Matchday Magazine: Sounders FC vs. San Jose Earthquakes - May 7, 2016 FULL by Seattle Sounders FC

BRAD EVANS

Seattle Sounders FC vs. San Jose Earthquakes May 7, 2016 路 CenturyLink Field

PRESENTED BY

3 Matchup

15 The NINETY 16 Sounders Look to get Three Points Against Bogey Quakes Squad 21 Morris, Wondo and the Poacher’s Goal 26 2016 Season Stats

4 Sounders FC Central 6 Match Preview 8 Storylines 10 Team Rosters 12 Posters by the People

Seattle Sounders FC Editorial Offices 159 South Jackson, Suite 200 Seattle, WA 98104 (206) 512-1200 Editorial · Sounders FC Communications Advertising · JT Newton Program Design · Janet Jensen, Jensen Graphics Photography · Corky Trewin, USA TODAY Sports Images, Rod Mar, Jane Gershovich, Josh Weisberg, Jeff Marsch and Dan Poss

MATCHDAY · 1

Sounders FC (3-4-1, 10 points) continues its homestand on the Xbox Pitch at CenturyLink Field to take on the San Jose Earthquakes (4-2-3, 15 points) on Saturday evening. Last Saturday, the Rave Green eked out a 1-0 win on a late goal by Jordan Morris. The first-year Homegrown Player has netted a goal in each of the past three matches.

The Earthquakes are coming off a 1-1 draw on the road at the Philadelphia Union last Saturday. Prior to that match, the Earthquakes won two of their past three matches – 2-0 win vs. New York Red Bulls, 1-0 win vs. Sporting KC and a 3-1 loss at Portland. San Jose holds the 10-6-3 advantage in league play against Seattle.

DID YOU KNOW??? Forward Jordan Morris is the seventh player in club history to score in three consecutive league matches. Obafemi Martins (4), Fredy Montero (3) and Clint Dempsey (2) have all accomplished the feat multiple times, while Chad Barrett, Lamar Neagle and Blaise Nfuko did it once apiece. Morris reached the mark last Saturday, as he scored the game-winner against Columbus Crew SC in the 88th minute. On April 23, Morris scored the Rave Green’s lone goal in a 3-1 loss after netting his first professional goal in a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Union on April 16.

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SOUNDERS FC CENTRAL Click on the photos below for the latest news, videos, photos and more!

MORE FROM MORRIS: Homegrown

forward Jordan Morris now has three goals in three games after scoring the decisive goal against Columbus last time out. Since moving up top from the wing position where he started the season, Morris has become the team’s leading scorer.

WONDO WATCH: San Jose forward Chris Wondolowski has seven goals already this season and is tied for most in MLS with Portland’s Fernendo Adi. His seven goals account for more than half of the Quakes’ 12, and no other Earthquakes player has more than one goal this season. Wondolowski is also sitting on 116 career goals, fourth all-time in MLS history. FINALLY FULL STRENGTH? The Sounders have

been beat up early this season, missing at least one starter in every match so far this season (not including

defender Román Torres, who suffered an ACL tear last September). With Clint Dempsey, Nelson Valdez, Brad Evans and Erik Friberg all back in the lineup, the Sounders may have their first choice starting XI available for the first time this season on Saturday. The only question mark will be midfielder Andreas Ivanschitz, who picked up a thigh strain in Colorado that kept him sidelined last Saturday.

DAWKINS’ MIC DROP: San

Jose Designated Player Simon Dawkins showcased some alluring ability last weekend, scoring the late equalizer in Philadelphia. San Jose has scored goals in the final 10 minutes of four matches so far this season. Last Saturday, they did it a man down to earn the draw away from home.

GOOD OL’ DAYS: The Sounders and Earthquakes both competed in the old NASL back in the 1970s. The teams first played each other in 1974 as members of the Western Division. The Sounders finished the year 107-3 to the Quakes 9-8-3, but it was the Quakes who advanced to the postseason on total goals scored.

SEATTLE TO SAN JOSE: Chad

Barrett, Sanna Nyassi, Cordell Cato and Bryan Meredith are all former Sounders now playing for the Earthquakes. Barrett scored 12 goals for the Rave Green in 44 appearances, but has yet to make an appearance for the Quakes.

