Major Link Soccer - There Will Be Blood Edition

The Open Cup three-peat © is now firmly in the sight of the Seattle Sounders. Their 1-0 win against FC Dallas was a grind-it-out brutal affair in loud and packed Starfire Stadium. It was an atmosphere able to intimidate even the most battle tested of opponents. Although I would remind Schellas Hyndman that there are much more hostile crowds in the wide world of football. Both the 1st and 2nd halves of the game are available on the Sounder's website. You can also see the match recap and photos on the site.

A quick glance at the photos and the match recap will quickly show how bloody seriously both teams took the game. I mean really bloody. It's going to be one wild game if and when these two teams meet in the playoffs. May the best team win (and destroy the Los Angeles Galaxy)! 

Sounders Win Reserve West Division: The Sounders reserve team has been dominant in the newly reconstituted reserve league. The team has a 7 wins and only 1 loss for the season. Last night, without playing a match, the Sounders reserves clinched the Western division title. The Portland Timbers reserves were the last team that had a shot at reaching the Sounders, but a 3-3 draw against the Los Angeles Galaxy reserves ended that threat.

More Sounders links and league news after the jump:    

Neagle Wins Player-of-the-Week: Not surprisingly, Lamar Neagle won his first MLS player of the week honors for his hat-trick against the Columbus Crew last weekend. He's the fourth Sounder to secure the honor this season. Here's to this one being only the first in a succession of such honors for the local boy in rave green. 

Get to Know Ochoa: Joshua Mayers over at the Seattle Times sat down with new striker Sammy Ochoa to discuss his move to the Sounders. It sounds like he was hoping to get placed with Seattle during his allocation draft and is quite happy to restart his career in Seattle. Since his reserve game appearance in June the 24-year old striker has been training on his own and trying to get back into shape.

Bowen to Belgium: Chivas USA is trying to get one of their young strikers playing time now that the goats have Juan Pablo Angel to man the target man role for the team. Tristan Bowen, the league's first academy signing, will be loaned out to KSV Roeselare in Belgium's 2nd division.

Warzycha Wins Crew's Confidence: Head coach Robert Warzycha will be staying in Columbus for a while longer. The Crew has given the former assistant to Sigi Schmid a new multi-year contract as the coach continues to rebuild the team. Warzycha made a big gamble this season by releasing a number of well-loved and well-known veterans.

Sporting Not Feeling the Home Town Love: Home cooking from the refs is one of the pleasures of home. And there's nothing quite as disappointing as not getting it when returning home after a long absence. Sporting Kansas City have had a couple of late game collapses and red-card ejections.

Language & Tactics: Abbott Smith posted this link in another article recently. It's an excellent read of how language influences how one plays and watches the game. It's worth a read if you have the time. It really shed some light for me on why the style of play in Latin America tends to be so different.

Solo to Dance with the Stars: Well, not exactly stars. Mostly some B-listers who haven't done anything significant in quite a while. Considering Hope Solo's fierce competitive streak my money would be on her winning it all. I feel sorry for her partner if he should ever misstep. Have you seen her stare down a USWNT defender after a cock-up?