Brad Colyer

Santos Laguna Home (CONCACAF First Leg): Rapid (over)Reactions

Published March 8, 2012 | By Brad Colyer | Posted in Sounders

Throughout the season, my Rapid (Over)reactions pieces will be posted the night of or morning after Sounders games. They will be my instant feelings about what I saw take place, and may or may not differ from what I see when I sit down and watch the broadcast of the game.

This is Eddie Johnson

For a game that was labeled the “biggest in club history” by Coach Sigi Schmid the team played like they were aware of the magnitude of the match, and that’s a tribute to how well coached they are. They came out firing on all cylinders, dominating the first 20 minutes of the game, including David Estrada’s goal in the 12^thminute.

Sometimes writers for a website write a whole article, then forget to publish it. Later on a different guy comes around and chooses to put the finishing touches on such an article. Today those guys are Brad and me, Casey McLain, and this is a picture from Brad's facebook of him with a stupid green balloon on his head.

The goal was set up beautifully, with Fredy Montero’s cross finding a cutting Estrada to head just off the hand of Oswaldo Sánchez and in. Montero’s cross was perfect. He found a soft spot in the defense where one Santos defender was left alone to choose between marking Brad Evans cutting towards the near post, or Estrada going to the far post. The split second of hesitation gave Estrada the space he needed to drive his header low, where Sanchez wasn’t able to get down fast enough to knock the ball away.

Once the initial push came and went from the Sounders, the game started to get a bit chippy. Bodies were flying everywhere, although that very well may have been Santos and Alvaro… Continue reading →

Sounders Preview: What we Learned in the Preseason

Published March 3, 2012 | By Brad Colyer | Posted in Sounders

Now that the preseason has wrapped up, I’ll take a look at what we can expect going forward. Check out my previews of each position group here, here, and here.

Coach Sigi Schmid

The Sounders wrapped up their preseason schedule on Wednesday with a convincing 2-0 win over Mexican side Jaguares de Chiapas in this year’s edition of the Community Shield match. The game was the conclusion of an outstanding preseason campaign for the team. They cruised to a 5-0-2 record, and ended on a five game winning streak. While some of the games were against a local college team or the US U-17 national team, the main objective was to get the team rolling without suffering any injuries.

In the seven games they played, the Sounders showed their offense hadn’t skipped a beat, scoring in every game and finishing with a 19-4 goal differential. Fredy Montero was the team’s leading scorer with five goals, while the biggest surprise of camp was David Estrada’s emergence at forward and his three goals. Eddie Johnson also contributed a goal in his only game action with the team against Florida Gulf Coast University, but picked up the hamstring injury that has kept him out of the lineup for the rest of the preseason.

The dates and opposing teams in the games were scheduled to prepare the team for the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal series against another Mexican side, Santos Laguna. Santos is two months into their season in the Mexican Primera Division, so Coach Sigi Schmid had to focus his shortened preseason on getting his starters ready to play against a team already in midseason form. Three games were played on Wednesdays to simulate a midweek game, with the last two being against Mexican teams that will prepare the… Continue reading →

Sounders Preview: Who Will Step up as Fredy’s Partner? (Forwards)

Published March 2, 2012 | By Brad Colyer | Posted in Sounders

Today is part 3 of the 7 day countdown to the first match of the 2012 Sounders season. Yesterday I looked at the players in the midfield. Today will highlight the search for a striking partner for Fredy Montero.

Fredy Montero after scoring his US Open Cup winning goal

Last season the Sounders led the MLS in goals with an astonishing 56, good for the second highest total in league history (behind the 2007 DC United squad’s 58 goals). The team played the type of attacking soccer fans love to see, with a fast-paced, fluid offense that produced 15 different goal scorers and shot counts often in double figures. Fredy Montero solidified his stake as one of the league’s top strikers in 2011 with his team high 12 goals in league play (18 in all competitions), despite playing the beginning of the year with a broken wrist. Having a talent like Montero who can create something out of nothing is a luxury for a team, but once again the Sounders were unable to find a player who could consistently exploit opposing defenses when too much attention was given to him.

