Thank you for joining us here at VAVEL USA. My name is Matthew Evans. Have a great night!
The VAVEL USA Player of the Game is Federico Higuain. He scored one goal but was vital in clearing out space for his teammates. Congratulations to Federico Higuain.
A very entertaining match goes to the home side, their first win over the Sounders at home.
Full Time: Columbus Crew SC 3, Seattle Sounders FC 2
90+4': One last rush for the Sounders
90+3': Tchani earns a corner kick off of Chad Barrett.
90+3': Colmubus takes the ball into the corner looking to waste time.
90+1': Alonso fioats a ball into the box but it is headed out by the Seattle attack. Aaron Schoenfeld is shown a yellow card.
90': Four minutes of stoppage time
89': SAVE!!! What a dummy there from Higuain, Steindorsson fires a shot that is pushed away at full stretch by Frei.
88': Columbus Sub: Kristinn Steindorsson (In), Justin Meram (Out)
87': Higuain shoots by it is straight to Frei.
87': Higuain is pulled down by Pineda at the top of the box. This will be a very dangerous free kick.
85': SAVE! A huge save from Steve Clark as Tyrone Mears once again finds himself open in space.
84': Columbus Sub: Aaron Schoenfeld (In), Kei Kamara (Out)
83': All sorts of pressure from Seattle. Mears dribbles into the box but his shot is deflected and cleared.
82': Seattle earns a corner kick after Martins sees his cross cleared out by a defender.
79': Chad Marshall is playing in a wing position after the free kick and he is called offside on a floated ball from Mears.
77': Dempsey is hacked down by Meram in the Crew end. Seattle is putting the pressure on now.
75': GOAL!!!!! SEATTLE!!!!! DEMPSEY!!!!! The ball is played into the path of Martins by Pineda, his shot is stopped by Clark but falls to Dempsey who was in an offside position and finishes. The goal is given, arguments occur which see Kamara and Pineda receive yellow cards.
73': MISS! Kamara gets his head on the corner kick but the ball just misses the far post.
72': Neagle with a great turn and run up the end line. His low cross is sent high in the air but is taken by Clark.
71': Mears plays a ball to the backpost for Dempsey but his header is blocked by a defender.
69': Seattle sub: Chad Barrett (In), Andy Rose (Out)
67': Mears sends a cross into the area that is cleared by Wahl. Alonso is pulled down by Tchani for a free kick.
65': Seattle is pushing their defense up as Kamara is called offside on the ball played in.
64': Finlay makes a run into the Seattle half but he is called offside
63': Seattle looks to get Neagle involved early but he strays offside
62': Columbus Sub: Tyson Wahl (In), Mohammed Saied (Out)
62': Seattle Sub: Lamar Neagle (In), Marco Pappa (Out)
61': Each team is readying a sub. Tyson Wahl for Columbus, Lamar Neagle for Seattle.
59': Columbus is owning the wings in this game.
58': GOAL!!!! KAMARA!!!! Columbus converts on the 4-on-3 break as the ball is crossed over to Jimenez who feeds the ball back to a wide-open Kamara and it is 3-1.
57': MISS! Ethan Finlay cuts inside past Marshall and tries to curl a ball into the top corner but the ball is sent just over the bar. That was too close for comfort if you are a Sounders fan.
55': A good play from Martins to find Pappa open in the box but he takes one too many touches and the ball is played to Clark.
53': Finlay makes a darting late run through the middle of the field. Kamara cuts diagonally across the field, Finlay looks to feed him but the ball just skids past the far post out of the reach of Kamara.
52': Frei comes up big after a poor back pass from Alonso. Kamara took a feed and fired a hard shot that Frei punches up but gathers.
51': That was one that you knew as soon as he cut into the box, he was going to score. Higuain is just that talented of a shooter especially in tight spaces.
50': GOAL!!!! COLUMBUS!!!! Federico Higuain is given too much space to move in the box and he fires a shot into the far corner to give the Crew a 2-1 lead. Frei was left flat-footed on that.
