Hi everyone, I'm back from Columbus. It was a long drive both ways & unfortunately I caught a pretty bad cold right after the game, so I've been in bed for a couple days recovering. I'm feeling better & back at it now, so here are some highlights from the game!Sounders FC ends Crew's home unbeaten streak
Levesque puts in a rebound off a Fredy Montero shot in the 35th minute, and Seattle makes it stand to boost its standings points total to 41.
Seattle Times staff reporter
So Seattle donned the lucky blues, and the jerseys, in which the team has yet to lose in three games, worked like a charm.
The kits, in fact, had nothing to do with Sounders FC's gut-check 1-0 win Saturday over Columbus, which leads MLS's Eastern Conference. Roger Levesque had a lot to do with the victory, as did defender Tyrone Marshall. And so did a blown penalty kick by one of the league's best scorers, the Crew's Guillermo Barros Schelotto.
Levesque, a veteran forward making only his second start of the regular season, put in a rebound off a Fredy Montero shot on goal in the 35th minute, and Sounders FC made it stand to boost its points total to 41 with two games left. Holding on at Crew Stadium was the tough part after Seattle blew a 1-0 lead at New England last weekend and lost 2-1.
"Big three points," Sounders FC goalkeeper Kasey Keller said.
"If somehow we screw it up now, we only have ourselves to blame."
There was some luck and hustle involved. In the 24th minute and the match scoreless, Crew midfielder Eddie Gaven unloaded a long-distance shot that was headed for the corner of the net. Sounders FC defender Marshall redirected it ever so slightly, and the ball pinged off the sidepost and out of the net.
Levesque, the stringy-haired, mustache-sporting 28-year-old, was the hero. Again. He'd scored critical goals during the U.S. Open Cup tournament, including what proved to be the game winner in the final last month.
"I was just in the right place in at the right time," said Levesque, who started because Nate Jaqua was suspended because of yellow-card accumulation and Sebastien Le Toux was limited to reserve duty because of illness.
The key defensive play of the match came in the 70th minute, with Sounders FC trying to hang on to its lead and the Crew attacking. Steven Lenhart got an open look on net with Seattle goalkeeper Kasey Keller drawn out. Lenhart's ball was going in, but Marshall got back to get a foot on it before it crossed the goal line and bicycle-kicked the ball clear.
"We know it's getting down to crunch time, and this is the atmosphere it's going to be like in the playoffs," Marshall said. "This is like a rehearsal. This is what it's going to take."
In the 75th minute, midfielder Osvaldo Alonso, who seldom shoots for Sounders FC, got off a blast that hit the post and spun along the goal line and out.
Then, just when it looked as though Sounders FC would hold on, defender Jhon Kennedy shoved Gaven in the back on a run inside the box, and a penalty kick was whistled. Schelotto, with 12 goals this season, lined up for the PK in the 82nd minute
His shot went wide left. Sounders FC survived.
"This week we had good fortune on our side," Sounders FC coach Sigi Schmid said.
Seattle (10-7-11) broke the Crew's 22-match home unbeaten streak that dated to June of last season, when Schmid was head coach of the Crew.
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