Sounders go silent in final minutes

TUKWILA — It took less than two minutes to undo a work of art.

Two late goals — in the final three minutes of regulation — could come back to haunt the Seattle Sounders and their hopes for a United Soccer Leagues (USL) First Division championship.

They made the Montreal Impact pay early. They let their guard down late.

With fresh legs and last year's championship defeat on their minds, the Sounders looked poised to take one step toward exacting revenge but settled for a 2-2 tie with the Impact in the first game of the United Soccer Leagues (USL) First Division semifinal series in front of 2,698 fans at Starfire Sports Complex.

This is the third consecutive season that Seattle has gone to the semifinals under fourth-year coach Brian Schmetzer. Seattle is shooting for its fourth title-match appearance in franchise history.

"We had all the weapons to win the series, and then it gets snatched out from under you," Schmetzer said. "It's tough. We will see what my team is really made of."

The 6-foot-2 Charles Gbeke, a 77th-minute substitution, muscled in both Montreal goals on headers and gave them hope of a league title repeat.

"That's part of my job, to come in and always believe," said Gbeke, who spent a month with the Sounders in 2002. "My dad says great forwards always gotta believe whether there's 30 seconds or a minute left. It is a new series now, and that's the beauty of soccer.

"Seattle was a much better team than us today. We were intimidated by the way they played. But now we have the momentum."

The Sounders (18-7-12), the No. 4 seed in the playoffs, take that advantage over the league's top seed heading into tomorrow's Game 2 of the two-game aggregate series.

The scene of the decisive game shifts to Montreal and Claude Robillard Sports Complex, the same site where the Impact downed Seattle 2-0 in last year's championship game. Kickoff is 1 p.m. PT tomorrow.

Gabe Sturm gave Seattle a 1-0 lead in the 10th minute on a beautiful sliding left-footed shot just outside the left post, teaming with fellow rookie C.J. Klaas, who sent a pass in from the top right corner of the penalty area.

It was the third consecutive playoff contest in which Seattle struck for a goal in the first 10 minutes.

The Sounders then took a 2-0 advantage on a curving 21-yard direct free kick by Leighton O'Brien that beat USL First Division Goalkeeper of the Year Greg Sutton of Montreal to the upper-right corner of the net.

But the Impact (20-3-8) was able to salvage a poor start with the big finish.

"Inch by inch, we said let's get a goal back," said Impact coach Nick DeSantis, who was ejected in the 90th minute. His status is uncertain for tomorrow. "With our bench, we widened the field."

SEATTLE 2, MONTREAL 2

Montreal Impact	0 2 — 2
Seattle Sounders	2 0 — 2

Goals — Sea: 1, Gabe Sturm (C.J. Klaas) 10:00; 2, Leighton O'Brien (free kick) 23:00.Mon: 1, Charles Gbeke (Masahiro Fukasawa) 87:00; 2, Gbeke (Adam Braz) 89:00. Shots — Mon 15, Sea 8. Saves — Mon (Greg Sutton) 4, Sea (Preston Burpo) 6. Fouls — Mon 17, Sea 15. Offsides — Mon 4, Sea 2. Corner kicks — Mon 2, Sea 4. Cautions — Mon (Pat Leduc 22:00, Gabriel Gervais 22:00), Sea (O'Brien 34:00, Billy Sleeth 45:00, Burpo 62:00). Ejections — Mon (Coach Nick DeSantis 90:00), Sea (None). A — 2,698.