Various Updates, Part 1

So many new things to discuss, and it’s all bunched together in one post,so get ready to click of some links

First, Evan Brown, the Sounder’s secondround draft pick has officially signed with the club, obviously impressing during preseason. Good news to se young defenders are coming along nicely, because another one of those is on trial at Anderlecht. Yep, that cheatin’ (I’m kidding of course, even Messi takes roids, and from the reports, he used an”over-the-counter supplement”) Jeff Parke is hopng to become the third American defender (after Onyewu and Jared Jeffrey) playing in Belgium: http://www.goal.com/en/news/1549/rest-of-europe/2009/03/03/1137134/former-red-bull-jeff-parke-trialing-with-anderlecht

While we can dream about how good the Sounders defense would be with Parke, perhaps it’s a blessing in disguise as Sigi might not have signed Hurtado, and it would definitely have limited Brown’s chances. Good luck to Parke, and hopefully he can make into the National Team picture someday.

Then on the 20th of February, Kasey Keller and Nate Jaqua had an emotional return to their alma matter, University of Portland, and promptly showed off the skills that made them such hot prospects in their college ball days, in a 4-1 win which included Jaqua scoring and Keller getting a shutout in his 45 minutes of play: http://blogs.thenewstribune.com/soccer/2009/02/20/sounders_defeat_portland_4_1

2 days later, Jaqua kept his hot streak going with two more goals, and young sensation Freddy Montero added a brace of his own in a 4-0 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps. The defense was described in the match report as “playing likely their best game of the preseason,” news that is welcome to Sounders fans.http://www.soundersfc.com/News/Articles/2009/02-February/Whitecaps.aspx#comments