By Toby Dunkelberg

STARTERS

Stefan Frei – 7 – Frei had to come up huge numerous times throughout the game to hold the Galaxy to one goal. Although he was certainly the second best keeper on the night he had a more than respectable performance. He kept trying to spur counter attacks but the rest of the Sounders just weren’t having it. The goal was hardly his fault and shouldn’t tarnish what was an otherwise good outing.

Tyrone Mears – 5.5 – Mears was good at times and was a important cog for Seattle going forward. However his defense in the second half got progressively worse and led to many situations where Frei had to come up big to stop a goal.

Brad Evans – 6.5 – It’s unfortunate that people will only remember Omar Gonzalez getting the best of him because Evans had another good performance. He is already looking like an above average MLS center back, which is more better than people hoped he’d be doing at this point in the transition. Klinsmann seems to think he’s been doing a good job since he saw it fit to call him up for the game against Mexico.

Chad Marshall – 7 – Marshall also had a good night except for that one goal. It looked like Alan Gordon was originally his man and a snafu of some sort led to him getting open. Beyond that mishap Marshall had a very dominating performance, shutting down the rest of LA’s attack.

Dylan Remick – 6.5 – The youngster backed up his solid outing last week with another solid performance. He made little to no errors defensively and his speed adds a bit of an x-factor going forward. He wasn’t called upon all that often but he really came through whenever he was needed.

Cristian Roldan – (Off 81’) – 6.5 – There was a lot to like in his performance last night. He didn’t contribute a whole lot defensively but on offense he really shined. The Sounders right side was the catalyst for their attack and Roldan was a large part of that. His passes into space were perfectly weighted for on-rushing men in Rave Green. Near the end of the game he impressed with those long passes, showing us a side of him we’d never seen at this level.

Andy Rose – 6 – Rose played well throughout the game but in typical center mid fashion didn’t have any shining moments to point to. That’s not to say he played poorly though. He had one very clear chance on goal that Penedo did well to save. Rose otherwise helped Seattle maintain possession with a couple tackles, interceptions, and key passes.

Osvaldo Alonso – 7 – As much as the youngsters impressed, there’s a reason Seattle plays so much better with Alonso in the eleven. He continues to win the ball in midfield and play it forward to spur another attack. This was an average performance for Alonso and because of the caliber player he is, that puts him at a seven.

Marco Pappa – 6.5 – (Off 89’) – One stat that really stands out from Pappa’s performance is that he had as many tackles as Alonso. When he first came to Seattle the biggest question was how hard would he work defensively. Performances like those on Sunday had silence that issue. Pappa continually got back to help out Remick on defense and was still threatening offensively. It would’ve been nice for him to get a couple more shots off, but that’s just being picky.

Obafemi Martins – 6 – Martins was largely disappointing against the Galaxy. He seemed to fade into the background a little bit which isn’t something you want your DP striker to do. He was continually caught offside and only managed two shots on goal all game long. It’s odd to say this but he was really second fiddle to Neagle.

Lamar Neagle – 7.5 – (Off 74’) – Neagle had a great night up top for Seattle. Going into the match against the Galaxy he had yet to record a single shot all season. He put that poor run of play behind him and racked up six shots on target. It’s true that most of his shots went right at Penedo but he showed great creativity to generate them and Penedo and the rest of the Galaxy had their positioning down pat. Neagle was by far the most dangerous player for Seattle and his six shots on target are impressive for any player.

SUBSTITUTES

Chad Barret – 5 – (On 74’) – Although used as a sub this time, Barret still lacked an ability to threaten offensively. He made one nice pass but that was really all that he did.

Aaron Kovar – (On 81’) – N/A

Victor Mansaray – (On 89’) – N/A