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So I’m not sure why I’ve spent all of Sunday so frustrated with how last night went. It’s probably not even fair for me to be frustrated. The team by and large played its ass off on Saturday. You didn’t need postgame quotes to see just how tired certain players on this team were. David Estrada was limping. Rosales’ passing wasn’t as pinpoint as it usually is. Nor were Burch’s crosses. Maybe Evans would have played if his hamstring hadn’t been subjected to the last few weeks of consecutive matches.

Poor Parke was gassed. I hate to say I called it, but the guy was hobbling like someone about to finish a marathon. Which, effectively, he was. He was in the starting lineup for EVERY SINGLE MATCH in this five game stretch. He played… let’s see… 90, 180, 270, 360… should have paid more attention to those skateboarding tricks… 450 MINUTES! Now that I think about it, I can’t recall anyone managing a 270 degree spin. I WONDER WHY. (/sarcasm) And despite the number of minutes he played, he still huffed it into attacking positions when it was relevant to do so. Parke was a warrior in this game, and it’s a shame the scoreline didn’t reflect the effort he and his teammates put into it.

And the worst part was that there was nothing that could be done about it. Patrick Ianni was out with back spasms, and while Andrew Duran made his first 18 this week, it’s hard to know if he could have played up to the standards of even a suffering Parke.

A seat mate remarked some time after the goal that Salt Lake may very well have been playing Seattle’s fitness. The Royals bunkered in for the majority of the first half, notably passing back and forth waiting for Seattle to try to challenge for the ball. Then, in the second half, they struck, and went back into their bunker.

I don’t want to take anything away from Espindola’s goal. As much as I dislike the guy, it was a good shot. It could have been covered by a defensive player, but Meredith didn’t have much of a chance once it was in the air.

That back line of Salt Lake gives me fits. If there was a duo of centerbacks in this league that I’d prefer over Parke and Hurtado, it would likely be Olave and Borchers. They nearly eliminate the aerial attack, and with Beckerman in front of them, don’t allow anything significant through the middle either.

I haven’t watched the recap yet. I’m not sure if I will. And if I do, I’ll probably realize that the referee wasn’t as radioactively random as I believed he was in real time. That he wasn’t truly as bipolar as he seemed. But Geiger was as frustrating to watch as just about anyone that has reffed a game at home in some time. Did he affect the result? I don’t know. Probably not. Almost certainly not. But on days like this I like to think it was his fault. It makes me feel better.

So now, while the Sounders have come out to a great start to this season, they have also lost to their two biggest competitors in the west. Unlike past years, we’ll have multiple opportunities for revenge (how’s that for finding a silver lining in the new schedule?). But perhaps the reason why I’m frustrated is that we haven’t beat what would be perceived as a top flight team in 2012. They’ve feasted on the bad teams this year. They handled the decent ones. But in three games against the top three teams in each conference, they are 0-2-1. And as much as this is a loss we should be able to shake off, it’s lingering right now.

There’s still room for optimism though, especially concerning the Supporters Shield. Kansas City lost this weekend. San Jose tied, and have a game in hand. Salt lake is only four points up on us with 3 additional games played. As it stands today, the Sounders should be the favorites for the shield. I’m just becoming afraid of these big, high-pressure games. It has been a while since Seattle won one.

Above all, I blame this loss on one thing: I have a friend who, unbeknownst to me, was in attendance last night. This friend has been to four games, three of which were 1-0 losses and one which was the tie versus Portland last year (he wasn’t at his seat…er…stand… when Seattle scored). He’s clearly cursing the squad, and I apologize to all involved for ever introducing him to the team. I will do my best to make sure he never attends again.

Wow, I really didn’t want to write about this game. At least I thought I didn’t. But I ended up writing a thesis on it. Oh well.

Coming out of the mid-week matches with Dallas and Chicago respectively, it looked like each side might be able to field their full starting XI’s in this match, with relative health. But as the week has gone on, the injury picture has become more and more clouded (ironic on a day like today) as players’ health has been put into question or dismissed entirely. The most concerning news for Sounders fans is that the Honey Badger, thought to just be taking a day off on Wednesday, might be DOUBTFUL for today’s match. (Sounder at Heart)

On the other end of things, Salt Lake’s Morales is listed as questionable, which mitigates but doesn’t eliminate the possible absence of Alonso. Nick Rimando aka “The Short Bastard” is probable, so we won’t have a reserve-on-reserve GK situation, nor will we have two starters. Anarchy.

