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Roger Levesque

2009 US Open Cup Round 3: Rivalry thrives across league lines; record crowd watches Sounders edge Timbers

July 1, 2009 by Aaron Stollar

Nate Jaqua celebrates Roger Levesque's goal with Sebastien Le Toux
Nate Jaqua celebrates Roger Levesque’s goal with Sebastien Le Toux | Photo: Seattle Sounders F.C.

In the most anticipated US Open Cup non-Final game in years, the Seattle Sounders and the Portland Timbers met at PGE Park in front of 16,382 fans, the largest non-doubleheader, non-final game in the Modern Era (1995-present) of Open Cup history; many of them were traveling from Seattle to watch their team play their longtime Cascadia rivals. Those traveling fans were treated to a 2-1 Sounders win in the Rose City, giving them a 2-1 edge all-time in the Open Cup.

The Sounders started right out of the gate only 48 seconds in as Roger Levesque, who could be considered the most hated player on the team by Timbers fans, put home a diving header from Sanna Nyassi to give Seattle the early lead. Later, in the 27th minute, Stephen King receives a pass from Nate Jaqua and makes the most of it, blasting it inside the far post to give the Sounders a 2-0 lead.

The Timbers, however, wouldn’t go down without a fight. Mere minutes before half, in the 43rd, Mandjou Keita finds a pass from David Hayes in the box and volleys it past Sounders keeper (and former Timber) Kasey Keller to pull Portland within one.

Portland had plenty of chances in the second half to try and equalize, but it wasn’t to be. Seattle one-ups its rival 2-1 at PGE Park to move on to the Quarterfinals, where they will take on the Kansas City Wizards next Tuesday at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, Wash.

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: SEATTLE SOUNDERS VS. PORTLAND TIMBERS

Filed Under: US Open Cup Tagged With: 2009 Third Round, Kasey Keller, Mandjou Keita, Nate Jaqua, Portland Timbers, Roger Levesque, Seattle Sounders MLS, Sebastien Le Toux, Stephen King

2007 Third Round: French connection helps Sounders knock out Chivas USA

July 18, 2007 by

A bad bounce put the Seattle Sounders behind early in Wednesday night’s US Open Cup Third Round match, but the duo of Sebastien Le Toux and Roger Levesque made sure the USL First Division team still bounced Chivas USA from the tournament. It was the second year in a row that Chivas had been eliminated in the opening round, and their third straight Open Cup loss.

Le Toux converted passes from Levesque into goals in the 44th and 52nd minutes, then let Levesque score a goal of his own in the final minutes as host Seattle posted a 3-1 victory over the MLS team in front of 3,589 fans at Qwest Field.

The Sounders advanced to the Quarterfinals for the first time since 2003. They will play host to the Colorado Rapids, one of just three MLS sides remaining in the competition, on Aug. 7.

Frenchman Laurent Merlin scored his first goal for Chivas USA, opening the scoring on a strange play in the 16th minute. His shot deflected off Sounders defender Danny Jackson, bounding up and over Seattle goalkeeper Chris Eylander. Jackson suffered a bruised left heel on the play and had to leave the match 10 minutes later.

The combination of Levesque, an American from Maine with a French name, and Le Toux, a Frenchman, hooked up for the equalizer in the 44th. Levesque received the ball from Leighton O’Brien, passing up a potential shot and leaving it for Le Toux, who beat Chivas USA goalkeeper Preston Burpo.

Burpo, who starred for the Sounders for nine years before signing with Chivas USA last year, was victimized by his former team again in the 52nd, with O’Brien again starting the sequence. Levesque got a long ball from O’Brien, then touched it over to Le Toux, and the Frenchman finished for his fourth goal of this year’s Open Cup.

Twice, Levesque nearly tallied a third goal for Seattle. First, his blast from the right side was deflected out by Francisco Mendoza for a corner kick in the 66th. Three minutes later, Levesque’s header off a cross from second-half sub Greg Howes sailed over the crossbar.

Levesque finally got his goal in the 82nd, thanks to Le Toux. Josh Gardner blazed down the left side, beating his defender, and played a cross into the box. Le Toux, sitting on a hat trick, let the ball roll between his legs to Levesque, behind him all alone on the back side, and he had an easy finish for his first goal of this year’s competition.

Chivas USA ended up with the advantage in shots (14-8), but had few dangerous scoring chances. Eylander turned in a nice save on a header by Maykel Galindo, another former Sounders player, in the 34th minute, and made a diving stop on a shot in the 75th. Eylander and Burpo each finished with four saves on the night.

