Nate Jaqua, Fredy Montero have shown the ability to dominate scoring

Three weeks ago, Sounders FC assistant coach Brian Schmetzer asked, make that demanded, that Fredy Montero become Nate Jaqua's BFF.

He wanted Montero to pay more attention to Jaqua. He wanted Montero to understand how good for his game Jaqua could be. He wanted them to be fast football friends.

When Jaqua had the ball, Schmetzer wanted Montero to be more active. He wanted better runs. Better awareness of how lethal a Jaqua-to-Montero service could be.

Schmetzer wanted exactly what he got in Saturday's 2-1 win over Houston.

Down 1-0 in the first half of a game the Sounders absolutely needed to stay in touch with the Western Conference-leading Dynamo, they counterattacked, with Stephen King finding Jaqua on the run.

Understanding that Montero was making a deadly sprint down the left-center of the field, Jaqua served him a ball that Montero settled once, twice with his chest, then right-footed past Dynamo keeper Pat Onstad and just across the goal, before lunging defender Mike Chabala's attempt to clear.

In the middle of their first season together Montero and Jaqua are starting to speak the same language. Two scorers are feeding off each other's games. Two opposites are attracting attention.

Jaqua is a 6-foot-4 target man from Eugene. Montero is a 5-9 dervish from Cali, Colombia. Their games are as different as their backgrounds. Montero is all quick-twitch and fury. Jaqua is more resilient, less mercuric. Montero is Red Bull. Jaqua is a straight shot.

"Even though we speak different languages, at least we are making ourselves understood now," Montero said through an interpreter. "Two intelligent guys can always understand each other. That makes things easier. Obviously this is good for the team. And we are scoring the goals."

This newfound friendship hasn't come easily. Chemistry takes time. And the language barrier slowed the process.

Now Montero and Jaqua are speaking the international language of futbol. This pair of forwards is becoming a team within a team.

They are making magic up front, becoming one of the most dangerous scoring tandems in the league. Montero and Jaqua have scored 15 of the Sounders' 26 goals this season, including all three in the team's last win over Colorado.

The Sounders trail Houston by only three points, and Montero and Jaqua are merging their talents at exactly the right time.

"For some reason, it's just started clicking," Jaqua said. "We're looking for each other more. We're making the right sort of runs, and we're finding each other. Whatever the reason is, it's great. That's the idea. You want two forwards combining and scoring goals.

"It's fun to have a partner like that to play with, because at the start of the year, we weren't on the same page. We were kind of both doing our own thing. Maybe it was the language gap. Or maybe it was just different playing styles. Now we're playing together and that makes our team a much stronger team."

Despite his six goals and six assists, it sometimes seems as if Jaqua is playing in the giant shadows cast by Montero and midfielder Freddie Ljungberg. But Jaqua, playing in his eighth MLS season, is emerging into an all-star.

"Nate Jaqua will surprise you," midfielder King said. "A lot of big guys don't have the skill. They're used to winning a lot of balls in the air, but Nate has great skill on the ball and that's starting to show.

"We're a very good counterattacking team. We have a lot of speed. We have a lot of dangerous players. And between Fredy and Nate, they have a much better understanding now than they did earlier in the year. Now they're on the same page."

Jaqua is the Sounders' muscle around the goal. He can take a whack from ill-intentioned defenders, but he's also surprisingly skillful with the ball. He makes good passes, like Saturday's to Montero, in tight spaces, shows great composure with the ball and is as good with his feet as he is with his head.

On the tying goal, Jaqua held the ball a couple of patient ticks longer, waiting for Montero to break further away from his defender, then dropped a beauty of a pass that Montero was able to control.

"I've always prided myself on my ability to play," Jaqua said. "I don't want to be just a big target guy. I like getting the ball down and playing. That's the fun part of soccer."

And finding a new BFF like Montero makes the game that much more fun and makes the anticipation of the second-half of this first Sounders season even sweeter.

Steve Kelley: 206-464-2176 or skelley@seattletimes.com