49': Meram turns and takes a shot from distance. That takes a deflection and goes out for a corner kick.
47': A poor ball played in on the free kick and nothing comes of it.
47': Higuain is fouled by Obafemi Martins. Here comes a free kick angle left from about 35 yards out.
46': Seattle will get us underway in the second half moving from right-to-left on your keyboard.
Columbus though has outshot Seattle 14-6. They have more shots on target as well at 6-3.
Seattle leads the possession battle with 54% to the 46% of the Crew.
Here is a look at some of the first half stats, starting with the possession.
A quick look around the MLS scoreboard. DC United and Sporting Kansas City are level at 1 in the 65th minute. Vancouver Whitecaps meanwhile hold a 2-0 lead over the Philadelphia Union in the 64th minute.
We will be back in just a moment with halftime coverage from Mapfre Stadium.
Halftime: Columbus Crew SC 1, Seattle Sounders FC 1
45+1': Justin Meram shows his great defensive ability with a recovery run to take the ball away from Martins.
45+1': One minute of stoppage time
44': Yellow Card -- Emanuel Pogatetz. Pogatetz with a hard challenge on Martins at the midfield line and that will be the first booking of the night.
43': A great one-on-one defensive play from Pogatetz to dispossess Dempsey.
42': Higuain winds up and fires a wormburner towards the back post which is out for a goal kick.
41': A roar from the crowd as Kamara is taken down by Marshall. No call. Rose forces Clark to scramble with a floater to the backpost. The ball ends up over the bar and out for a goal kick.
39': SAVE! Meram fires an off-balanced shot low and to the left but Frei gets down to make the save.
38': A cross gets by everybody and falls to Waylon Francis at the back. He fires a half-volley that deflects out for a corner. The corner goes straight to Frei.
37': This has been a very entertaining game to watch so far. Good attacking football from both sides.
35': Hector Jimenez is called for a hard foul from behind on Dylan Remick as the ball was rolling out of bounds. Free kick to Seattle
34': Rose and Pineda combine down the wing. Rose sends a cross over that Martins gets a head to but it is out for a goal kick.
33': The Crew have taken ten shots to this point in the match,
31': Martins plays a ball into Dempsey behind the defense but Clark comes out and wins the ball. Seattle earns a corner kick after a free kick by Marco Pappa is deflected out by the defense. Marshall gets his head on the ball but it is an easy save for Clark.
30': Finlay is called for a foul on Marco Pappa in the corner of the park, the crowd did not like that call.
29': Dempsey gets a head on a floated cross in from Pappa. The header does not have much power so Clark is able to get to it quickly.
27': Dempsey is down after an elbow from Pogatetz. He looks to be up and alright.
25': Kamara goes for the spectacular as the cross from Tchani is fed behind him but the effort goes wide and out for a goal kick.
24': GOAL!!!!! DEMPSEY!!!!! Clint Dempsey finds himself in space from 24 yards out and bends a ball into the net with a kiss off the post and it is 1-1.
23': Columbus is doing a great job of attacking from different areas of the field. They are putting balls over the top, they are splitting the defenser on the ground, it is very nice football to watch.
21': SAVE!!! Meram is sprung by a world-class pass from Higuain. Meram shoots low and to the far post that Frei gets over the punch out. A follow-up shot is skied over the net.
20': Higuain fires a shot with pace from about 24 yards out but Frei makes the save at the near post.
18': SAVE!!! Higuain takes the ball after a diagonal run and feeds a cross into the box. Tchani gets on the end of it but Frei is able to get down to keep the game at 1-0.
17': GOAL!!!! OFFSIDE!!!! Gonzalo Pineda fires a shot that hits Obafemi Martins and goes in the net but Martins was in an offside position. That goal will not count.
15': Seattle keeping possession in their defensive end. Higuain steals the ball and takes it to the corner. He hits a cross over towards Kamara that is headed out of bounds for a corner. The corner is sent in but Seattle is able to clear.