This is the final match of a five-game stretch, which is a relief because there are a few guys that need rest, and a few more that are surely looking to nurse some injuries. Parke ran his butt off covering for Scott against Dallas, after playing 90 minutes the previous Saturday. He won’t get any relief today, as Patrick Ianni had an MRI to check on his bad back. Between a winded Parke and a benched Alonso (not to mention a possible Gonzalez start, not always a master of Salt Lake’s offense) I don’t expect the Sounders to keep a clean sheet in this one. Thankfully, our forwards are getting hot at the right time, and the Royals didn’t rest many starters in their midweek game. There should be some openings even in what is typically a pretty stingy defense on their end.

This is the biggest game of Seattle’s short season. It could be a bellwether of the current roster’s resolve and ability. If they win this one, they should be the consensus team-to-beat in this young MLS season. If not… well… depends on the ref we have tonight

BTW, if anyone actually reads this thing, I’d love to meet you. I sit in 128 row V seat 5 and will be at the March to the Match. Come say hi!

The road trip is now four-fifths of the way through, and the Rave Green have collected all 12 points, with a game remaining. That remaining match is against the west-leading Real Salt Lake, who are looking pretty good with their 23 points total. Over 12 games.

Seattle has 22 points in nine matches. I am a notorious braggart, but right now I could be the Dalai Lama sitting here in my green shorts and Xbox kit and I’d still be telling you Seattle is the class of the league right now. Which, you know, is probably what the Dalai Lama is doing at this moment. A guy with that much free time has to have a subscription to MLS Live.

But as high as the Sounders are riding right now, this day-after could have easily been… not as sweet as it is right now. Because as banged up as FC Dallas is, as many red cards as they’ve sustained, they gave Seattle everything they were worth for 45+ minutes. Like Selina Kyle in that “Dark Knight Rises” trailer, FC Dallas was a storm for the yacht-boating Sounders to weather. Time after time, Fabian Castillo managed to get behind the ninth Sounders lineup in their nine games this year. Zach Scott, who in previous matches against the non-red Bulls has been a kryptonite for Brek Shea, couldn’t handle Castillo’s speed and ball-handling (hah). And it wasn’t just Castillo. The Hoops ran circles around Jeff Parke and crew for most of the first half. Seattle had a single worthwhile attempt on goal, a Rosales incident right in front of the end line that I’m still not sure how to label; as a great pair of saves or a poor pair of shots.

But lucky for Seattle’s back line, we learned that Bryan Meredith had not simply been a product of a solid defense and defensive scheme in his previous three halves of shutout ball. Unlike the match against Philadelphia, Meredith was tested early and often, both on routine saves and one HOLY CRAP HOW THE HELL DID HE GET HIS HAND ON THAT I THINK I JUST POOPED MY PANTS save. That one save that I singled out in the previous sentence was so good that it got on Sportscenter. Not even Fredy Montero’s 35 yarder from last week got on Sportscenter. I’m pretty sure the last time anything Seattle was seen on Sportscenter was the Beastquake.

I’m also confident that when the team saw that, they suddenly believed that it was Kasey Keller in goal, and not a second-year keeper making his second start in MLS (silly players, they should have seen that bald behemoth up in the press box!) because after that save, the visitors finally started to wake up a little bit. Dallas could have easily been up 1-0 or 2-0 at this point in the game, but Meredith’s stop made the defense feel unstoppable again. (Even though Scott still wasn’t getting a handle on Castillo)

The rest of the story goes like this: Seattle subs on Montero, Dallas’ backups BURN themselves out trying to keep up with Seattle’s speed, and when Cordell Cato came in, the Cows/Steer/Beef couldn’t keep up anymore. Like farm animals trying to wade through Puget Sound, Dallas players were tripping over themselves trying to make one good pass. It almost seemed inevitable when Montero pulled off that sweet little move in the box to beat two defenders. Those legs looked awfully heavy.

