Chivas USA Notes (2-1 loss vs. Seattle Sounders FC, CenturyLink Field, Seattle, Wash., 9/08/2012)

 

·         SEATTLE, Wash. (Saturday, September 8, 2012) – Chivas USA (7-12-7) fell, 2-1, Saturday afternoon to Seattle Sounders FC (13-6-8) at CenturyLink Field. Chivas USA took the early lead on Nick LaBrocca’s second goal of the season on Shalrie Joseph’s and Miller Bolaños’ fourth and third assists on the season, respectively. Sounders FC responded with two Eddie Johnson goals, one in each half, to come away with the win.

·         Chivas USA started the match getting into dangerous spots right away and as a result took a 1-0 advantage in the eighth minute. Bolaños dropped the ball off to Joseph just outside the semi-circle. Joseph appeared to be winding up for a strike and as Seattle’s defense crept up to block the shot, Joseph threaded a precise pass to LaBrocca inside the box. LaBrocca received the pass, squared-up and shot a left-footed strike past Seattle goalkeeper Michael Gspurning’s left.

·         Seattle was able to move their numbers forward midway in the first half. In the 28th minute Seattle midfielder Christian Tiffert was awarded a free kick outside the left side of the box near the sideline. Tiffert served the ball into the box where Johnson was able to head-in the equalizer for his 12th goal of the year. The assist was Tiffert’s second this season.

·         Locked at 1-1, both sides looked for chances in their attacking third. In the 55th minute Red-and-White goalkeeper Dan Kennedy came up huge for his side, as he denied Seattle’s Steve Zakuani on a one-on-one breakaway. Kennedy came out deep away from his net on the right side of the box to make the point blank stop.

·         Chivas USA had quality looks at goal as well, as midfielder Ben Zemanski unleashed a strike from about 25 yards out that sailed high in the 55th minute. Ten minutes later, sub Tristan Bowen took a shot of his own from the right wing that grazed the top of the cross bar.

·         In the 89th minute Seattle was able to break the tie on Johnson’s second goal of the match. Fredy Montero made a solo run along the left sideline near the corner and found the cutting Johnson near the far post for the final 2-1 marker.

·         Chivas USA returns home after three consecutive road matches to face its Northern California rival the San Jose Earthquakes for a 7:30 pm PT match, Saturday Sept. 15, at The Home Depot Center. The game will broadcast on television, live on Fox Sports West in English and KWHY Channel 22 in Spanish. For more information please visit cdchivasusa.com. Follow us on Twitter @cdchivasusa and Facebook.com/chivasusa

 

THE WORD FROM THE TEAMS:

 

CHIVAS USA HEAD COACH – ROBIN FRASER: 

On the game: “I thought we started off very well. We made it difficult for them to get attacking chances against us and we obviously created some pace for ourselves and scored an early goal – a good goal. It was a great start. And then slowly but surely, we got less and less confident on the ball, which led to more turnovers, which led to the rest of the game.”

 

On Chivas USA’s defense and on their missed offensive opportunities: “It was certainly an improvement over what we’ve seen the last few weeks. We certainly worked a lot at it over the last number of weeks and through this week. So to come out and be solid and not give up a ton of opportunities was definitely better and we felt better about that. But you have to be able to play on both sides, right? We defended fairly well. They’re really hard. I have to give them credit – they fought really hard. On the attacking side, we just weren’t good enough. When you keep giving good teams opportunities, they’re going to obviously create chances.”

 

CHIVAS USA DEFENDER – JAMES RILEY

On coming back and playing in Seattle: “Obviously kind of mixed emotions. It’s fantastic to come back and play in front of a crowd that I did for three years. I have a lot of good memories with this team and club and organization. But obviously, we were a bit hard done. I thought we could have gotten out of there with a point. Our backs are against the wall like a wounded animal, so we’re scrapping for anything right now. We’re scrapping for playing time, for wins, for jobs next year. I thought we came out and competed. Obviously good teams sometimes find a way to win consistently and they did that today with two great goals.”