Throughout the three years of the Sounders’ MLS existence, they have lacked a second forward to supplement Montero’s goal scoring. Blaise N’Kufo played solid in his half of a season, but retired unexpectedly the day of last year’s season opener. O’Brian White (acquired in an offseason trade with Toronto) was asked to replace N’Kufo in the starting role. He started seven games, contributing two goals and two assists before doctors discovered blood clotting in his leg. The ensuing surgery and recovery not only knocked him out for the rest of 2011, but there is still no time table on his return. The team’s front office has recently been… Continue reading →

Sounders Preview: Can the Team’s Strength Continue to Flex Its Offensive Muscle? (Midfielders)

Published March 1, 2012 | By Brad Colyer | Posted in Sounders

Today is part 2 of the 7 day countdown to the first match of the 2012 Sounders season. Yesterday I highlighted the new players on the defensive side and in goal. Today I’ll take a look at the team’s midfield.

Steve Zakuani

After a season in which the Sounders rose to the top of the league in scoring led by some surprise names in the midfield, the hope around Seattle is that they can again provide offense, despite coming in as known quantities in 2012.

The Sounders entered 2011 with a midfield so stacked with talent that some fans (myself included) were wondering how they were going to fit all of it on the field. The team returned one of the best holding midfielders in the league (Osvaldo Alonso), one of the most exciting young players in MLS (Steve Zakuani), a young Designated Player who had played for the Uruguay squad that had finished 4^th in the World Cup (Alvaro Fernandez), and a productive when healthy attacking midfielder (Brad Evans). They also picked up a new Swedish player (Erik Friberg, now back in Sweden), drafted the player they pegged to be Alonso’s backup (Servando Carrasco), and added a mystery trialist during training camp (as the legend goes, he turned out to be Mauro Rosales). Unfortunately, that depth was tested almost immediately, starting with one fateful play in Colorado (if you haven’t seen this, I should warn you it’s tough to watch).

Losing a rising player who had scored 10 goals the year before and had already chipped in two goals in the five games prior to the injury would have been devastating for most MLS clubs. The Sounders were not only able to adjust to Zakuani’s absence, but the team’s midfield became the catalyst for their league-leading… Continue reading →

Sounders Preview: Who are these guys (Goalkeepers and Defense)?

Published February 29, 2012 | By Brad Colyer | Posted in Sounders

Today is the one week mark until the 2012 Sounders season kicks off, so I’m doing a 7 part series that will highlight 7 questions the Sounders face heading into the campaign. Part 1 will focus on the new players on the defensive side.

You’ve heard the saying “the best defense is a good offense.” The 2011 Sounders put that theory to the test early and often. While the offense blazed its way to a league-high 56 goals, the defense routinely gave up easy chances and relied on the offense to dig itself out of holes early in games. With the loss of goalkeeper Kasey Keller to retirement, starting left back Tyson Wahl in a trade with Montreal, and starting right back James Riley leaving in the expansion draft, the Sounders have been forced to fill three of five spots in the back (assuming Coach Sigi Schmid sticks with his customary 4-4-2 formation).

Michael Gspurning

The biggest void to be filled this year will be in goal. Without the world class Kasey Keller as the last line of defense and team captain this season, the mitts have been handed to MLS newcomer Michael Gspurning. Gspurning is an imposing figure in the net at 6’5”, and he comes with experience playing in top leagues in Austria and Greece (where he posted an incredible 16 shutouts in the 2008-2009 season), plus three caps for the Austrian national team. The Sounders won’t count on him to be the vocal leader the way Keller was, but they will need him to stand tall if the back line is again prone to the mental lapses early in games that cost them last season. Youngsters Bryan Meredith and Andrew Weber (currently starring on CBS’ The Amazing Race) will most likely serve as the backups.

Adam… Continue reading →