TORONTO - A third straight shutout win and some more history for the Seattle Sounders.
Swedish star Freddie Ljungberg scored a goal and helped set up another as Seattle continued its dream start in the MLS with a 2-0 win over Toronto on Saturday.
A win in their first foray on the road improved the Sounders to 3-0-0 while a disappointing Toronto slipped to 1-1-1 in its home opener before a sellout crowd of 20,658 who braved raw conditions at BMO Field. Seattle 'keeper Kasey Keller has yet to give up a goal.
Asked if he ever thought his first-year team would be in such a position after three games, coach Sigi Schmid said: "In my dreams, I was hoping we'd be 3-0. Sometimes dreams come true.
"We said all through pre-season if we start off well, and we can get our confidence, we think we can be a good team."
Down the corridor, Toronto coach John Carver was living up to his name as he dissected a poor Toronto performance.
"There's still an awful lot of work to be done," added Carver, who apologized to Toronto fans for his team's showing. "And everybody keeps talking outside about playoffs this and playoffs that. You perform like that week in, week out and you'll finish bottom of the league again."
"I need to get to the bottom of it," the English native added. "The good thing is it's only three games into the season. We've had our backsides kicked. I've got no excuses, none whatever -- beaten by the better team. And now I've got to roll my sleeves up with them lot in there and put in right."
Ljungberg showed his class in the 15th minute, slashing through the defence on a nice one-two with Nate Jaqua before slotting the ball past goalkeeper Greg Sutton with his right foot.
Schmid had reminded him prior to his game that one of his best qualities was getting behind the defence and he did it beautifully with the one-two.
"Normally when you have that movement, the goalie comes out and if you hit it first time, it's difficult for them to react," Ljungberg said. "So I took it first time and luckily it went in."
It was a first MLS goal in the first Sounders start for the former Arsenal player, who is earning US$1.3 million as Seattle's designated player.
Ljungberg had a hand in Seattle's second goal in the 45th minute, finding Sebastien Le Toux in the penalty area with a short ball from the right. Le Toux tapped the ball over to Jaqua and Steve Zakuani got to his blocked shot before Sutton did.
Both goals came into the teeth of a fierce wind howling through Toronto's lakefront home.
Ljungberg started for Montero, playing up front with Jaqua but with licence to roam. The Swede also did his bit without the ball, tracking back to defend.
"He's a clever player, he's a big-time player," said Carver.
Ljungberg needed treatment in the 72nd minute after going down in the box but came back on, perhaps a little wetter. A drink was tossed in his direction from the stands as the physio looked him over on the sideline. The Swede was substituted shortly after.
Ljungberg did not hold a grudge, joking afterwards it's the first time he's had a beer at a game. He could have had a cigarette as well. A nearby fan said a lighter was thrown his way as well.
While Toronto's defence was ripped apart on both first-half goals, Seattle showed itself to be a well-organized unit with good ball movement. When Toronto did threaten, there was always a Seattle player to get in the way or break it up.
"I can't say enough about our defensive effort, our willingness to throw basically bodies in front of shots and do whatever it takes to stop people from scoring," said Schmid. "This is a tough place to play, windy conditions today. We got a couple of timely goals and everything went our way in that regard."
The Sounders handled the conditions better, sticking to short, precise passes.
"They're a good side, but we made them look even better than they are," Carver lamented.
Carver, meanwhile, said he couldn't think of a Toronto player who performed adequately. But he singled out returning internationals Amado Guevara and Carl Robinson for criticism, saying the two midfielders "didn't look like they had any legs."
Seattle's feel-good start in MLS was tarnished somewhat by the absence of Fredy Montero, the young Colombian star who was named the league's player of the month after scoring three of the Sounders' first five goals.
The team said Montero did not travel because of the flu. Back home, however, prosecutors were reviewing a woman's sexual assault allegation against Montero.
"Obviously it's something the team didn't want to deal with," Keller said, "but nobody's been charged with anything. I think it's in control. We just have to play our game. Obviously we support our teammate. At the same time, we understand that they've got to figure out what's right and hopefully it all goes away here really quickly."
The game started in chilly, windy conditions more suitable to ice fishing than soccer. Temperature at kickoff felt a lot colder than the official four degrees Celsius with biting winds gusting to 70 km/h.
Keller won the toss and elected to face the wind in the first half, explaining teams sometimes perform better into the wind because they have to tailor their game to accommodate it.
Conditions improved in the second half and Toronto had a few good chances, only to be denied by Keller or the woodwork.
