday night in Columbus, Ohio.

Here's a report from US Soccer.

Seattle Sounders FC makes its public debut tonight against the Ventura County Fusion, which makes a habit of playing higher-level teams.

A local paper -- the wonderfully named Thousand Oaks Acorn -- takes a look at the Fusion, their scheduling, and noting their 1-0 win last season over Sigi Schmid and his eventual MLS champion Columbus Crew.

Here's a preview from the MLS Web site.

Seattle Sounders FC moved to 2-0 in training games Tuesday with a 2-0 win over Shandong Luneng of China in a closed game played at Ventura College

Both Sounders goals came from 19-year-old midfielder Sanna Nyassi.

Here's the game report provided by the Sounders:

LINEUP
1st Half Lineup: Ben Dragavon, Adam West, Kyle Schmid, Patrick Ianni, James Riley, Lamar Neagle, Stephen King, Ryan Caugherty, Ryan Pore, Vinicius Oliviera, Jeff Clark

2nd Half Lineup: Kevin Guppy, Evan Brown, Danny Jackson, Mamadou Danso, Emerald George, Fernando Screpis, Stephen King (Nathan Sturgis, 60), Sanna Nyassi, Sebastien Le Toux, Roger Levesque

SCORE
Nyassi, 56th minute (King)
Nyassi, 75th minute (Le Toux)

The first goal was scored when Stephen King, the only holdover from the first half, sent a ball over the top to Sanna Nyassi on the right side and Nyassi chipped it over the Shandong keeper in the 56th minute.

The second goal was scored when Sebastien Le Toux launched the ball over the offside trap to the speedy Nyassi, who found himself 1-v-1 with the keeper. Nyassi drew the keeper out of the box and went around him, leaving nothing between him and the goal but open turf. He dribbled to point-blank range and hammered it in for the 2-0 lead. Nyassi has three goals and an assist in the first two exhibition games.

INJURY REPORT
Jared Karkas (hamstring) and Taylor Graham (foot contusion) missed the Shandong Luneng scrimmage. Fourth-round pick Michael Fucito (hamstring) has not yet joined the team for training. Jarrod Smith (hip flexor) remains in Seattle. Vagenas is recovering from arthroscopic surgery to trim articular cartilage above his knee. Freddie Ljungberg, who underwent surgery to repair a hip condition in December, continues to rehabilitate in Sweden.

SIGI SCHMID SAID
On his Tuesday lineup: “It was important for us to see how different guys reacted. We had a chance to be able to use some guys in different positions like Evan Brown at left back, and see what he could do there. And we had Sebastien (Le Toux) up front again to see what he could do there. It was good.”

On Sanna Nyassi’s performance: “He obviously has good speed. If a team is going to play an offside trap, then a player like him or if we had played a player like Steve Zakuani, are going to tear a team like that apart. So that’s what Sanna did. He finishes goals well. The first one he finished very well by chipping it over him. The timing of his run was very good. Roger (Levesque) made a very unselfish run to open up that space for him. He was very effective. He’s a dangerous player. He’s the kind of player that is the kind of guy that can impact the game by coming off the bench, or being in the starting lineup.”

On different combinations making roster decisions difficult: “Things are always difficult. That’s what they’re supposed to do. Supposed to make my job as difficult as possible. If they’re not doing that then they’re not doing a good job. But actually it’s also pretty easy. I think some decisions have become pretty clear. At this stage, things are in our minds getting to pretty much a sharp final point.”

LOOKING AHEAD
Sounders FC will make its public debut on Wednesday night, at the Ventura County Fusion. Kickoff is 7 p.m. at Buena High School.

On Friday night, Seattle meets the San Jose Earthquakes in the MLS Central Coast Showcase at San Luis Obispo. Kickoff is 7 p.m. at Alex G. Spanos Stadium on the campus of Cal Poly.

Seattle Sounders FC has acquired defender Tyrone Marshall from Toronto FC for an undisclosed amount of allocation money, the club announced today.

Here's highlights from their press release:

Marshall, 34, started 39 games at central defender for Toronto since being obtained from the L.A. Galaxy midway through the 2007 Major League Soccer season. He is currently playing with the Jamaican National Team in England. Jamaica plays Nigeria in a friendly on Wednesday night (Feb. 11) in London.

“The addition of Tryone brings us speed and experience to our back four,” coach Sigi Schmid said. “He’s a player I know well from my time in Los Angeles. He has two rings to his name and that championship mentality is something we can always use.”

A veteran of 11 MLS seasons, Marshall played five-plus seasons with the L.A. Galaxy (2002-07). He was a two-time MLS All-Star and a member of the Galaxy’s MLS Cup-winning teams in 2002 and 2005, and also helped L.A. win the U.S. Open Cup in 2005.