MATCHDAY · 7

MATCHDAY STORYLINES Radio Play-by-Play Commentator Matt Johnson tells you his three storylines to follow in tonight’s match vs. the San Jose Earthquakes. Capitalize on the momentum It was only one goal and it was only one game, but when a team wins one late like the Sounders did last week it can have a profound effect on the squad moving forward. I’m looking for Jordan Morris’ goal in the 88th minute vs. Columbus to propel the home team to another good result this weekend against San Jose. If we can get to the point of drawing a line through the Colorado match (a horse racing term that simply means the bad result/ performance was a one off) then we are looking at a very productive April where the Rave Green went 3-1-1. The collective exhale either after the goal and the final whistle blown by referee Juan Guzman can propel the team for an even better May. Also, that it was Jordan Morris scoring his third goal in his third game can also help the team relax as they all see that the young man is starting to develop that killer instinct in front of goal.

The health of the team is turning to a positive The injury list early this season was significant and shouldn’t be downplayed.

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The Sounders started to pile up games in a category that you don’t want anything to do with: missed games due to injury. Brad Evans had a shoulder. Erik Friberg had a strained knee ligament. In the past couple weeks, it’s been Clint Dempsey, Nelson Valdez and Andreas Ivanschitz. Starters, key members, and leaders missing. Nelson Valdez and Friberg were on the bench last week and didn’t suffer any setbacks. Evans is back 100% and we are only waiting on Ivanschitz and his thigh strain, which wasn’t considered serious. Point is, the team is going to be as healthy this weekend as they were coming out of training camp. Knock on wood, but if they can get through Saturday healthy you’ll be looking at a full squad for Sigi Schmid to pick from headed to Frisco to face FC Dallas and the upcoming road swings at the end of May.

Where is Wondo? It is a question that unfortunately we have to ask two-three times a year. Chris Wondolowski is amazing. He can put you to sleep for long periods of a match then show up right where he needs to be and hit you with a dagger. The man

from Chico State has seven goals in nine matches this year. Say that to yourself; seven in nine. Last year he had 16. He tallied 14 in 2014 and 27 in 2012. His run from 2010-2012 is historical stuff, and with his start this year it doesn’t look like he’s slowing down. Sigi has told me numerous times that “you have to be aware of him, but more importantly where he is.” There is a difference. He is not going to blast one from 22. He is going to tap one in from three yards out. Brad Evans and Chad Marshall have to have their heads on a swivel to make sure that Wondolowski’s presence is always accounted for. San Jose has scored 12 goals this year and Wondo has seven of them. Not to sound obvious, but if he can be shut down the chances for three more points and another move up the table is very probable.

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No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 20 22 23 24 25 29 31 33 39 80 91 99

Name Tyler Miller Clint Dempsey Brad Evans Tyrone Mears Jimmy Ockford Osvaldo Alonso Cristian Roldan Erik Friberg Herculez Gomez Aaron Kovar Michael Farfan Jordan Morris Chad Marshall Dylan Remick Nelson Valdez Darwin Jones Nathan Sturgis Zach Scott Charlie Lyon Andreas Ivanschitz Stefan Frei Tony Alfaro Rom谩n Torres Damion Lowe Joevin Jones Oalex Anderson Victor Mansaray Oniel Fisher Andy Craven

Pos. Height Weight Age GK 6-4 195 23 F 6-1 170 33 M/D 6-1 170 31 D 5-11 163 33 D 6-1 185 23 M 5-11 155 30 M 5-8 165 20 M 5-11 154 30 F 5-10 160 34 M 5-10 155 22 M 5-19 160 27 F 6-0 185 21 D 6-4 190 31 D 6-0 165 24 F 5-10 160 32 F 5-10 175 24 M 5-10 160 28 D 5-11 175 34 GK 6-2 215 24 M 6-0 180 32 GK 6-3 195 30 D 6-2 190 22 D 6-2 195 30 D 6-3 175 23 D 5-11 160 24 F 5-8 155 20 F 5-11 180 19 M/D 5-9 155 24 F 5-11 167 24

No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 11 12 14 18 19 20 21 22 24 25 27 28 30 32 33 35 38 49 91