 

SOUNDERS FC HEAD COACH – SIGI SCHMID

On the game: “I think sometimes when you have a win like we had down in LA, you can pretty much stand on your head in the locker room before the game. The edge sometimes is off a little bit and you try to keep them focused and motivated, but the edge is off. Obviously, we didn’t start off well. We put ourselves behind one-nothing, but I think it’s our first come from behind win all year. Then we showed some character in terms of coming back. Mauro [Rosales] didn’t play today because we didn’t want to take a chance on his quad. [Christian] Tiffert had to come out—it was a little bit of an ankle that’s been bothering him. We don’t have [Adam] Johansson, we don’t have [Mario] Martinez, but we’re still able to put a quality effort in there against a team that has nothing to lose. They don’t have to play it tight—they’re going to try and win the game. They can take risks and chances. I’m pleased with our ability to win, pleased with our ability to come back. As hot as [Fredy] Montero has been, he draws a lot of attention. That opens up some space for Eddie [Johnson], he gets on two good headers—a good free kick from Tiffert on the one and the other one just a tremendous cross from Fredy Montero, so it’s good to see them combine. I’m very pleased.”

 

On if he is happier with a come from behind win or a four-goal win like last time: “I like them both. Four goals is a little better, a little easier on the heart and all that good stuff. Coming from behind is something that we haven’t done this year and to show our character being able to do that. We left a little late, but that’s important too because the team has to know that no matter how long it goes, we’re always in it to win it.”

 

SOUNDERS FC FORWARD – EDDIE JOHNSON

Describing his first goal: “Tiffert is a great deliverer of the ball, and I just wanted to get on the end of it. We practiced who is running the first post, second post, third post and try to recover. We tried to run between each other and get into the gaps. It was just a well-timed ball.”

 

Describing his second goal: “I knew when Freddy gets it out wide, he gets his head up. We were trying to push it to the point and it was just a well-delivered ball by Fredy (Montero). I like heading the ball — if it’d hit my foot, I’d be a little more nervous.”

 

Chivas USA (7-12-7) vs. Seattle Sounders FC (13-6-8)

Sept 8, 2012 – CenturyLink Field

 

Scoring Summary:

CHV – Nick LaBrocca 2 (Shalrie Joseph 4, Miller Bolaños 3) 8

SEA – Eddie Johnson 12 (Christian Tiffert 2) 28

SEA – Eddie Johnson 13 (Fredy Montero 6) 89

 

Chivas USA – Dan Kennedy, James Riley, Danny Califf © (Tristan Bowen 63), Rauwshan McKenzie (Jose Correa 90), Jorge Villafaña, Shalrie Joseph, Nick LaBrocca, Miller Bolaños, Ben Zemanski, Casey Townsend, Juan Agudelo (Laurent Courtois 67).

Subs not used: Tim Melia, Bobby Burling, Cesar Romero, Marky Delgado.

 

Seattle Sounders FC – Michael Gspurning, Zach Scott, Patrick Ianni, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Leo Gonzalez, Brad Evans (Cordell Cato 84), Osvaldo Alonso ©, Christian Tiffert (Alex Caskey 61), Steve Zakuani (Andy Rose 75), Fredy Montero, Eddie Johnson.

Subs not used: Josh Ford, Marc Burch, Sammy Ochoa, Jeff Parke.

 

Misconduct Summary:

CHV – Shalrie Joseph (yellow, foul) 66

CHV – Casey Townsend (yellow, dissent) 77

Referee: Kevin Scott Referee’s Assistants: Mike Rottersman, Jeremy Hanson 4th Official: Kevin Terry, Jr.

Attendance: 38,934 Time of Game: 1:53 Weather: Partly cloudy, 76 degrees

cdchivasusa.com

 

About Chivas USA

Founded in 2004, Los Angeles-based Club Deportivo Chivas USA has achieved remarkable success in seven full seasons in Major League Soccer. From 2006-2009, the Mexican-owned club qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs in four consecutive seasons, to the delight of its passionate supporters. In addition, Chivas USA’s innovative grassroots programs demonstrate its deep commitment to the Southern California community, while the club’s youth teams and Soccer Academies offer unprecedented opportunities to the region’s best young talent. For more information on Chivas USA, please call 1-877-CHIVAS-1 or visit cdchivasusa.com.