Sounders FC head coach Sigi Schmid was the Galaxy coach from 1999-2004.

Marshall has appeared in 248 career MLS regular-season games, starting 221. He has totaled 13 goals and 17 assists. Marshall was drafted out of Florida International by Colorado in 1998, then traded during that season to Miami, where he played through 2001.

Transaction: Seattle Sounders (MLS) – Acquired D Tyrone Marshall from Toronto FC for allocation money

Position: Defender
Height: 6-2
Weight: 195
Hometown: Lauderhill, Florida
DOB: 11/12/1974 in Kingston, Jamaica
Last Club: Toronto FC (MLS)

These quotes from FC coach Sigi Schmid were provided by the Sounders' media staff:

Overall assessment of the 3-1 win over LA: “Obviously it didn’t start well, but that’s good too. Preseason is preseason. I don’t make too much stock in these games, but it’s always good to win rather than losing. It’s a habit that we start building as a new team. I was happy with the first half. I thought we gave up three chances. They scored on one. It hit the post on the other one. But I thought we were really close to getting a number of goals. I thought our movement of the ball was good at times. We put people into dangerous positions. I was happy with that. And I thought we got better as the game went on. We understood each other a little better, and made some real adjustments.”

On the speed of guys like Sanna Nyassi, who scored in the 91st minute: “There’s other teams that are going to have speed too. But obviously players like Nyassi and Sebastien (Le Toux)… (Steve) Zakuani’s got good speed. Fredy (Montero) has good quickness. Those are things that we’re going to have to build our game around.”

On Steve Zakuani’s run into the box that led to a Fredy Montero penalty kick: “I mean there’s a rookie going against another rookie: He was going against (A.J.) Delegarza. But Delegarza probably has a good shot at being the guy at right back, until Sean Franklin comes. It’ll be a little different when he goes against a veteran right back like Frankie Hejduk, who is a little more experienced. I think that Steve has a little bit of extra stuff some times – that cut back. When he got the ball he was dangerous time after time, and that’s what we’re counting on.”

On lineups in the remaining three exhibition matches: “We’ll start against China (Shandong Luneng on Tuesday) the group that didn’t play. The nine guys that didn’t play L.A., and one other. And then we’ll mix. We might mix the last two groups a little bit, and remix it again as we play Ventura (Fusion). We don’t want guys going more then 45 minutes, maybe the San Jose game on Friday, we might push a couple of guys to 60. Most of the guys we’ll only keep at 45.”

Here's the Sounders' first-ever starting lineup, as provided by the Sounders.FC website:

Kasey Keller, Nathan Sturgis, Tyson Wahl, Taylor Graham, James Riley, Steve Zakuani, Brad Evans, Osvaldo Alonso, Sebastien Le Toux, Fredy Montero, Nate Jaqua.

Here's the second-half lineup:
Chris Eylander, Zach Scott, Danny Jackson, Mamadou Danso, Evan Brown, Fernando Screpis, Leighton O¹Brien, Ryan Caugherty, Sanna Nyassi, Ryan Pore, Roger Levesque.

Seattle Sounders FC made its first-ever game a winning one today, defeating the LA Galaxy, 3-1, in a training game in Carson, Calif.

Fredy Montero scored the first-ever goal on a first-half penalty kick. Roger Levesque and Sanna Nyassi added second-half goals.

Here's my report from our Tuesday paper. And here's a report from the Galaxy Web site:

Eddie Lewis scored the Galaxy's only goal as they fell 3-1 to Seattle Sounders FC in a closed door friendly this afternoon at The Home Depot Center.

Because the match was closed we cannot post lineups, but here is a short match report...

Playing in their first game against an MLS opponent, the expansion Seattle Sounders FC scored twice late in the second half to beat the LA Galaxy, 3-1, in preseason scrimmage at The Home Depot Center on Monday. The Sounders got goals from Fredy Montero, Roger Levesque and Sanna Nyassi while Eddie Lewis had the Galaxy’s only tally.

A 21-year-old forward from Colombia, Montero scored Seattle’s first goal in the 17th minute on a penalty kick. Nyassi figured prominently in the game’s final two goals as he set up Levesque’s go-ahead score in the 80th minute and tapped in Ryan Pore’s cross in the 91st minute to complete the scoring.

The Galaxy had control of the match early on and wasted no time in taking the lead. Kyle Patterson’s long ball from the right found Lewis inside the box and the U.S. international was able to place a low shot just outside the dive of Kasey Keller to give the Galaxy a 1-0 lead in just the third minute.

