The streak had to come to an end eventually, didn’t it? The Seattle Sounders traveled to Real Salt Lake Saturday, losing 2-1 at Rio Tinto and marking an end to our 75 straight MLS matches without a loss in two consecutive matches.  We can kiss our 408-minute shutout streak goodbye. Adios. Sayonara.

A diving header from Luis Gil gave RSl the 2-0 lead before the half. Salt Lake controlled most of the first half, constantly challenging Sounders keep Michael Gspurning within the first 10 minutes. For Real, injuries came early as Robbie Findley was taken out in the 12^th minute with a left adductor strain, minutes after scoring the first goal for RSL.

His first goal of the season, Brad Evans brought Seattle up in the second half providing a light at the end of the tunnel. Unfortunately the first half was a forgettable one as the Sounders struggled to find their footing on the pitch.

The second half showed a little more power from the Sounders as DeAndre Yedlin pushed high while Martins and Eddie Johnson constantly stretched out the RSL backline, however, RSL rookie Devon Sandoval forced himself through Seattle’s shaky defense, leaving opportunities for his teammates.

Kudos to Michael Gspurning who kept the rave green army in check, making a total of six saves, surpassing last year’s career high in a regular season match.

The Sounders shift their focus back to CONCACAF Champions League on Tuesday as the semi-final match against Santos Laguna takes place at Century Link Field.

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What a day in the soccer world yesterday! For me, I was pumped the very moment I woke up at 6 a.m. that morning. The news that Real Madrid beat Barcelona for the second time this week was just the beginning. But then I looked at my Avengers calendar, my eyes drawn to the gigantic green & blue star covering today’s date.

Dun dun dun! Yesterday was the first day of the new 2013-2014 MLS season, everybody! I hope you are all just as excited as I am. Last night was the opening match for the Seattle Sounders who faced off the Montreal Impact.

Sadly, the Impact shut us out. At home. In front of 38,998 people. The sea of rave green covering the stands at Century Link field. It wasn’t the best way to start the season but you have to remember, the season is just beginning!

The Sounders were brilliant on the pitch throughout the match and with every chance for a goal; the ball just didn’t want to go in. Eddie Johnson came dangerously close to scoring late in the second half but that crossbar just had to demolish Seattle’s chances of an equalizer.

It seemed as if that crossbar was the 23^rd man on the pitch tonight, blocking shots from Brad Evans and Montreal’s Davy Arnaud. However Arnaud scored early for the Impact in the 34^th minute finding a gap in the midfield (with an assist by Felipe Martins), lobbing the ball through Seattle’s loose defense and past Gspurning for the lone goal of the match.

On Wednesday I pointed out Dijimi Traore, the new signing for the Sounders. Rumors had it that the veteran defender would be playing tonight but that wasn’t the case.

Even with our first loss, it was great to witness the lead up of the first kick. Social media networks blew up with fan anticipation, making even the less die-hard soccer fans excited.

The Sounders next match focuses on CCL when they head down to Monterrey, Mexico to face Tigres.

Until next time Sounders fans…..rave on!

Stay tuned to @AerysSoccer for all your soccer updates and in-depth MLS coverage!

Photo courtesy of Seattle Sounders FC

We are four days away from First Kick for MLS and let’s just say that we couldn’t be happier. Sure we love other leagues and appreciate all they have to offer but MLS always has a special place in our hearts. Here are our favorites players in no particular order (well, a few just rank a little higher than others but we won’t say who), to help you get a bit more excited about the 2013 season!

Seattle Sounders’ Brad Evans is really under appreciated. Everyone should get to know him this 2013 season. And by everyone, I mean Jurgen Klinsman.

We know he might be dressed to play for Columbus Crew but that’s only because Dilly Duka did in fact play for them but has now been acquired by the Chicago Fire.

Justin Braun, what more can we say? Oh right, he’s wearing entirely too many clothes but give him a break – it is 36 degrees today in Toronto and what’s that? Oh, yeah they are expecting a blizzard. Bundle up, Justin – we wouldn’t want you to get sick and miss First Kick!

 Sporting KC’s Teal Bunbury is just giving us a preview and we like what we see…please don’t stop on our account, carry on!

