Seattle Sounders 3 - Toronto FC 1 | Highlights, Statistics, Quotes

When a high school coach creates a recruiting film, or a player agent crafts their video sales pitch, for a player it shows everything they can do well. The highlight video from last night's 3:1 Seattle Sounders home win over Toronto FC is exactly that for David Estrada. It shows his understanding of space. There is a clear demonstration of strong ballwork and persistence as he kept trying to slam the ball home for goal number one. He can use speed on a fast break. Estrada can place his shot, not just powerfully boot it, but slip it inside a narrow opening. Like a samurai he uses the force necessary to complete the task, no more. Little, deft passes sit in his arsenal. He can finish, and does. The video isn't just the David Estrada show, but the eight minutes clearly show how good the Salinas man can be. Also of note is a very strong performance by Alvaro Fernandez.

An easy way for a team to look so dominant, is by dominating. Again, the conventional statistics do not show much. Maybe the most telling thing from convention is that Aron Winter used up his subs in the 57th minute. Only Torsten Frings was pulled due to an injury, the other two subs were for tactical reasons. It was clear that the Reds were not doing well. Seattle dominated duels through a full team effort. As usual they were led in this by Osvaldo Alonso, but even attacking stars Mauro Rosales and Fredy Montero involved themselves in ball winning. When a team wins 59% of duels they give themselves the opportunity to dominate passing stats. While only 2% more accurate Seattle had 69 more passes than Toronto. That led to a 53/47 possession split. All are numbers that together indicate dominance.

Sigi Schmid points out that it is rarely one man alone who can change a game. For all of David Estrada's success and hard work on Saturday night the supporting cast of 3 designated players, Brad Evans, Marc Burch, et al contributed to a thorough victory. Michael Gspurning credits Ryan Johnson for an amazing goal while Burch talks about his interchange with Fernandez. Seattle put together a complete game and each player spread the glory to everyone, but most of all to a man who a couple weeks ago was going to be a utility man.

Highlights, statistics and quotes follow

SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC vs. TORONTO FC
MARCH 17, 2012 - Xbox Pitch at CenturyLink Field - SEATTLE, WA

Goals by Period 1 2 Tot
Seattle Sounders FC 1 2 3
Toronto FC 0 1 1

Scoring Summary:
SEA - Estrada 17 min
SEA - Estrada (Burch, Fernandez) 51 min
TOR - Johnson (Aceval) 62 min
SEA - Estrada (Fernandez) 63 min

Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning, Adam Johansson, Patrick Ianni, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Marc Burch, Mauro Rosales (Roger Levesque 79'), Brad Evans, Osvaldo Alonso, Alvaro Fernandez (Christian Sivebaek 65'), David Estrada (Servando Carrasco 87'), Fredy Montero.

Substitutes Not Used: Andrew Weber, Sammy Ochoa, Jeff Parke, Zach Scott.

STATS: TOTAL SHOTS: (12 ); SHOTS ON GOAL: (7 ); FOULS: (12); OFFSIDES: (3); CORNER KICKS: (3 ); SAVES: (2 )

Toronto FC - Milos Kocic; Richard Eckersley, Ty Harden (Danny Koevermans 45'), Miguel Aceval, Logan Emory; Torsten Frings (Aaron Maund 24'), Terry Dunfield, Luis Silva; Ryan Johnson, Nick Soosma, Eric Avila (Joao Plata 57').

Substitutes not used: Stefan Frei, Reggie Lamb, Julian de Guzman, Ashtone Morgan.

STATS: TOTAL SHOTS: (13 ); SHOTS ON GOAL: (3); FOULS: (14); OFFSIDES: (3);CORNER KICKS: (5); SAVES: (4 )

Misconduct Summary:
SEA - Alonso 26'
SEA - Ianni 53'

TOR - Maund 93'

Referee: Richard Salazar
Referee's Assistants:- Jeff Hosking, Mike Kampmeinert
4th Official: Ramon Hernandez
Attendance: 38,709
Time of Game: 1:59
Weather: Cloudy and 48 degrees

All Statistics contained in this boxscore are unofficial

POSTGAME QUOTES: Sounders FC vs. Toronto FC - March 17, 2012

Sigi Schmid - Sounders FC Head Coach
(Opening statement...) "It's always good to start off the regular season with a win. That was something that we obviously had as a goal for ourselves. Whenever a guy gets a hat-trick like David Estrada got tonight, a great performance for him, but our team tactically did what we wanted to do. Early on we felt they played with a high line and we felt we could get in behind them with running off the ball, which we did quite a few times. They lost [Torsten] Frings do to injury, that's obviously a big part of their team and that came to help us. Ryan Johnson scores a great goal and keeps them in the game and it was a good thing David [Estrada] scores one at the other end."

