Independence Day Baby Sounder

Welcome to the world, Averi Nicole Bonnell, born this morning at 12:57am, to former Sounders Defender Niki (Ironside) Bonnell.  She weighed in at 7 lbs - 8 oz and measured 20.25 inches.  Congrats!

Soos Creek Sounders

Earlier this week, midfielder Kelsey Jenkins returned to Soos Creek Elementary in Kent, her old stomping grounds, to inspire and motivate students to achieve all that they can in life.

As my wife, former Sounders Defender, Niki Bonnell (taking the year off to have a baby girl this summer), teaches 6th grade at Soos Creek. I had a chance to interview some of the kids today.  Here is what they had to say:

Trystin: “She did one-thousand juggles when she was 12!”

Elizabeth: “The game in PE with three goals was fun!”

Eli: “Some of the players are out of college – she’s still in college and really good at soccer, even though she’s young!”

Upinder: “It was really cool to see demonstrations in the classroom of their skills!”

Brooke: “Kelsey used to go to Soos Creek!!!”

All-in-all, it was a great experience for every kid involved; each came away with a sense that they could achieve great heights with the right amount of effort and desire.

GOOD ON YOU KELSEY!

Also, kudos to Tacoma Tide defender, Brayton Knapp, who was also presenting to the students.

Read the full article of the visit at SoundersWomen.com: Tide and Sounders Women Shine Bright at Local School.

**of nonimportance, but of note nonetheless: the man writing this article, Raymond Bonnell, spent two years at Soos Creek Elementary himself, and his son currently attends the school!!!  GO SUPERSTARS!**

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to the ladies who redefine 'Soccer Mom':
Erin Redwine, Justi Baumgardt, and Niki (Ironside) Bonnell!

...and to all the other moms out there as well!

OSU Recap, Mini-Apple Cups, & TV

OSU RECAP
As a spectator, a 0:3 drubbing rarely leaves you with much positive thought. That being said, there was a lot to take from the match Sunday.

For one, our ladies created a lot of solid opportunities. Headers flew just inches over the bar and there were several shots on target, saved by the very capable OSU keeper.

Center-mid Tafara Pulse agreed with a positive outlook on the match, "Overall, we had some good possession, we had a couple good chances that we didn't finish. We just need to continue to work on our patience."

Oregon State brought their traditional physical game, a characteristic not foreign to the Sounders ladies with Pac-10 experience. It was great to see the girls' battle back against some rough play and loose officiating. Rather than flop & dive, our girls adapted to the situation and continued to attack and battle through some tough challenges.

Our girls got out of the battle with only some minor injuries. The most notable coming early in the second half when Outside Back Beth Drollinger left the game with an unknown injury. After some tending to by the training staff, she sat the remainder of the game but seemed to be in good spirits. I'll dig for an update on her condition.

Thursday night's matchup with the Huskies of Montlake will likely be another physical affair. The Huskies are wrapping up a Spring season that opened with a drab scoreless draw at home against SPU. That was a rather shocking result, considering the Huskies were coming off a competitive second round of the NCAA Tournament where they only fell after a competitive battle against the home-side and national powerhouse Portland Pilots.

MINI-APPLE CUPS:
There are a pair of Cougs roaming the Sounders Side who will have a spring in their step Thursday. Forward Brooke Bemis & keeper Katie Hultin. Hultin loves heated, physical games and can't wait for this matchup.

Former Sounder and Coug Defender, Niki (Ironside) Bonnell had this to say about facing the Dawgs as a Coug Alum:

"This is our Apple Cup. Anytime you get to face the Huskies, whether you're wearing the Crimson & Grey or Blue & White, you get up for the match. It's always going to be more meaningful; the rivalry runs deep inside of you. Elbows tend to swing a bit higher and the tackles are a bit more aggressive. It is always a really fun game."

TV:
The game will also be aired on Comcast On-Demand. Whether you can make it to Starfire Thursday night or not, be sure to check out the game on Comcast. Decent viewership will certainly lead to more televised games and will only be another step toward bringing Seattle a WPS side.