Thank you for joining us here at VAVEL USA. My name is Matthew Evans, good night!
The Seattle Sounders return to action on Saturday as they host the San Jose Earthquakes at CenturyLink Field. New England travels to Yankee Stadium next Sunday for a big matchup against New York City FC.
A good win to start for the Seattle Sounders. Don't forget though that New England was missing their two best players in Jermaine Jones and Lee Nguyen.
Tonight's VAVEL USA Player of the Game is Seattle Sounders FC forward Clint Dempsey. Dempsey scored twice including a penalty kick and an easy tap-in to a wide open goal.
Full Time: Seattle Sounders FC 3, New England Revolution 0
90+4': That's the final whistle
90+3': Seattle Sub: Gonzalo Pineda (Out), Cristian Roldan (In)
90+2': New England probing the Seattle defense but they cannot find any open lanes.
90': New England is pushing for a late consolation goal. Three minutes of stoppage time.
89': Seattle Sub: Marco Pappa (Out), Aaron Kovar (In)
88': Seattle is possessing the ball in their own end. They look to be trying to draw out the Revolution defense.
87': New England looks to play the ball in off the foot of Daigo Kobayashi but Chad Marshall clears easily.
86': Evans is back on the field after the delay.
85': Oooo, Grant Wahl reporting that it is a dislocated shoulder for Bunbury as Evans walks off the field. He looks to be pointing to his jaw while talking to the trainer.
84': Seattle with another buildup play. Pappa plays the ball into Martins who looks to play out to Gonzalez but the ball is cleared out. Bunbury is not going to return to this game. It looks like a wrist injury possibly. Brad Evans is down on the field.
83': Seattle Sub: Lamar Neagle (Out), Andy Rose (In)
82': New England is out of subs. It doesn't look like Bunbury will be able to come back in to this game. He is in considerable pain holding his arm on the sidelines.
80': Lamar Neagle is called for a foul on a hard shoulder-to-shoulder tackle on Teal Bunbury. Bunbury is in some pain on the field.
79': Lamar Neagle nearly breaks free after a poor play by the defense but it is a great play from Alston to deny.
77': New England Sub: Diego Fagundez (Out), Steve Neumann (In)
76': Seattle is winning in all areas of the field tonight.
75': Diego Fagundez knocks down Brad Evans in the Seattle end of the field. A deep free kick coming up for Seattle in their own end.
74': The free kick is blocked by the wall.
72': Free kick coming to Seattle as Neagle is thrown down just outside of the box. This will be about 23 yards out straight away. Jose Goncalves is shown the yellow card.
71': Dempsey makes a darting run through the New England defense. He nearly gets free but Goncalves gets a toe in to break up the run.
70': Pappa is called for a hand ball on the other end. New England with the free kick. Nothing to show for it as a foul is called on the cross.
68': New England Sub: Juan Agudelo (Out), Sean Okoli (In)
67': GOAL!!!!! SEATTLE!!!! DEMPSEY!!!!! What a combination play from the Seattle attacking amoeba. That is what a hot knife through butter looks like.
67': Pappa plays the corner right to Shuttleworth.
65': A great buildup from Seattle is cut out which leads to a breakout from New England. The ball is eventually cleared. Seattle earns a corner on the next rush up the field.
64': MISS! Agudelo gets his head on a cross with pace but the redirect is out over the bar.
63': Bunbury looks to play a ball into the box but the shot is taken from Frei on a diving save.
61': Obafemi Martins earns the corner kick after a fantasic buildup play starting from Chad Marshall. The corner is cleared out by the defense.
59': Tyrone Mears makes a darting run to the corner flag. His cross is cleared out for a throw.
58': Seattle escapes from their own end as Marco Pappa is held in the corner. He makes a great effort to clear the ball from danger.
57': New England Sub: Andy Dorman (Out), Daigo Kobayashi (In)
56': Pineda is back on the field. Brad Evans is down after a hard foul from Agudelo.
56': Pineda is down behind the play after what looked to be a clash of heads. He is off the field on the other end but looking to come back on the field.
