The Sounders Women will be broadcast live on KKNW AM1150! The final seven matches of the season, and four “Sounders Women Weekly” shows will be broadcast live. Did you hear that? It’s yet another exciting step that the Sounders Women are taking to get their team into the big time. Okay, let’s not put the cart before the horse, but still it’s cool. Five of those games will be away games. That’s even better. In partnership with the Sandusky Radio and Pioneer Sports, there will be a Sounders Women Weekly show, beginning on Friday, June 22 at 4:00 PM.

The schedule below is subject to change, and there is the possibility of broadcasting the playoff matches when we get there.

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The 2012 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup is larger and removes the blind bidding process. The chance that an MLS side would go on the road increased after changes to the bidding structure. The Seattle Sounders possible matchup for their entry in round three could see travel to face the Atlanta Silverbacks or hosting the Georgia Revolution of the NPSL at Starfire. Those two teams face off next Tuesday at RYSA Soccerplex in Conyers, Georgia with the southern Revs hosting.

With today's announced potential parings, a total of 19 of the 32 possible opponent/host combinations will have lower divisions travel to MLS sides. The variety of travel and hosting situations is certainly broader than in years past. For the most part NASL & USL Pro teams would host MLS sides. With the lack of lower level pro teams west of the Mississippi, MLS sides from the West are those traveling the most. Portland to North Carolina, Colorado to Tampa, and LA to NC are the other long trips revealed.

Fourth Round match ups will be determined at a future date.

Seattle and Atlanta have a bit of history as both were active in the old USL-1. Their biggest game was the 2007 USL-1 Final at Starfire which the Sounders handled easily. Mac Kandji played for the Silverbacks while Roger Levesque and Zach Scott were among those that suited for the Sounders 2.0. Shortly after this trophy the Sounders' jump to MLS was announced.

Se4ttle is a goal for 2012. It could start with a long road trip.

Message from editor: The grass v turf debate was sparked again. This take sums up positions I've stated many times, so rather than write more, I'll just frontpage this. Also, I have a computer again, so regular posting will return shortly. - Dave

Dear national soccer writer,

Thanks for weighing in with your opinion on the state of the pitch at Century Link Field. Since you're being directed here, I can only assume that you've made some type of reference to the "fake turf" the teams are playing on, or expressed the opinion that natural grass is "better" than turf, or in some other fashion kicked the metaphorical hornet's nest of this debate. As you can probably tell by the existence of this post, turf is something of a sore subject for Sounders fans, but a real response will necessarily be more nuanced than can fit into a tweet. Here are the basic points you should understand.

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