A bittersweet reunion for Sounders

The night was tailor-made for former Seattle Sounders Brent Whitfield and Preston Burpo. On the flip side, it was a gloomy night for promising Sounders forward Maykel Galindo.

Whitfield tagged his former teammates for the only goal of the match, and Burpo registered the shutout in goal as Chivas USA, of Major League Soccer, downed the Sounders 1-0 in front of 5,633 fans in Sunday night's exhibition at Qwest Field.

"It's tough going up against guys who've seen you every day before," said Whitfield, who was a rookie on the Sounders' United Soccer Leagues First Division champion last season. "But it was fun. It was a blast out there."

It was another kind of blast for Galindo, who was lost indefinitely to a broken nose in a late-match collision with Burpo, the Sounders' competitive leader for nine seasons.

The two were going for a loose ball outside the penalty area in the 77th minute.

"It was a collision and he got the worst of it," said Burpo, who played his first minutes for the MLS club outside of time with the Chivas USA reserves. "It wasn't meant to injure him. I decided to come out for [the ball] and I thought I'd head it. I went up before he did and got higher than he did.

"I guess my arm or something got in his face. Hopefully, he recovers quickly."

Said Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer: "There was no intent there. It was one guy who wanted to score and another who wanted to keep a goal from being scored."

The bloodied Galindo was taken from the field on a stretcher to Virginia Mason Medical Center for further evaluation. Burpo received a yellow card after the collision.

Chivas' score came when Whitfield knocked home a flying header in the 43rd minute off a precision cross from Francisco Mendoza. Whitfield beat rookie Sounders goalkeeper Chris Eylander with a hard knock into the upper right corner of the net.

"I like the kid," Schmetzer said of Whitfield. "I hope he sticks. It was a good goal that he scored."

Burpo kept the shutout intact in the 89th minute by forcing Craig Tomlinson's short shot off the outside part of the right post. He also dodged a dangerous chance later by coming out of the penalty area to clear a loose ball.

It was the Sounders' first home match of the season. Their USL First Division home opener is at 7 p.m. Saturday against the Minnesota Thunders, the team that toppled them 4-0 in the season opener April 23.

Note

• The Emerald City Supporters, a group of Sounders fans in Section 113, raised signs with the number "23" on them in support of Burpo. He signed autographs for fans for 30 minutes after the game.