Sounder At Heart

Now Healthy, Sounders May Have Best Attacking Four In MLS

2012-05-18T01:53:55Z

Now Healthy, Sounders May Have Best Attacking Four In MLS

This should be a very interesting week for the boys in Rave Green as their attacking core is finally looking healthy.

Sounders Women to be Broadcast on 1150AM

2012-05-18T01:00:02Z

The Sounders Women will be broadcast live on KKNW AM1150! The final seven matches of the season, and four “Sounders Women Weekly” shows will be broadcast live. Did you hear that? It’s yet another exciting step that the Sounders Women are taking to get their team into the big time. Okay, let’s not put the cart before the horse, but still it’s cool. Five of those games will be away games. That’s even better. In partnership with the Sandusky Radio and Pioneer Sports, there will be a Sounders Women Weekly show, beginning on Friday, June 22 at 4:00 PM.

The schedule below is subject to change, and there is the possibility of broadcasting the playoff matches when we get there.

Broadcast Schedule (times in Pacific Time, match times subject to change)

June 22, 4pm-5pm – Sounders Women Weekly

June 24, 12:45pm-3pm – Match Broadcast [Sounders Women vs Santa Clarita Blue Heat]

June 29, 4pm-5pm – Sounders Women Weekly

June 30, 2:15pm-4:30pm – Match Broadcast [Sounders Women @ Colorado Rapids Women]

July 1, 11:45am-2pm – Match Broadcast [Sounders Women @ Colorado Rush]

July 6, 4pm-5pm – Sounders Women Weekly

July 6, 6:45pm-9pm – Match Broadcast [Sounders Women vs Victoria Highlanders]

July 11, 6:45pm-9pm – Match Broadcast [Sounders Women @ Santa Clarita Blue Heat]

July 13, 4pm-5pm – Sounders Women Weekly

July 13, 6:45pm-9pm – Match Broadcast [Sounders Women @ LA Strikers]

July 15, 2:45pm-5pm – Mach Broadcast [Sounders Women @ Pali Blues]

According to the Sounders Women press release, “Sandusky Radio and particularly 1150 KKNW are thrilled to be part of this growing franchise. The Sounders women are going to make history and we are excited to be the radio voice for this exciting sport,” said Marc Kaye VP/ GM.

The matches will air live over 1150AM throughout the Puget Sound. Additionally, the matches and “Sounders Women Weekly” shows will be simulcast on 98.9 HD Channel 3 as well as online at 1150KKNW.com throughout the world. Links to listen to the broadcasts will be available from SoundersWomen.com

Jon Billings, Sounders Women Director of Communications & Broadcasts, will be the voice of the Sounders Women for the broadcasts. “Broadcasting our matches on the radio is a fantastic way to reach more fans and allow them to connect to our team.”

This is yet another way for the Sounders Women to set themselves apart from the rest of the W-League. Oh, it’s good to be a Sounder!

Agudelo Traded to Chivas USA for Heath Pierce

2012-05-17T20:08:30Z

Agudelo Traded to Chivas USA for Heath Pierce

And just like that NJED become a viably decent team across the board

History Makes Cascadia Cup Unique in American Soccer - Sounder At Heart

2012-05-17T15:17:34Z

History Makes Cascadia Cup Unique in American Soccer - Sounder At Heart

This post from last year is a snapshot of the Cascadia rivalry, from pre-Cascadia Cup to present. While that rivalry is probably more well known for the Timbers-Sounders side of things, the Vancouver-Seattle contests are more numerous. In total teams from these two cities have met 125 times (119 competitive matches). Seattle holds the all-time edge 61-45-19 since 1974.

Saturday is also the first match of the 2012 Cascadia Cup proper. All matches count towards the supporters trophy. Last year the Sounders went 2-0-2 +3 to win the trophy in the trivalry.

Sounders Could Start Defense Of US Open Cup In Atlanta

2012-05-16T22:53:58Z

The 2012 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup is larger and removes the blind bidding process. The chance that an MLS side would go on the road increased after changes to the bidding structure. The Seattle Sounders possible matchup for their entry in round three could see travel to face the Atlanta Silverbacks or hosting the Georgia Revolution of the NPSL at Starfire. Those two teams face off next Tuesday at RYSA Soccerplex in Conyers, Georgia with the southern Revs hosting.

With today's announced potential parings, a total of 19 of the 32 possible opponent/host combinations will have lower divisions travel to MLS sides. The variety of travel and hosting situations is certainly broader than in years past. For the most part NASL & USL Pro teams would host MLS sides. With the lack of lower level pro teams west of the Mississippi, MLS sides from the West are those traveling the most. Portland to North Carolina, Colorado to Tampa, and LA to NC are the other long trips revealed.

Fourth Round match ups will be determined at a future date.

