2004 Pre-Season Match

April 10, Bellingham, WA

This page made possible by donations from Heather Johnson.

Match Program

Photos thanks to Heather and Tony!

     Above: Player intros, Marco Velez & Billy Sleeth in Sounder green.                 Above: Farrell, Marques (Caps Goalkeeper), and Velez.

   Above: Velez, Farrell & Nguyen, and Smith along with Dasovic and Craveiro.     Above: Percell, Kinoshita, and Smith (with Vaughn in the corner).

Game Article from Bellingham Herald, who holds all copyright.

SOCCER: A-League rivals play physical, entertaining match

TUSSLE ON THE TURF: Vancouver's Carlo Corazzin (19) fights with Seattle's Ryan Edwards during the first half of their match Saturday at Civic Stadium. MAME BURNS HERALD PHOTO

BY MIKE ALLENDE, The Bellingham Herald

It may have been a preseason exhibition game, but neither the Seattle Sounders nor the Vancouver Whitecaps played like it didn't count.

The A-League rivals battled hard for 90 minutes in a game that saw four yellow cards and one red card but neither team could find the back of the net as the game finished in a scoreless tie Saturday at Civic Stadium.

Seattle and Vancouver play in North America's second-highest level of professional soccer after Major League Soccer.

Few A-League teams know each other as well as the Sounders and Whitecaps, whose rivalry dates back to the early '70s in the North American Soccer League. Last year, they met in a first-round A-League playoff series won by Seattle.

"Playing Vancouver, no matter what the stakes are, it's always a competitive game," Sounders' forward Craig Tomlinson said. "We always know that both teams will come out with full effort whenever we play."

That was the case Saturday. Though the game wasn't overly physical, it was surprisingly rough for a preseason game.

Sounders defender Billy Sleeth was given a red card ejection midway through the second half for a hard tackle. He'd received a yellow card in the first half. The coaches agreed to allow Sleeth to be replaced in the lineup, allowing Seattle to avoid playing a man short.

Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer said he liked the effort his team played gave.

"A lot of these guys are competing for playing time, if not a spot on the team," Schmetzer said. "So I'm not surprised that they went as hard as they did. I'm glad that no one was hurt from either team. But you've got to play hard every time you're out there."

Seattle controlled play early, and a Darren Sawatzky header went wide 4Þ minutes in. Vancouver's Jason Jordan and Carlo Corazzin each had low shots inside the goal box saved by Sounders' keeper Preston Burpo.

Seattle's Marco Velez had a good look on a header off of a corner kick that sailed high, as did a half-volley from the top of the box by Sawatzky.

"I liked our aggressiveness," Schmetzer said. "We want to be an attacking team and we did that today. It can be hard early because you're learning everyone's tendencies. But we put together some good runs."

Both teams continued to trade possessions in the second half. Seattle had the game's top scoring chance when Shawn Purcell fired a shot from about the 15-yard line that hit the right post.

Vancouver had two outstanding chances in stoppage time, including a shot inside the goal box by Nico Craveiro that went over the cross bar seconds before the referee blew is whistle to end the game.

The Sounders next played Oregon State University in Kent on Saturday, and meet Vancouver again in Chilliwack on April 18. Seattle opens the regular season May 8 at Seahawks Stadium against A-League expansion team Edmonton.

"We're pleased with our performance," Tomlinson said. "You can tell that we have some different personnel and everyone is getting used to each other. And everyone is competing for a spot on the roster so we want to show our best. I think we're going to be a good attacking team. We have a lot of explosive players, and a solid midfield. We should be entertaining."