55': Seattle playing very well defensively as they are turning away all of the Revolution's attacking chances.
54': Martins looks to spring Dempsey with a curling ball but the ball is cleared by the New England defense.
52': WIDE! Fagundez takes the ball into space after Goncalves plays him through. Fagundez fires a shot that goes wide of the near post.
51': Agudelo and Marshall both go down on the field but they get up under their own power. Both look to be okay, a free kick coming to Seattle.
49': Teal Bunbury gives away a big chance as he dispossesses Mears. Bunbury takes a heavy touch that rolls out of bounds.
48': New England plays the ball across the middle which Frei catches as he is knocked down by Juan Agudelo. A foul called but no card and none warrented.
47': An early foul called on Lamar Neagle as he looks for a ball rolling to the sidelines.
46': New England kicks off and we are underway in the second half.
We will be right back with second half coverage after a short break
Seattle holds a slight possession advantage with 50.6% of the possession. New England actually holding the shots lead according to the MLS Soccer stats.
Halftime: Seattle Sounders FC 2, New England Revolution 0
45+1': There is the halftime whistle.
45': Gonzalez floats a ball across that is bobbled by Shuttleworth but he gathers before Dempsey is able to get a shot off.
44': New England earns a free kick but they are called for offside. It looked like there could have been a foul called but alas there was not.
42': Martins made a great run to the front side of the defender to win the cross.
41': GOAL!!!! SEATTLE!!!!! Obafemi Martins gets on the end of a beautifully crossed ball from Tyrone Mears. It is 2-0 Seattle.
41': A poor goal kick from Frei and the Revolution will take over the possession.
40': SAVE!!! Brad Evans gives the ball away to Kelyn Rowe who takes a low hard shot to the far post that Frei is able to get a palm to out for a corner. What a save. The ensuing corner comes to nothing.
39': Foul called on Obafemi Martins as the second effort cross is sent in from Pineda.
38': Seattle corner coming up after Leo Gonzalez's cross is blasted out of play.
36': Marshall makes two blocks on the corner. The second block goes out for another corner. The second corner attempt is played to the top of the 18 to Scott Caldwell but his shot attempt is missed.
36': New England earns a corner on a deflected throughball.
35': Pappa plays it short to Pineda who fed it back to Pappa. He whips a ball to the back post that Clint Dempsey beats Andrew Farrell to but he cannot put the effort on target.
34': A great combination play between Pappa and Mears earns a corner kick.
33': The play is starting to get chippy with players being knocked down left and right.
32': Rowe takes the free kick and skies it over the bar. Goal kick to Seattle.
31': Andy Dorman is fouled outside of the box on an awkward challenge from Michael Azira. New England had two or three shots blocked on the second corner attempt.
30': Wow, a great play from the Revolution in to the box but Frei punches out for another corner.
30': Tierney plays a good cross into the six yard box that Marshall heads out for a corner.
28': New England looks to play Agudelo long but Evans blasts the ball out for a throw.
27': Diego Fagundez makes some moves to create space in the Seattle end, the ball is cut out but not cleared by Seattle.
25': GOAL!!! SEATTLE!!!! Clint Dempsey buries the penalty kick high and to the right. 1-0 Seattle
24': PENALTY! Clint Dempsey is tripped after a cutback move in the box. A corner kick played in and he was looking for space before being hauled down.
22': Lamar Neagle earns a corner which is played short. Pineda looks for a cross but the ball is cleared out on the poor crossing attempt.
21': Kelyn Rowe leads New England on a counterattack. He looks to feed down the wing but his pass is too far and out for a corner.
18': MISS!!! Marco Pappa plays a corner to the six yard box right to a wide-open Chad Marshall. Marshall puts the header just wide. That was a big chance missed right there.
16': Seattle looking to build possession on the left flank. Marshall played a hard ball to Neagle who tried to deflect into the path of Gonzalez but the ball is out of bounds.
15': Kelyn Rowe with a tackle from behind on Obafemi Martins. A foul is called but no card is given on the play. An interesting early decision from the referee.