The Sounders answered 14 minutes later when Montero scored from the penalty spot. Showing a flash of why he was taken with the top pick in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft, Steve Zakuani used his speed to get behind the defense, only to be pulled down in the box by A.J. DeLaGarza leading to a penalty kick. Montero calmly placed the ball to the right of Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts, tying the score at 1-1.

Ricketts, an offseason signing for the Galaxy, made two quality saves to keep Seattle from taking the lead. At the other end of the field, LA nearly regained the lead midway through the first half, but an Alan Gordon header that appeared to be going in bounced off the crossbar.

Each club made wholesale changes at the half, bringing on 11 new players. The changes resulted in an evenly played half with neither team creating many chances until the final 10 minutes when Seattle scored twice.

In the 80th minute Nyassi broke free down the right flank and sent a cross into the box which Levesque was able to finish, giving his side a 2-1 lead. Ten minutes later, Nyassi provided the final touch after Ryan Pore’s cross from the left found the young Gambian midfielder alone in the box to tap home for the final 3-1 scoreline.

Scoring Summary:
LA – Eddie Lewis (Kyle Patterson) 3’
SEA – Fredy Montero (Penalty Kick) 17’
SEA – Roger Levesque (Sanna Nyassi) 80’
SEA – Sanna Nyassi (Ryan Pore) 91+

Seattle Sounders FC will face another MLS team for the first time Monday, meeting the L.A. Galaxy at the Home Depot Center training facility in Carson, Calif.

No Beckham, of course, but after a week of Sounders vs. Sounders, that's hardly the point.

“Right now for us, the important thing is that we maintain what we’re trying to do from a fitness level and continue to build and progress in terms of our physical preparation," coach Sigi Schmid said through a Sounders media release. "Tactically, so we understand things, like the first game here was not as good as the games were later, because guys were over-dribbling, holding the ball, so had to stop and make those corrections. What we’re really trying to get out of as we get into Monday’s game with the Galaxy is be at a point where we want to see where we’re at physically. And secondly, we want to see if we start understanding some of the concepts that we want to employ defensively and offensively."

The Sounders spent their first 10 days of training at the Seahawks facility in Renton, then spent last week in Southern California while emphasizing conditioning.

Now comes a series of training games. After the opener against the Galaxy, the Sounders will play Shandong Luneng of China at Oxnard, Calif., on Tuesday; the Ventura County Fusion in Ventura, Calif., on Wednesday; and the San Jose Earthquakes at San Luis Obispo on Friday.
Schmid plans to use one starting 11 today, another on Tuesday and then a mix on Wednesday.

The Sounders will return briefly to the Northwest next week before traveling to Argentina for more training games Feb. 27 through March 5.

Here are camp highlights from Saturday, as provided from the Sounders' staff:

PERSONNEL
The following players participated: Osvaldo Alonso, Evan Brown, Ryan Caugherty*, Jeff Clark*, Mamadou Danso*, Ben Dragavon, Brad Evans, Chris Eylander, Emerald George*, Taylor Graham, Kevin Guppy, Patrick Ianni, Danny Jackson, Nate Jaqua, Kasey Keller, Stephen King, Quavas Kirk*, Sebastien Le Toux, Roger Levesque, Fredy Montero, Lamar Neagle, Sanna Nyassi, Leighton O’Brien, Vini Oliviera*, Ryan Pore*, James Riley, Zach Scott, Kyle Schmid*, Fernando Screpis*, Khano Smith, Nathan Sturgis, Tyson Wahl, Adam West, Steve Zakuani.

*players who did not train with team first week in Renton

Three new faces were at camp: Argentine midfielder Fernando Screpis, midfielder Emerald George from St. Vincent and Grenadines, and Gambian Mamadou Danso from Southern Polytechnic (NAIA) joined the team for the second session.

The following players were not present: Mandou Bojang (will rejoin team in Seattle on Feb. 18), Michael Fucito (hamstring), Freddie Ljungberg (rehabbing in Sweden), and Jarrod Smith (hip flexor, rehabbing in Seattle).

- Nicola Andelic is no longer with the team

Technical Director Chris Henderson participated in the running and passing drills in the morning session.

General manager Adrian Hanauer watched from the sidelines for both sessions.

Peter Vagenas, recovering from arthroscopic surgery, was in attendance to watch his new teammates for both sessions.

TRAINING HIGHLIGHTS
There were training sessions at Ventura College: 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Saturday.

There was heavy rain for the morning session. Rain subsided for the afternoon session. Temperatures were in the low 50s.

The first session was primarily fitness and technique drills. Field was separated into three grids with a cross and finish drill, passing drill, and 6-v-6 on 40x40 yards with regulation goals.

