Mike Fucito’s Two Goals Push Seattle Sounders Past Marathón, 2-0

The Bulldogs might be the nickname for Yale University, but rival Harvard has a bulldog of its own who made a big impact on visiting CD Marathon of Honduras Wednesday night.Stocky and tenacious bulldog Mike Fucito scored two goals as Seattle Sounders FC beat Marathón  2-0 in round five of the CONCACAF Champions League group stage on Wednesday night on the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field before 11,768, the smallest crowd in franchise history.The reason for the small crowd stemmed from the Sounders coming into the match with an 0-4 mark in CONCACAF play and out of competition for the knockout round.  Despite the victory and its first points earned in Champions League play, Seattle had been eliminated from competition Tuesday night when CD Saprissa drew with CF Monterrey, 2-2. Marathón with a 2-3 mark will contend for the second and final spot in Group C when it faces Monterrey October 20.After Miguel Montano and Mike Seamon made fervent early goal efforts, it was Fucito, a former Ivy League scoring champion while at Harvard, who achieved a breakthrough in the 21st minute.  The goal resulted after Fucito chased down a bouncing ball and chested it through the Marathón ...

Municipal Edge MLS’s Columbus Crew in CONCACAF Champions League

Pando Ramirez scored two wonderful goals for CSD Municipal as the Guatemalan side edged the Columbus Crew 2-1 in a must-win game for his team. Municipal came in to the game needing a win to keep hopes alive of qualifying to the next round in the CONCACAF Champions League and they achieved just that. The top two teams in the group advance, and the Crew sit in second place with nine points while Municipal climbed to eight points, though they remain in third place. Mexico's Santos Laguna advanced to the top of group with 10 points after a 5-1 win over Trinidad's Joe Public. The Crew used an alternate lineup to rest some of their players in this game. But Ramirez expressed pride in the victory. "They had several first-team players, they weren't missing very many. The important thing is that we won, independently of who came and who didn't," he said. Despite a heavy downpour that dampened the field, Municipal were quick and proactive, attacking early and often. Their perseverance was rewarded when Ramirez eluded a Crew defender with a series of swerving cuts before unleashing a monster shot from about 35 meters away into the back of the net in the ...

Talking Red Bull With Sean Ruiz at The EA Sports FIFA Soccer 11 Launch Party

On Tuesday night, September 28, 2010, EA Sports kicked off their newest soccer game FIFA Soccer 11 with a Launch Party. Taking place in heart of SoHo Red Bull Space, soccer fans were treated to a night of gaming, food, drinks, and a DJ set featuring Ladytron. Amongst the guests were the New York Red Bulls supporter clubs, the Empire Supporters Club and the Garden State Supporters. Both supporter clubs had the opportunity to meet and take photos with players from the New York Red Bulls.  Coming off a huge 2-0 victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy, Dane Richards, Tony Tchani, Medhi Ballouchy, Irving Garcia, Sinisa Ubiparipovic, Conor Chinn, Austin da Luz, Roy Miller, Jeremy Hall, Juan Aguelo, and Brian Nielsen squared off against each other in a Launch Party Tournament. Sinisa Ubiparipovic won the tournament when he bested Conor Chinn in the Championship Match. After the tournament, the players mingled with their fans and other guests. While the players were interacting with the fans and media alike, I had the opportunity to talk with Sean Ruiz. While many fans may not recognize Sean, trust me when I say this...he's as important to the team as the players, coaches, and management. While the latter ...

Los Angeles Galaxy Look at the Big Picture Ahead of SuperClasico Clash

Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy have elected to look at their upcoming match against Martin Vasquez's Chivas USA from an MLS Cup Playoffs standpoint this week.“In all honesty,” Galaxy midfielder Eddie Lewis said earlier this week, “we’re probably viewing the game more on our own terms, in terms of the fact we want to be able to finish the regular season in strong form. I think Chivas’ destiny has sort of been in their own hands all season and I think that will take care of itself."That's not to say that it won't be a physical contest between both Home Depot Center tenants."I do envision it to be a chippy affair," Lewis said, "probably at times borderline hostile. Given the natural history and rivalry that exists, I think the fact that both teams are at kind of opposite ends of the spectrum at the moment is going to make it a difficult match on the field, but with quite a bit going off the ball.”For the players, getting over their 2-0 defeat to the New York Red Bulls took its time to process.“Sunday night wasn’t easy,” said forward Edson Buddle, who continues to lead Major League Soccer in goals scored ...

