Sounders La Liga 2004

April 3, 2004

Sounders 4-0 Liga Hispana All Stars

Starfire Soccer Complex at Fort Dent

attendance-2,000 (sell-out)

The Sounders supporters group came to have some fun and make some noise 4 the boyz at the pre-season opener. The Liga Hispana crowd soon joined forces against us as a All Stars fan ran to his car and returned---with a drum! From then on it was a steady stream of noise and chants from both sides in a friendly but passionate battle of cheers. When all was said and done the Sounders had no injuries, a 4-0 win, and The Pod had made friends with a few Liga fans who smiled and shook hands with us as the sell-out crowd of 2,000 left for home.

Seattle Pitch Match Report

Sounders Match Press Release:

Tomlinson Scores Two As Sounders Look Good In Pre-Season Opener, Beat Liga ALL-STARS 4-0
Courtesy of the Seattle Sounders06.Apr.2004
(Tukwila, Wash) - - In the first pre-season match of the 2004 season, the Seattle Sounders prevailed 4-0 over the La Liga Hispana All-Stars before 1,985 people at the new Starfire Sports Soccer facility in Tukwila. The Sounders looked sharp in their first exhibition match of the year.

Just short of four minutes into the first half, Sounders midfielder Sean Michael Callahan scored the first goal of the game with an assist from midfielder Chad Brown. Callahan playing the wing received Brown's pass near the top left corner of the box, on two touches shot the ball past Liga goalkeeper Marcelo Fernandez.

Both Callahan and Brown had outstanding performances during the first half. Callahan had three shots including his goal while Brown had one shot and three fouls playing aggressive down the middle.

A yellow card was given to La Liga player Abdullah Bajrai at the end of the first half for an aggressive slide tackle on Chad Brown. At the half, the Seattle Sounders had an impressive total 19 shots and five corner kicks to lead La Liga All-Stars 1-0. Liga goalkeeper Fernandez made eight saves in the half to hold the Sounders to only one goal.

Sounders Forward Craig Tomlinson highlighted the second half with a two goal performance as the Sounders pulled always from the Liga All-Stars. Tomlinson's first goal came in the 60th minute when he received a pass from a Sounder at midfield. After a couple quick steps, Tomlinson beat the Liga defender and shot the ball into the back of the goal.

Two Sounders hopefuls teamed up in the 74th minute for the Sounders third goal of the night. Midfielder Guillermo Arzate made a great pass to midfielder Jake Vaugh, who with some room, launched a shot into the low near corner of the goal.

In the 82nd minute, on a corner kick, Tomlinson kicked the ball toward the box, as the ball bent into the top far corner to seal the 4-0 victory. The crowd roared when Tomlinson did his signature celebration, a front flip, before heading back to the midfield line.

The Sounders displayed great teamwork for their first match of the season with nearly the entire squad. A few signed players are expected to report for training near the middle of April.

Don't miss the Sounders next pre-season game against ex-Sounder and Western Conference rival, the Vancouver Whitecaps at Civic Stadium in Bellingham, WA, game time is 7pm.

Scoring Summary:
Sea - - Sean-Michael Callahan 1 (Marco Velez 1), 4
Sea - - Craig Tomlinson 1, 60
Sea - - Jake Vaugh 1 (Guillermo Arzate 1), 74
Sea - - Craig Tomlinson 2, 82

Shots:
Sea - - 31 (Guillermo Arzate 5)
LL - - 11 (Hugo Acaras 3)

Fouls:
Sea - - 16 (Chad Brown 3)
LL - - 11 (Hugo Alcaras 3)