HUGE win

I don't want to take anything away from Dallas for there historic win in Mexico last week, but last night we saw an undermanned Sounders team defeat the reigning CCL champs 1-0 on the road. Now this wasn't Monterrey's B-team but rather their A-squad and we got the job done. It was a huge, huge win and one that has most Sounders fans thinking of greater things. Here are my impressions from the game.

• First, what was more unexpected - the Sounders winning at Monterrey, the same place they imploded over a 6-minute stretch last year, or me being able to watch the entire game with the fam? Huge kudos to The Kid, who sat downstairs with us and watched the entire game. Sure we had to read books and color throughout most of the game, but she didn't demand that we go outside, play upstairs or turn on Elmo. She even was yelling 'Sounders' unprompted during some of the action.
• We knew that the lineup was going to be interesting based on who traveled with the team, but I did not expect to see a squad with Roger, Jaqua AND Noonan in it. It must have driven some fans nuts, but the fact is that they got the job done. I thought Noonan played well and Roger actually 'attacked' more than normal. Jaqua was silent, but I guess that at least means he didn't do anything terrible.
• Servando Carrasco did a nice job in Ozzie's normal role. The best thing he did was what he didn't do - go in hard on someone and get thrown out of the game.
• Monterrey looked dangerous throughout the entire second half. I was constantly on edge as they built up play with their movement, but at the end of the day, their finishing was terrible. I'm not sure what happened to Suazo (who by the way is a scary looking dude), but he did not have one of his better days.
• Now comes the Terry Boss section of the blog:
  
  As mentioned previously, I supported starting Boss last night. It seems silly to say it now, but we didn't really expect to win that game. By leaving Keller at home, Sigi made sure that the 41-year old got some rest AND was able to give Boss some game action. It was a win-win.
  
  Save for one huge mistake, I thought Boss played really well. He made a few good reaction saves, came off his line to smother a few balls and actually communicated more with his defense than I had previously seen. He should be proud of his play. Now with that being said, he ALMOST blew it for us with his terrible turnover in the box. I know what happened - he thought he had time, but the ball took a funny bounce and next thing you know it, the Monterrey guy was on top of him. It happens even to the best of them, but then he tried to put a move on the guy by going backwards to the goal. It is the type of thing I can pull off in intramurals (because I am not a goalie), but not the type of thing he should try in an actual competition.
  
  I did notice two important things after the play. First, Boss responded in a positive way. He could have shrunk, gotten afraid and lost confidence knowing what he almost did. That would have been easy. Or he could have grown in confidence knowing that he totally effed up and they didn't score. Sometimes those situations can calm a player down because they just feel like everything is working for them - kind of like when goalies get help from their post. Sometimes it is just your night no matter what goes wrong. Second, none of his defenders said anything to him. Instead, they just turned around and walked away. If that was Keller in goal, you know that Riley, Parke and Scott would have been there to pat him on the butt and tell him to forget about it. It's what teammates do - instead, the body language I saw suggested that they are not entirely sold on him being in net. It could just be a normal defender reaction, but I doubt it.
• I thought Sigi had a great night (of course, had they lost when starting 10 American including the trio noted above we would be singing a different tune). He was able to rest some of the usual starters and leave Mexico atop the group at 2-0. I particularly liked his subbing pattern especially being able to bring Alonso off the bench when the rest of the team was tiring. I get that it wasn't Ozzie's best night (he should have scored at least twice and had a few too many fouls down the stretch), but just having him out there provided a boost. The Leo sub was also smart considering that El Flaco had just gotten into a shoving match (in which he bumped heads with the opponent) on the sidelines. He may have calmed down, but we couldn't afford a blow-up, so the sub worked on more than one level. Finally, Amadou Sanyang, the player not good enough for Toronto FC (and yet suddenly good enough to get minutes for Seattle in CCL), looked active and promising. He did some good things, some bad things but most importantly injected a little bit of pace and contributed on the defensive side. I am interested to see where it goes from here.
• I really continue to love Brad Evans. He did nothing flashy all night, but I think was the perfect complement for Carrasco. They could have gone Friberg or El Flaco in Mauro's absence, but instead Sigi showed trust in Evans. I think it was the right move as it allowed El Flaco to do his thing on the sideline and not suffer any consequences. Evans might not be either player, but he is smart and effective and perfect to settle things down with a rookie behind him.
  

Overall, it was a great great win. Now we can focus on Saturdays game with East leading Columbus and Tuesdays US Open Cup semi-final against Dallas. If I had the opportunity to talk to the team right now I would heavily congratule them and then tell them not to enjoy it too much. Saturday is a classic trap game. Yes we have owned Columbus in the past, but they owe us one, are on good form and probably want the game more than us. It is only human nature to enjoy last nights win for a little too long and then get hyped about Tuesdays game. Let's not overlook this one though, boys.