Sounders

Zach Scott called it “unavoidable.”

When the U.S. Open Cup third-round draw came out Wednesday, it was impossible for the Sounders FC defender not to notice a possible matchup with his younger brother Dan, who plays for the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the second-tier North American Soccer League.

The Rowdies face VSI Tampa Bay in a second-round game Tuesday and the winner faces three-time champion Seattle on May 29.

Zach sent Dan a text message after the draw.

“His first response, which was the correct one, was, ‘Hey, we’ve got a game against VSI on Tuesday, so we definitely have to win that one before we can even look ahead,’” said Zach Scott of his brother. “I know he loves their coach, and their coach is a real professional. He’s going to have them completely grounded. Obviously that’s unavoidable to look into the future, it’s what we did when we were playing MLS clubs as a lower-division team, but they’re going to be ready. I’m certain they’ll win that game on Tuesday and we’ll see them in a couple weeks.”

You might remember Zach and Dan faced off in the 2011 Open Cup, when Dan played for the Kitsap Pumas.

But is there any way Zach will be rooting against his brother Tuesday? If the Rowdies win, the third-round game will be in Florida, forcing the Sounders into some crazy travel in between league trips to Los Angeles on May 26 and June 1.

If the Rowdies lose, Seattle will host VSI at Starfire Stadium in Tukwila.

Zach’s answer?

“100 percent,” he said. “As a soccer fan, I want to play my brother. As a guy that would hopefully be recovering between games, I’d rather not have to take a cross-country trip. I know everybody on this team is the same way.”

Preliminary design of a Sounders FC license plate available for order in January. Photo credit: Courtesy of Seahawks/Sounders FC

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Washington State Governor Jay Inslee signed a bill Friday that will make Sounders FC and Seahawks license plates available to order in January. The ceremony was held at the VMAC and proceeds will benefit three non-profits.

Take a look at the preliminary design of the Sounders plate above, as the idea was the celebrate the fans. The Department of Licensing will work with law enforcement to ensure readability, according to a news release, and the designs will be finalized sometime this summer or early fall.

“The license plates are a distinctive way Seahawks and Sounders FC fans can display their passion and support local non-profits,” said Peter McLoughlin, president of both teams, in the release.

Here is a piece online from the Seahawks that should answer any questions you may have — how to order, price, info on the non-profits, personalizing, etc.

Are you going to get one?

Photo credit: AP

U.S. women’s national team coach Tom Sermanni was in attendance for Reign FC’s home game Thursday against the Washington spirit. The Scotsman took the time to chat with a couple reporters at halftime, and here is the full transcript:

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(What brings you to Seattle?) “Well, this is the final one; I’ve been to all the other grounds (in the NWSL). It’s important to me to be out watching the games. That’s the first thing. It’s also important to get around to all the grounds in the league and see how things are going. It’s good to be here at last.”

(What do you make of the venue and also, more generally, what do you think of Seattle as a potential market to support women’s soccer?) “Firstly, I think the venue is great. I think it’s a great little atmosphere. The size of the stadium is about right for the league and where it’s at, at the moment. It’s a synthetic field that doesn’t have American football markings on it, and that’s a huge plus. And it looks like a good field for a synthetic field. So the whole setup here, I think from a soccer perspective, is fantastic. And Seattle itself is known, like Portland, to be a huge soccer market. You have a community that comes out and supports its teams, so for me, this is the ideal market for a women’s professional team.”

(more…)

SOUNDERS FC — OUT: GK Josh Ford (R patella fracture). QUESTIONABLE: DF Ashani Fairclough (L adductor strain), MID Mauro Rosales (R AC joint sprain), MID Steve Zakuani (abdominal strain).

FC DALLAS — OUT: DF Ugo Ihemelu (concussion), MID Peter Luccin (torn right ACL). QUESTIONABLE: DF George John (left knee strain), MID Andrew Jacobson (right hamstring strain).

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You’ll notice Obafemi Martins (knee), Shalrie Joseph (hamstring) and Marc Burch (groin) are no longer listed for Seattle, which is good news. Martins, of course, played in the last game and Joseph went 90 minutes in Sunday’s reserve game.

On the Dallas side, here’s a report that said John — a Shoreline native and University of Washington product — won’t be traveling back home.

Coach Sigi Schmid was asked after Friday’s practice how the team stood health-wise.

