Clint Dempsey headed in Andreas Ivanschitz’s corner kick in the 79th minute as the Sounders edged the Montreal Impact 1-0 on Saturday night at CenturyLink Field for their first win of the season.
These are my first impressions:
– Seattle’s lineup changes were significant, if not permanent.
Dempsey dropped back from the front line into the midfield, while Aaron Kovar made just his third career start on the right wing.
On paper, the Sounders (1-3-0) presented the formation as the 4-3-3 they’d been rolling out since the preseason. In practice, though, they lined up in something more like a 4-2-3-1 — Osvaldo Alonso and Cristian Roldan shielding the back line and Dempsey lined up directly behind lone forward Nelson Valdez.