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Soccer: Sounders down RSL
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2013 Desert Diamond Cup

Soccer: Sounders down RSL

Slow first half followed by abundance of chances for RSL

  • A corner kick is cleared by the Salt Lake defense.
    Joshua Pearson/TucsonSentinel.comA corner kick is cleared by the Salt Lake defense.
  • Salt Lake goalkeeper Nick Rimando.
    Joshua Pearson/TucsonSentinel.comSalt Lake goalkeeper Nick Rimando.
  • Seattle's midfielder Steve Zakuani is tackled in the Salt Lake area.
    Joshua Pearson/TucsonSentinel.comSeattle's midfielder Steve Zakuani is tackled in the Salt Lake area.
  • Real Salt Lake goalkeeper Nick Rimando gathers the ball ahead of onrushing Seattle midfielder David Estrada.
    Joshua Pearson/TucsonSentinel.comReal Salt Lake goalkeeper Nick Rimando gathers the ball ahead of onrushing Seattle midfielder David Estrada.
  • Sounders midfielder Osvaldo Alonso escapes his maker to put a cross into the Real box.
    Joshua Pearson/TucsonSentinel.comSounders midfielder Osvaldo Alonso escapes his maker to put a cross into the Real box.
  • Real defender Kenny Mansally dribbles the ball out of the Salt Lake box.
    Joshua Pearson/TucsonSentinel.comReal defender Kenny Mansally dribbles the ball out of the Salt Lake box.
  • The linesman flags for a foul.
    Joshua Pearson/TucsonSentinel.comThe linesman flags for a foul.
  • Seattle's Steve Zakuani is tackled hard inside of the Salt Lake penalty area.
    Joshua Pearson/TucsonSentinel.comSeattle's Steve Zakuani is tackled hard inside of the Salt Lake penalty area.
  • Seattle goalkeeper Josh Ford collects the ball ahead of a Salt Lake trialist player.
    Joshua Pearson/TucsonSentinel.comSeattle goalkeeper Josh Ford collects the ball ahead of a Salt Lake trialist player.
  • Seattle's #7 Eddie Johnson beats Salt Lake's #3 Kwame Watson-Siriboe to a header.
    Joshua Pearson/TucsonSentinel.comSeattle's #7 Eddie Johnson beats Salt Lake's #3 Kwame Watson-Siriboe to a header.
  • Sounders forward Eddie Johnson controls a high ball with his foot.
    Joshua Pearson/TucsonSentinel.comSounders forward Eddie Johnson controls a high ball with his foot.
  • RSL defender Kwame Watson-Siriboe struggles with Seattle midfielder David Estrada to control the ball.
    Joshua Pearson/TucsonSentinel.comRSL defender Kwame Watson-Siriboe struggles with Seattle midfielder David Estrada to control the ball.
  • Real Salt Lake and the Seattle Sounders faced off at Kino field for a game that took advantage of excellent February weather.
    Joshua Pearson/TucsonSentinel.comReal Salt Lake and the Seattle Sounders faced off at Kino field for a game that took advantage of excellent February weather.
  • RSL #5 Kyle Beckerman looks for a pass in the midfield.
    Joshua Pearson/TucsonSentinel.comRSL #5 Kyle Beckerman looks for a pass in the midfield.
  • Sounder midfielder #11 Steve Zakuani concentrates on the ball.
    Joshua Pearson/TucsonSentinel.comSounder midfielder #11 Steve Zakuani concentrates on the ball.
  • Seattle forward Eddie Johnson dribbles in the midfield.