The second session was 11-v-11 full-size made up of three squads: Blue, Orange and Green.

Blue Squad: GK – Kasey Keller; Defenders – James Riley, Danny Jackson, Nate Sturgis and Taylor Graham; Midfielders – Khano Smith, Brad Evans, Osvaldo Alonso and Sebastien Le Toux; Forwards – Fredy Montero and Nate Jaqua.

Orange Squad: GK – Chris Eylander (1) and Kevin Guppy (1); Defenders – Mamadou Danso, Adam West, Kyle Shmid and Quavas Kirk; Midfielders – Emerald George, Fernando Screpis, Stephen King and Lamar Neagle; Forwards – Vini Oliviera and Jeff Clark.

Green Squad: GK – Ben Dragavon; Defenders – Patrick Ianni, Tyson Wahl and Zach Scott; Midfielders – Roger Levesque, Sanna Nyassi, Evan Brown, Ryan Caugherty and Leighton O’Brien; Forwards – Steve Zakuani and Ryan Pore.

1st Game: Blue vs. Orange ended in 0-0 draw

2nd Game: Blue defeated Green 2-0. 1st goal scored on a Sebastien Le Toux cross to Brad Evans for the header after Evans ran 30 yards down the left side line to get into the box. 2nd goal came on a Brad Evans cross from the left side to Sebastien Le Toux for the header.

3rd Game: Orange vs. Green ended in 0-0 draw.
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SIGI SCHMID SAYS
On the afternoon session: “The objective of this week was to work hard, so everybody should be tired so you expect it to be a little bit disjointed when you’re playing a game like you played today. You see some things that make you feel happy, and you see some things you don’t. Obviously you’re never fully prepared for something, but it’s good to be able to go out there next week and play against somebody that you don’t see everyday at training.”

On Sebastien Le Toux and Brad Evans connecting: “It’s something that worked well. Sebastien brings a high energy to the game, and Brad works very hard. We look at the goal that Brad got today. He’s the one that initially broke up the play and poked it wide, and then makes a 30, 40 yard run to get in the box. But that’s an element that he brings to the game and Sebastien is willing to make those runs as well. When you work hard, eventually something breaks your way.”

Due mostly to geography, there Seattle Mariners and Seahawks don't really have a single main rival that gets fans' blood boiling.

It's likely Seattle Sounders FC won't either, until the league gets around to expaning into Portland or Vancouver.

So in this expansion season, it's likely the San Jose Earthquakes will have to do.

The Earthquakes are the nearest team geographically, if not exactly neighbors. And the Sounders and Earthquakes are the only MLS teams will names and historys -- and yes, rivalries -- dating back to the North American Soccer League.

One problem for the Sounders, is that while the Earthquake may start of Seattle's top rival, San Jose is more focused on the in-state, high-glamour LA Galaxy.

Still, the teams will meet on the pitch for the first time next week, and then they'll cross paths three times during the regular season -- two in Seattle.

So, after Earthquakes training today in Santa Clara, Calif., I talked to Quakes coach Frank Yallop about his team's new rival to the north.

"I think if you look at Seattle, Vancouver and San Jose in the old days, they were great rivals," he said. "I think this will get going. We’ve got a great rivalry with LA, obviously. But I think that Seattle now, we can’t wait for our first game against them, and I’m sure they’re thinking the same. It’s good, I like when it’s a close neighbor when there’s some bragging rights there, and I’m sure Seattle’s thinking the same. You know they want to put one over on us, and I think it’s going to be a healthy rivalry there."

The Sounders divided up for seven training days today in Ventura, Calif.

Meanwhile, way up the coast, the San Jose Earthquakes worked at Santa Clara University. That's the session I attended, and I'll write a bit about it here soon, and then will write a story from my interviews for next week ... before the Sounders and Earthquakes actually meet on the pitch for the first time.

Meanwhile, the Sounders' staff provided this report on what went on down the coast:

PERSONNEL REPORT
The following players participated: Osvaldo Alonso, Nicola Andelic*, Evan Brown, Ryan Caugherty*, Jeff Clark*, Ben Dragavon, Brad Evans, Chris Eylander, Taylor Graham, Kevin Guppy, Patrick Ianni, Danny Jackson, Nate Jaqua, Kasey Keller, Stephen King, Quavas Kirk*, Sebastien Le Toux, Roger Levesque, Fredy Montero, Lamar Neagle, Sanna Nyassi, Leighton O’Brien, Vini Oliviera*, Ryan Pore*, James Riley, Zach Scott, Kyle Schmid*, Khano Smith, Nathan Sturgis, Tyson Wahl, Adam West, Steve Zakuani.

