Fredy Montero

Blood, noise and yellow cards outnumbered scoring chances as the expansion Seattle Sounders debuted in the MLS playoffs with a 0-0 draw against the Houston Dynamo on Thursday night in the first match of a home-and-home, aggregate-goals set. Second-seeded Houston, seeking its third MLS title in four seasons, denied a frantic late flurry of corner kicks and set plays by Sounders star Freddie Ljungberg. The playoff opener was yet another splashy event in the Sounders' smashing inaugural season. Seattle, the third seed in the Western Conference, set attendance records while becoming the first expansion team in 11 years to reach the MLS postseason. The ... Read Full Story

Fredy Montero scored his 11th goal in the 84th minute and the Seattle Sounders earned a 2-1 win over D.C. United on Saturday night. James Riley lobbed the ball just inside the box to Montero, who hooked a shot with his right foot to the top right corner of the goal past Josh Wicks. The expansion Sounders (9-6-10) won for just the second time in their last eight outings. United (8-6-12) still leads a seven-team race for four wild-card spots after their first home loss since a 3-0 defeat to Chivas USA on Oct. 4, 2008. The clubs in contention are separated by only ... Read Full Story

The Seattle Sounders have launched a new Spanish-language Web site to reach their growing Latino fan base. On Friday, the team announced a partnership for the new Web site with La Raza del Noroeste, an Everett-based Spanish-language newspaper owned by The Washington Post Co. Jorge Rivera, the newspaper's editor, will contribute to the site, updating news about players and the team in Spanish. Players are also expected to blog occasionally. The site will also carry a video show about the Sounders produced by a Seattle affiliate of the Spanish language network Univision. Sounders officials say traffic to the team site has increased from Central ... Read Full Story

Jon Busch made five saves, two on consecutive point-blank tries by Nate Jaqua during the first half, to help the Chicago Fire earn a 0-0 draw against the Seattle Sounders on Saturday. The Fire (7-3-8) extended their unbeaten streak to four matches (2-0-2) following a three-game losing streak from May 31-June 13. Seattle (7-3-8) is unbeaten in six games (3-0-3). Busch got some late help when a shot by Fredy Montero bounced off the right side of the crossbar, and another Sounders shot in traffic in the penalty area was cleared off the line by Chris Rolfe. Kasey Keller made two saves for Seattle ... Read Full Story

Sebastien Le Toux drilled in a penalty kick in the 89th minute Tuesday night, giving the Seattle Sounders a 1-0 victory against the Kansas City Wizards in a U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal. The Sounders were awarded the penalty kick when Fredy Montero was taken down in the area by Wizards goalkeeper Kevin Hartman. Seattle keeper Kasey Keller, who was red-carded in the 29th minute when the teams met in a regular-season Major League Soccer game in Seattle on April 11, earned the shutout. The Sounders will host the Houston Dynamo of MLS in a semifinal game on July 21. The Wizards were eliminated from ... Read Full Story