Seattle Sounders Women News Release - www.sounderswomen.com
Thursday, May 31, 2012
TUKWILA, WA. - The Sounders Women have now won without their U.S. National Team stars and on Thursday night they won with them. The Sounders defeated a young, but talented, Colorado Rush by the score of 2-1.
Once again, the Starfire Stadium was filled to the brim to watch the Sounders Women play, but this time the action was different. Thursday was the first time that fans got to experience a meaningful league match and it was far from a walk in the park. The Sounders scored the first two goals and had opportunities to cruise to victory with more tallies, but instead, the Rush scored and the match played out toward a tense finish.
With goal scorers like Sydney Leroux, Alex Morgan, and Megan Rapinoe, it may come as a surprise that it was Megan Manthey who scored the first goal of the match in the 18th minute. The Team USA stars combined to create the opportunity, but it was Manthey who got on the end of a Sydney Leroux cross to tuck home the goal.
Moments after the Sounders goal, the Rush bounced back and almost equalized. Their U-20 U.S. National Team player, Lyndsey Horan, drilled a free kick off the cross bar. The shot had pace and precision, but was just a couple inches too high.
The Sounders looked like they might open up the floodgates after the Manthey goal, as Alex Morgan got into the action in the 23rd minute. Morgan was able to get on to the end of a through ball and win a race against the Rush goalkeeper. However, once she touched the ball past the Rush keeper, Morgan couldn’t turn her shot back into the net as it hit the wrong side of the side netting.
After very little action in the Sounders Women exhibition matches, Hope Solo showed why she was voted the Golden Gloves winner in the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup. Solo pushed multiple shots onto the bar to save the Sounders defense. In the 41st minute a shot from the corner of the penalty area forced Solo into action. She stretched to her left and lifted a palm to push the ball into the bar for a fantastic save.
After the halftime break the Sounders looked sharp. Alex Morgan and Sydney Leroux were battered all evening long by the Rush defenders, and in the 48th minute it paid off. Morgan was fouled just outside the penalty area. Veronica Perez had a free kick whiz a couple feet outside the post in the first half, and this time she didn’t miss. Her shot bent around the six player wall and into the far corner for her fifth goal in five games.
This wasn’t a celebration match for the Sounders, and the Colorado Rush made sure of that. In the 61st minute, former WPS player, Brittany Bock launched a shot off of the upper corner of the goal frame. Her shot rebounded out to Lyndsey Horan for a wide open header. Solo had leapt to her right and the goal was gaping for Horan to cut the Sounders lead in half.
The match remained tense with chances coming to both teams. Sydney Leroux had a great opportunity saved after she received a pass from Alex Morgan and tried a one touch shot. The effort was good, but the kick save by Dayle Colpitts was even better.
In the end, the Sounders were able to hold onto the victory and stay undefeated. The loss for the Rush is their first of the season after winning their first three matches. The Sounders jump up to third place in the Western Conference with six points from two games. The Rush fall to 2nd place with nine points out of four games.
The Sounders play back to back nights, with a June 1 game in Victoria, BC. Following the game in Victoria, they will return home to take on the Colorado Rapids Women. Tickets are available on SoundersWomen.com.
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Sounders Women Edge Rush
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