“We’re good,” he said. “Obviously Patrick Ianni missed practice this week with flu-like symptoms, so we’ll see how he feels after today. Steve Zakuani is the one guys we’ve held out. Everybody else looks all right.”

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Final — Spirit 4, Reign FC 2. Seattle falls to 0-5-1, has lost five straight and been outscored 12-4.

84′ — GOAL SPIRIT. Tori Huster just about seals this one for the visitors with a goal to make it 4-2 Washington.

83′ — Reign FC’s attendance of 1,011 tonight is the 2nd lowest in the NWSL this season, according to figures compiled by Equalizer Soccer.

55′ — GOAL SPIRIT. Washington goes up 3-2 on a goal by Tiffany McCarty. We’ve got a shootout here at Starfire.

(more…)

Eddie Johnson is headed back to the U.S. men’s national team.

The Sounders FC forward was one of 26 players called up Thursday by coach Jurgen Klinsmann for a slew of upcoming games. Players will meet May 26 in Cleveland ahead of a May 29 friendly there against Belgium. That is followed by a June 2 friendly against Germany in Washington, D.C.

The big games come later in World Cup qualifiers June 7 at Jamaica, June 11 vs. Panama (in Seattle) and June 18 vs. Honduras (in Salt Lake).

Johnson is expected to stay with the Sounders through a May 26 road game against the Los Angeles Galaxy before reporting to the USMNT. He is set to miss MLS games against Chivas USA (June 1) and Vancouver (June 8).

“The hard work we have been doing here doesn’t go unnoticed,” Johnson said in a team release. “I thank my teammates and coaches for pushing me week in and week out. To wear the U.S. National Team jersey in front of Seattle fans will be an unbelievable experience for me. I’m honored and privileged to have this opportunity.”

Johnson has 10 goals in qualifying, tied for second in federation history with Brian McBride.

“Eddie is a guy with amazing pace,” Klinsmann said in an interview with U.S. Soccer. “He can surprise people going one against one and can create something out of nothing.”

Here is the full list of 26 (four MLS goalkeepers will rotate one at a time):

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GOALKEEPERS (6): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tally Hall (Houston Dynamo), Bill Hamid (D.C. United), Tim Howard (Everton), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)

DEFENDERS (8): DaMarcus Beasley (Puebla), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City), Edgar Castillo (Club Tijuana), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), Clarence Goodson (Brondby), Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim), Michael Parkhurst (Augsburg)

MIDFIELDERS (10): Michael Bradley (Roma), Joe Corona (Club Tijuana), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Maurice Edu (Bursaspor), Stuart Holden (Bolton), Jermaine Jones (Schalke), Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht), Brek Shea (Stoke City), Danny Williams (Hoffenheim), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)

FORWARDS (5): Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar), Terrence Boyd (Rapid Vienna), Clint Dempsey (Tottenham Hotspur), Herculez Gomez (Santos), Eddie Johnson (Seattle Sounders FC)

Sounders FC coach Sigi Schmid talked after Thursday’s practice about his team’s U.S. Open Cup draw. Seattle, of course, faces a potential brutal trip to Florida, which would be sandwiched by MLS road trips to Los Angeles.

Here is what Schmid had to say:

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“The only place we could’ve played is Miami that was further away, unless Puerto Rico is considered part of the Open Cup. (laughs) … Obviously for us it presents a unique problem. I know Bruce Arena mentioned their problem, but our problem is worse. If the NASL Tampa team wins, we go from L.A. to Tampa and then back to L.A., so we have to go cross-country and play three games. And then we have a reserve game, as well, at the end of that. So we’ll have four games in a grand total of (eight) days, and we’ll have to go cross-country to get it done.

“It’s definitely not optimal. Last year, I got in trouble saying things about the Open Cup, so I guess I can’t say too much about it to not get in trouble. But I’m never quite sure if they re-draw it every round, if it’s done on a regional basis… Sometimes you think it’s regional when you see that D.C. is going to play Richmond, and you see that Chivas drives 20 miles down the road and plays the L.A. Blues, and then other times you see L.A. playing Carolina and we’re playing Tampa. So it doesn’t look very regional at all.

“Again, lay it out there. Let everybody see it. Put a bracket out there right from the beginning, and then there’s no ifs, ands or buts, and no questions.”

A great story has turned into a tragic one.