    Joshua Pearson/TucsonSentinel.comSeattle forward Eddie Johnson dribbles in the midfield.
  • Seattle midfielder #11 Steve Zakuani races against Salt Lake's #2 Tony Beltran and #26 Sebastian Velasquez for the ball.
    Joshua Pearson/TucsonSentinel.comSeattle midfielder #11 Steve Zakuani races against Salt Lake's #2 Tony Beltran and #26 Sebastian Velasquez for the ball.
  • Seattle's Eddie Johnson was dominant in the air against Real Salt Lake.
    Joshua Pearson/TucsonSentinel.comSeattle's Eddie Johnson was dominant in the air against Real Salt Lake.
  • Salt Lake midfielder #5 Kyle Beckerman with the ball.
    Joshua Pearson/TucsonSentinel.comSalt Lake midfielder #5 Kyle Beckerman with the ball.
  • RSL's John Stertzer collects the ball after scoring a late goal against the Seattle Sounders.
    Joshua Pearson/TucsonSentinel.comRSL's John Stertzer collects the ball after scoring a late goal against the Seattle Sounders.
  • Seattle's Servando Carrasco challenges a Salt Lake trialist player for the ball.
    Joshua Pearson/TucsonSentinel.comSeattle's Servando Carrasco challenges a Salt Lake trialist player for the ball.
  • George Frantziskonis/TucsonSentinel.com
  • Fight for a header in the first half near Seattle's goal post
    George Frantziskonis/TucsonSentinel.comFight for a header in the first half near Seattle's goal post
  • The game was rough at times.
    George Frantziskonis/TucsonSentinel.comThe game was rough at times.
  • Legs going high that resulted in a foul call by the referee.
    George Frantziskonis/TucsonSentinel.comLegs going high that resulted in a foul call by the referee.
  • Salt Lake middle fielder John Stertzer gets carded for foul play that resulted in injury.
    George Frantziskonis/TucsonSentinel.comSalt Lake middle fielder John Stertzer gets carded for foul play that resulted in injury.
  • Salt Lake No. 28 Chris Schuler going past Seattle's Eddie Johnson.
    George Frantziskonis/TucsonSentinel.comSalt Lake No. 28 Chris Schuler going past Seattle's Eddie Johnson.
  • Salt Lake's Kwame Watson-Siriboe gets a header before Seattle's Eddie Johnson.
    George Frantziskonis/TucsonSentinel.comSalt Lake's Kwame Watson-Siriboe gets a header before Seattle's Eddie Johnson.
  • Salt Lake player No. 28 Chris Schuler and Seattle's No. 7 Eddie Johnson fought one-on-one for most of the match.
    George Frantziskonis/TucsonSentinel.comSalt Lake player No. 28 Chris Schuler and Seattle's No. 7 Eddie Johnson fought one-on-one for most of the match.
  • George Frantziskonis/TucsonSentinel.com
  • Seattle on the offense.
    George Frantziskonis/TucsonSentinel.comSeattle on the offense.
  • Seattle's Eddie Johnson going past Salt Lake's Chris Schuler.
    George Frantziskonis/TucsonSentinel.comSeattle's Eddie Johnson going past Salt Lake's Chris Schuler.
  • Johnson going through several Salt Lake players.
    George Frantziskonis/TucsonSentinel.comJohnson going through several Salt Lake players.
  • Seattle's Steve Zakauni (11) going past Salt Lake's Chris Schuler (28).
    George Frantziskonis/TucsonSentinel.comSeattle's Steve Zakauni (11) going past Salt Lake's Chris Schuler (28).