Name David Bingham Kofi Sarkodie Jordan Stewart Marvell Wynne Victor Bernardez Shea Salinas Cordell Cato Chris Wondolowski Matias Perez Garcia Innocent Mark Sherrod Adam Jahn Kip Colvey Chad Barrett Shaun Francis Clarence Goodson Tommy Thompson Steven Lenhart Quincy Amarikwa Fatai Alashe Andrew Tarbell Anibal Godoy Andres Imperiale Marc Pelosi Bryan Meredith Matheus Silva Simon Dawkins Alberto Quintero

Pos. Height Weight Age GK 6-2 189 26 D 5-9 165 25 D/M 6-0 186 34 D 5-9 186 29 D 6-2 211 33 M 5-10 162 29 M 5-9 154 23 F 6-0 165 33 M 5-5 173 31 F 5-8 146 26 F 6-3 195 25 F 6-3 201 25 D 5-10 162 22 F 5-11 185 31 D 6-0 156 29 D 6-4 180 33 M 5-7 154 20 F 6-1 195 29 F 5-9 180 28 M 6-0 170 22 GK 6-3 194 22 M 6-0 165 26 D 6-1 172 29 M 6-0 170 21 GK 6-2 209 26 M 6-2 198 19 M 5-10 160 28 M 5-6 143 28

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Presented by:

ARTIST: GREG SIMANSON For over 25 years Greg Simanson has been an art director, designer, fine artist, and illustrator. But his passion for design keeps his eyes open to all things. Greg is also a passionate sports fan of the northwest teams and supports them all. This poster design is based off a tattoo-like style that showcases the Sounders crushing a ball to create waves, and maybe an earthquake. To see more of Greg’s design work go to BUY NOW: Saturday’s www.simansondesign.com. Matchday Poster

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MATCHDAY 路 11

LET THE

MARCH BEGIN. THE STARTING XI IS READY. Delta is proud to kick off the season as the presenting partner of the Starting XI. Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s to another raving season.

SCARVES UP!

What is THE NINETY? THE NINETY, located at 406 Occidental Avenue S., is a cultural hub of soccer and a gathering place for all soccer fans to celebrate the world’s game.

What type of events are held at THE NINETY? Be on the lookout for new events every week! We will host radio shows and podcasts, Sounders FC player autograph sessions, chalk talks, speaker series and more. THE NINETY is also open before every home match and hosts away match viewing parties while the team is on the road. Follow along at #TheNINETY and check our calendar frequently to plan your next visit!

Come Saturday for a pre-match party ahead of Sounders FC’s home clash with the San Jose Earthquakes. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. PT, with beer available for purchase and a portion of the proceeds benefitting the club’s community partners. Fans can check out the Copa America trophy in person, enjoy MLS action on TV or take on fellow supporters in FIFA 16 before the CenturyLink Field gates open at 5:30 p.m. PT.

MATCHDAY · 15

Sounders Look to get Three Points Against Bogey Quakes Squad By Ari Liljenwall The San Jose Earthquakes haven’t made the MLS Cup Playoffs since their Supporters’ Shield-winning campaign of 2012. But when it comes to playing the Seattle Sounders, they’ve had consistent success. Last season, the Sounders dropped two out of three matches to the Quakes, with both defeats coming at home at CenturyLink Field. And those struggles don’t represent a one-season anomaly. San Jose has emerged as a top candidate for consideration as Seattle’s full-on bogey team and have ended up victorious in eight of their last

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12 matches against the Rave Green overall. It’s a trend the Sounders will look to buck as they gear up for their next match against the pesky Earthquakes at CenturyLink Field on Saturday. “Obviously a conference game against a team that’s had our number the past year, year and a half,” Seattle captain Brad Evans told reporters after his team’s Wednesday practice. “Difficult team. Fast, physical, they’re playing for each other, getting results on the road. You can’t say enough about that group of guys.”

For Sounders Head Coach Sigi Schmid, Saturday’s matchup with San Jose also presents his team with the opportunity to get on track against conference opponents. Seattle are off to an 0-4-1 start against Western Conference teams through the first eight games, compared to a 3-0-0 mark against the East. “We need to do well in conference,” Schmid said Wednesday. “So far we’ve done OK against the East and we need to well in our conference now and playing against the West Coast teams.