Richard Swanson, 42, set out on a 10,000-mile trek to Brazil earlier this month. His goal was to bring attention to the One World Futbol Project, which donates seemingly indestructible soccer balls in developing countries, by dribbling one from his hometown of Seattle to the host country of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Sadly, he was hit by a pickup truck on the Oregon Coast and died Tuesday.

You can read more on the news from OregonLive.com and this AP story. Those reports say Swanson was a Sounders fan.

Here are some more links:

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— First off, David Beckham has retired at 38 years old. He’s coming off a French league title with PSG and issued this statement.

— It sounds like FC Dallas might sit local product George John (who this story thinks the U.S. should cap) and star David Ferreira against the Sounders this weekend.

— Honduran media is reporting there is a second-division team in England interested in signing Mario Martinez from Real Espana if Seattle elects to pass. The midfielder is here on a one-year loan that comes up this summer.

— Want to know why Levante didn’t want Obafemi Martins to leave? They have one goal in their last 509 minutes without him, just four goals in eight games overall.

— Not a bad few days for Chelsea, a two-time friendly opponent of Sounders FC. The English side won the Europa League and signed Frank Lampard to a new contract. Is Jose Mourinho next?

— In some MLS news, D.C. United’s Robbie Russell has retired to go to medical school, Portland’s turf goes under the microscope after a rash of injuries, Tim Cowlishaw of ESPN fame gave FC Dallas some love, and the disciplinary committee was busy this week with suspensions.

— Here are the referee assignments for next weekend (Baldomero Toledo is in charge of the Sounders-Galaxy game).

— In some transactions, Toronto FC has traded for Bobby Convey, Chivas USA has traded for Gabriel Farfan, and the Galaxy is in talks with Chicago over Robbie Rogers.

— The U.S. men’s national team roster for upcoming World Cup qualifiers and friendlies will be released this afternoon, so look out for that. One report says Landon Donovan won’t be included (the Galaxy star responded here).

— Also, here is a projection of a potential Gold Cup roster (the tournament has a new trophy, by the way). And The Washington Post has some more USMNT notes.

— Here is a look at NWSL’s struggles in attendance.

— In some miscellaneous reads, here’s is another story on Bob Bradley in Egypt, Frankie Hejduk was in an eating competition with some elephants, MLS will have Topps playing cards coming out, and ESPN is starting a new daily soccer show starting Aug. 11.

— Wigan’s Roger Espinoza, formerly of Sporting KC, became the first to win an FA Cup and U.S. Open Cup in back-to-back years.

— And lastly, did you see Jimmy Nielsen has an autobiography coming out? His darker days actually go beyond stoppage time against the Sounders.

Reign FC is still looking for its first win of the NWSL season, and Thursday’s home game against the Washington Spirit looks to be a great chance to earn that milestone.

Kickoff at Starfire Stadium is 7 p.m., and tickets are available starting at $19.

Seattle, which also hosts Sky Blue FC on Sunday, is 0-4-1 this year having lost four games in a row.

Washington features Lori Lindsey, Ashlyn Harris and Ali Krieger from the U.S. national team and is 0-2-3 this season.

The Reign continue to be without a trio of USWNT players as goalkeeper Hope Solo is out after wrist surgery, and no timeline is available for her return. Midfielder/forward Megan Rapinoe remains on loan in France until next month. Forward Amy Rodriguez is out for the year as she starts a family.

Thursday’s game against the Spirit will be streamed live at ReignFC.com and be available within 48 hours on the NWSL’s YouTube page.

This is the Year of the MLS Cup.

At least that’s how the Sounders portrayed it at the start of the season. That doesn’t mean the other competitions don’t matter — as seen already in a pretty impressive CONCACAF Champions League run — but more emphasis was going to be put on going deep in the MLS playoffs.

Now it’s just about time for the U.S. Open Cup, a tournament Seattle has won three times (2009, 2010, 2011 and nearly in 2012). And if you look at Wednesday’s third-round draw, clearly U.S. Soccer did the Sounders no favors with a potential May 29 trip to Florida in between back-to-back league trips to southern California, May 26 at the Los Angeles Galaxy and June 1 at Chivas USA.

That’s a brutal Sunday-Wednesday-Saturday stretch.

So let’s hear it.

Are you just as excited for a U.S. Open Cup run? Does the tournament feel less important to you this year?

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