Sounders U-23 Advance to Western Conference Finals

By Athletic Communications on July 22, 2012 7:23 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

The Sounders FC U-23 stormed back with two unanswered goals for a 2-1 win over FC Tucson in the Western Conference Semi-finals on Saturday night in Ventura, California.

After being down a goal in the 47th minute, incoming sophomore Darwin Jones scored the equalizer ten minutes later. The Sounders right back, DeAndre Yedlin, threw a long throw-in towards the front of the goal and it was flicked on to the back post for Jones to side-volley the ball into the net. Sean Morris scored the go-ahead goal in the 64th minute.

Match stats for Sounders U23-FC Tucson.

The victory puts the Sounders U-23 to the Western Conference Championship on Sunday, June 22 against Ventura County Fusion for a spot in the PDL National Final Four; kickoff is set for 5 p.m. PT. There will be live streaming at http://www.kadytv.com/sports/ventura-county-fusion. Stay tuned on SoundersU23.com for more coverage information on the match.

In the first semi-final game, the Portland Timbers U-23s lost a heart breaker in overtime against the Ventura County Fusion. The only goal in the game came three minutes into overtime and the Fusion were able to hold off a series of late attempts by the Timbers U-23s to claim a 1-0 win and advance to the Western Conference finals.

The Timbers U-23s held a majority of the possession int he first half and it led to a 5-2 advantage in shots. Junior goalkeeper Spencer Richey, however, turned in the biggest play of the half for the Timbers U-23s, making a key save on a penalty kick attempt in the 28th minute after a Portland player had been called for a handball int he box. Richey turned away a low shot from the spot aimed at the left post to keep the match deadlocked heading into halftime. Richey played the whole 120 minutes making three saves.

Match stats for Timbers U23s-Ventura County Fusion.