2008 USL First Division: Seattle Sounders vs. Vancouver Whitecaps

May 24, 2008

Vancouver Whitecaps lost their 2nd game of the season after losing 2-0 to Seattle Sounders on last night.Seattle effectively took control of the Interstate 5 derby after early goals from Josh Gardner and Sebastien Le Toux.

Whitecaps fans were left in shock after only 7 minutes, as Seattle "blitzed" the home-side with two quick goals in the opening exchanges.

It took just 3 minutes for the Sounders to score the opening goal, as Gardner got on the end of a Le Toux through ball before hitting the shot past a diving Whitecaps goalkeeper Srdjan Djekanovic to give the Seattle the lead.

Seattle extended their lead through the reigning Player of the Year in Le Toux on 7th minutes with a right-footed shot that went past the diving Whitecaps goalkeeper Srdjan Djekanovic.

Whitecaps centre back Omar Jarun underlined the disappointment of his team's start. "The first few minutes were an absolute disaster from us defensively," he told whitecapsfc.com. "We came out flat, and that's disappointing because everything we put into this game in terms of preparation went to waste. It's hard to keep the team's head up after something like that. But tomorrow is another day, and hopefully we can put this defeat out of the way in Portland. Like Seattle, they are another good team, and if do not come out ready to play, it will be another nightmare."

Schmetzer was naturally delighted with the way his side claimed an important away victory in Vancouver. "I think we played well," he said. "When you get a couple of early goals, you are in control of the game. With both goals, we were able to dictate the pace of the game."

The 1st half ended with jeers from the home crowd.

A host of substitutions ensued early in the 2nd half, with Arze, Justin Moose, and Jason Jordan all replacing Valente, Donatelli, and Addlery, as Vancouver tried to bring some spark to what had been a below-par Whitecaps performance.

There was also a Whitecaps debut for new signing Chris Pozniak, as he replaced centre back Omar Jarun on the hour mark. "Give credit to Seattle tonight," Pozniak said of the defeat. "They were the better team over the 90 minutes. They are so well organized, and I tried to speed up the play when I came in, but it didn't work. With the game tomorrow night, it might better for us mentally to get another crack at playing and show that we are better than the performance tonight."

As the match entered the five minutes of time added on, a deflected shot from Pozniak was the extent of Vancouver's efforts to pull a goal back before the final whistle, as Seattle ran out comfortable winners in the end.