Filed Under: US Open Cup Tagged With: 2007 Third Round, Chivas USA, Chris Eylander, Preston Burpo, Roger Levesque, Seattle Sounders USL, Sebastien Le Toux

2007 Second Round: Sounder beat Timbers 2-1 in another chapter in rivalry

June 26, 2007 by

The rivalry between the two clubs from the Northwest has always been an intense one, and Tuesday’s Second Round US Open Cup match just added another chapter to the book. A total of seven yellow cards and one ejection marked the Sounders 2-1 victory over Portland.

Portland started off red hot, taking two shots on goal in the opening minute of play. In the 19th minute, Portland grabbed the lead on a free kick goal from defender Justin Thompson.

The turning point of the match came just before halftime, when Portland’s Cameron Knowles was sent off for elbowing the Sounders Roger Levesque in the penalty area. Former Timbers standout Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar stepped up and converted the penalty kick to tie the game.

Things were a bit testy in the remaining minutes of the half, as Portland’s Scot Thompson and Seattle’s Josh Gardner were cautioned after a confrontation just minutes before the penalty kick.

As Portland switched tactics to a more defensive stand, Seattle grabbed the go ahead goal in the 70th minute. Jake Besagno put away a Greg Howes cross to make the game 2-1 Sounders.

Portland pushed for the equalizer, and nearly got it in the 80th minute, when Brian Jordan combined with a teammate for a one-two combo, but Chris Eylander saves the low shot from Jordan.

Seattle’s win avenges a 2-0 loss to the Timbers in the Third Round of the 2005 tournament. This game also marks Portland’s third straight loss to a professional team in the Open Cup and their fourth defeat in their last five against pro teams.

Scoring
(POR) Justin Thompson (Andrew Gregor) 19’
(SEA) Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar (PK) 41’
(SEA) Jake Besagno (Greg Howes) 70’

Filed Under: US Open Cup Tagged With: 2007 Second Round, Andrew Gregor, Chris Eylander, Greg Howes, Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar, Jake Besagno, Josh Wicks, Justin Thompson, Portland Timbers, Roger Levesque, Seattle Sounders USL

2007 First Round: Sounders, Le Toux overpower USASA’s Banat Arsenal

June 12, 2007 by

Sebastien Le Toux paced the Seattle Sounders to a 4-1 victory over the USASA’s Banat Arsenal. Nathan Knox opened the scoring for Seattle with a goal nine minutes in, after a pass from Leighton O’Brien. Knox looked like he scored in the opening minute, but the goal was disallowed due to a foul on Seattle. Banat came right back and tied the game at one in the 18th minute. Maurice Hughes scored from a cross by Ty Hibbert to give the Phoenix amateurs hope early on.

After the goal, it was all Sounders, as Banat were not allowed a shot the rest of the half. Sebastien Le Toux then struck twice in four minutes. In the 32nd minute, Le Toux took a diagonal pass from Roger Levesque at the right end of the goal arc, and beat Banat goalkeeper Chris Rehfuss for a 2-1 lead. Four minutes later, when Greg Howes sent a short cross to Le Toux from inside the penalty area, who buried it for a 3-1 Sounders lead. Howes himself finished the scoring in the match just before half time, taking a cross from Knox to put the game out of reach.

Seattle move on to face Northwest rivals Portland on June 26 at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, Wash.

Scoring Summary

Seattle:
(SEA) Nathan Knox (Leighton O’Brien) 9’
(BAN) Maurice Hughes (Ty Hibbert) 18’
(SEA) Sebastien Le Toux (Roger Levesque) 32
(SEA) Sebastien Le Toux (Gregory Howes) 36’
(SEA) Gregory Howes (Nathan Knox) 44’

Seattle Sounders: Chris Eylander; Danny Jackson, Jake Besagno, Zach Scott (Santa Maria Rivera 71’); Kevin Sakuda, Leighton O’Brien (Kenji Treschuk 35’), Greg Howes, Roger Levesque (Andre Schmid 56’), Josh Gardner; Sebastien Le Toux (Craig Tomlinson 45’), Nathan Knox.

Banat Arsenal: Chris Rehfuss; Cory Norris (Brad Moore 75’), Frank Clay, Nick Tiggs, Elliot Weber; Ryan Lockhart (Imad Id-Deen 53’), Jaimie Miranda (Alan Watson 45’), Maurice Hughes, David Hopkinson (Brett Parry 45’); Esteban Bayona, Ty Hibbert.

Shots: SEA 21, BAN 6
Saves: SEA 3, BAN 5
Corners: SEA 6, BAN 0
Fouls:  SEA 23, BAN 21
Offsides: SEA 5, BAN 1
Cautions: (BAN) Lockhart 19’, (SEA) Scott 34’, (BAN) Id-Deen 88’

Filed Under: US Open Cup Tagged With: 2007 First Round, Banat Arsenal, Chris Eylander, Chris Rehfuss, Greg Howes, Maurice Hughes, Nathan Knox, Roger Levesque, Seattle Sounders USL, Sebastien Le Toux

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