Major Link Soccer - We'll Take the 3 Points Edition

It was certainly a close one this weekend, but as Sigi Schmid said, the Sounders will take the 3 points after a tough 1-0 win in stoppage time against Sporting Kansas City.  Jeff Parke was the hero of the game with his stoppage time header and has been acknowledged by Soccer-by-Ives as their MLS player of the week.  The team won't have much time to recover as they face Dallas FC at home on Wednesday and Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto on Saturday.  Video highlights of the match are available here and here.  Photos are also available here.    

Gold Cup Rosters: Rosters for the Gold Cup are coming out this weekend.  The Seattle Sounders are set to gain with few players likely to be called up for the tournament.  Teams that will be hit hard include league leaders New York Red Bulls and Real Salt Lake.

Pumas Battle for Open Cup Spot: The Kitsap Pumas are in a close battle against the Portland Timbers U-23 team for a spot in the US Open Cup.  The North Sound Sea Wolves and the Tacoma Tide are also in the running, but will need a strong showing in their next games.  The sole berth will be claimed this week.

Too Young for a Bust: Those that have been following MLS for a while certainly remember the hype circus that was Freddy Adu.  The one-time savior of US soccer has been a career's worth of time bouncing around Europe.  Sometimes it's easy to forget that he's only 21 and has time to pull together a promising career.  Adu has found consistent playing time in the Turkish 2nd division as he helps lead them in an upcoming promotion battle.

Youth Coach of the Year: Former USL Sounder Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar has been named Youth Soccer Coach of the Year.  The Mexican midfielder played for the Portland Timbers and the Seattle Sounders before retiring and starting a coaching career in the Puget Sound.