*players who did not practice with team first week in Renton

The following players were not present: Mandou Bojang (will rejoin team in Seattle on Feb. 18), Michael Fucito (hamstring), Freddie Ljungberg (rehabbing in Sweden), Jarrod Smith (hip flexor, rehabbing in Seattle), and Peter Vagenas (recovering from arthroscopic surgery). Vagenas did arrive for lunch at the hotel today to greet the team.

Assistant Coach Ezra Hendrickson played in place of the injured Jared Karkas (hamstring)

Technical Director Chris Henderson was in attendance and participated in the running and passing drills.

General Manager and Owner Adrian Hanauer watched from the sidelines.

FRIDAY TRAINING
Training returned to Day One’s location at Ventura College. The rain subsided; overcast with temperatures in the low 60s.

Training opened with running, stretching and passing drills, followed by four teams of 8-v-8 on two fields measured 55 by 48 yards. One field had regulation-size goals. Winner stays on, loser moves to the other field, featuring two pop-up goals on each side separated about 25 yards.

Afternoon session will be weight training.

Four teams comprised of eight -

Blue Side: Adam West, Lamar Neagle, Sebastien Le Toux, Leighton O’Brien, Taylor Graham, Roger Levesque, Quavas Kirk, and Chris Eylander in goal.

Purple Side: Vinicius Oliveira, Stephen King, Steve Zakuani, Nathan Sturgis, Brad Evans, Evan Brown, Patrick Ianni, and Kevin Guppy in goal.

Orange Side: Fredy Montero, Osvaldo Alonso, Nate Jaqua, Sanna Nyassi, Danny Jackson, Zach Scott, Ezra Hendrickson, and Kasey Keller in goal.

Green Side: Ryan Pore, Jeff Clark, Khano Smith, Tyson Wahl, Kyle Schmid, James Riley, Ryan Caugherty, and Ben Dragavon in goal.

7 games were played on the regulation goal.

1st game: Purple-v-Blue ended in 0-0 draw, with Blue holding field on coaches decision.

2nd game: Orange defeated Blue, 1-0, on goal from Montero drop-in over the head of Eylander.

3rd game: Orange defeated Green, 1-0, on goal from Montero holding ball inside box and delivering lower-right past Dragavon.

4th game: Orange defeated Blue, 2-0, on two goals from Montero. The first came on an Eylander penalty inside the box for tripping. The second came on a tackle from Nyassi, stripping the ball from Adam West, and passing to a running Montero, who delivered on one-touch lower-left.

5th game: Orange defeated Green, 3-0, on two goals from Montero and one from Nyassi. The first came on a Montero one-on-one with Dragavon, faking left and going center. The second came on from a Ezra Hendrickson assist over the top of the defense to Nyassi on the right side, and shot left for the goal. Montero scored the final goal of the game on a pass from Alonso lower-right.

6th game: Purple defeated Orange, 1-1, on a penalty shootout. Alonso assisted on Montero’s seventh goal of the day. Brad Evans scored the equalizer from 20 yards, shooting from the left side upper-right. Two stops from Guppy in the shootout secured the Purple win.

7th game: Green defeated Purple, 1-0, on a Oliveira cross to Caugherty, who went lower-right past Guppy.

Montero, 21 years old, scored seven goals on the day.

SIGI SCHMID SAID
On Fredy Montero's seven goals: “That’s his quality. If you give him a half a chance in the box, and what he is able to do, it’s not the amount of goals, it’s the type of goals. There’s a shot from distance. There’s holding the ball in the box and slipping into the corner. There’s getting on the end of a cross. There’s different ways he can score goals. He’s alert. He’s aware in the box. That’s what makes him so dangerous.”

On Montero and Nate Jaqua playing together: “Trying to pair them up. Today, the teams were picked by themselves, by the players. But when we try and play, we try and pair them up, so they start to understand each other and get to know each other a little bit better. The biggest thing with an expansion is you really only learn that once you really get into game situations and play with each other in games, where everybody’s adrenaline is at its optimum level. You’re alert. You’re sharp. And then you see how people start to read each other. That takes a period of time. Their understanding of each other is going to be much better in game ten then it’s going to be in game one or two.”

I'm in California ... but Northern California with the Huskies, not Southern California with the Sounders.

Still, I do plan on catching the San Jose Earthquakes training session tomorrow and try to get something Sounders/MLS related out of that.