Seattle Sounders Goalkeeper Terry Boss Called In By Puerto Rican National Team

Seattle Sounders FC announced Tuesday that the Puerto Rico National Team has called in goalkeeper Terry Boss for Caribbean Championship Stage One matches against Anguilla on Saturday and versus Saint-Martin on Monday. Both games will be played in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. Boss, 29, will miss Seattle's MLS game with Toronto FC on Saturday in Seattle at 12:30p.m. PT. To replace Boss, Sounders FC will use the MLS emergency goalkeeper pool to select a backup for starter Kasey Keller.Boss has four previous caps with Puerto Rico. He will return to Seattle on Tuesday.Boss has made three starts in all competitions, the most recent being at Monterrey on September 22 in a CONCACAF Champions League group stage match. He has appeared in one MLS match, as a second-half substitute in a 2-2 draw at Dallas on April 22.Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Seattle Sounders Face Three Key Matches In Three Different Frameworks

Seattle went the distance last week.  The team logged 18,000 miles of travel: to Monterrey, then Chicago for a 1-0 win over the Fire Saturday, and finally their return to Seattle.  The good news for Seattle Sounders FC is that an enduring traveling schedule has given way to three home matches at Qwest Field.  The challenging news is that the Sounders face three teams in separate frameworks.Seattle went the distance last week.  The team logged 18,000 miles of travel: to Monterrey, then Chicago for a 1-0 win over the Fire Saturday, and finally their return to Seattle.  The good news for Seattle Sounders FC is that an enduring traveling schedule has given way to three home matches at Qwest Field.  The challenging news is that the Sounders face three teams in separate frameworks.The current home stand begins Wednesday night at 7 p.m. PT against CD Marathon of Honduras in Round Five of the CONCACAF Champion's League group stage.  The match will be telecast nationally on the Fox Soccer Channel.  While the Sounders, at 0-4 in CONCACAF play, have scant hope of making the final knockout round without a good deal of help, the remaining matches retain great importance to Seattle ...

Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Chivas USA: Who’s Up for Some Birria?

The Oct. 3 renewal of the Honda SuperClasico between Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy and Martin Vasquez's Chivas USA always seems to emphasize one dynamic or another.This week, the Galaxy have more to lose from Sunday's showdown rather than the Goats; they hang on to first place in the 2010 Major League Soccer overall standings tenuously, as has been the case the past few months.A victory for Los Angeles will keep them at the front of the pack in the race for the MLS Supporters' Shield. A victory or draw for Chivas USA, whose playoff aspirations are close to being toast regardless, will leave the gates wide open for Real Salt Lake to take command.The last meeting for both teams was on April 1, when the Galaxy shut-out Chivas, 2-0, off an Edson Buddle brace. Buddle is still the league's leading scorer with 14 goals and will need to reprise his efforts on Oct. 3 to keep Shield hopes alive.As for Landon Donovan, his role as the team's main provider has been critical to the prospects of the Galaxy, recording a league-best 14 assists. Donovan has proven to be an important scorer too, with seven goals to his name.The Galaxy's defensive back ...

David Beckham Confronts “Prostitute”-Taunting Fan After Los Angeles Galaxy Loss

David Beckham and the Los Angeles Galaxy lost 2-0 at home to the New York Red Bulls on Friday night.Making his first start of the MLS season, Beckham played all 90 minutes. But the English superstar was held mostly in check by the Red Bulls, despite them playing without their own international star, Thierry Henry.But the frustration for Beckham didn't end with the final whistle.Begin Slideshow

Blaise Nkufo Tallies Late To Give Seattle Sounders a 1-0 Win Over Chicago Fire

Sigi Schmid and his Seattle Sounders like reruns just as long as a happy ending is produced.Last week in Columbus it was the Blaise Nkufo show as the Swiss National Team star and celebrated prolific Dutch League striker scored a hat trick with his three goals leading the Sounders to a stunning 4-0 victory over the first place leading Crew.  The accomplishment resulted in Nkufo being named MLS Player of the Week.As Saturday’s match with the Chicago Fire wound to its close it appeared as if the home team, while not achieving the three points it desperately needed to stay in the playoff hunt, would at least garner a scoreless draw and a single digit for its effort.  At this stage Nkufo made his presence felt as the Sounders went home happy and the Fire felt snake bitten as its losing woes continued.Nkufo in the 88th minute dribbled toward the scoring area after taking a pass from Steve Zakuani. As he approached the end line he delivered a shot that, as the saying goes, appeared to have eyes.  It deflected off a Fire defender and slipped past goalkeeper Sean Johnson at the far post for the match’s only and ultimately ...

No Need for Thierry Henry As New York Red Bulls Shut Out LA Galaxy, 2-0

Home field advantage be damned!But before that, I must take the time to ask the fine folks in Harrison, New Jersey the $5.6 million question: Do you REALLY need Thierry Henry?The clear-cut answer: NO.Case in point: Apparently Hans Backe's New York Red Bulls didn't on Friday night against Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy at the Home Depot Center en route to a 2-0 shutout in front of 27,000 strong.Goals from Dane Richards in the 36th minute (and with the goal, he becomes our Chicken Thief No. 10) and Juan Pablo Angel in the 60th off a penalty were more than enough against a Galaxy side who were missing Omar Gonzalez more than New York was missing Thierry Henry due to a sprained MCL.For Los Angeles, in spite of finishing the month with a winning record, it was not the best of ways to end September and it simply reeked of the inept execution and predictable offensive looks that the Beast from the East, Bouna Coundoul, could anticipate from as far as Compton.This was another depressing performance from Los Angeles. No heart, no execution, nothing.Arena knew the importance of getting this win, and with the defeat, Real Salt Lake gets a ...