Hey Everybody,

After a good couple days of training it is back to the airport for another trip back east.  This time, back to Boeing Field and the plane that took us to the Open Cup finals in DC.  Let’s hope the plane gives us the same result.   We could do without the static discharge or what most of us think was really a lightning strike.  The flight takes us to Columbus, last year’s champs and former club of our coach.  The Crew have a long record of not losing at home that we want to break this weekend.  The win would really put us into a great position for qualifying for the playoff.  Also, it would help us erase the disappointment of last weeks loss to New England.

With only three games left (where did the season go?)  every point is huge.  We don’t want to come down to a win at all costs in the last home game against Dallas.  Picking up points in our last two away games can ease a lot of that pressure.  We look to be fairly injury free.  Sabastien is feeling better from his illness.  The only absentee is the suspended Jaqua.  Wish us the best of luck and lets hope Sigi can get one back on his old club!

Hopefully next year we can have a little better balance in the schedule.  The reason the league gives for us not flying in our own plane is that it would give teams an unfair advantage over the other teams flying commercially.  I am not quite sure how 3 East Coast games in a row fits into that justification, but it is what it is and we will get on with it.  It means a lot to the guys that we have had great support everywhere we have traveled this season.  Thanks Seattle.  On to Columbus.

Kasey

Hey Everybody,

Sometimes the best laid plans don’t always bring a happy ending.  Conceding a late goal the way we did was the hardest to swallow.

After taking the lead with a great Fredy Montero goal from 30 yards plus, we went into half time with quite a comfortable 1-0 lead.  I really thought the game was going to go our way, especially after the bizarre moment when the Revs striker thought he was offside and stopped playing when he was through on me.  Sometimes you catch a break.  That break soon turned with the start of the second half.  Another strange MLS referee decision and we are staring down a penalty.  In the rest of the world maybe one out of ten times this scenario is called a penalty.  Seems in the MLS it’s more like nine out of ten.

New England took advantage of the gift to make it 1-1.  That swung the momentum of the game in their favor for the next 20 minutes.  We didn’t quite react the way we would have liked, but for the most part we defended well until the last 5 minutes.  We left their most dangerous player open 10 yards out and he wasn’t going to miss from that distance.  A lot of good work was thrown away.

On a positive front, if we can say there was one, was that the results of the other games went our way.  We are still in a good place to get the points we need to get into the playoffs.  We could have helped ourselves by at least getting a point, but that didn’t happen and we need to focus on getting a result in Columbus.  I’m sure Sigi will be very motivated to get a result at his old club.  I’m sure all the players will do their best to help him reach that goal.

Lets hope a good week of training gets everyone back on track.  We need a couple of wins and out of the last three to guarantee a spot in the playoffs.  No one wants this season to come to an end, especially the players and the coaches.

Buy an umbrella, the rains coming!

Kasey

Hey everybody,

Another game at Qwest and another game without a goal.  Once again we play the away team off the field, but somehow can’t get the goals we deserved.  Zach Thorton had a good game in the Chivas goal, but we did have a knack of hitting the shots right at him.  Very frustrating for everyone.  If we weren’t creating the chances then I would be worried.  We are getting the chances and one of these games we are going to put up a big number on somebody.  Only one home game left in the regular season to make this happen.  Good thing we have been improving our away form.  Three tough away games now in a row and we need to make sure we get the points to get us into the playoffs.

I am very proud of the way the team defended.  I can’t remember a match where I have had as little to do.  I don’t remember having to make a save.  I had this bad feeling that in the end while we were pushing forward to get the goal, we might leave gaps in the back and give them a chance.  We had the man advantage, but just couldn’t get the goal.  At least we keep it clean in the back.  Results went pretty well for us this weekend, but it’s very tight for the playoff spots.  We are off to New England this weekend.  We lost at home to the Revolution a few weeks ago so now its time to get them back.

Had a good time tonight at EMP for the launch of the new Halo game ODST.  Sturgis, Evans, Dragavon, and myself played in the firefight tournament.  Sturgis is a level 50 Halo player so our game plan was to survive and let Nate get all the points for us.  Nate ran the show, but we couldn’t quite hold up our end and we didn’t advance to the next round.  Now I’m just looking forward to playing the campaign version of the game at home.

