Richmond Kickers    1 (Gorres 24’)
Seattle Sounders     1 (Galindo 73’) 

 

SEATTLE, WA – The Seattle Sounders claimed the USL First Division Championship title, drawing the Richmond Kickers 1-1 in regulation before seven rounds of penalties decided the outcome in front of a crowd of 8,011.  The Kickers gained an early lead on the Sounders when midfielder Sascha Gorres registered on a 30-yard blast.  Seattle equalized in the 73rd minute when forward Mikael Galindo slid the ball past the goal line after a series of deflections in the box.  The two teams battled to a 1-1 stalemate through the remainder of regulation and the 30-minute overtime period before the Sounders prevailed 4-3 in penalty kicks.

 

The Kickers gained possession early in the match when midfielder Mike Burke crossed the ball to Delicate, inside the box in the 4th and 10th minutes.  Each attempt was saved by a leaping Sounders goalkeeper Preston Burpo who was able to tip the ball over the crossbar.
 
The Sounders retaliated in the 13th minute when newcomer Mikael Galindo sent a dangerous strike from the right side into the box but the ball was cleared by Richmond defense.

 

Richmond midfielder Joey Worthen created several opportunities throughout the first half, including 17th and 23rd minute chances, each time warding off two defenders but sending shots just over the crossbar.

 

The Kickers were the first to tally when the ball rebounded out of the box after an unsuccessful Richmond corner and found midfielder Sascha Gorres nearly 30 yards out.  Gorres’ received the ball and sent a rocket past Burpo and into the upper far right corner of the net.

 

Seattle closed out the half with two close calls when defender Taylor Graham sent a 30th minute header just wide right of the goal.  Two minutes later, midfielder Kevin Sakuda made a 12-yard attempt but the ball glanced just past the far left post.

 

In the 73rd minute, the Sounders equalized when midfielder Leighton O’Brien sent a free kick into the box.  Two deflections saw the ball fall to Edwards who chipped it to Galindo.  Galindo slid the ball past Pascale and into the back of the net.

 

After leveling the score, Seattle gained momentum as Levesque created several opportunities including a 75th minute shot sent just wide left and a 76th minute header over the woodwork.

 

Three minute later, Delicate, deep on the right side sent a cross to midfielder Tim Brown but his header sailed just wide left.  While the ball was out of play, a scuffle inside the box resulted in red-card ejections to both Richmond’s Joey Worthen and Seattle’s C.J. Klaas.

 

During stoppage time, both teams created last minute attempts to break the tie, first when Delicate received a cross from Ssejjemba but his low, bouncing shot was cleared by Sounders defense.  Seconds later, defender Billy Sleeth open on the right side, sending a dangerous cross to Gregor but his effort was smothered by Pascale.

 

Seattle opened the first leg of overtime with a shot from the top of the box but Pascale was able to scoop the ball for the save.  Defender Taylor Graham added pressure in the 107th and 108th minutes with two consecutive shots sailing wide of the target.  Ssejjemba created opportunities in the 110th and the 118th minutes, receiving crosses from Delicate but sending shots just over the crossbar.

 

Unable to break the tie, the Championship was decided after seven rounds of penalties with Gorres, Tony Williams and Matt Pauls converting for Richmond and Andrew Gregor, Leighton O’Brien, Kevin Sakuda and Scott Jenkins registering for the Sounders.  Pascale made two crucial saves on penalties taken by Levesque and Graham during the first five rounds while Burpo stopped Ssejjemba’s attempt.

 

 

Box Score      First Half     Second Half  1st OT   2nd OT     Final
Richmond             1                      0               0            0         1 (4)
Seattle                 0                      1               0            0         1 (3)

 

Scoring Summary
24th minute – Richmond: Sascha Gorres (Unassisted)
73rd minute – Seattle: Mikael Galindo (Ryan Edwards)

 

Penalties
Round One:  Seattle: Andrew Gregor - Goal
  Richmond: Matthew Delicate - Miss
Round Two: Seattle: Leighton O’Brien - Goal
  Richmond: Robert Ssejjemba - Save
Round Three: Seattle: Roger Levesque - Save
  Richmond: Sascha Gorres - Goal
Round Four:  Seattle: Ben Somoza - Miss
  Richmond: Tony Williams - Goal
Round Five:  Seattle: Taylor Graham - Save
  Richmond: Kevin Jeffrey – Miss
Round Six:  Seattle: Kevin Sakuda - Goal
  Richmond: Matt Pauls – Goal
Round Seven:  Seattle: Scott Jenkins - Goal
  Richmond: Ronnie Pascale - Miss

 

Lineups
 Kickers: GK Ronnie Pascale, Chris Fox (Matt Pauls 119th minute), Kevin Knight, Peter Luzak, Tony Williams, Tim Brown, Sascha Gorres, Joey Worthen, Chris Carrieri (Kevin Jeffrey – 73rd minute), Mike Burke (Robert Ssejjemba – 89th minute), Matthew Delicate

 Sounders: GK Preston Burpo, Billy Sleeth (Jake Segare – 119th minute), Taylor Graham, Ryan Edwards (Scott Jenkins – 91st minute), Zach Scott (Brett Whitfield – 70th minute), Kevin Sakuda, C.J. Klaas, Leighton O’Brien, Gabe Sturm (Andrew Gregor – 55th minute), Roger Levesque, Mikael Galindo (Ben Somoza – 99th minute)

 

Shots                  Saves              Fouls               Corners
Kickers:       13    Kickers:      2    Kickers      18   Kickers:  6
Sounders:   16    Sounders   6    Sounders: 16   Sounders: 5 

 

Cautions:
17th minute: Chris Carrieri (Richmond)
19th minute: Tim Brown (Richmond)
19th minute: Zach Scott (Seattle)
29th minute: Mike Burke (Richmond)
45th minute: Ryan Edwards (Seattle)
65th minute: C.J. Klaas (Seattle)
79th minute: Andrew Gregor (Seattle)

 

Ejections:
82nd minute: Joey Worthen (Richmond)
82nd minute: C.J. Klaas (Seattle)

 

Referee:    Ricardo Valenzuela
Assistant Referees:   Yaker Reyes, Colin Arblaster
Fourth Official:    Shahram Pourazari
Attendance:    8,011
Weather:    Cool, 50º