Offside calls keep Sounders FC off scoreboard

BURNABY, B.C. — Sounders FC players and coaches might have nightmares of offside flags Saturday night after a preseason match with Vancouver ended in a scoreless tie.

Seattle was called offside a remarkable nine times — six in the first half — trying to break through the Whitecaps' defense in front of 3,895 fans at Swangard Stadium.

Postgame chatter centered on those questionable calls, which played a huge role in the team's scoreless night.

"I'd love to see a few of those on tape," said goalkeeper Kasey Keller.

Said Freddie Ljungberg: "From what I heard from our bench, we had three or four that were definitely on."

The end result was a sluggish stalemate that saw few scoring chances from either team. Seattle finished the game with just four shots, while host Vancouver had five.

Sounders FC fans — who represented nearly half of the attendance — were surely left wondering if last year's inconsistent offense had improved.

"I think we're equally as disappointed," said Keller, who earned the shutout with two saves. "We knew we had one of the best defenses last season, and there's no reason to think that's going to change. We just need to start knocking the ball in the back of the net more often. ... We need to have a stronger mentality up front and be a little more ruthless."

Seattle thought it had taken a 1-0 lead in the 15th minute when Steve Zakuani headed in a cross from Sanna Nyassi.

But, of course, the offside flag was up.

"We got called offside today more in 20 minutes than we'd been called offside in the (previous) five games altogether," said Sounders FC coach Sigi Schmid, whose team is 3-1-1 in exhibitions. "So either the timing of our runs were off or ... some of those looked really close."

Save for a couple of chances just before the final whistle, Seattle created few opportunities to score in the second half as the team cycled in its reserves. The best scoring chance came in the final minute of stoppage time when Michael Fucito set up rookie Michael Seamon, who was wide open in front of the net. The second-round pick out of Villanova, however, couldn't get a clean shot off.

The regular season begins March 25 against Philadelphia at Qwest Field. Plenty of time, said Zakuani, to find a scoring touch.

"I think we're getting there. Two to three weeks is a long time," Zakuani said. "We still have a lot to do, a lot of training sessions and two more (exhibition) games. By the time the 25th comes around, we'll be ready."

Notes

• Sounders FC's next game is at 6 p.m. Thursday against Portland at Qwest Field.

• Sounders FC midfielder Stephen King celebrated his 24th birthday Saturday.

• As an MLS franchise, Sounders FC is 2-0-1 against Vancouver, all in exhibition games.

• Seattle invitee Jeff Parke made his return to Vancouver on Saturday. The 6-foot-1 defender played part of the 2009 season with the Whitecaps.

SOUNDERS FC 0, WHITECAPS 0

Scoring — None. Total shots — Vancouver 5, Seattle 4. Fouls — Vancouver 12, Seattle 9. Offsides — Vancouver 7, Seattle 9. Corner kicks — Vancouver 1, Seattle 6. Saves — Vancouver 2, Seattle 2. Cautions — Vancouver, Stewart, 9th; Seattle, Hirano, 60th. A — 3,895.

Lineups

Vancouver — Jay Nolly (GK), Chris Williams (Wes Knight 64), Taka Hirano, Greg Janicki, Martin Nash, Ricardo Sanchez (Philippe Davies 74), Nelson Akwari (Wesley Charles 69), Ansu Toure (Blake Wagner 56), Dever Orgill (Zourab Tsiskaridze 69), Cornelius Stewart (Alex Semenets 35; Randy Edwini-Bonsu 74) and Nizar Khalfan (Justin Moose 45).

Seattle — Kasey Keller (GK), James Riley (Zach Scott 87), Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (Jeff Parke 73), Tyrone Marshall, Leo Gonzalez (Tyson Wahl 73), Sanna Nyassi (David Estrada 63), Nathan Sturgis (Peter Vagenas 78), Osvaldo Alonso (Stephen King 78), Steve Zakuani (Mike Fucito 63), Fredy Montero (Mike Seamon 83) and Freddie Ljungberg (Kevin Souter 83).