 Dwayne De Rosario of DC United (and NYRB’s Thierry Henry)…sorry, I lost my train of thought…give me a moment.

I know…I know…but you have to admit that this is the best 2-for-1 special and let’s just say after two back-to-back championships,  will we be surprised if there is a third one in the future? Robbie Keane and Landon Donovan definitely hope so. And while we are aware that Landon is on “hiatus” – this is Hollywood afterall and everyone loves a great comeback.

Be sure to check in with the ladies of Aerys Soccer as we get pumped up for First Kick this weekend! And don’t forget to follow us on twitter at @AerysSoccer, where we post articles, morning headlines and more!

Image courtesy of Seattle Sounders FC

Just like the title says, this weekend the Seattle Sounders showed what it means to play ‘brilliant soccer’ and it was all done while knocking out FC Dallas and crushing their playoff hopes.

It all started with a penalty kick from Brad Evans as Dallas’  Hernan Pertuz grabbed Fredy Montero, who was sneaking in some beautiful footwork, in the box. Evans hit Hartman’s left side, hitting the ball perfectly into the right side of the net.

Just before the half, Dallas fought back with a goal from Blas Perez who equalized the game and scoring the only goal for his side. In the 60′ Brad Evans scored his second goal – fourth of the season – of the match with a cross from Christian Tiffert, putting the Sounders up 2-1.

Finally, sealing their victory, Mauro Rosales scored the Sounders’ third goal with an assist from Fredy Montero, who already had an assist earlier in the game. Montero set up the play, forcing Hartman to save a fake shot just before passing to Rosales who centered the ball into the back of the net. 

With the 3-1 win, the Sounders secure either a 2nd or 3rd seed in the playoffs against Real Salt Lake and grabs the second place spot in the Western Conference. They face their conference rivals, LA Galaxy, next Sunday to finish off the MLS regular season.

Now even though Sounders coach Sigi Schmidt was suspended for tonight’s game, he was still in attendance watching from above and leaving assistant coach Brian Schmetzer in control. Schmetzer said a few things in his post-game press conference via the official Seattle Sounders twitter account:

 ”Last time I was sitting here (in a postmatch press conference) it was a Pat Ianni scissor kick. I hope they (Vancouver) can repay the favor at some point. If we don’t beat ourselves, we have a chance to beat anybody in this league.”

Along with the win, the Sounders re-established a new attendance record with 38,755 tonight making their season average as 43,144. Fun fact: Their average attendance record would be 5th in EPL, 3rd in Serie A and La Liga and then 10th in Bundesliga.

Not too bad.

So the Sounders just lost to Montreal. I’m now sitting in my room, licking my wounds before I make a long, 6 hour trip over to Eastern Washington. Let’s start out, though, with a quick recap of this cringing game before I have to rush out the door before the sun sets.

In the 18th minute, Montreal scored their first goal off the foot of Martins. The game would go to the half with Montreal leading 1-0. Feeling confidant that my boys would come back, I petted my new toy Honey Badger that my friend gave me today for a birthday present with a grin on my face.

My smile disappeared at minute 51 when Justin Mapp found the back of the net due to bad defending. Then again, Andrew Wenger scored at the 58th minute with a beautiful shot.

Speaking of bad happenings with defensive players, around the 55th minute, John Kennedy Hurtado was shown a red card and was forced to leave the game off a questionable call. It made me yell out a string of certain words that probably should not be repeated.

We were a man down, losing 3-0 when Fredy Montero decided to show some magic. He passed the ball around Montreal’s defense, finding Eddie Johnson who chipped the ball into the net at 61st minute. Fredy would later be taken down in the midfield from a two-footed, studs up tackle that would have gotten anyone else sent off if the ref was actually good at what he was doing. The criminal got off with only a yellow when it was clearly a red.

Then Lamar Neagle came on and showed Sigi why he should have not been traded for Eddie Johnson. At the 87th minute, he scored the final goal in the match, beating Brad Evans and Bryan Meredith and hitting the netting.

After the match, Sigi had a few choice words for the referee after the game. Who could blame him, though?