Sounders overcome early goal to beat Revolution

The Seattle Sounders won their third straight game on June 26, defeating the New England Revolution 2-1 at the recently named CenturyLink Field. With the win, the Sounders stay at the second spot in the MLS Western conference, trailing the first place Los Angeles Galaxy by four points.

New England struck first in the June 26 encounter, when midfielder Sainey Nyassi opened up the scoreboard three minutes into the match.

The Sounders were able to even out the score in the 33^rd minute, when defender Tyson Wahl scored on a beautifully played free kick that left Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis stunned.

"It was sitting well for a left-footed shot," Wahl said after the game. "I'm not sure if Reis was out of position, but I thought it was possible to hit it to that side. I just tried to keep it on frame and bend it, just like a corner kick like I've been hitting those and it went in."

Six minutes later, the Sounders took the lead when Æ'" '" '" '" '" '" 'lvaro FernÆ'" '" '" '" '" '" 'Æ'" '" '" '" '''''''¡ndez sent the ball flying into the net, his eight goal of the season.

"I was just waiting for the ball to come to me," Fernandez said after the game. "It's hard to get a goal against you so early, but this team has enough tools to come back and keep the calm and get the goals we needed later in the game."

The Revolution had a couple of chances to tie the game in the second half, but solid goalkeeping from Kasey Keller and a little bit of luck was all the Sounders needed to walk away with the win.

Given how rough the Sounders start in the 2011 MLS season was, Seattle fans should really be proud of the way their team has turned the season around, and emerged as one of the top teams in the league. The Sounders next game will be against the Los Angeles Galaxy. The Galaxy won the first encounter between the two teams 1-0, and the Sounders will be looking for some payback.

David has been a fan of the Seattle Sounders for the past 2 years. Follow him on twitter @davidkingwriter.

Sources:

Associated Press, "Wahl, Fernandez lift Sounders past Revolution, 2-1"

Player and game information from espn.com