Findley misses PK as RSL, Seattle battle to draw

Soccer Betting Lines

09/10/2010 - Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Salt Lake and Seattle Sounders FC battled to a scoreless draw in Major League Soccer action in front of over 36,000 fans at Qwest Field on Thursday night.

RSL (12-4-8) moves into a tie with Columbus and Los Angeles atop the league's overall table with 44 points, although it has played one more game than the other two.

Seattle (9-9-6) solidified its spot in the middle of the Western table with the draw, and looks to be in the driver's seat as far as advancing to the postseason as a wild-card team.

The game, which was the 29th-straight sell-out for Seattle, was the first for RSL at Qwest Field since winning the MLS Cup there last season.

The game, while fast-paced, featured very few clear-cut scoring opportunities for either team. Seattle goalkeeper Kasey Keller and RSL goalkeeper Kyle Reynish - starting for the injured Nick Rimando - combined for just five saves in the game.

The biggest save was credited to Keller when he denied RSL striker Robbie Findley on a penalty kick just after the half-hour mark.

Findley earned a penalty when Seattle defender Jeff Parke lost his footing on the edge of the penalty area with the U.S. international driving toward him. Parke then stuck out his knee and took down Findley, but he wasted the ensuing PK by firing right at Keller.

It was the first missed PK for RSL since May of 2008 at the club's old venue, Rice-Eccles Stadium, vs. San Jose.

Seattle midfielder Steve Zakuani had his team's best chance in the 53rd minute when he sped past a number of defenders into the RSL penalty area, but Kyle Reynish anticipated well and jumped off his line to grab the ball before the speedy winger could get off a shot.

RSL had another chance after the hour mark, but Andy Williams' left-footed shot from about 20 yards was saved by Keller.

Seattle will aim to get back into the win column when it travels to Columbus on Sept. 18, while RSL hosts Chicago earlier the same day in its next MLS fixture.

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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