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It happened on August 23 of 2011. A team of mainly reserves (this isn't hyperbole) went down to Monterrey, Mexico and pulled off a 1-nil win. That Seattle Sounders side faced a fairly standard Rayados lineup. They won. It was an upset, but the stakes were not high. It damaged the mystique, but was not an advancement in a knockout stage.

With a break in action for the Sounders (they had a real weekend off, well most of them) and recent updates to www.SoundersFC.com and their stats pages here's an update on the Points Per 90 (or Offensive Productivity) for the team in 2012. At Sounder at Heart we include the knockout stages of the 2011-12 CONCACAF Champions league in this year rather than last as the Sounders do.

As I was leaving the game last night, I passed by a woman on the street who gave me an interested look. I smiled back. She asked me, "Who won?" I was, to be honest, a bit dumbfounded.

Who won? I honestly did not know.

It took me a few seconds to realize she was talking about the scoreline--as if a friendly like this could be boiled down to a mere goals for and goals against.

A first half that showed spark and offensive flow as Chelsea beat the Seattle Sounders 4-2. All six goals were finished in that half, while the second half was full of waves of subs for both sides. Both Fredy Montero and Romelu Lukaku slotted two home, while Marko Marin earned a goal and assist. Chelsea's other goal was from signee Eden Hazard.

Back in the dark ages of US Soccer after the fall of the NASL there were several players who would help pull American soccer out of a multi-decade funk. For all the style and glamour of the original NASL, it didn't directly contribute to national team success. A handful of players that were responsible for that are in town this week to see how different things can be in two decades.

We all see a little bit of ourselves in Roger Levesque, or at least see something we'd like to see in ourselves. He's gregarious, approachable, quick-witted, down-to-earth, generous with his time, humble ... the list goes on. If there's a positive quality to describe someone, you can probably attach it to him.

Roger Levesque will officially sail off into the sunset following the Seattle Sounders' friendly against Chelsea on Wednesday. The official announcement comes on the heals of Seattle Times columnist Steve Kelley breaking the news a night earlier.

"I would like to thank the Sounders organization for giving me the opportunity to play professionally for the past nine years," Levesque said in the team release.

As most of their teammates were packing and getting ready to leave for Wednesday's road game against Real Salt Lake, a group of eight continued to kick the ball around at the training field.

Osvaldo Alonso was the most obvious, as normally he'd be getting ready to take the trip. He was joined by assistant coach Kurt Schmid; recently signed defender Daniel Steres; seldom-used players likes Michael Seamon, Michael Tetteh; veteran Roger Levesque; and forward Sammy Ochoa.

The Sounder's league record over the past 8 games has left their fan base frustrated and reeling. No one associated with the franchise is happy right now. A string of four losses and four draws in league play doesn't inspire confidence nor does it meet the lofty expectations everyone holds for the franchise.

It's a bit of an odd week for both us and the Seattle Sounders. While, ideally, we'd be entirely focused on Sunday's game against the Portland Timbers, there are some other matters that need to be dealt with.

The first topic of conversation is last Saturday's awful loss to the Montreal Impact.

This will not be a fun one to break down, but maybe it will be educational. The Seattle Sounders have certainly turned in some less-than-glorious performances over the years, but this may well be the worst. The team looked sluggish from the outset, didn't seem to find the game until they were already trailing and only came alive after going down 3-0.

Last night's game against Chelsea FC was sold as a celebration of soccer. And it sure felt like it. With the pressure off, the Sounders' offense showed the same spark against Chelsea that they have when they have been at their best this season. Fredy Montero scored two very well-taken goals, showing a striker's determination to get on the score sheet.

Normally when getting three questions the answers I submit seem like things our readers already know. But yesterday, one of the questions was about David Estrada, his injury and how his loss would affect the starting lineup. And that gets kind of intriguing, because while Estrada isn't a "starter" he starts a lot and is nearly assured to get minutes in which he doesn't.

Wednesday night will be a bittersweet send off for Roger Levesque. The Sounder's own version of a SeaFair Pirate is retiring after the Chelsea match. Roger epitomizes the heart of this team and he will be missed. But as we reflect on his departure, it is also true that his retirement is an adjustment to the Sounders roster.

Every once in a while, the performance of one player can define an entire game, and mark an entire season. Yesterday afternoon, in Harrison, Adam Johansson showed everyone what Seattle has been missing for two months, with a pair of assists and a crucial goal-line clearance. They were his first appearances on the score sheet for the Rave Green.

How often does Chelsea agree to come by for your going away party? How often will a man be able to be the hype man against his arch-rival. Roger Levesque's 2012 will not be remembered for his play on the field. Nor for a great goal celebration. Levesque's 2012 will be remembered because it powered our minds and helped remind us that sometimes this sports thing is not just about being good at the sport.

The longer readers of Sounder at Heart know there are certain supporters songs I don't like due to their use of certain war metaphors. Even new readers will notice that there is very little imagery around battles and violence in our posts about soccer. This is by choice and captures much of how I feel about sports and why I discovered a passion for the game.