Sounders F.C. wins at D.C. United again

Washington, D.C. — Seattle Sounders F.C. might want to consider RFK Stadium its home away from home. For the second time in 10 days, the Sounders took to the road and defeated United.

With the playoff implications creating a tough and physical match, Seattle gritted out a tough 2-1 victory that sent United to its first league defeat at home this season (Seattle's other win was in the U.S. Open Cup) — and pushed the expansion franchise closer to a playoff spot.

Seattle got off to an ideal start, grabbing an early lead in the fourth minute. Steve Zakuani got on the end of a through ball from Pete Vagenas, outrunning United defender Bryan Namoff, and finishing past keeper Josh Wicks.

"When you get a goal that early, that helps your team settle," coach Sigi Schmid said. "We felt that going into the game the first 15, 20 minutes were going to be really important. We wanted to make sure we matched whatever they threw out there and that goal helped us."

Physical play dominated the entire 90 minutes with both sides putting in a little extra on each tackle.

"It's always going to be physical because the teams are fighting for their lives now, because everyone wants to get into the playoffs," he said.

With a goal in hand, Zakuani's speed was a constant threat to the makeshift United defense, setting up a couple of chances for Seattle. The speedy winger relished the chance to battle a veteran like Namoff for the second game in a row.

"It's fun. Someone like that, they don't want a rookie coming in and running around him," Zakuani said.

Seattle had a golden chance to double their lead in the 37th minute. Sebastian Le Toux beat two United defenders into the box, only to see Wicks parry his shot. The rebound bounced straight to Montero, who rifled his shot just high of the cross bar.

D.C. tied it in the 54th minute. Midfielder Rodney Wallace stumbled onto a botched clearance attempt and slammed a shot past Kasey Keller.

With the Sounders on the back foot, Seattle's game-winner seemed to come out of nowhere in the 84th minute when James Riley spotted Montero on a run into the box, sending in a pass that eluded United's defense. The Colombian striker collected the ball and beat Wicks at the near post.

"Fredy made a fantastic run, I just tried to put the ball at his foot," Riley said. "He let it run and turned, hit a great shot."

Schmid noted the impact afterward of a second consecutive win at RFK.

"This team knows it can win wherever we play," he said. "This is a tough place to win at and we've come here twice and won. We know we can go into any building and play well."

Sounders FC 2, United 1

Seattle FC	1 1 — 2
D.C. United	0 1 — 1

First half — 1, Seattle FC, Zakuani 4 (Vagenas), 4th minute. Second half — 2, D.C. United, Wallace 3, 54th. 3, Seattle FC, Montero 11 (Riley), 84th. Goalies — Seattle FC, Kasey Keller; D.C. United, Josh Wicks. Yellow cards — Wallace, D.C. United, 57th; Quaranta, D.C. United, 62nd; John, D.C. United, 98th+. Total shots: Seattle 11, D.C. 8

Shots on goal: Seattle 6, D.C. 3. Fouls: D.C. 13, Seattle 13. Offsides: Seattle 1, D.C. 0. Corner kicks: Seattle 4, D.C. 1. Saves: D.C. 4, Seattle 2. Referee — Silvio Petrescu. Assistant referees — Kermit Quisenberry. Nathan Clement. 4th official — Terry Vaughn. A — 19,592 (46,686)

LINEUPS

Seattle FC — Kasey Keller, James Riley, Patrick Ianni, Fredy Montero, Steve Zakuani (Tyrone Marshall, 86th), Sebastien Le Toux, Osvaldo Alonso, Nate Jaqua (Roger Levesque, 77th), Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Peter Vagenas (Brad Evans, 62nd), Leo Gonzalez.

D.C. United — Josh Wicks, Ben Olsen (Andrew Jacobson, 84th), Santino Quaranta, Bryan Namoff, Avery John, Rodney Wallace, Luciano Emilio, Fred (Chris Pontius, 53rd), Julius James, Jaime Moreno (Christian Gomez, 83rd), Clyde Simms.