Sounders lose to another expansion team

TUKWILA — A fun-filled, event-packed Cascadia Summit came to a close Sunday with one last preseason match between a pair of Pacific Northwest rivals.

But while Sounders FC was a gracious host to fans from Portland and Vancouver, the team was far too generous on the field, allowing three soft goals in a 3-2 defeat against the Whitecaps at Starfire Stadium.

"If you guys wait 10 minutes after the interview, I'll have gifts for everybody," Seattle coach Sigi Schmid told reporters, "since we're handing out (gift goals) to everybody as a team right now."

Having lost to Portland 2-0 Friday, Seattle was surprisingly swept in the round-robin by the two MLS expansion teams.

As if the disappointing performances weren't enough, forward Mike Fucito suffered what is believed to be a pulled abductor against Vancouver and will be re-evaluated Monday.

Sounders general manager Adrian Hanauer, who said the event was a success off the field, remained upbeat.

"I think we're headed in the right direction, but sometimes the results don't reflect the direction you're headed," he said, acknowledging that certain performances from players raised questions about final roster decisions. "Obviously, I've said this before, the proof will be in the pudding as we start the regular season. And just like we said last year when things weren't going well, we said we'd figure it out and we did. We have too many good players and too good of a coaching staff not to get it figured out."

In front of a mostly pro-Sounders crowd of 3,100, Seattle didn't have much figured out early. A defensive miscue by defender Taylor Graham led to a breakaway goal by Vancouver's 17-year-old forward Omar Salgado in the sixth minute. In the 12th minute, goalkeeper Terry Boss bobbled a mis-hit cross by Whitecaps midfielder Russell Teibert and fumbled it into his net.

"Every single player is going to say, 'Hey, that was my fault' and own up," said Seattle defender Zach Scott, who wore the captain's armband Sunday. "We're going to get after it tomorrow and be prepared for (the season opener) March 15."

Roger Levesque pulled a goal back for Seattle just before halftime, but the momentum didn't last long in the second half. In the 47th minute, Vancouver forward Camilo Sanvezzo scored the clinching goal after a failed clearance by defender Patrick Ianni landed at Sanvezzo's feet in front of an open net.

Sounders FC added a late goal in the 77th minute when Miguel Montano tapped in a Levesque cross, but late attempts to equalize were unsuccessful. And while a substandard weekend did little to back up Seattle's high expectations for the 2011 season, Schmid wouldn't go so far to call it embarrassing.

"No, it's a motivating weekend, it's not embarrassing" said Schmid, whose team is 4-4-2 in exhibition matches. "Embarrassing would mean that we're going to stick our tail between our legs and we're looking to hide and run away. We're not looking to hide and run away from anything."

NOTES

• Earlier in the day, the Sounders FC U-18 academy team beat Vancouver Whitecaps FC's residency team 4-3. All seven goals were scored in a wild and entertaining second half.

• Sounders FC's final preseason game is 7 p.m. Wednesday at Qwest Field against Colorado.

Joshua Mayers: 206-464-3184 or jmayers@seattletimes.com

Vancouver	2 1 — 3
Seattle	1 1 — 2

Scoring — 1, Vancouver, Salgado, 6th; 2, Vancouver, Teibert, 12th; 3, Seattle, Levesque (Ianni, Scott) 45th; 4, Vancouver, Sanvezzo, 47th; 5, Seattle, Montaño (Levesque, Estrada), 77th. Cautions — Graham, Seattle, 10th; Khalfan, Vancouver, 18th; Cannon, Vancouver 81st. Shots — Vancouver 9, Seattle 17. Shots on goal — Vancouver 6, Seattle 7. Corner kicks — Vancouver 1, Seattle 13. Offsides — Vancouver 4, Seattle 1. Fouls — Vancouver 14, Seattle 8. Saves — Vancouver 5, Seattle 3. Referee — Dave Gantar. Assistant referees — Darrek Clark, Cameron Blair. 4th official — Drew Fischer. A — 3,100.

Lineups

Seattle — Terry Boss, Zach Scott, Taylor Graham (David Estrada 46th), Patrick Ianni, Tyson Wahl, Roger Levesque, Servando Carrasco, Erik Friberg (Osvaldo Alonso 76th), Michael Tetteh (Steve Zakuani 76th), Mike Fucito (Lamar Neagle 40th), O'Brian White (Miguel Montaño 61st).

Vancouver — Jay Nolly (Joe Cannon 46th), Wes Knight (Jonathan Leathers 62nd), Greg Janicki, Michael Boxall, Bilal Duckett, Nizar Khalfan (Cornelius Stewart 62nd), Gershon Koffie, Alexandre Morfaw (Terry Dunfield 64th), Russell Teibert (Jeb Brovsky 83rd), Omar Salgado (Atiba Harris 87th), Camilo Sanvezzo (Long Tan 66th).