The match started off choppy for both Seattle Sounders FC and Real Salt Lake at Kino Stadium Saturday night. The Sounders had the better of the chances, and ended the game on top 2-1.

The first half hour of the game neither team was able to dominate, and the many stoppages in play didn't help. The back and forth between the sides reached a crescendo when RSL's Kenny Mansally earned a yellow for taking down Seattle's Adam Johansson.

Neither team had many chances, official stats showed that they combined for five shots on goal in the first half. The first strong chance came in the 40th minute when Seattle's David Estrada took an oblique shot that nearly beat Salt Lake's Nick Rimando.

RSL came on stronger in the second half, notching eleven shots on goal. Still, Seattle found the back of the net first, albeit after the hour mark. Second half substitute Mario Martinez found the back of the net first, with Danish player Philip Lund extending the lead to two.

RSL's late goal from John Stertzler kept the team from being shut out, but the game still ended with the boys from Salt Lake City down.

RSL takes on New England on Wednesday at Kino Stadium in the early match at 5 p.m., while Seattle faces New York in the match at 7 p.m.

Seattle sounds off

Sounders coach Siggi Schmid was happy to have his first team on the field for another go, particularly Honduran midfielder Mario Martínez, who just rejoined the team for preseason this week.

"We held him until the second half and he scored a great goal," Schmid said.

"For the first twenty five minutes, there was not much flow to the game. For whatever reason, the past two games have been physical. I don't know why, but you deal with it, said midfielder Brad Evans. "They played their typical game: pinch in the midfield, play a tight diamond. Not too many chances for them, we created more chances and caught them on the counter."

It wasn't just a chance for veterans like Evans to get some playing time, but also a chance for players like Philip Lund to shine. Lund joined the team last month after a stint at FC Fyn in his native Denmark. This is his first appearance in the Desert Diamond Cup after missing Wednesday's match with an illness.

"It was always nice to score a goal, especially after not playing a match in seven or eight months," said Lund after the game. "In the beginning it was tough for me, but hopefully I can build on it now."

Fatigue

Real Salt Lake coach Jason Kreis isn't prone to showing his frustration with game results, but it can still be easy to read between the lines.

"A little bit of a fatigue performance on our part. We've been working our guys extremely hard. We had a training session today, like a normal training session. And we don't ever do that leading to a real match," Kreis said after the game. "We were asking a lot of our players tonight, and I think we saw some fatigue decisions that led to some chances and goals against us. That's okay, because now we can talk about what we need to fix."

"It's difficult. The atmosphere for the game isn't quite right," Kreis when asked about the physicality of the first half. "It's extremely silent out there, quiet. The grass isn't watered so the ball is moving very slowly. It was very choppy. The referees are trying to do the right thing by the players by not being overly restrictive on cards...it really made for a sloppy and start-stop first half."

"It's not the best feeling when you lose, but it's preseason," said RSL and national team keeper Nick Rimando. "This is where you get on the same page, move forward and learn from your mistakes."

Seattle Sounders vs. Real Salt Lake

Kino Stadium

  • Scoring summary
  • SEA - Mario Martinez (66')
  • SEA - Philip Lund (71')
  • RSL - John Stertzer (87')
  • Misconduct summary
  • RSL - Chris Schuler (caution, 20')
  • RSL - Kenny Mansally (caution, 34')
  • Seattle Sounders FC: Michael Gspurning (Josh Ford 60') - Adam Johansson (DeAndre Yedlin 38'), Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (Ashani Fairclough 46'), Zach Scott (Eriq Zavaleta 71'), Leo Gonzalez (Dylan Remick 46') - Mauro Rosales (Mario Martinez 46'), Osvaldo Alonso (Servando Carrasco 71'), Brad Evans (Andy Rose 46'), Steve Zakuani (Alex Caskey 46'), David Estrada (Phillip Lund 46', Babayele Sodade 71') - Eddie Johnson (Sammy Ochoa 46')
  • Real Salt Lake – Nick Rimando (Lalo Fernandez 75') - Tony Beltran (Lovel Palmer 75'), Chris Schuler (Aaron Maund 75'), Kwame Watson-Siriboe (Carlos Salcedo 75'), Kenny Mansally (Rich Balchan 75') - Kyle Beckerman (Enzo Martinez 75'), Yordany Alvarez (Khari Stephenson 46'), Sebastian Velasquez (Cole Grossman 75'), Ned Grabavoy (John Stertzer 75') - Alvaro Saborio (Devon Sandoval 75'), Joao Plata (David Viana 58').

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