Notes:

• I can only assume Hyndman, knowing his side wasn’t fielding many starters, wanted to try to score early and hope they could bunker to keep Seattle off the board. Without Shea in the starting lineup, it was probably a smart tactical decision. But when the first half came and went with goose eggs on the board, their fate was sealed. Much has been made of Seattle’s depth, but perhaps not enough. They only had five projected front-line players in the lineup and still pulled out a solid win. They’ve given first minutes to three players over the last three games, and rested key starters. It hasn’t mattered. Between Cato, Andy Rose, Alex Caskey, and Meredith, (not to mention the “seven starters” on the defensive line) it’s becoming clear just how interchangeable Seattle’s pieces are.
• Speaking of Cato, I’ve been privately chatting with Jason about getting him minutes. The Trinidad and Tobago transfer’s tangibles have sounded fascinating to me since we first signed him, and he showed what he was all about against Dallas. SPEED, SPEED, and more SPEED. The guy loves speed so much we may need to check him into rehab. Okay, that was terrible. Not doing that one again. Maybe. Regardless, I think we’ll see more of him in the Open Cup and Champions League, and it’s a fun prospect.
• I was pretty surprised that Mauro Rosales got minutes at all in the match, let alone a whole half. He’s going to be an important piece against Salt Lake if the Sounders are going to finish their two week conquest, so you’d think they want him at his best (especially considering the MLSsoccer.com article about how he’s still in pain). For Jehovah’s sake, they even sat Osvaldo Alonso for this match. I think it has been about two or three years since he spent an entire game on the bench. Still, Rosales looked fine on the field, and had a couple of dangerous plays (though it sure would have been nice to see that ball sitting in the back of the net like in my swimming days.)
• That tsunami known as Fredy Montero has reached shore and is rapidly moving inland. My hope is that it doesn’t peter out just before the playoffs the way it has the last two years. If there is a singular, uniting reason that I can point to and say “this is why we didn’t move on to the next round those years” it’d be because Fredy had stopped scoring about a month earlier. He’s going to score more than 15 times this year. I just hope that he saves a few of those in his back pocket for November and December (jeez, the playoffs this year are going to be COLD).
• Jeff Parke deserves a rest against Salt Lake. I still consider him part of the first team, and I think we need our starting XI against Salt Lake, but he ran himself ragged backing up Scott on the right flank. Everyone has bad games, but Scott looked like a USL player for close to 90 minutes. Ianni and Hurtado have proved they play well together, and I assume that the former is healthy enough finally to get after it. I’m just slightly worried about Hurtado, who is going to have some serious mileage on those tires of his.
• I wish I had super-awesome cool video editing skills, because I’d love to edit Meredith’s save into Montero’s goal from last week. It was in roughly the same spot, and would just look epic. Though I wonder if it would have a butterfly effect… You know, Montero doesn’t score in that game, so his confidence isn’t as high in Dallas, so he doesn’t score twice, leading to one point instead of two, and the collapse of the season. The past is fragile, and we must be careful altering it…
• The starting group against Salt Lake should look something like this:
  Montero-Johnson
  Fernandez/Estrada-Evans-Alonso-Rosales
  Gonzalez-Hurtado-Ianni-Johannson
  Meredith
  I’m not sure if they feel like Fernandez is healthy yet, but if he is, this would be a good time to have him back.
• I admit that I didn’t watch midfield positioning much in the first half (I was too busy covering my eyes and seeing Castillo nutmegging everyone I’ve ever cared for) but Sigi said in his postgame comments that  Evans and Rose were playing too deep, giving Dallas lots of room to advance. Likewise, I didn’t notice how big an effect moving them forward in the second half made. But it makes me wonder why Servando Carrasco, who while no Alonso, is a reasonable facsimile, wasn’t in the starting lineup. It would have allowed the squad to run a more normalized formation, and Evans could have played his normal position. Carrasco was on the bench tonight, but I wonder if he might be in the doghouse right now.

Salt Lake is next, and it may be as big as any match Seattle plays this season. Win, and they have a chance to take the sole lead in points leaguewide, with the first Cascadia Cup match the following weekend. It’s a fun time to be a Sounder, folks.

Oh right. FC Dallas. So neither team is playing their ideal starting 11 tonight. Much like how last week Seattle fielded at fully reserve left side of the pitch, this week it’s the right that seems exposed. Typically it’s an automatic to pencil Alonso into the starting lineup, but as I predicted in a post last week (that’s right, seer in the house!) he needed to get some time off the field this week. He has played every Sounders minute this year, and we need him at full force against Salt Lake.

Clearly the Salt Lake match has been the focal point when creating this lineup. Six players from Saturday’s match against the Union are taking the starting 11, and only Meredith and Rosales will be expected to start in that game. Salt Lake, on the other hand, is starting a group similar to their best XI.