Meanwhile, here's the Thursday report from the Sounders, including a couple of player additions:

PERSONNEL
The following players participated: Osvaldo Alonso, Nicola Andelic*, Evan Brown, Ryan Caugherty*, Jeff Clark*, Ben Dragavon, Brad Evans, Chris Eylander, Taylor Graham, Patrick Ianni, Danny Jackson, Nate Jaqua, Kasey Keller, Stephen King, Quavas Kirk*, Sebastien Le Toux, Roger Levesque, Fredy Montero, Sanna Nyassi, Leighton O’Brien, Vini Oliviera*, Ryan Pore*, James Riley, Zach Scott, Kyle Schmid*, Khano Smith, Nathan Sturgis, Tyson Wahl, Adam West, Steve Zakuani.

*players who did not practice with team first week in Renton

Two new faces at camp today: M/F Lamar Neagle, a Federal Way native, Thomas Jefferson HS graduate, and senior at UNLV, had his first day of training with the club. Kevin Guppy, a graduate of Cal State Northridge, joined the training camp roster as the fourth goalkeeper. GK Jordan King is no longer training with the team.

The following players were not present: Mandou Bojang (will rejoin team in Seattle on Feb. 18), Michael Fucito (hamstring), Freddie Ljungberg (rehabbing in Sweden), Jarrod Smith (hip flexor, rehabbing in Seattle), and Peter Vagenas (recovering from arthroscopic surgery). Vagenas did arrive for lunch at the hotel today to greet the team.

DAY FOUR AT OXNARD
Heavy rain. Recovery day; one practice.

Today was fun and games. After some brief running and stretching, players teamed up for ‘soccer tennis’: a soccer version of volleyball. Two flags with a net just above waist high. One touch per player back-and-forth inside the cones. After six games per team, two teams played for the ‘crown’. It was between the team of Taylor Graham and Roger Levesque and the team of Brad Evans and Tyson Wahl. The first to eleven wins and you have to win by two. A fight to the finish, Evans and Wahl’s team prevailed in extra time after some incredible rallies, 14-12.

Practice concluded with the coaches and trainers sending crosses for headers in front of the net. Fredy Montero had a diving header to get past Ben Dragovan. Kasey Keller congratulated the 19-year old after the impressive shot.

Jared Karkas did not participate in practice due to a hamstring injury.

SIGI SCHMID SAYS:
On the laid-back session: “You want guys to have some fun. Soccer tennis is always a game I think the players enjoy and you saw some good competition. Guys are competitive at it as well. It was good that way. And we did a little bit of skill with it. It was good because guys will get a little bit of shut eye tonight, and it allows us to get back to hard work tomorrow.”

Progress update: “Everything has been going great. Obviously we are still looking for players. We’re still evaluating people. We’re still making decisions. We’re trying to build our fitness program out. Things have gone as we would hope they have gone. We’ve stayed pretty clear of guys taking injuries, and that’s important as well.”

On attending UCLA's basketball win over USC on Wednesday: “I was at UCLA so many years. Being there 20 years, you have old friends you end up seeing. Being able to huddle with Coach (John) Wooden on his way in is always a great experience. Saw my old secretary at UCLA. A lot of people I coached with for a lot of years. Saw Rick Neuheisel trying to get the team fired up for football season. It was a good game. What I like about the basketball team is Ben Howland is a coach with a lot of intensity. That’s always what you want from your teams. That’s something we’ll have from our team as well.”

On receiving an ovation at the game: “I’m just lucky that I had a lot of great players. I know when I got inducted into the hall of fame, when you look at some of the names that are up there on that wall, and to be part of that group is something I’ll forever be proud of. It’s a unique situation.”

Here's the latest I found this morning.

Here's our Wednesday training update, provided by the good folks at Sounders FC:

PERSONNEL REPORT
The following players participated: Osvaldo Alonso, Nicola Andelic*, Evan Brown, Ryan Caugherty*, Jeff Clark*, Ben Dragavon, Brad Evans, Chris Eylander, Taylor Graham, Patrick Ianni, Danny Jackson, Nate Jaqua, Jared Karkas*, Kasey Keller, Stephen King, Quavas Kirk*, Sebastien Le Toux, Roger Levesque, Fredy Montero, Sanna Nyassi, Leighton O’Brien, Vini Oliviera*, Ryan Pore*, James Riley, Zach Scott, Kyle Schmid*, Khano Smith, Nathan Sturgis, Tyson Wahl, Adam West, Steve Zakuani.

*players who did not practice with team first week in Renton

The following players were not present: Mandou Bojang (will rejoin team in Seattle on Feb. 18), Michael Fucito (hamstring), Peter Vagenas (recovering from arthroscopic surgery – is inactive, but expected to be at practice tomorrow to watch), Freddie Ljungberg (rehabbing in Sweden), and Jarrod Smith (hip flexor, rehabbing in Seattle).