13': Pineda whips a ball in the box that takes a deflection and rolls to Clark in goal.
12': The match is starting to get chippy as Pineda pulls down Justin Meram. Kamara takes offense to it and gets into a shoving match with Pineda. This could be a long night for the referee.
10': GOAL!!!! KEI KAMARA!!! The Crew with the breakthrough. Waylon Francis whips the ball across the box and Kamara heads it past Frei. 1-0 Crew
9': Tony Tchani fires a shot from distance with pace but Frei is equal to the task.
8': Andy Rose dribbles into the box, pulls the ball to the left and fires a low shot that is easily saved by Steve Clark.
7': SAVE!!!! Stefan Frei comes up big on a shot by Higuain. The shot hit a Sounders defender in front but somehow Frei gets a hand to it.
4': Kamara takes a long shot that takes a deflection and goes out for a corner kick for Columbus.
3': Pappa lines up a long-distance shot that sails wide of the net.
3': A corner kick coming for Seattle.
1': Gonzalo Pineda earns a very early foul on Kei Kamara. No cards but it was a tough challenge indeed.
1': Columbus will get us underway, they are moving from right-to-left on your keyboard.
Tonight will be the Major League Soccer debut of the "Olympic White" kits for Seattle. Their all-white kits were first used during their friendly with Club Tijuana a few weeks ago.
We are now 20 minutes away from the kickoff tonight. Which streak will continue, the Sounders three-match winning streak or the Crew's two-match home winning streak?
Taking a look at the updated weather forecast, it looks as though the thunderstorms tonight will not have any impact on the match.
Here is the starting eleven for the Columbus Crew: (4-5-1): Steve Clark; Waylon Francis, Emanuel Pogatetz, Michael Parkhurst, Hector Jimenez; Justin Meram, Tony Tchani, Federico Higuain, Mohammed Saied, Ethan Finlay; Kei Kamara
Here is the starting eleven for the Seattle Sounders FC: (4-4-2) Stefan Frei; Tyrone Mears, Brad Evans, Chad Marshall, Dylan Remick; Andy Rose, Osvaldo Alonso, Gonzalo Pineda, Marco Pappa; Clint Dempsey, Obafemi Martins
We should be seeing the lineups in just about 15 minutes.
We have seen two matches take place already today in Major League Soccer. The Western Conference has gone 2-0 so far in the East/West Challenge with 2-1 wins for Real Salt Lake and the Portland Timbers
The last ten minutes of the match were played at a frantic pace as the Rapids looked to stop their losing ways at home. There were able to get the draw but they are still looking for their first win at home in 11 chances.
San Jose took the lead in the 19th minute on a Chris Wondolowski goal.
We had another thriller last night at Dick's Sporting Good Park as the Colorado Rapids got a late goal from James Riley in second hald stoppage time to split the points.
A look inside the park ahead of today's match between Seattle and Columbus:
The result was a big one for the Lions who snapped a three-match losing streak at home. In fact, Cyle Larin's goal in the 75th minute was their first goal at home since Kaka scored in second half stoppage time in the season opener on March 13th.
Orlando City clawed back after falling behind 2-0 to salvage a 2-2 draw. The match was capped off by an Aurelien Collin goal in the 90th minute to split the points.
The first match of the weekend took place at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando as Orlando City SC welcomed in the New England Revolution.
Let's take a look around the MLS scoreboard on this Mother's Day Weekend.
We welcome you in to our coverage of Major League Soccer from Columbus, Ohio. My name is Matthew Evans.
It was not a popular decision among the 38,469 fans, this writer included, at CenturyLink Field that night but it was what it was. Alas a lot has changed since then and we are anticipating a very good matchup between these two clubs tonight from Mapfre Stadium.
Columbus won the match on a goal from Justin Meram in the 94th minute on a disputed corner kick. The Crew were allowed to take the kick quickly despite the official discussing the awarding of the corner with several Seattle defenders. Meram found himself open and put the ball into the net to steal all three points.