I should probably feel more urgent about this game. It’s Texas, and it’s Dallas, a historically strong team. Sure, they are playing a soft roster themselves (no Brek Shea is a plus) but the side has been about as good as Seattle the last few years, or so it has seemed. But for whatever reason, even with Alonso sitting, this feels like a game in which the Sounders should roll.

Look for Rosales and Johnson to link up a few times, and, Lord Fucito willing, a couple of those will go on early so Sigi can give a few minutes to Carrasco or, perhaps, Cordell Cato.

Saw this posted on twitter by @yamsmos. Enjoy
* Click the CC button on the player to get English subtitles

For the second week in a row, the Sounders have been gifted with a mid-week match against a team missing some of its core players. Last week saw the Galaxy travel to Seattle without the help of its Euro-DPs Beckham and Keane. This week, Seattle travels to Texas to face off against a FC Dallas squad that will be missing Daniel Hernandez, Blas Perez, and Ugo Ihemulu. While Hernandez and Perez are both suspended for red cards, Ihemulu was put on the injury report with concussion symptoms. As if that wasn’t enough, Brek Shea is still listed as questionable due to a nagging injury.

Until Sunday, I thought I would target two players in this preview. First, I wanted to take a look at Sounders Public Enemy #2 Daniel Hernandez (obviously Brian Mullan is #1). While not an impact player himself, Hernandez made an impression on Mike Fucito with his elbow and Seattle supporters via twitter last season. Although his absence will likely mean fewer bumps and bruises for Fredy and Mauro, it will also remove some emotion from the game. I would love to see the Sounder hang a big number against a lineup including Hernandez.

The other angle I wanted to explore was new striker Blas Perez. For the last few years, Perez has been bouncing between various clubs on short term loans. However, now that he has signed for Dallas, Perez has settled well. With three goals in six games, Perez has shown that he has what it takes to find the back of the net. If Brek Shea can find the form he displayed last year, this combination could be very effective. Unfortunately for Dallas, at least one of these players and possibly both will be missing tomorrow evening.

While these were the story lines I wanted to write about, I feel like I could almost re-post last week’s Galaxy preview. FC Dallas will be featuring a significantly weakened lineup. They will be missing three players from the spine of their team: a striker, a holding midfielder, and a center back. And while the Sounders have displayed their depth this year, Dallas has struggled even at full strength.

The statistics in this matchup all favor the Sounders. Even though the Sounders have two games in hand against Dallas, they have more goals, assists, and shots. While Dallas has given up fourteen goals in its ten games, the Sounders have surrendered just three goals in their eight games.

When you factor in the players that Dallas will be missing, the Sounders cannot afford to let these points slip. And while I can always make the case that the Sounders should win the game in front of them, I’m not being overly optimistic in this case. The Sounders are a far superior team to FC Dallas even if Dallas was full strength. With the weakened lineup Dallas will feature, there can be no excuses this week.

Seattle won this game with a field that occasionally saw six reserves occupying the entire left side of the formation. Between David Estrada, Andy Rose, Alex Caskey, Patrick Ianni, Marc Burch, and Bryan Meredith, Seattle pulled an LA Galaxy this week and still dominated their opposition. In fact, much of the best play ran through the left, and Rose and Caskey both had some rather threatening attempts that all but hit the back of the net.

The winning goal came through play on the left, with Fredy Montero winning the ball and feeding it to a wide open Rosales on the right, who punched a pin-perfect shot past Zac Macmath (ironic name for an athlete?) and two defenders to the far post and in. That goal would stand on its own.

The defense saw no drop off with Burch and Ianni filling in for Leonardo Gonzalez and Jhon Kennedy Hurtado respectively, allowing only a single shot on goal. Part of that must be credited to a Union side that has been entirely punchless this season without fan favorite Sebastian Le Toux. But the fact is that regardless of the lineup Sigi has picked, and regardless of who tends the goal, Seattle has only allowed three goals in eight matches (now best in the league), including a penalty kick and two nearly indefensible shots (slash crosses).

Sigi proved the utmost confidence in his reserves in this match, which will serve him well going into the final two matches of this five game stretch. Key players (Fernandez, Hurtado, Gonzalez, Johnson, Evans) got some valuable rest coming into arguably the two toughest opponents, Dallas and Salt Lake. Dallas has failed to lose a match at home this season, and Seattle has historically had trouble in Texas. There’s a good chance they will head to the lone star state with one or more of Montero, Johansson, Rosales, and (most likely) Parke on the bench. Will Sivebaek see a start? Will we see Hurtado-Ianni on Wednesday, or on Saturday? Will Osvaldo Alonso ever get a day off? Does he need one? There are a lot of questions as Seattle goes into it’s ninth match of the year (and fourth in twelve days), but one question that needn’t be asked is whether or not the Sounders have the depth to compete regardless of the starting XI.

