Sounders rally, beat Lilywhites

The Seattle Sounders kept riding their current wave to a historic win.

Two goals in a seven-minute span in the second half gave the Sounders their first win over a high-level English team since 1982, as they beat Preston North End FC of England 2-1 in front of 3,390 fans in Monday night's international friendly at Qwest Field.

The Sounders (14-6-5 overall) are on an 11-1-2 hot streak, which includes a win over Chivas USA of Major League Soccer 3-1 last Wednesday.

"The winning is contagious," said Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer, missing two starters and resting leading goal scorer Sebastien Le Toux. "Whoever I give a rest, guys come on and do the job."

Seattle rallied from a 1-0 halftime deficit against PNE, also known as the Lilywhites. One of the world's oldest soccer clubs, PNE was a founding member of the English Football League in 1888.

PNE, the English Coca-Cola Football League championship side, missed a playoff for promotion to the English Premier League by one point last season.

It was the Sounders' eighth-ever meeting with a high-level English squad. They last won in 1982 in the Kingdome against Manchester United.

Josh Gardner scored Monday's game-winner in the 57th minute — his first goal as a Sounder — on a 22-yard blast that deflected off a PNE defender. Up 2-1, Seattle knuckled down defensively the rest of the match.

Gardner, known for his strong left foot, maneuvered around the Lilywhites defense and beat goalkeeper Chris Neal to the left corner with the lucky bounce off his right foot. Roger Levesque laid the ball back to Gardner.

Seattle's Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar had tied the game 1-1 in the 50th minute on a sliding left-footed swipe from eight yards out on a header pass from Levesque following a wild sequence, in which Greg Howes pinged a pair of headers off the crossbar in a five-second span.

"I don't want us to run out of good luck," Schmetzer said. "But sometimes you make your own luck. These guys are making their own luck."

The Lilywhites, minus three regulars from last season, jumped in front 1-0 in the 23rd minute, when Pat Agyemang, who played for Ghana in 2006 World Cup qualifying matches, powered in an 18-yard shot into the left corner.

Back-up goalkeeper Ben Dragavon held PNE scoreless in the second half after relieving starter Chris Eylander at intermission.

Notes

• The match was the first in PNE's preseason tour. Next is Mexican side Monterrey at 7 p.m. Thursday in Sacramento, Calif., then Portland to face the Timbers at 3 p.m. Saturday.

• Seattle resumes league play Friday against Vancouver in Burnaby, B.C. The match begins at 7 p.m.

SOUNDERS 2, PRESTON NORTH END 1

Preston North End FC	1 0 — 1
Seattle	0 2 — 2

First half — 1, PNE, Pat Agyemang (unassisted), 23:00. Second half — 2, Seattle, Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar (Roger Levesque), 50:00; 3, Seattle, Josh Gardner (Levesque), 57:00. Shots — PNE 9, Seattle 7. Saves — PNE (Chris Neal) 3, Seattle (Chris Eylander, Ben Dragavon) 3. Fouls — PNE 14, Seattle 7. Offsides — PNE 1, Seattle 3. Corner kicks — PNE 4, Seattle 2. Cautions — PNE (Jason Jarrett, 39:00), Seattle (Kenji Treschuk, 34:00). Ejections — None. A — 3,390. Records — Preston North End 0-1-0 on U.S. Tour, Seattle 14-6-5 overall.