Sounders Lose in USOC Quarterfinals 4-2
By Ben Renner
The Sounders fell 4-2 to the LA Galaxy in the quarterfinals of the US Open Cup last night on the road. Midfielder Aaron Kovar was injured.
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The Sounders continued their inconsistent play with a 4-2 loss on the road to the LA Galaxy in the quarterfinals of the US Open Cup, a tournament that the Sounders have traditionally been successful in. Even after the loss, the Sounders are still 22-3-4 in US Open Cup play in their history.
The Sounders struck first in this match, getting a goal at the four-minute mark from Michael Farlan in his first competitive action for the team. But the Galaxy would find the equalizer from Alan Gordon in the 17th minute. To their credit, Sigi Schmid’s squad fought hard to take the lead again on a strike from forward Herculez Gomez in the 58th minute.
The Galaxy would take control from there, however, getting another equalizer, this time from Giovani dos Santos in the 77th minute and a pair of goals from Sebastian Lletget late to pull away and advance in the tournament.
Adding injury to insult, Sounders midfielder Aaron Kovar left the field with an apparent shoulder injury in the 63rd minute. Kovar later revealed in a tweet that the injury was serious–a broken clavicle that will likely take upwards of eight weeks to heal. The Sounders will miss Kovar, who set career highs in appearances, starts, and minutes played in his third season with the team.
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The Sounders will continue on the road to Kansas City, where they will take on Sporting Kansas City on Saturday. They will obviously be without Kovar, but star forward Clint Dempsey is rumored to start for Schmid’s crew against SKC. With the US Open Cup over for the Sounders, the team can focus on digging its way out of its ninth-place hole in the Western Conference.