By BILL SWARTZ
Sports Anchor
710 ESPN/97.3 KIRO FM

710 ESPN/97.3 KIRO FM sports anchor Bill Swartz traveled to Honduras with the Sounders FC to cover the team's CONCACAF champions league soccer match on Thursday.

They deserved at least a tie, maybe a victory.

Seattle Sounders FC come away from their first CONCACAF Champions League match terribly disappointed with a 2-1 loss to Marathon of Honduras.

I draw some optimism from the way the guys played.

On a very muggy night in San Pedro Sula Olympic Stadium, Sounders FC grabbed an early lead thanks to a steal by Fredy Montero, excellent cross to Blaise Nkufo and back heel pass to Roger Levesque, who right-footed it past goalie Shane Orio. But the Seattle lead was a false one. According to coach Sigi Schmid, his team didn't come out with enough energy in the first 20 minutes and wound up giving a "soft" goal back to the Honduran club.

Defender James Riley was left to cover three players on the left wing, Orvin Paz dribbled to the top of the box and beat Kasey Keller with a solid strike for a 1-1 tie. The Sounders seemed to regroup and play a better brand of soccer from that point on. But luck was NOT on their side Thursday night in Central America.

In the closing minutes of the half, Marathon chipped the ball to the right corner where defender Tyrone Marshall tried to clear it, but the Marathon forward jumped ahead of him for a first touch on the ball. Marshall's momentum took him into the opposing player's leg, and he tumbled to the Bermuda grass. Referee Juan Carlos Guerra of Guatemala awarded a penalty kick. Nicolas Cardoza beat Keller with a shot top center and Marathon grabbed a lead they would never relinquish.

Seattle showed enormous determination in the second half and were unlucky not to tie or win. On a corner kick from Nate Sturgis, rookie Michael Seamon headed a ball off the cross bar. Late in the match, Montero found himself with a loose ball in the box and wheeled with a shot which missed the corner by inches. Seamon was taken down in the box by a Marathon defender, but referee Guerra said play on.

A few things you should know about this Sounders FC team from my three days up close with them. These are quality young men. They're engaging, approachable and hard workers. They knew this was a huge opportunity in a legitimate tournament to prove Seattle is among the best teams in the hemisphere. Their next opportunity in CONCACAF is this Wednesday night at home against Monterrey of Mexico. It will be a very challenging match. They have more road trips back to Costa Rica and Monterrey in September.

Ownership is very invested in its players and the team. Proof was springing for a charter flight directly to Honduras and quality accommodations. A big thanks to Owner/General Manager Adrian Hanauer for inviting us along to cover the training, the match, and get to know the players and coaches better.

Hats off to radio engineer Lloyd Glazer for getting a hook-up to the U.S. He spent most of Thursday negotiating with stadium managers and Marathon radio owners about rights fees for a phone line that didn't sync up with normal radio equipment. Newstalk 97.3 KIRO FM/710 ESPN Seattle was the only station with someone in San Pedro to cover the match. Fox Soccer Channel does not send it's announcers on the road. They call the game from a studio in Los Angeles. Thom Beuning did a solid job with the play-by-play as did Pete Fewing with the color commentary. They had to observe the field through iron bars, which made them look like they were broadcasting in a jail cell!

Final observations about Honduras: Yes, it's still a third world country hit by economic hardships, political turmoil, and no clear direction for the future. However, San Pedro Sula is becoming a more modern city with a welcoming attitude towards outsiders. Unfortunately, we didn't get to visit the outer islands, including the beautiful resorts on Roatan. That would be big fun for another soccer trip another time.

This time, I was in soccer nirvana. I had many great conversations with Schmid and his players and Seattle soccer legends Alan Hinton, Jimmy Gabriel, Fewing and others. Seattle is blessed to have such a right soccer tradition, and a solid future with Sounders FC.