WHAT HAPPENED
The third day of training was at Santa Paul East, 10 a.m.; wind gusts and sun with temperatures in the mid-70s. There was one on-field practice. Players had weight training at 4 p.m. at Oxnard College.

The day featured three teams of 11-v-11 – three touch max rule - with Kasey Keller and Chris Eylander in goal. Patrick Ianni played in his first on-field scrimmage. Jeff Clark and Steve Zakuani each scored for their respective teams. The first came on a Stephen King cross that hit Ryan Pore, who made the quick pass to Clark. He went wide left past Keller. Zakuani’s goal came just before the end of practice on a breakaway, upper left past Eylander.

Fredy Montero banged knees late in practice, but was able to finish. Jared Karkas pulled up prior to the final game with a hamstring.

Majority Owner Joe Roth watched from the sidelines.

COACH SIGI SCHMID SAID...
On the third day in California: “Field was a little bumpy today, and the wind. Guys were a little sore and stiff from yesterday. It wasn’t brilliant soccer. But like I said, what I was looking for, ‘I want to see if their ideas are right; if their intentions are right.’ They’re trying to do the right things. It’s also that they got to know what they want to do to play. They need to know what they want to do before they get the ball, and not be afraid of the ball. They need to go out there and play, make decisions. If you make the wrong decision, okay, go on to the next play. My philosophy as a coach is if I have a player who doesn’t make decisions, I can’t play for him. You have to make decisions regardless of if it’s right or wrong. If he’s making the right decision that’s a technical breakdown, and maybe he’s making the right decision, but his timing is wrong.”

On Jared Karkas and Fredy Montero injuries today… “Karkas is a hamstring, and Montero banged knees, so he’s OK."

On Patrick Ianni working his way back into action: “His touch is still a little bit rough because he really didn’t train or touch the ball that month of December trying to recover from that injury he had. So for him, it’s getting his touch back. Good guys always take a little bit longer to get their touch back.”

On Brad Evans playing center mid: “He’s one of the guys who I think has been the most consistent in training day in and day out, in terms of his effort has been good, and in terms of his decision making has been good. If you play well, you’re going to play. It doesn’t matter who is around.”

On Montero, Nate Jaqua and Sebastien Le Toux combination: “Trying to put them together because I thought early on they were the three that showed the most. So we’re trying to figure out those three can play together. Right now, we’re not trying to build the team, and say this is where we we’re going to put Freddie (Ljungberg), so let’s build all the other pieces around it. We don’t know how long we’re going to miss Freddie, per se. We hope it’s only a game or two. But on the same token, we have to put our best team out there in game one, so we have to take these guys that we have right now, and try and put them into the best possible formation for them to be successful. So right now, I’m not thinking about where does Freddie fit in, or where does Peter Vagenas fit in, or how does any of that work. These are the guys I have right now, what’s the best grouping of these guys that we can put on the field.”

On when Ljungberg will return: “I’m going to talk to Simon, who has been working with him in Sweden. We’re going to talk at the end of this week. We talked at the end of last week as well. So this is a big week for him when he’s going to step up to running and so forth. We’ll see where he’s at running wise, and flexibility, and then exactly when it makes sense for him to Seattle, where he can start touching the ball a little bit.”

I spent most of my day dealing with the Washington Huskies football recruiting class.

But this was signing day for other sports, too, including UW women's soccer.

Here's a bit of their news release:

The University of Washington women’s soccer team signed four prep standouts to National Letters of Intent on Wednesday, head coach Lesle Gallimore announced.

The four players who will join the Huskies for the 2009 season are defender/forward Louise Albin (Shoreline, Wash.), midfielder Kelsea Brajkovich (Thousand Oaks, Calif.), midfielder Kellie Welch (Los Altos, Calif.) and forward Jessie Young (Surrey, British Columbia).

While the Huskies lost just five players and no full-time starters from last season’s team which went 15-6-1, Gallimore is excited about the specific needs the four players will fill.

“Without having too many seniors leaving our team, we set out in 2009 to improve our squad with very specific qualities and weren’t looking necessarily for quantity,” Washington head coach Lesle Gallimore said. “With this foursome we accomplished our goals. We have added four extremely athletic and versatile players to our Husky family. All four can play on the left or right side of the field comfortably, all four can play two or three positions successfully and all four have the athleticism to compete in the Pac-10, which is arguably the best women’s soccer conference in the country. In addition to their athletic accomplishments, all four young women are outstanding students and will add to the competiveness of the student-body at Washington.”