Seattle and Atlanta have a bit of history as both were active in the old USL-1. Their biggest game was the 2007 USL-1 Final at Starfire which the Sounders handled easily. Mac Kandji played for the Silverbacks while Roger Levesque and Zach Scott were among those that suited for the Sounders 2.0. Shortly after this trophy the Sounders' jump to MLS was announced.

Se4ttle is a goal for 2012. It could start with a long road trip.

Sounders prove MLS can put fans in the seats

2012-05-16T22:53:22Z

Sounders prove MLS can put fans in the seats

Like all fans, we like to be praised. Well, there's no shortage of that in this feature about the culture surrounding the Seattle Sounders in the latest issue of ESPN The Magazine.

On "fake turf" in Seattle, 2012 edition

2012-05-16T20:44:43Z

Message from editor: The grass v turf debate was sparked again. This take sums up positions I've stated many times, so rather than write more, I'll just frontpage this. Also, I have a computer again, so regular posting will return shortly. - Dave

Dear national soccer writer,

Thanks for weighing in with your opinion on the state of the pitch at Century Link Field. Since you're being directed here, I can only assume that you've made some type of reference to the "fake turf" the teams are playing on, or expressed the opinion that natural grass is "better" than turf, or in some other fashion kicked the metaphorical hornet's nest of this debate. As you can probably tell by the existence of this post, turf is something of a sore subject for Sounders fans, but a real response will necessarily be more nuanced than can fit into a tweet. Here are the basic points you should understand.

First, and most basically, most of us agree with you on the narrow point that, all other things being equal, grass is better for soccer than turf. Having played on turf myself, I can attest that it's terribly annoying to pick all of the little rubber pellets out of your shoes after the game; and you'll certainly get burns from turf that you won't from grass. Oh, the burns! That said, the difference probably isn't as big as you think. Newer turf surfaces play in a fashion very similar to natural grass; Sounders players don't really notice the difference, as Mauro Rosales said in a live chat with the Seattle Times on May 15th, 2012. Neither does FIFA: Century Link installed new FieldTurf in 2012, and it received a two-star rating from soccer's governing body. Hey, that's the same rating as the grass at Old Trafford and Wembley!

All that being said, the question of which surface is better for soccer in a vacuum isn't really relevant; the question is, which surface is best for Century Link Field? Grass has some problems which turf doesn't: drainage can be an issue, particularly in stadiums like Portland's Jeld-Wen Field where the water table is high; and grass requires light to grow properly, which is a problem in the Pacific Northwest where we get nine months a year of cloud cover (a previous investigation by the Seahawks' ownership in have suggested that grass would require a 1.8 million-dollar irrigation and heating system to be installed inside the field). But wait -- England has these problems too, doesn't it? It rains a ton there; you've been there (or else you wouldn't be a national soccer journalist, right?) and they play on grass. What gives?

Well, the NFL, for one. Remember how the English media gets all worked up for the FA Cup final every year because the NFL has played its one stupid game in London and trashed the field at Wembley? Imagine that eight times a year. In fact, for 2012, imagine it fourteen times a year -- the University of Washington will be playing its home football games at Century Link while Husky Stadium is renovated. Century Link Field also hosts other events which require its big capacity, including Supercross races, concerts for bands with big stage shows like U2 and Metallica, and speeches by the Dalai Lama and others.

Are there alternatives? Well, sure. We could put in temporary grass for Sounders games; this has been done for previous big matches, like when Barcelona came to town, but the surface was frankly terrible and worse than the FieldTurf, and it costs $250k a pop. Seattle could also build a soccer-only stadium somewhere; it would be extremely difficult to get approved -- remember the Sonics leaving town? seen the furor over the proposed new NBA arena in SoDo? -- and probably too small, and would probably be redundant since it would be the second soccer-specific stadium in town, but it could be done. More realistically, we could put in natural grass and say damn the consequences, we'll eat the up-front cost and replace the grass as needed. The problem with this approach is that it's too difficult and costly even for the San Siro in Milan, one of soccer's temples, where they're replacing the natural surface with a hybrid natural/synthetic blend because they don't get enough light to keep the current grass alive. It's possible that this approach could work in Seattle as well -- time will tell -- but it's still not natural grass.

So, in summary, when you complain about the turf, please remember that while we're not necessarily wild about it either, it makes more sense than any other approach that I've seen so far. If it really impacts your appreciation of the game, that's fine and I'm sorry; but it doesn't impact mine, and it doesn't seem to bother any of the other forty thousand people at the game with me either. Good luck with your piece!

College stars gear up for PDL action | College Soccer News

2012-05-16T19:32:46Z

College stars gear up for PDL action | College Soccer News

Three Sounders Academy players are listed among the top college players heading to the PDL this season. Sean Okoli, Deandre Yedlin and Nick Palodichuk are all on the Sounders U23 roster.