UPDATE III: Alvaro Fernandez will not be called up to the Uruguay national team, after all. On Monday, Fernandez confirmed speculation that the injury he suffered in last week's Western Conference semifinal would make it impossible for him to play in his country's World Cup qualifier against Chile on Nov.

Seattle stands to lose an important player in the expansion draft. (Getty Images)

I don't think many folks expected to see this list so soon. With the Seattle Sounders exiting the playoffs last night after there 3-2 (on aggregate) loss to Real Salt Lake, the list had to be made. Boy, Montreal has to make the most of this too as the Sounders stand to lose one quality player.

When Alvaro Fernandez scored the game winning goal in the 40th minute it wasn't just a display of solid passing and movement by Mauro Rosales, Roger Levesque and El Flaco. The build-up started well before Rosales got the ball, and was a prime example of the reset versus the retreat. When Patrick Ianni won the ball and Hurtado recovered it, Arlo indicated that the Sounders should look up the field quickly to take advantage of the down Kevin Alston.

It was another game where a supposedly deep starting lineup was forced into two adjustments. O'Brian White continues to fill in for Blaise Nkufo both spatially, and in his hold up play, but missed a few opportunities to score. The larger adjustment was made when Coach Sigi Schmid was forced by lingering injury pulling Steve Zakuani from the lineup.

The New York Red Bulls got their first win since the opening week of the season while Charlie Davies continued his remarkable goalscoring recovery for D.C. United.

New York 3 San Jose 0
Luke Rodgers scored the first two goals of his MLS career and added an assist to lead the Red Bulls to a victory over the Earthquakes.

The folks over at MLSSoccer.com have update their weekly power rankings. No surprise that Real Salt Lake is in first place. The Portland Timbers are one of the big winners moving up to four places after a week that consisted of two home games, seven goals and six points.

Major League Soccer Week 5 Rankings

1.

I hope everyone is dried out from the storms drenching Qwest field this weekend. The 1-1 tie against the Portland Timbers was a bit of a let-down for sure, but it was a decent result considering the huge hit injuries have had on the Seattle Sounders. One thing that certainly wasn't a let down was the massive tifo put together by the ECS for the match.

On a Saturday Night when the Rapture did not happen, the Seattle Sounders will look to push Sporting Kansas City even further down the MLS standings. Seattle sits at 14 points in 11 games played for 5th in the West, 7th overall while the Sporks have 4 pts. in 7 games and are 9th in the East and 18th due primarily to their long road trip to start the season.

Is this the week Fredy Montero returns to the starting lineup? We certainly hope so. The Seattle Sounders Designated Player has started on the bench the past two matches and has played reasonably well in a reserve role. The Vancouver Whitecaps seem like the perfect team for him to get into some kind of groove with Mike Fucito.

Projecting the Seattle Sounders starting lineup this week against Toronto FC was a bit challenging this week. It sounds like coach Sigi Schmid has not exactly been blown away by Mike Fucito, which could herald the return of Nate Jaqua to the starting lineup and it's not exactly clear whether or not Alvaro Fernandez is once again fit enough to start.

The biggest angle throughout camp was the upcoming Cascadia Cup match down in Portland this weekend. Zach Scott (on the upcoming edition of Nos Audietis), Alan Hinton, Brian Schmetzer and of course Roger Levesque were popular today, and those that didn't get grabbed today probably will be tomorrow.

Not even an opponent scoring three goals can stop the red-hot Seattle Sounders these days.

Behind goals from Alvaro Fernandez, Roger Levesque, Fredy Montero and Mauro Rosales, the Sounders knocked off the defending champion Colorado Rapids 4-3 at home on Saturday in a thrilling match. Seattle had to come back from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits, just as they had against Portland last Sunday.

Four of the six games on Major League Soccer's Saturday schedule ended tied, with three of those scoreless. For those preferring offense with their soccer, seven of the 10 Saturday goals came from one game. Seattle 4 – Colorado 3 Wells Thompson gave an early indication of how this game was going to play out, scoring for the visiting Rapids in the first minute.