But hopefully the confidence that we’ve gained in the last five matches is able to carry us into this game as well.” Evans also expressed hope that Seattle’s improved play of recent weeks could pay dividends come Saturday. After a lackluster 0-3 start, the Sounders are 3-1-1 over their last five matches and are coming off a dramatic 1-0 triumph over Columbus Crew SC last weekend courtesy of a late gamewinner from rookie forward Jordan Morris.

MATCHDAY · 17

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Morris, Wondo and the Poacher’s Goal By Will Parchman There are few American soccer players who’ve ever occupied space inside the six-yard box better than Chris Wondolowski. Whether or not that skill is fundamentally impressive to you is another matter entirely. The mere idea of a dedicated space explorer in American soccer triggers impatient warning signs. We are nothing if not a nation of straight line movement, of pace, of directness. In Germany, Thomas Müller is affectionately known as Der Raumdeuter, or “the space investigator.” Müller is hardly the most technically efficient player on the field,

but he is so spatially savvy that it never much matters what he’s doing, but rather where he is. This dedication to space exploitation is how he scores almost all of his goals. This kind of tactical role from a single player requires time and patience, and more importantly it requires a player with preternatural instincts around the net. Wondolowski might not be of Müller’s quality, but he’s the closest thing U.S. soccer has ever had. Don’t look now, but as Wondolowski and San Jose come to town for a Western Conference clash this weekend, Seattle’s own Jordan Morris is beginning to savvily investigate some space of his own.

MORRIS

Wondolowski’s goal and the movement surrounding them have an unerring style about them, almost a numbing quality that seems to lull defenders into a false sense of security. Before the ball arrives Wondolowski never looks particularly dangerous; he’s subtly shifting his weight into space, or lightly jogging between center backs. But that’s the eye of the hurricane, and by the time the ball arrives Wondolowski is already clear of his marker and one-on-one with the keeper for a tap-in. He’s already done the hard work, so the goal never looks particularly impressive.

MATCHDAY · 21

And yet it is that precise nonchalance that serves as the table setting for nearly all of his goals. If you call Müller Der Raumdeuter, then perhaps Wondolowski is The Iceberg. Most of his game happens under the surface, before the ball even arrives. Morris and Wondolowski are entirely different players from a physical standpoint. Wondolowski has never had Morris’s off-ball quicks, and he’s relied on his instincts as much as he has his flat-out speed in beating a defender for the length of his career. The idea that he’d ever be deployed as a winger in a 4-3-3 as Morris has this season as anything other than a last gasp measure is frankly a bit comical. But the two have more in common than you might imagine. A fair bit more, actually. Morris has been a striker for the majority of his career, and in college he learned the timeless art of positioning as the primary No. 9. Stanford head

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coach Jeremy Gunn is a pragmatist, not an idealist, and he quickly realized what he had in Morris; a speed demon with Thor’s hammer for a right foot and a predilection to rope in his charging midfielders with layoffs. This sparked an idea in Gunn. What if Stanford played off Morris as a developing back-to-goal striker in lieu of simply using him as a pseudo-striker winger? Morris spent the better part of his final two years at Stanford working on his spacial awareness in the final third and relying less on simple athleticism. By the time he left for Seattle this past offseason, he was rapidly becoming a truer version of a No. 9 as Wondolowski might know it. Go back and look at both of his goals in the NCAA title game against Clemson. Both were born of positioning, not individuality in space. They were poacher goals. To put it another way, they were Wondo goals. Morris has now scored in three consecutive games, which is not an insignificant stat when taken in the context of his professional newness. In his first several games as a Sounder, Morris was arrayed on the right flank of the Sounders’ 4-3-3, but he too often found himself disconnected and out of touch with the buildup. In other

