Seattle Sounders Take Advantage of Weakened Galaxy Squad

The Seattle Sounders FC won their third consecutive match on May 2, defeating the Los Angeles Galaxy 2-0. For the Sounders, it was their first win against the defending champions in almost three years. With the win, the Sounders move up to the third spot in the MLS Western Conference rankings, trailing the first place San Jose Earthquakes by six points.

Seattle soccer fans were a little worried about Mauro Rosales - after an ankle injury forced him to sit out the second half of the Sounders' April 28 match against the Chicago Fire, but the veteran midfielder suited up on Wednesday. Rosales' presence on the field paid dividends against the Galaxy. He set up Seattle's first goal of the game, crossing the ball to Eddie Johnson, who tipped it in past Galaxy goalkeeper Bill Gaudette.

Sounders forward Freddy Montero scored his first goal of the season in the 48^th minute, firing a shot from the top of the box.

"It was good to get a win," Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid told reporters after the game. "It was good for us because sometimes you have a team that you call your, 'Boogey team' - a team that sort of gives you a problem and for some reason you can't seem to jump over them. Like Chicago can't seem to get past us right now. LA was that team for us a little bit, but we always felt we had confidence that we could beat them and today it showed."

Defensively, the Sounders put on a solid performance against the Galaxy, with goalkeeper Michael Gspurning barely getting tested throughout the game. The Galaxy actually controlled the ball a bit better than the Sounders, but they just couldn't get the ball past Seattle's defenders.

Currently with a 5-1-1 record, the Sounders are starting to establish themselves as one of the top teams in the MLS, and I expect more of the same in the future. They'll now get two days off, before hosting the struggling Philadelphia Union at CenturyLink Field on May 5.

David has been a fan of the Seattle Sounders for the past 3 years. Follow him on twitter @davidkingwriter and check out his blog.
 
Sources:
SoundersFC.com, "Sounders Solve Galaxy Puzzle"