The Seattle Sounders went down to San Fransisco FC of Panama and surprisingly got a result that would be somewhat expected based on the statistics of the matter. A one-nil loss on the road in the CONCACAF Champions League is not an unusual result, even when the road team is "better." Home sides in the CCL score about 2.

Photo by ISIphotos.com

Bye weeks don't get much better than the one the Los Angeles Galaxy just had.

Despite not playing a minute, the Galaxy watched its three chief competitors fail to secure wins while adding Robbie Keane to the fold. Seattle and Dallas each played to draws, and Real Salt Lake fell to Toronto, allowing the Galaxy to fortify their stronghold on the top spot in both the race for the Supporters' Shield and the SBI MLS Power Rankings.

This weekend the international transfer window closed and promptly thereafter the league came out with new rules for younger designated players (DPs). The closing of the window means it's unlikely there will be any new DPs entering the league and we can take a look at how teams around the league are using their DP slots.

Photo by Howard C. Smith/ISIphotos.com

By THOMAS FLOYD

And then there were eight.

With the new, much-discussed wild-card round now a thing of the past, MLS fans are back to the traditional eight-team bracket they've seen in the postseason since the league's inception.

Two of the top three teams in Major League Soccer during the regular season square off in the opening match of the MLS conference semifinals (10pm, Fox Soccer Channel).

The No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, Real Salt Lake will look to win at Rio Tinto Stadium in game one of the two-game series to put pressure on the No.

Álvaro Saborío scored two for Real Salt Lake, and the Seattle Sounders reacted with frustration to their 3-0 loss in the first leg of the Western Conference Semifinals. RSL dominated from the early minutes, pounding eleven shots at Seattle's geriatric keeper while holding the Flounders to exactly zero shots on target for the duration of the match.

The Fire have announced the first of two international player signings and mystery international striker number one is indeed Uruguayan Gaston Puerari.

Puerari has played in the Uruguayan first division the last four seasons with Rampla Juniors and most recently Montevideo Wanderers.

We're going to try something new at Sounder at Heart. In the past, we've posted the full post-game quote sheets and stats in the game recap. We understand that can be a bit bothersome and while some of you appreciate the info, others just find it a nuisance to skip through. Instead, we've decided to have a day-after match post where we put full highlights, the quote sheets and the stats.

Unfortunately there is not as much insight to be gleaned from the highlights as you'd expect in a nearly 12-minute clip. The editors seemed much more intent on creating a package that showcased the announcers and their understandably homer-ish announcing than giving us an idea of how the match played out.

We exchange three questions with Dave Clark of Sounder at Heart in order to get some insider perspective on the Seattle Sounders as the Chicago Fire head to Qwest Field this Saturday. Dave's answer to my first question is below and the other five questions in the exchange are after the break.

Seeing the Seattle Mariners' struggles recently, the Seattle Sounders decided to change it up today, dropping this whole soccer thing and picking up bats and gloves. It turns out, many of those lovable faces we see on the pitch can actually play a little softball, including members of the walking wounded.

This is a story about Alvaro Fernandez, and Branko Boskovic in a curious way, but it could be a tale of crock-pots, lawnmowers, desktop computers, Flip video, or beer - pretty much anything. It is a tale of sunk costs and guaranteed money.

It is Jim McIlvaine, and Milton Bradley and Ken Griffey Jr 2.

Seattle is undefeated in their past 3, and they look to continue their solid run on the road. While Seattle has generally been the better team (except on scoreboard), they face their anti-thesis a team that just looks to bunker and counter even at home. The Philadelphia Union have had merely 35% possession in their games to this point.

Amid rainy, windy, and generally miserable weather conditions at PPL Park, the Philadelphia Union allowed a late equalizer to the Seattle Sounders FC's Alvaro Fernandez and drew 1-1.

The Union's lone goal was scored by Guatemalan striker Carlos Ruiz after his free kick took a deceiving dip in midair and got past goalkeeper Kasey Keller.

When the Sons of Ben decide to chant a player's name during a Philadelphia Union game, there are only two main reasons for it happening: (1) A substitute comes onto the field (i.e. Ooooooh Danny Mwanga) or (2) a spectacular play was had by an Union player.