Enjoy the weather the next couple of days, could be our last for quite awhile.

Kasey

Hey Everybody,

Sorry I’ve been away for a few days, I’ve been working out some technical problems.  All good and back in business.

What another great win in RFK stadium!  This time in the league.  With the playoffs approaching, points are at a premium.  Winning against a team right in the middle of the playoff picture as we are was huge.  It was a great team effort from start to finish.  We got the first goal and we soaked up some pressure until half time.  DC kept the ball well, but weren’t able to execute with the final pass or shot.  We made some concentration mistakes that we could have been punished for, but we survived the first half.  Second half we played a little better, but conceded on a very preventable play from DC.  If we want to make it into the playoffs and try to go all the way we need to work hard to erase these mistakes.

Late in the game Montero popped up into the box, and from a difficult angle struck a shot into the top of the near post.   Then it was a matter of hanging on.  The last thing I wanted to do was concede another late goal against DC to give up two points in a match where we should win all three.  I was a little heated near the end, I just wanted everyone to be working for the common goal.  I didn’t care if you were a striker, midfielder, or defender everyone needed to be doing their utmost to preserve the win.  If you weren’t, I was going to let you know.

People ask sometimes about the dynamics on the field when as players we are yelling at each other and getting angry.  For the most part, it is fueled by the desire to win and do well.  On a team where you have good chemistry no one takes it personally, and everyone is fine after the game.  There have definitely been team situations where the team troubles have spilled over into training and off the field, but it is pretty rare.  I have had former teammates get into fist fights, but probably the worst I have witnessed was a manager strangle a player at half time.  Everybody moves on, but sometimes to another team.

Now onto Chivas, talk about a team we owe.  After two away losses to these guys we have wanted to get them to Qwest for a long time.  Now is our chance!  Time to bang in some goals at home again, it’s been awhile, but it’s time to beat up on someone good.  Might as well be Chivas.

Have a great week, looks like the weather will be good.  Never know, it might be our last week of good weather for months so get out there and have fun.

Kasey

Hey Everybody,

Back from D.C. with Open Cup in hand.  After the chances we missed in the first half I thought maybe we were going to have another one of those games.  In the second half we continued to be the team most likely to score.  We got our just rewards, Ljungberg takes the shot and Montero follows up after the save to slam the ball into the back of the net.  Then a moment of insanity from the United goalkeeper.  I still haven’t seen it, but Wicks gets up and stomps on Freddy .  How do you lose your head like that in a Cup Final?  D.C. are a very good offensive team, a goal down with twenty minutes to play isn’t much of a problem.  Being a man down makes it that much more difficult.  Late in the game we got our second.  I punt a ball deep into the corner and Sebastian wins the battle with the D.C. defender.  A great cross later, and Roger taps home for the second.  I don’t know if we thought we had already won the cup, but a loss of concentration in our marking on a free kick and D.C. were back in the game.  Some very tense final minutes and we are Open Cup Champs!

We had a little fun with the owners after the game, convincing them they needed to come into the locker room and then we doused them with champagne.  We had about a half and hour to 45 minutes before we left the stadium and headed for the plane.  A few guys stayed behind to see friends and family on the east coast, and the rest of us headed back on the charter.  Things got a  little hairy after refueling in South Dakota. We hit a little snow which caused a static charge, we all thought the plane was struck by lighting, but it was just the flash and boom of the static charge, good times!

With all of us thinking we got robbed not hosting the event, it was extra sweet taking it away from them in front of their own fans and the great travelling Seattle faithful.  It was a greater surprise landing at Boeing field at 4 in the morning on a wet September night with 200 + Sounder fans greeting us at the airport.  We truly have the greatest fans in MLS!  Thanks again for the great support.  After a long career, one more great experience, may there be many more to come!

A few days off  for the team now without a game this weekend.  After that, we head back to DC for a league game.  Have a great weekend Seattle I know I will!

Kasey