(On bouncing back tonight after a tough loss to Santos Laguna...) "Yeah, obviously we're still disappointed with what happened down in Torreon. When you look at that, like I said it's a 180-minute series and for 135 to 150 minutes we were up to the task and then we lost the plot somewhere. But it's good for us to get back on track, to regain our confidence in ourselves. Obviously, Toronto [FC] is moving on to the semifinal round [of the CONCACAF Champions League]. It would have been nice if we could have moved on and played them as an opponent. It would have been a good series. It would have drawn great attendance. But I'm pleased with the character we showed tonight."

(On David Estrada's play...) "Well, everybody thought he was maybe a bad draft choice, but I felt like if we kept him around long enough maybe eventually I'd get something out of him so I wouldn't look so bad [laughter]. No, David, obviously we moved him around an awful lot and it made it a little bit harder on him, but at the end of last season I think you saw all of the sudden things started to click with him a little bit more. Then once we realized that O'Brian White wouldn't be out there for us right now, that we were short up front, we said, 'Look, we're going to stick you back up front. We think that's your best spot.' His work rate is unbelievable. Like I've said, nobody deserves it more in terms of the effort that they put in day-in and day-out. It's fantastic. I remember watching him play as a freshman at UCLA and I thought his finishing was good and today with one exception, probably the breakaway in the first half he could have done a little better with, but the other three he finished fairly well."

(On the importance of work ethic...) "Well, I think a lot of people have to look at that [Estrada's performance] and say, 'Hey, that's what work does for you.' You need 11 guys. There were a lot of other guys that did work today too. I thought Brad [Evans] and Ozzie [Osvaldo Alonso] were great in midfield today. Ozzie did a really good job on [Luis] Silva because I think Silva is going to be a very good player in this league and probably has a good shot at Rookie of the Year in this league and Ozzie shut him down pretty well. Brad kept us organized. So I was very happy."

(On the decision to play Marc Burch...) "We just wanted to get a little bit fresher legs out there. We played a difficult game down there [in Mexico] and it was a difficult game for our defense. So we wanted to make a couple of changes, but we didn't want to change too much. So [Patrick] Ianni, who I've always felt is a capable MLS center-back, so we felt he was the choice. Burch has trained well, has played well in the reserve games that we've played, so we felt him coming on and his ability as well to hit balls and be behind the defense is something that could help us in this game."

(On Alonso's injury...) "His was more a hit. Obviously the concern is when you see somebody go is it knee-to-knee, or is there something there. He's got a little bit of a bruise or a stud-mark or something below the knee. But he said it was more just bad contact and he feels fine with his knee."
(On the fans...) "Our fans are tremendous. Obviously we've got the right color uniforms for St. Patrick's Day, so that worked out really well. Although, I saw a lot of green hair in the stands - more so than normal. But it was great, it was great. The display that they put up at the beginning of the game with all the flags representing all the different players and the countries that they were from. Our fans never cease to amaze me and long may it continue."

(On watching Estrada at UCLA...) "I liked him as a freshman. I thought he had an ability in the box and the ability that he has is that if you take your eye off him even for a second he's in a different place because he works so hard. But it was just when he first came to us it might have been nerves, or trying to do too much, or sometimes you get into bad habits when you can get away dribbling maybe and now at the next level you can't get away as much doing that. So it was just a matter of finding that. But he's got four goals now in our last three games and it's great. It's great for him."

(On Estrada getting to this point...) "With everything in life people say, 'If I would have only known', or 'I could have done this differently.' You wouldn't be at the place you're at if you hadn't gone through all the experiences you went through. All of it becomes part of your character and part of your make-up, so if he had achieved it earlier he probably wouldn't be the same guy he is right now. So we'll just focus on where he is right now and not worry about that."

David Estrada - Sounders FC Forward
(On if he has ever experienced a standing ovation...) "Never. I think when we played in Vancouver during my first year I had a lot of people cheering, but it was incredible to have the whole stadium chanting my name."

(On how it feels to get his first hat trick...) "It was unbelievable. I am just thankful that I have the teammates I have. I am happy to have the players that I get to play with every day."

(On the three goals...) "They were going to step up high so I knew there was going to be some space behind them. I was very mad that I wasn't able to put away two chances that I had early on. Luckily in the second half I had two go in."

(On the last time Estrada has scored a hat trick...) "So long ago - most likely in high school. I had two goals in the semi-finals, but that is the most I had in college. It has been a long time."

(On how far he has come since last season...) "It has been a long time coming. Like I said, I am just so thankful for the players around me. I started to put myself down a little after last year, but they are always right there to pick me back up. It has been a long time coming."

(On what his grandfather means to him and why he used him in his celebration...) "I never met him, but he is a big influence in my family and me playing soccer. He is big time in my life. I never met him, but he is just so important to me and my family. My extended family back home plays for a Sunday league team named after him. So using him in my celebration is like a double meaning between playing with my family and playing here with the Sounders."