Carlos Ruiz, the Union's Guatemalan international striker, had the Sons of Ben chanting his name after his freekick goal in the 32nd minute, to put the Union up 1-0 over the Seattle Sounders.

By THOMAS FLOYD

Although Real Salt Lake has done more than enough amid its MLS and CONCACAF Champions League conquests to establish itself as the team to beat in the Western Conference, sorting through the tier below is a trickier proposition.

This weekend's slate of MLS action should help clarify things a bit.

Week 6 of the 2011 Major League Soccer season should have been remembered for Benny Feilhaber's debut in the league and the New York Red Bulls' and Los Angeles Galaxy's stars coming through.

Instead, it will go down as the week that Steve Zakuani and David Ferreira both suffered long-term injuries.

By ALAN LEDBETTER

This past fantasy week was filled with star players coming back strong from nagging injuries, and others getting injuries that will keep them out for quite a long time.

Thierry Henry proved all doubters wrong again this week by scoring two goals and notching an assist in an away game vs.

On Wednesday's game two of the three teams that take the Open Cup seriously face off in League play. The weeknight game sees Kasey Keller in what is one of his favorite stadiums to win in, the reuniting of high school partners Mike Fuicto and Charlie Davies and Seattle's best road win ever. Will Sigi Schmid and the Seattle Sounders go with the diamond 4-4-2 or return to the Arrow?

This wasn't a case of bad luck (Los Angeles Galaxy), or poor finishing (Houston Dynamo). This was not a case of the hot striker riding his wave (New York Red Bulls). Nor was it a case of an opposing keeper winning keeper of the week (Houston Dynamo and Toronto FC). This was a case of tactics and substitution patterns that baffles a fan base, leaving Seattle with a lower chance of victory than prior to their implementation.

Photo by Jose L. Argueta/ISIphotos.com

By AVI CREDITOR

WASHINGTON - Charlie Davies played provider to Josh Wolff in the first half, and Wolff returned the favor in the second as both forwards scored to lift D.C. United to a 2-1 victory over the Seattle Sounders Wednesday night.

Everything we are hearing is that Brad Evans should be back this week, which leads us to believe we'll see a very Seattle Sounders similar starting lineup (4<4>2) as the one that played against DC United and Toronto FC. We're projecting that Tyson Wahl will start at left back against the Portland Timbers, but it could just as easily be Leo Gonzalez.

Sometimes life isn't flaming rainbows, towel ninjas and shaving bunnies. Instead it is preparing for your most heated rival and finding out that the desired formation and lineup will have to change - again. The Seattle Sounders did not play poorly against the Portland Timbers. Both teams' goals were in fact indicative of their very style of play.

Last Saturday, the match featured four seperate formational/tactical systems. As noted there was the lopsided 4-diamond-2, the traditional 4-diamond-2 and the concave 4-3-3. In the final moments we also saw a fairly typical pull the forward for a CB move to upgrade the defense. Seattle Sounders FC Coach Sigi Schmid is in fact trying new things, doing it in games that matter, and he's earning points while trying to learn the best way forward for the team until the Summer Transfer Window opens.

By CALEB SONNELAND

Coming off a big victory over Real Salt Lake at the Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday, Seattle is now preparing for a "resurgent" Chicago Fire side that changed managerial hands over the weekend.

Former Mexican National Team defender Carlos de los Cobos was ousted in favor of Frank Klopas, previously employed as the club's Technical Director, as the Fire prepare to play host to the Sounders.

With Marco Pappa playing for Guatemala in the CONCACAF Gold Cup during the month of June the Fire will be without their leading scoring (tied with 4) and arguably most dynamic player for at least three matches. This Saturday's match against Seattle, the stadium opener in Kansas City on 6/9, and the road game in Columbus on 6/12 are all matches that are certain to be Pappa-less for the Fire.

The Portland Timbers will host Argentine power Independiente in a friendly on July 26, the club announced on Friday.

Portland has already played Ajax in an international club friendly and has friendlies with Club America and West Brom also on its July slate.

Independiente, which won the 2010 Copa Sudamericana, is currently in fifth place in Argentina's Primera Division but is just five points behind first-place Velez Sarsfield.