13': New England is starting to see some sustained possession in the Seattle half. The defense is compact and clearing out any crosses that come into the box.
12': Andrew Farrell cuts out a cross from Azira looking for Martins. He plays the ball up the field where Marshall heads the ball out of bounds.
11': New England with some good looks. Chad Marshall with a great defensive play to close the shooting lane for Diego Fagundez. A later chance finds its way out for a goal kick.
10': Seattle is playing with some high pressure in the Revolution side of the field. New England is handling the pressure well.
8': Seattle earns a deep throw as Bobby Shuttleworth misjudges a ball played back to him from Farrell. Nothing comes from the throw in as the ball ends up out for a goal kick.
6': Pappa gathers possession on a headed pass from Azira. He takes the ball down the wing before floating a ball towards the back post. The cross is too far ahead of Dempsey and out for a goal kick.
5': Neagle and Pappa have switched wings already just five minutes in.
4': Frei comes off his line to beat Agudelo to a ball played in behind the defense.
3': Not much action to start as the Revolution are holding possession in their own half. An early foul called on Martins.
2': A nice combination play from Seattle as Martins looks to feed Dempsey on a diagnoal run. Dempsey chest traps the ball which takes a hard bounce and rolls out for an early goal kick.
1': Seattle gets us underway moving from right-to-left on your keyboard.
Fireworks go off from the north end zone and we are moments away from football at CenturyLink Field.
The teams are coming out on to the field. Seattle is wearing their Rave Green shirts, blue shorts, and Rave Green socks. New England will be in their blue shirts with white shorts and blue socks.
The players are gathering in the tunnel at the southeast corner of the field.
It will be the first chance to see Tyrone Mears at CenturyLink Field. He is replacing DeAndre Yedlin who moved to Tottenham Hotspur during the winter transfer window. Mears is describbed as a player who plays similar to how Yedlin did at right back but he doesn't have the speed that Yedlin possessed.
Which center back pairing can keep the opposing attack in check? Find out when we kickoff in 18 minutes.
It is going to be interesting to see if Diego Fagundez can regain his form from two seasons ago. He struggled in 2014 but could be a good second attacking option alongside Lee Nguyen.
We are 28 minutes away from kickoff at CenturyLink Field. The anticipation is building in the Emerald City just south of downtown.
It is over at Sporting Park with the final score Sporting Kansas City 1, New York Red Bulls 1. Matt Besler will miss next week's match after picking up a red card in tonight's match.
A great finish at Sporting Park right now. Sporting Kansas City is playing with 10 men but they are completely dominating the last few minutes of this match. Dom Dwyer has missed two big scoring chances.
Former Seattle Sounders FC midfielder Sean Okoli is on the bench for the New England Revolution tonight.
As expected, no Lee Nguyen or Jermaine Jones for New England tonight.
Here is the starting lineup for the New England Revolution:
(4-4-1-1)
Bobby Shuttleworth
Kevin Alston
Andrew Farrell
Jose Goncalves
Chris Tierney
Juan Agudelo
Andy Dorman
Scott Caldwell
Diego Fagundez
Kelyn Rowe
Teal Bunbury
Seattle supporters are participating in the pre-game March to the Match. It is a pretty cool event.
Juan Agudelo checking out the scenes around CenturyLink Field.
We are still waiting for the Revolution lineup as well as the benches for both clubs
Here is the starting lineup for the Seattle Sounders FC: (4-4-2): Stefan Frei; Tyrone Mears, Brad Evans, Chad Marshall, Leo Gonzalez; Lamar Neagle, Gonzalo Pineda, Michael Azira, Marco Pappa; Clint Dempsey, Obafemi Martins
It is a beautiful day in the Emerald City today. Not a cloud in the sky as the starting lineups have been posted.
We welcome you in now as we begin our live coverage of tonight's game from all angles here at VAVEL USA. VAVEL Soccer Editor Chris Blakely is on the scene in the stands for today's game and VAVEL Sounders writer/photographer Brandon Farris is on the scene as well.