The game was played in a torrential downpour even by Seattle standards. Kenny Cooper opened up the scoring in the 22nd minute after finishing on a breakaway. Higuain brought the game back to 1-1 on a penalty kick in the 59th after a red card was given to Djimi Traore for a challenge from behind on Dominic Oduro.
Seattle has never lost in their four previous trips to Columbus. They have three wins and a draw while outscoring the Crew seven to one. They will also be looking for revenge after the controversial match between the two at CenturyLink Field last season.
Thankfully to this point, nobody else has been needed to step up but with Dempsey likely away for a good portion of the summer on United States Men’s National Team duty, the question begs who will be the person to step up for Seattle?
Dempsey and Martins have been the engine that makes the Sounders go in 2015 to this point. The team has scored 13 goals this season, Dempsey and Martins have combined for 11 of them. The only other goal scorer to date is Lamar Neagle.
The Sounders are currently on a three-match winning streak which includes a 3-1 win on the road over the Colorado Rapids three weeks ago, and a home win in their first Cascadia Cup match of the season two weeks ago over the Portland Timbers.
Seattle comes into the match off of a big 3-1 win over New York City FC at Yankee Stadium on Sunday night. Obafemi Martins and Clint Dempsey combined for all three goals including one from Martins which was set up by a beautiful 18-pass sequence by the Sounders.
The matchup between Finlay and Sounders left back Dylan Remick will be a big one to watch. Remick has been playing excellent defensive soccer over the last few weeks, can he continue against another good young player like Ethan Finlay?
Another player having an outstanding season to date has been midfielder Ethan Finlay. Finlay has two goals and four assists to date, he is currently on pace to shatter his personal best for assists in a season which was seven in 2014.
The team is firing on all cylinders at home, led by early-MVP candidate Kei Kamara. The former Sporting Kansas City forward leads the team with five goals and two assists in eight matches played. He also leads the team in shots on goals with 14. Kamara has been the goalscoring threat that the Crew have been looking for in the past few seasons at the forward position.
It has been a very different story at home for the Crew this season as they have won three of their four matches at home. In these games, they have scored a total of 10 goals including three in a match with Orlando City and four against Philadelphia in their last two home appearances.
With the loss, the Crew remain winless on the road in their four away games in 2015. They have a record of 0-2-2 with a goal difference of minus-3. Kei Kamara has scored the only goals away from Mapfre Stadium, both in a 2-2 draw at BC Place with the Vancouver Whitecaps on April 8th.
The biggest problem for the Crew in the match was just their lack of good attempts on target. They took 15 shots in the match but only saw three of them hit the target. Five of those shots were also blocked en route to the goal by the DC United defense.
Later on it would be Kristinn Steindorsson with the good effort after a cross from Chris Klute. The Iceland international got his head to the ball but it missed the target just wide of the post.
Kei Kamara took a beautiful distribution from Emanuel Pogatetz down the left side. Kamara brought the ball into the box before putting a cross off the outside of his boot towards the back post and the charging Ethan Finlay but the ball was just too far ahead of him.
Despite the scoreline, Columbus actually played fairly well controlling a majority of the possession throughout the match. They had two big opportunities for goals in the second half.
The Crew come into today’s game off of a 2-0 defeat to DC United last weekend at RFK Stadium. A loss that snapped a four-game unbeaten streak which included draws on the road against two of the top teams in Major League Soccer, the Vancouver Whitecaps and the New England Revolution.
It is going to be another hot day in Columbus with temperatures in the mid to upper 80s. The temperature around kickoff will be around 83 but something to keep an eye on is a weather system that with bring scattered thunderstorms later in the evening around the 9:00 pm local time hour.
Good afternoon and welcome to VAVEL USA’s live coverage of Major League Soccer. Our game today is an East-West showdown from Mapfre Stadium in Columbus, Ohio for the annual meeting between the Columbus Crew and the Seattle Sounders FC. My name is Matthew Evans and I will be your host for all of today’s action.