Thursday August 23, 2007
          The Atlanta Silverbacks fell 3-0 last night to the Seattle Sounders at Qwest Field, breaking Atlanta’s five-game unbeaten streak. The Silverbacks remain in fifth place of the USL First Division standings, but have yet to secure a spot in the 2007 playoffs. Atlanta needs just three points to clinch their first playoff birth since 2002 – the team will look to do just that on Saturday night when they take on the Minnesota Thunder in the second-leg of this two-game road trip.

          “We did not perform at our best and struggled to come together as a unit,” commented Head Coach Jason Smith. “We lost our rhythm due to several unavoidable personnel changes, but I’m confident that we will bounce right back this weekend.”

         Atlanta (10-8-6) and Seattle (13-5-6) went the entire first half with no goals for either side, despite an Atlanta attempt that saw the ball sneak across the mouth of the goal, just out of reach of any Silverbacks players. Seattle had some dangerous chances as well, but the Atlanta defense, anchored by goalkeeper Ryan McIntosh, denied any Seattle shots.
         The second half opened and the Sounders quickly quieted all Atlanta hopes of walking away from Qwest Field with any points. Leighton O’Brien put away the game winner just two minutes into the second half when Roger Levesque fed him a ball inside the box; O’Brien ripped a shot that deflected off an Atlanta defender and hit the back of the net. Seattle doubled their lead in the 81st minute when O’Brien sent a cleared corner back into the box to an oncoming Taylor Graham who headed the ball into the net. A quick two and half minutes, later Seattle put the nail in the coffin with their third goal of the night. Kevin Sakuda fired a shot at McIntosh who made the initial save but couldn’t hold onto the ball; Levesque followed the shot and scored on the rebound. Atlanta was without the services of veterans David Hayes and Scott Buete, who sat out the match due to yellow card accumulations, as well as Rafique Hassim who has been sidelined with a knee injury.
          Seattle is now 9-0-2 in their last 11 USL matches and 12-0-2 in the last 14 games including the U.S. Open Cup. The Sounders sit comfortably atop the league with a four point lead over the Portland Timbers and are one of two teams with a winning record on the road.
          The next game for the ‘Backs will be against the Minnesota Thunder (3-9-11). The Thunder have the fewest wins and most ties in the league thus far. Atlanta defeated Minnesota in April by a score of 3-1 at home. The Thunder enter the match in the midst of a nine-game winless streak in which they have compiled a record of 0-3-6. Atlanta will have a prime opportunity to gain a postseason birth.
          Minnesota will be led by Brian Farber, who has scored five goals on the year and leads the Thunder in minutes played (1,638). Forward Aaron Paye is second on the team with four goals and provides leadership for the club in his fourth year with Minnesota. Defensively, goalkeeper Nicolas Platter ranks sixth in both GAA (1.071) and saves (76).
         The ‘Backs will play their final regular season home match on Saturday, September 1 against the Puerto Rico Islanders at RE/MAX Greater Atlanta Stadium. For ticket information, call 404-969-4900.

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