Sounders FC stumbles against lowly San Jose, 4-0

SANTA CLARA, Calif. —

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The elements were certainly in place for Sounders FC to fall victim to a trap game.

And Seattle fell head-first to the worst team in Major League Soccer's Western Conference. Sounders FC began the second half of the season in woeful fashion, falling 4-0 to the San Jose Earthquakes on Sunday at Buck Shaw Stadium.

A four-goal loss, the worst in Seattle's inaugural MLS season, seemed unlikely considering how well Sounders FC had played this season. But the sentiment after the match was unanimous.

"We got embarrassed, and I hope they feel the way I do," Sounders FC coach Sigi Schmid said. Sunday's match was the first for Sounders FC since the all-star break that featured four Seattle players in the MLS All-Star Game. Add to the mix that Seattle played without midfielder Freddie Ljungberg (red-card suspension), and was on the road — where it is 1-3-4 — against a poor San Jose team (now 4-10-5, 17 points). So there was reason to be leery.

Said Seattle goalkeeper Kasey Keller: "Obviously, from the first minute of the game we weren't ready to play ... They [San Jose] showed up and competed from the first minute to the end of the game better than we did. I can't say that too often this season."

Sounders FC struggled in every area. The offense was anemic, as starting forwards Fredy Montero and Nate Jaqua didn't record a shot. The defense was suspect as well, allowing 16 shots, 13 on goal.

The only good news for Sounders FC (7-4-8, 29 points) was that it remained in second place in the Western Conference, but Seattle now trails first-place Houston by six points.

Things quickly fell apart for Seattle on Sunday. San Jose, which had been 0-2 against Sounders FC this season, took the lead in the second minute on a Seattle own goal. San Jose's Ryan Johnson raced down the left flank and sent a cross in front of the Seattle goal. Midfielder Osvaldo Alonso got a foot on the ball but deflected it into an open net.

Things only got worse. Defender James Riley was given a red card for taking down Bobby Convey in the 33rd minute, reducing Seattle to 10 players for the rest of the match. The red card marked Seattle's seventh ejection in regular-season games.

Schmid hoisted the white flag early in the second half after San Jose's Cornell Glen scored to give the Earthquakes a 2-0 lead. Schmid pulled Montero and Jaqua in the 57th minute as Sounders FC has two matches this week, including a friendly on Wednesday against FC Barcelona, which won the UEFA Champions League.

"When you play 30 games you're going to have one of those days so we're going to chalk it up to that and try to forget about it," Schmid said. "And if we have another one of those days, then we'll turn some things upside down."

EARTHQUAKES 4, SOUNDERS FC 0

Seattle FC	0 0 — 0
San Jose	1 3 — 4

First half — 1, San Jose, Alonso (own goal), 2nd minute. Second half — 2, San Jose, Glen 3 (Salinas, Sanchez), 54th. 3, San Jose, Huckerby 3, 78th. 4, San Jose, Wondolowski 3 (Salinas), 84th. Goalies — Seattle, Kasey Keller; San Jose, Joe Cannon. Total shots — Seattle 4, San Jose 16. Shots on goal — Seattle 1, San Jose 14. Total saves — Seattle 10, San Jose 2. Fouls — Seattle 15, San Jose 9. Offsides — Seattle 5, San Jose 3. Corner kicks — Seattle 5, San Jose 7. Yellow cards — Ianni, Seattle, 22nd; Hernandez, San Jose, 27th; Montero, Seattle, 35th; Huckerby, San Jose, 37th. Red cards — Riley, Seattle, 34th. Referee — Paul Ward. Assistant referees — Fabio Tovar. David Bragg. 4th official — Yader Reyes. A — 9,919 (10,526).

LINEUPS

Seattle — Kasey Keller, James Riley, Patrick Ianni, Tyson Wahl, Steve Zakuani, Sebastien Le Toux, Brad Evans, Osvaldo Alonso, Nate Jaqua (Stephen King, 58th), Tyrone Marshall (Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, 87th), Fredy Montero (Sanna Nyassi, 58th).

San Jose — Joe Cannon, Chris Leitch, Cornell Glen (Quincy Amarikwa, 74th), Jason Hernandez, Brandon McDonald, Darren Huckerby, Andre Luiz, Ramon Sanchez, Shea Salinas, Bobby Convey, Ryan Johnson (Chris Wondolowski, 59th).