Columbus Crew Vs. Seattle Sounders: Highlights, Quotes, Statistics

Looking back on the game a day later, I think I'm even more happy with a tie than I was immediately after. The early goal really made it seem like the Seattle Sounders had a much better chance of winning this game than they really did, as they really never controlled the match for any lengthy period.

While some have expressed some frustrations with Sigi over his use of personnel on Saturday, I have a hard time not grading him on a massive curve. I'll be very interested to find out what the thinking behind waiting to use Mike Fucito was, but other than that, I'm not sure what else I'd have done any differently.

As much as we may not like it on paper, Roger Levesque was definitely capable of bringing more energy to the forward position than Nate Jaqua (who would have been starting his third match in eight days) and if Sigi was starting with a mindset of just wanting to salvage a point, I think Levesque is probably the right call over Fucito. 

The statistics really suggest the Sounders were outplayed pretty thoroughly, with shots, passing and possession all significantly favoring the Crew. 

Goals by Period	1	2	Tot
Columbus Crew	0	1	1
Seattle Sounders	1	0	1

Scoring Summary:

SEA -- Fredy Montero (Erik Friberg) 7 CLB -- Emilio Renteria (Penalty Kick) 67

Columbus Crew - William Hesmer, Sebastian Miranda, Chad Marshall, Julius James, Rich Balchan, Kevin Burns (Emmanuel Ekpo 73), Dejan Rusmir, Dilly Duka (Andres Mendoza 61), Eddie Gaven, Robbie Rogers, Emilio Renteria. Substitutes Not Used:  Andy Gruenebaum, Jeff Cunningham, Leandre Griffit, Andy Iro, Josh Gardner.  TOTAL SHOTS: 16 (Emilio Renteria 4, Eddie Gaven 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 7 (Emilio Renteria 4, Eddie Gaven 4); FOULS: 14 (Dejan Rusmir 5); OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 10 (Eddie Gaven 9); SAVES: 0 Seattle Sounders -- Kasey Keller, James Riley, Jeff Parke, Patrick Ianni, Leo Gonzalez, Erik Friberg (Nate Jaqua 66), Osvaldo Alonso, Servando Carrasco, Alvaro Fernandez (Lamar Neagle 89), Roger Levesque, Fredy Montero (Mike Fucito 84). Substitutes Not Used:  Terry Boss, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Tyson Wahl, Zach Scott.  TOTAL SHOTS: 7 (Fredy Montero 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 1 (Fredy Montero 1); FOULS: 22 (5 tied with 3); OFFSIDES: 1 (Roger Levesque 1); CORNER KICKS: 3 (Servando Carrasco 2); SAVES: 5 (Kasey Keller 5)

 

Misconduct Summary:

SEA -- Servando Carrasco (caution; Reckless Tackle) 39 SEA -- Fredy Montero (caution; Reckless Tackle) 44 SEA -- Leo Gonzalez (caution; Reckless Tackle) 54 SEA -- Alvaro Fernandez (caution; Reckless Tackle) 64 CLB -- Sebastian Miranda (caution; Reckless Foul) 75 SEA -- Roger Levesque (caution; Reckless Tackle) 91

 

Referee: Mark Kadlecik

Referee's Assistants: -Steven Taylor; James Conlee

4th Official: Mark Geiger

Attendance: 7,148

Time of Game: 1:50

Weather: Cloudy and 59 degrees

 

Columbus Crew		Seattle Sounders FC
17	Attempts on Goal	6
7	Shots on Target	1
5	Shots off Target	4
5	Blocked Shots	1
10	Corner Kicks	3
14	Fouls	22
16	Open Play Crosses	20
0	Offsides	1
1	Yellow Cards	5
0	Red Cards	0
53	Duels Won	55
49%	Duels Won %	50%
420	Total Pass	312
76%	Passing Accuracy %	63%
57.1%	Possession	42.9%

Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid

General impressions on the game:

"I was pleased getting a tie. We took the lead early and were hoping to be able to hold on to it. Tired

legs got the best of us in the second half. The Crew played with a lot of energy and pushed their players

forward so we had to hold on a little at the end."

On Fredy Montero’s Goal and performance:

"It was an important goal. He needed to score that one and he needs to score many more. We need

multi-goal games from him and we need him to continue to raise his level. He’s a very important player

for us. I think at the end he got a little fatigued and that was the reason we made the change. I thought

the goal was a very good goal. It was a good cross by Friberg and a good header by Fredy."

On Kasey Keller’s performance:

"Kasey came up with a big save on Mendoza’s free kick and a couple of corner kicks. He was trying to get

the balls that were bouncing around the box and it was good to be able to get a point out of this."

Sounders goalkeeper Kasey Keller

On the game:

"In the end, it’s a good point. They were pushing for the win and had a number of corners at the end.

We hung on and in the end it was a good point. I think we faded a little bit at the end, but it’s normal."

On the save on Robbie Rogers’ breakaway in the first half:

"I did everything wrong on that play. My first read was that one of my defenders was going to spin and

pass the ball back to me, so I was giving him space to do so. I stepped up thinking I could get it outside of

the box, but I was all over the place. It was nice to make the save, but it was one of those things where

you do everything wrong and somehow manage to make it."

On the save on Mendoza’s free kick:

"He hit it on my side and I would’ve been really disappointed if he beat me on that side, as he would

have had to do something really special to get me from there. It’s always nice to make a save like that.

They put us under a bit of pressure and we held on in the end and that is showing where we’re going."

Crew head coach Robert Warzycha

On the first half:

"I think we started the game pretty well, with good balance. We possessed the ball pretty well and even

had one good chance in the beginning. Then they got the better of the game, to be honest with you,

and we started playing long ball, and that didn’t work. We made some turnovers in the middle third that

cost us a goal."

On the second half:

"But the second half was a completely different game and we pushed for the goal and we scored one,

and created a number of chances in the end. But we didn’t get any luck. The most important thing is

the result. You play for 90 minutes, so obviously we’d like to score first, whether it is the first half or the

second half. But the result is over 90 minutes."