In Seattle’s last game it saw them go crashing out of the CCL with a 6-1 thumping, meaning that the MLS home opener against Toronto FC was a highly anticipated game for the Sounders faithful. The Sounders fans must have hoped for a strong response, and they got that in the form of David Estrada.
After scoring his first Seattle goal in the first leg of the CCL tie against Santos, Estrada brought his form to the MLS home opener and scored inside 20 minutes to bring the CenturyLink Field crowd alive.
The first goal came from some good work by Alvaro Fernandez, who is notching up the assists already, by hitting the left hand side of the box and slipping the ball through to Estrada, who after a 6 yard box scramble, managed to strike the ball into the back of the net.
After a few frustrating years for Estrada, seeing very little time on the CenturyLink Field, he wasn’t going to give up on making an incredible impact and made it 2-0 shortly after the break with a well placed shot passed the stranded Milos Kocic.
Estrada found himself in acres of space after a perfectly timed run, sprung the offside trap and connected with the long ball from Marc Burch, where he waited for the Toronto keeper to come out to no-mans land and slot the ball just inside the near post for his second.
Toronto’s Ryan Johnson made amends for his earlier efforts, by getting Toronto back into the game with a spectacular strike. After cutting in from the right hand side, Johnson hit a superb strike with his left foot to leave the Sounders keeper watching as it hit the far post corner and into the net. This didn’t stop Estrada from making his day complete after he found the net, once again, for his hat trick.
Estrada got his third after a lovely one-two with Fernandez, on the left hand side of the box saw him run past the out stretched leg of the defender and slam the ball home past Kocic near post.
This was Seattle’s 3rd ever hat trick in their history, following ones from Nkufo and Neagle, and a special occasion for Estrada. He said, “It was unbelievable,” and was “thankful” for his teammates that are there to support one another.
The Sounders will now host the Houston Dynamo on Friday 03/23/12, which can be seen on NBC Sports. The CenturyLink crowd will be hoping to see more goals from the in form man, but I guess any other goal scorers will do.
(image courtesy of Getty Images)
