Sounders
Sounders settle for scoreless tie

By Matt Massey
Special to The Seattle Times

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Marco Velez skied above a crowd of defenders and time froze. It looked like the Seattle Sounders finally might get the break they had been wanting.

Velez took teammate Ryan Edwards' header straightaway from 6 yards away, but Velez headed the ball inches outside the left post in the 109th minute.

The Sounders had to settle for a 0-0 double-overtime tie against the Vancouver Whitecaps in last night's A-League match before 2,759 fans at Qwest Field.

Velez's near miss at the end of the second overtime left the Sounders (7-8-3) without a needed home victory and treading water in fourth place in the Western Conference with 24 points.

"Marco's shot, I looked at it, and I thought it might catch the top corner of the net," said Sounders goalkeeper Preston Burpo, who made seven saves. "That's been the story of our season it seems. We've had close calls and close games, but things just aren't bouncing our way."

The Whitecaps (9-5-2, 29 points) remained in first in the West despite Seattle having the better scoring opportunities.

Burpo, who registered his fourth shutout of the season, made a critical save in the 105th minute when Vancouver's Steve Kindel launched an angle shot through traffic to the right post. Burpo dived, got his left hand on the ball and deflected it away.

Vancouver wasn't able to get off its first shot until the 25th minute when Carlo Corazzin went high for a header deep in the penalty area, only to head the ball to Burpo. Corazzin and Sounders defender Scott Jenkins bumped heads on the play and both left the field with injuries.

Corazzin returned in five minutes, while Jenkins never returned after a cut on his forehead required seven stitches. Viet Nguyen replaced Jenkins in the 40th minute.

Sounders midfielder Jason Farrell exited in the 40th minute with a severely sprained right ankle after a hard tackle from Martin Nash, who was hit with a yellow card. Ben Somoza replaced Farrell in the 43rd minute.
 
Farrell said he would have X-rays taken tomorrow.

"It's probably going to be a sprain," Farrell said. "I heard it pop. But sometimes a bad sprain is worse than a break. I'm sure it's going to be a couple of weeks."

Note

• Sounders forward Welton exited Friday's 1-0 loss in Vancouver after aggravating his left hamstring in the 63rd minute and is expected to miss four weeks.

Scoring: none. Shots: Van 18, Sea 19. Saves: Van (Marques) 3, Sea (Burpo) 7. Fouls: Van 17, Sea 16. Offsides: Van 5, Sea 2. Corner kicks: Van 1, Sea 8. Cautions: Van (Nash 39, Thompson 72, Griffiths 98, Xausa 102), Sea (Smith 45, Velez 56). Ejections: none. Att: 2,759