Fredy Montero scored a hat-trick en route to a 6-2 thrashing of Chivas (Getty Images)
This was a great match to watch if you were either a neutral or a Seattle Sounders fan. It's like the two sides just tossed the concept of "defense" out the window. In the end, Seattle was able to capitalize on a majority of their chances as Chivas looked like you couldn't pay them to finish.
It might sound weird if you didn't see the match, but the Goats actually started out the brighter of the two sides. Miller Bolanos was active in the opening minutes having a shot blocked in the second and forcing Michael Gspurning into his first save in the third minute. Head coach Robin Fraser had stated that Chivas was going to try to get some more goals, and the first few minutes seemed to bare that out.
However Seattle through a monkey wrench into Fraser's plan in minute ten. While busy paying attention to Fredy Montero near the top of the area, the Chivas defense lost track of Brad Evans sneaking up the left. Montero hit him with a great through ball, and Evans slapped a clinical finish past Dan Kennedy to make it 0-1 to the visitors. The Chivas defense then proceeded to lose Montero for the rest of the night.
Despite the set back, Chivas tried to continue with the more positive style of play and pushed for an equalizer. Their first really good chance of the match came 15 minutes in when Ante Jazic sent a cross into the Seattle box. It found the head of Casey Townsend, but the young attacker was not able to direct it on frame as the his header went wide of the mark.
Seattle made Chivas pay for the miss just 12 minutes later. This time Mauro Rosales was the provider and Montero the goal scorer. Rosales hit Montero with a nifty through ball of his own, setting up Fredy's easy finish as he made it 0-2 to Seattle without giving Kennedy the slightest chance to stop it. Montero wasn't done either. In the 34th minute he got free and took another pass from Rosales, this time opting to chip over the helpless Chivas 'keeper to make it 0-3.
The Goats did have a positive turn of events leading into halftime though. In the 37th minute Jeff Parke conceded a PK for a handball in the box. Juan Agudelo stepped up and nailed the spot kick to make it 1-3 going into the interval.
Chivas USA came out well again in the second half and Seattle looked a little lost on defense. In the 50th minute Agudelo had a great chance with a header, but saw it flash wide of the target. However in the 64th minute the Goats pulled to within one as Miller Bolanos got loose and rifled a shot past Gspurning to make it 2-3.
The Sounders responded well though. Just three minutes later Fredy Montero gave the Goats' defense the traffic cone treatment before slapping yet another goal past Dan Kennedy to complete his hat-trick and make it 2-4.
Chivas does deserve some credit for keeping up the fight though. In the 75th minute it looked like they had again pulled to within one when Jose Correa had his shot saved just on the goal line by Gspurning. In the scrum that ensued, Chivas poked the ball into the back of the net, but the goal was disallowed as Juan Agudelo was hit with a foul on the play. Townsend then directed a bullet header on goal in the 77th, but Gspurning was up for it and made the save near the top of the goal.
From then on it was all Seattle, with a little help from the Goats horrid defense. In the 80th minute Christian Tiffert found Sammy Ochoa with a cross, and Ochoa steered it into the net to make 2-5. The humiliation was complete in the first minute of stoppage time as Ante Jazic headed yet another Montero shot into his own net to make it 2-6. An own goal just seemed to be the fitting cap on a terrible performance for Chivas as the 2-6 score held until the final whistle.
It was a great night for Seattle as their offense fired on all cylinders. The one mark against them might be the fact that they gave up a lot of chances that a better team than Chivas might finish. However, they won't care a fuss for that in Seattle tonight, as the blowout result takes them beyond Real Salt Lake on goal difference into second place. It was a superior performance, and one really can't argue that they don't deserve it.
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