How do you see our match finishing today? Leave us your thoughts at @VAVEL_MLS.
New England has only scored two goals in the previous matches at CenturyLink Field but expect that number to improve today with their talented young attacking corps.
This is the fifth meeting between the New England Revolution and the Seattle Sounders FC at CenturyLink Field. Seattle has won two of the previous meetings, New England has a single victory, and the teams drew 0-0 back in 2013.
The defense is a big concern for Seattle, a team that allowed 50 goals in 2014. The centerback pairing of Marshall and Evans should be a very solid duo. Evans is one of the vocal leaders on the field for Seattle and he possess some great field vision. His addition to the defense should be a positive one for the Sounders.
Evans is part of a very stacked Seattle midfield corps that includes the likes of Lamar Neagle, Marco Pappa, Osvaldo Alonso, Gonzalo Pineda, Kenny Cooper, and Michael Azira. With that much talent in the middle of the field, manager Sigi Schmid decided to plug Evans into the hole at center back. Evans does have experience playing on the backline as he was used primarily as a right back during his stint with the United States Men’s National Team in 2013.
The void left by Traore’s retirement at center back was hotly debated during the off-season. Would Seattle look to sign a replacement? Would Zach Scott be the answer? Would one of the young guys (Damion Lowe or Jimmy Ockford) step up? The answer would actually be Brad Evans.
Seattle’s biggest change this year comes on the backline. Gone are two starters (DeAndre Yedlin and Djimi Traore) as well as one of their primary defensive reserves in Jalil Anibaba. The team replaced those players with veteran English right back Tyrone Mears and Colombian youth international left back Andres Correa.
The Seattle Sounders FC come into this season with lofty expectations once again. The team won their 4th Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Title as well as their first Supporters’ Shield last year but once again, could not get by the LA Galaxy in the postseason.
Nguyen has been participating in training recently while recovering from a groin injury but it is uncertain at this point if he will be able to go tonight. He may be available to come off the bench late if needed but remember this is only the first game of the season, it is not the most important one.
New England is known for slow starts to their season and this season may follow that lineage. The Revolution will be without Jermaine Jones and possibly Lee Nguyen for tonight’s match. Jones is recovering from sports hernia surgery last month that will keep him out between four-and-six weeks. That should put his return date for some time in the next two weeks.
Added to this year’s squad are former USMNT forward Juan Agudelo, who attempted to transfer to Stoke City in the English Premier League before a work permit issue vetoed that deal. They bring in young defender London Woodberry as well as explosive midfielders Tristan Bowen and Sean Okoli from the Seattle Sounders FC.
This year’s Revolution side could arguably be stronger than last year’s team. They did lose some big pieces like defender A.J. Soares and forward Patrick Mullins. They brought in depth in all areas of the field.
The Revolution rode that hot streak all the way to the MLS Cup Final at the StubHub Center in Carson, CA. They would lose that match 2-1 after extra time when Robbie Keane scored the winner in the 111th minute.
New England finished the regular season gaining 25 points in their last 10 games after the acquisition of Jones. His presence in the midfield garnered attention from opposing defenses which opened up space for MVP candidate Lee Nguyen to capitalize.
As mentioned earlier, the New England Revolution are the defending Eastern Conference Champions. That was a pretty big accomplishment considering the team’s struggles during the first few months of the season. The summer signing of United States Men’s National Team midfielder Jermaine Jones was a massive boost for the club.
This post is to get you ready for tonight’s big game from the Pacific Northwest.
It is kind of hard to believe that we are actually playing games this weekend. The Players Union and the League went down to the wire with the negotiations for the new Collective Bargaining Agreement but that is for another story.
Good evening and welcome to VAVEL USA’s live coverage of Major League Soccer. This is the third game in our opening Sunday tripleheader live from CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Washington. Tonight the defending Eastern Conference Champion New England Revolution head west to face the 2014 Supporters’ Shield winners Seattle Sounders FC. My name is Matthew Evans and I will be your host for the nightcap.