I was somewhat surprised at how many minutes Sigi played the regulars against the Galaxy yesterday. The concern is that there will be some tired legs or an excessive number of reserves in at least one of these matches. The most difficult match of the three would seem to be Salt Lake based on their points per game. The Union are only looking at a single point per match, and will be without coach Peter Nowak for his part in a mid-game fight a few weeks ago. FC Dallas hasn’t won in three weeks.

Below is a list of the Sounders that have played significant time in the last two matches.

John Kennedy Hurtado, 180 minutes

Jeff Parke, 180 minutes

Leonardo Gonzalez, 180 minutes

Osvaldo Alonso, 180 minutes

Brad Evans, 180 minutes

David Estrada, 180 minutes

Fredy Montero, 180 minutes

Eddie Johnson, 170 minutes

Michael Gspurning, 135 minutes

Mauro Rosales, 125 minutes

Adam Johannson, 90 minutes

Zach Scott, 90 minutes

Marc Burch, 55 minutes

Alonso has played every minute of every match so far. He needs a day off one of these games. This weekend versus Philadelphia might not be a bad time to do it. The following week in Dallas may be smart as well. Either way, I’m sure Schmid will want Alonso at full fitness against Salt Lake a week from Saturday. He may very well play all 90 minutes in every match this month, but it would seem prudent to be careful with Seattle’s most important player, especially when he took such a “shot” early in the Galaxy match. He is the Honey Badger, but sometimes, he does care.

Also in need of a day off are both of our central defenders. I was shocked when both Hurtado and Parke were announced as part of the starting 11 against the Galaxy. Clearly I underestimated Ianni’s back injury. Looking at the roster from Wednesday, Johannson and Burch were the only defenders available on the bench. Which begs the question; what does Seattle do if Parke or Hurtado get hurt? Right now, Ianni is Seattle’s most important reserve player, and he almost has to play some minutes in these coming games. Our defense will not continue to post shutouts if Partado (TM) have to play every minute.

The situation at forward is more fluid. There is depth, and players that haven’t barely spent time on the field. This is a good time to give Cordell Cato and Sammy Ochoa longer looks. Halftime subs in lead situations would give those players some needed experience as the Open Cup approaches while also keeping Johnson and Montero fresh for upcoming games against stingy defenses.

This strategy should also be used in the midfield, as Fernandez returns, Rosales attempts to build on his fitness, and Evans just attempts to stay on the field. Sivebaek should make a start, and an early sub in or two for Caskey would be prudent.

Theoretical lineups:

vs Philadelphia

GK: Bryan Meredith

RB: Adam Johannson

RCB: John Kennedy Hurtado

LCB: Patrick Ianni

LB: Marc Burch

RM: Christian Sivebaek

CDM: Osvaldo Alonso (sub Carrasco)

CM: Brad Evans

LM: Alvaro Fernandez (sub Estrada)

WFW: Fredy Montero

FW: Sammy Ochoa, Roger Levesque (sub Johnson)

vs Dallas

GK: Michael Gspurning

RB: Zach Scott

RCB: Patrick Ianni

LCB: Jeff Parke

LB: Leo Gonzalez

RM: Mauro Rosales (sub Sivebaek)

CDM: Osvaldo Alonso

CM: Alex Caskey

LM: Estrada (sub Fernandez)

WFW: Cato (sub Montero)

FW: Eddie Johnson

vs Salt Lake

GK: Michael Gspurning

RB: Adam Johannson

RCB: John Kennedy Hurtado

LCB: Jeff Parke

LB: Leo Gonzalez

RM: Mauro Rosales (Sub Burch)

CDM: Osvaldo Alonso

CM: Brad Evans

LM: Alvaro Fernandez

WFW: Fredy Montero

FW: Eddie Johnson (sub Sammy Ochoa)

This roster finds rest for every player while still fielding a threatening lineup. This is the last time they’ll have five games in such a short amount of time, at least when it comes to MLS play by itself. If Open Cup and Champions League force further congestion, this sort of lineup shuffling should keep the roster healthy.

More Seattle sports news and commentary can be found at my blog, Seattlebfsbh.blogspot.org