CARSON, Calif. – Fredy Montero recorded the fourth hat trick in Seattle Sounders FC history in leading the Major League Soccer team to a 6-2 win over Chivas USA on Saturday at Home Depot Center.
“I just want to say thank you to the team because they have a really good performance today,” Montero told KING-5 television station after the game. “I got the opportunity to score three. I’m very happy, and hopefully I will keep scoring goals.”
The goals were Montero’s ninth, 10th and 11th of the MLS season, moving him even with Eddie Johnson for the club lead.
He joins Blaise Nkufo, Lamar Neagle and David Estrada as the only Sounders to score three goals in a game.
The Sounders also matched their club record for goals in an MLS match. The other six-goal game came almost exactly a year ago – Aug. 27, 2011 – against Columbus.
Mauro Rosales had three assists, climbing to a club-high 13 this season and tying his own club record.
The victory moved Seattle (12-6-7) into a tie with Real Salt Lake for second place in the MLS Western Conference. The Sounders have two games in hand on RSL and also took the lead in the goals-scored tiebreaker.
However, Seattle remains seven points behind San Jose in the Supporters’ Shield race, after the Earthquakes beat Colorado on Saturday night.
Montero’s goals were clustered over a 40-minute span: the 27th minute, 34th minute and 67th minute.
Brad Evans put the Sounders ahead in the 10th minute.
After the first two Montero goals pushed Chivas (7-10-6) three goals behind, the Goats rallied cut their deficit to one. Their first goal came on a Juan Agudelo penalty kick after Jeff Parke was called for a handball in the penalty area. Miller Bolanos cut it to 3-2 in the 64th minute.
Seattle put it away behind Montero’s final goal, a Sammy Ochoa header and a late Chivas own goal.
In the closing minutes, Honduran midfielder Mario Martinez made his Sounders debut. And behind him came Steve Zakuani, who played the final six minutes in what was his second league appearance since suffering leg fractures on April 22, 2011, in a game at Colorado.
The Sounders resume CONCACAF Champions League play at 5 p.m. Thursday against Caledonia AIA in Couva, Trinidad.
Seattle’s next MLS match is Sept. 2 at FC Dallas.
don.ruiz@thenewstribune.com 253-597-8808 blog.thenewstribune.com/soccer @donruiztnt
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.