Good Monday morning to everyone. The big news this weekend for the Sounders was the Cascadia Summit. The highlights of the event where claimed by the supporters whom came out from all three cities to support their teams with passion and class. The front offices of both teams should be encouraged for when the games for the Cascadia Cup begin. The good news was marred by injury to Mike Fucito, a player whose skill on the pitch is matched only by his heart and passion for the game.
The Sounders lost both their games this weekend. The Portland Timbers came out with fire during the rain to beat the Sounders 2-0 on Friday against what will probably be the starting XI for the Sounders. Yesterday, the Whitecaps and Sounders had a battle of the reserves with Vancouver coming away the victor with a scoreline of 3-2. Highlights of the match are available here and here. Rick Morrison's photos from the Timbers game is available here. The Sounders face the Colorado Rapids at Quest for their final preseason match on Wednesday.
Sounders Academy Get the Job Done: With the Sounders showing obvious signs of rust, especially in the back, it was up to the Sounders Academy to preserve the pride of the organization on the field on Sunday. The youngsters came through with an intense 4-3 victory against the Whitecaps Academy team. All seven goals came in a hotly contested 2nd half.
More news from the league after the jump:
Other Preseason Games: The other teams in MLS were in action over the weekend in preseason matches. In a battle of two MLS teams racing backwards the Chicago Fire defeated the Columbus Crew 1-0 in the opening match of the Carolina Challenge. DC United defeated the Charleston Battery 2-1 in the second game of the Carolina Challenge. Will Bruin impressed the crowd with a hattrick in the Houston Dynamo's thrashing of Southern Methodist University while Chivas USA lost 2-1 to UCLA.
More Stats Soon: MLS have recently partnered with Opta Sports to provide statistics. Opta will be providing gameday data on things like tackles, passes, shots and possession percentages. Much of that data will be available on the MLS website allowing bloggers like us here at SAH to provide you with better analysis of our favorite teams.
Whitecaps Add Two Veterans: The Whitecaps continued to add to their squad right up to the big event in Seattle. On Friday the team signed their first designated player. Target man Eric Hassli's a giant of a Frenchman who has towered over the Swiss Super League for league powerhouse FC Zurich. The Caps also added defender Kevin Harmse as a trialist. The Canadian international sounds like a utility enforcer who can come off the bench to bruise up the opposition. Harmse was on hand for the Summit. Hassli should join the Whitecaps in time for their season opener against Toronto.
San Jose Close to Landing English Midfielder: The San Jose Earthquakes are looking to cement their partnership with the Tottenham Hotspurs by bringing in attacking midfielder Simon Dawkins. The 23 year old Englishman frequently appeared with the Hotspur reserves, but injuries have prevented him from breaking into the starting team. The Earthquakes are hoping to replace the services of their former DP Geovanni and add some attacking punch to complement Golden Boot winner Chris Wondolowski. In other news, the Quakes beat the Colorado Rapids 1-0 on Friday and Steven Lenhart will miss the season opener for the Quakes due to knee surgery.
Revolution Add Youth: The Revolution have signed young Nigerian midfielder Michael Augustine. The Revolution have also signed three of their recent draft picks including Monmouth standout Ryan Kinne. On Sunday the Revs defeated the Columbus Crew 2-1 to go undefeated in their light preseason schedule. Also, SAH is happy to welcome The Bent Musket to the growing list of soccer blogs on the SBN Nation network.
Freddy Adu Scores a Goal: The savior of American soccer recently saw time on the pitch in the Turkish 2nd Division and scored a goal! Wooohooo!!!