Seattle Sounders marked their first game with victory over LA Galaxy earlier today. In front of only a handful of interested onlookers, the Sounders defeated Galaxy 3-1 on a small, fenced-off practice field in the shadow of the glimmering stadium Los Angeles calls home, the Home Depot Center.
Forwards Fredy Montero and Roger Levesque and midfielder Sanna Nyassi scored goals, and Nyassi and forward Ryan Pore had an assist each to lead Seattle, which debuted in its rave green jerseys with white numbers on the back.
"Preseason is preseason, so I don't lay too much stock in the results," Seattle coach Sigi Schmid told the Seattle Times, "but it's always good to win rather than lose any time you play, and it's a habit that you start building within the team."
Monday's game meant something to Sounders FC. Majority owner Joe Roth and minority partner representative Tod Leiweke watched from the sideline. When the final whistle blew, there were handshakes all around for the executives, including general manager Adrian Hanauer and technical director Chris Henderson.