words, he wasn’t in many dangerous spots. Flash forward to Saturday’s 1-0 win over the Columbus Crew, and Morris turned that right-sided deployment into a pseudo-center forward role. Morris’s touch map was decidedly central for a “wide” player, and he had a number of touches inside the Columbus box. Good players turn formational X’s and O’s on paper into jelly in favor of what they do well. It would seem Morris has already learned this. Morris’s three goals have all come in different ways, but each exhibited the keen instincts of a player of Wondolowski’s ilk. His most recent goal is unarguably the biggest example, and one has to think that Wondolowski would’ve recognized it easily as one out of his own playbook. In the 88th minute on Saturday, with the game scoreless, Joevin Jones drove in a low-flying cross that Oalex Anderson turned goal-ward. The shot was deflected back out into the box by Steve Clark, and Morris was waiting for it about two yards inside the six. With the goal gaping, Morris needed only take one step inside to whip a shot on target that pinged off Michael Parkhurst’s leg and into the net. The shot, workmanlike as it was, was worth three points of MLS table positioning. There was nothing flashy about the goal, and it will

hardly worm its way onto any league year-end highlight reel. It was fashioned simply out of timely positioning, being in the right place at the right time and reacting. In other words, emulating the career of a man named Wondolowski who’s fourth on the MLS all-time goal scorers list. Few of those probably stick in your memory. Except perhaps the ones scored against the Sounders. Morris will always be a different player than Wondolowski in a few fundamental ways. But at least in terms of the way he approaches space tight to the goalmouth and uses it to his advantage, it would seem Morris and Wondolowski have more shared traits than one might except. Perhaps it isn’t so surprising for a developing young forward in Seattle and a man named Wondolowski who may one day be popularly known as The Iceberg.

WONDOLOWSKI

MATCHDAY · 23

MATCHDAY 路 27

2016 MLS REGULAR SEASON STATS UNF POS Player

13 F Jordan Morris

GS MIN

A SHT SOG FC/FS OFF CK

C/E

14 D Chad Marshall

8 720 2 0 7 4 5/8 0 0 1/0

23 M Andreas Ivanschitz 7

7 588 1 3 11 7 3/11 2 37 2/0

7 604 3 0 11 7 6/6 3 0 0/0

6 M Osvaldo Alonso

8 720 1 0 13 4 15/20 0 0 2/0

2 F Clint Dempsey

7 618 1 0 27 5 10/10 2 0 1/0

7 M Cristian Roldan

7 687 0 1 5 0 3/12 1 0 0/0

24 GK Stefan Frei

7 630 0 0 0 0 0/1 0 0 1/0

4 D Tyrone Mears

7 630 0 0 1 0 5/5 0 0 1/0

33 D Joevin Jones

6 545 0 0 3 1 10/3 0 0 2/0

3 D Brad Evans

5 445 0 0 3 0 2/2 0 0 1/1

16 F Nelson Valdez

4 356 0 0 6 3 4/9 5 0 1/0

20 D Zach Scott

3 290 0 0 0 0 3/7 0 0 1/0

39 F Oalex Anderson

2 218 0 0 6 2 3/8 0 0 0/0

11 M Aaron Kovar

3 207 0 0 6 3 3/2 0 5 0/0

2 197

D Dylan Remick

2/2

1/0

9 F Herculez Gomez 4

2 184 0 0 7 4 4/4 0 5 0/0

1 GK Tyler Miller

1 90 0 0 0 0 0/0 0 0 0/0

8 M Erik Friberg

1 83 0 0 0 0 3/0 0 1 2/0

91 D Oniel Fisher

1 41 0 0 0 0 2/1 0 0 0/1

17 F Darwin Jones

0 14 0 0 0 0 0/0 0 0 0/0

Team totals

8 720

Opponent totals

8 720

4 107 40 83/117 13

10 12 107 42 117/83

15/2

19/1

GP-games played; GS-games started; MIN-minutes; G-goals; A-assists; P-points; SHT-shots; SOG-shots on goal; FC/FS-fouls committed/fouls suffered; CK-corner kicks; OFF-offsides; C/E-cautions/ejections GAME-WINNING GOALS: Morris (2), Dempsey (1) GAME-WINNING ASSISTS: Ivanschitz (2) PENALTY KICK GOALS/ATTEMPTS: None

SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC INDIVIDUAL GOALKEEPING UNF POS

Player

Stefan Frei

Tyler Miller

GP GS MIN

SHTS SV GA GAA

PG PA W-L-D SO

630

1.14

3-3-1

2.00

0-1-0

Team totals

720

1.25

3-4-1

Opponent totals

720

1.00

4-3-1

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MILK ISN’T ORANGE. SO WHY IS YOUR CHEESE?

NATURALLY

WHITE

Cheddar.