Some of you had asked about the Sounders' roster for the California part of thier training, and the club provided that today:

The following players participated: Osvaldo Alonso, Nicola Andelic*, Evan Brown, Ryan Caugherty*, Jeff Clark*, Ben Dragavon, Brad Evans, Chris Eylander, Taylor Graham, Patrick Ianni^, Danny Jackson, Nate Jaqua, Jared Karkas*, Kasey Keller, Stephen King, Quavas Kirk*, Sebastien Le Toux, Roger Levesque, Fredy Montero, Sanna Nyassi, Leighton O’Brien, Vini Oliviera*, Ryan Pore*, James Riley, Zach Scott, Kyle Schmid*, Khano Smith, Nathan Sturgis, Tyson Wahl, Adam West, Steve Zakuani.

*players who did not practice with team first week in Renton

The following players were not present: Mandou Bojang (will rejoin team in Seattle on Feb. 18), Michael Fucito (hamstring), Peter Vagenas (recovering from arthroscopic surgery – is inactive, but expected to be at practice tomorrow to watch), Freddy Ljungberg (rehabbing in Sweden), and Jarrod Smith (hip flexor, rehabbing in Seattle).

The Sounders also provided a few Sigi Schmid quotes from the first day of training down there:

On the first two-a-days: “Obviously it’s the part of the time that a player probably doesn’t say it’s his favorite time. But it’s a necessity. It’s something you have to do. I thought their work this morning was very good, and the fitness work was good. This afternoon it was a little more tactical work. Slowly and surely we are getting the points across. I thought it was very positive.”

On training in warmer weather: “I don’t mind training when it’s a little bit colder, and I don’t think some of the players don’t mind. But from the standpoint that we’re really trying to work hard on fitness, and build that base, just having a little bit warmer weather is better for the muscles. You can push a little bit harder. That’s one of the main reasons. There’s actually two good reasons for going away. One is that for the weather wise because you can push a little harder. And the second this is when you go away with the team, even though you can train twice a day in Seattle, the guys are together in between practices, so the guys have to talk to each other and learn some things about each other.


On the first practices of Vinicius Oliviera, the Sounders' SuperSearch winner: “For him, it’s a very interesting, unique challenge. He worked very had to get this opportunity. Today he had some moments that were good. He had a really nice one-two with (Sanna) Nyassi in the game this morning. And then there has been some moments where I’m sure he thought to himself, ‘this is a lot different then I thought it would be, and it’s a lot faster.’ Adjusting to the speed of play is certainly going to be the biggest test, because that’s the biggest test for all players as they move up. And the other test is the physical demands. You think you’re in shape and ready to go, and you realize ‘I’m not there yet.’ He’s fit in. He’s done well.”

Seattle Sounders FC shifts to the second phase of its preseason training Tuesday in Oxnard, Calif.

After opening preseason camp at the Seahawks training facility in Renton on Jan. 21, the Sounders will spend the next week training at Oxnard College before playing their first four training games next week at various California sites.(Here's an overview on teams training in Southern California from the Ventura County Star.)

“The first week, the emphasis is going to be on fitness,” coach Sigi Schmid said. “A lot of the training exercises that we’re going to do is going to have a little more of a fitness base to it. For example, if we’re playing five-against-five, instead of playing on a field that’s 40-by-25, we might be playing on a field that’s 60-by-30 – we want them to cover more ground. That’s why we don’t play any games the first week we’re there: I’m not a believer in working on fitness and trying to play games at the same time.”

The Sounders will meet opposition for the first time Feb. 9, playing the LA Galaxy at the Home Dept Center training facility in Carson; Calif.

They’ll play Shandong Luneng of China at Oxnard on Feb. 9; the Ventura County Fusion in Ventura, Calif., on Feb. 11; and the San Jose Earthquakes at San Luis Obispo on Feb. 13.

Schmid expects to keep his roster at around 30-32 players while in California, to allow for the steady diet of games.

“It’s what we need for training purposes in preseason because when we start playing games, we’re playing (next) Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,” he said. “If you have 28 field players, 14 will play the majority of the Monday, (and other) guys will play a little bit; and then a different 14 will play on Tuesday and these guys will play a little bit; and then Wednesday we’ll mix it up.”

After those two weeks in California, the Sounders will return briefly to the Northwest before traveling to Argentina for more training games Feb. 27 through March 5.

Then they will return to Seattle for final training leading up to their Major League Soccer season-opener March 19 against the New York Red Bulls at Qwest Field.

Vini Oliveria is headed down to Sounders training camp in Ventura, Calif., today after winning the Sounders SuperSearch competition.

A native of Brazil, Olivera currently resides in Edmonds and is a student at Bellevue Community College where he has played two seasons on their soccer team, including one as MVP.

More info here, from the Sounders FC site.