Michael Gspurning - Sounders FC Goalkeeper
(On if it was the reaction he wanted from his team after the loss last week...) "It was exactly the reaction we wanted to have. It was not easy to forget the loss, but it was so important for us to win the opening game in front of our home crowd. It gives us a lot of power for the future."

(On being in front of this crowd for the first time...) "I don't have word to describe it. It is so great to be here and I am so proud to be part of the Sounders' family. Thank you to everyone who was here today and to the people who usually come but were unable to get tickets today. Thank you so much. I think the people saw that we did everything to celebrate this day today with the fans and the win. It is a great St. Patrick's day for us."

(On the goal by Ryan Johnson...) "I have to take my hat off to him. It was a great goal. I will see tomorrow if there is something else I could have done, but I don't think so. I don't think there was anything to do about it and congratulations to him."

Marc Burch - Sounders FC Defender
(On his first MLS match for Sounders FC...) "It was amazing. In the seven years I've played in the league it was the best atmosphere I've ever played in. The crowd's amazing, and our team is great. We have a lot of great individual players and we're really good as a team. We showed that at some points today. There's some things we need to work on, things I definitely need to work on, but I'm happy with the first game."

(On his assist on Estrada's second goal...) "I found Flaco and he had a nice little back-heel to me. And David was making great runs all night. I saw him curl and I just tried to put it in. I thought he might have been offside, but I was happy it wasn't. It was a nice finish, too."

Brad Evans - Sounders FC Midfielder
(On winning their first MLS game...) "It was great. A quick response to Wednesday-it was pretty embarrassing--so it's good to come out and put in a quality showing. I thought we were more aggressive tonight. I think we can play with any team, but I think if we bring the aggressiveness that sometimes isn't there, I think it puts us to the next level. I thought that was a key tonight. Obviously starting out with three points this year is big. All the points we can grab we gotta take, so this is a good result."

(On David Estrada...) "Obviously he's been here a couple years now and just hadn't gotten that sniff, but he keeps trying and he keeps going and was all over the place on the field. It's huge. Something that we haven't had in the past is that runner that's up top and that's good at getting behind the defense and can just wreak havoc. When you have that it disorganizes the other defense. Instead of playing in front of them all the time we have somebody that can stretch and bring players out. He found himself in good positions this game and finished three really good goals."

(On moving forward...) "Now we forget about this and now we turn our focus to Friday night against a team (Houston) that's on a good roll. They have two wins now and found themselves in the final last year, so they're going to be really good. They've got the same core that they've had the last three or four years, as well. It's a good, organized tough team-good in the air, set pieces are going to be key, but possession is something that we've always been good at. We'll watch tape and we'll take each game in stride and we'll try and get three points next week."


Aron Winter - Toronto FC Head Coach
(On the game...) "I think if you watch in the first half we played quite well. At the end you got to force something to at least score one of two goals. It was very hard that we lost and I think that we didn't give them everything, that's my opinion."

(On midfielder Torsten Frings' injury...) "We had some problems of course when he went out. We'll have to wait in the coming days to see how bad it is. We tried to force things but we weren't able to."

(On starting Milosh Kocic...) "We had to make a choice and we chose Milosh (Kocic)."

Milos Kocic - Toronto FC Goalkeeper
(On the match...) "It's always difficult playing here and getting points. We had a great victory in LA and wanted to win two games but it's not the end of the world. We have to pick it up and play as well in the league as we did in CONCACAF."

(On giving up a goal minutes after scoring...) "Of course [it was tough]. We were done after that nobody really wanted to chase the game anymore. I don't think we had any more strength and were emotionally exhausted after that."

Ryan Johnson - Toronto FC Forward
(On the game...) "If I hit that header earlier in the first half it would have been a different game. Seattle is a hard place to play every time I come here. It's just one of those hard places to play I wasn't too surprised at the result but we should have been better defensively."

(On being tired after the win on Wednesday against the L.A. Galaxy...) "Possibly I can only speak for myself and I felt fine. I felt like my legs were fine. The coaches didn't work us too hard in practice so we were fresh. Every game we're ready regardless of how soon we played a game before that. I think we need to be true professionals and be ready for the next game."

Logan Emory - Toronto FC Defender
(On the game in the back line...) "I think as the game progressed we got a little more comfortable. The second half was in part better than the first half but we definitely gave up some goals which is something we're not proud of. There were times we played well but obviously there's a lot we have to prove."

(On giving up a goal minutes after scoring...) "It's deflating, even at that point we knew we were still in it and had to keep fighting. The game's not over until it's over."

Terry Dunfield - Toronto FC Midfielder
(General comments on the game...) "We bumped into a good Seattle (team) today. We were watching videos and saw them concede six but on the day they were good and full credit to them."

(On the starting lineup...) "We did our research and I'm sure Aron did as well, unfortunately it didn't work. We gave our all today and like I said before we bumped into a real good Seattle team."