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Sounders-Chivas USA Preview

Aug 13, 2010 - 10:24 PM By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer

Seattle (8-8-4) at Chivas USA (5-10-3), 11:00 p.m. EDT

A franchise-record winning streak is a big reason why the Seattle Sounders have turned their season around. Fredy Montero's impressive scoring run is another.

The forward will try to keep the Sounders rolling when they visit CD Chivas USA on Saturday night.

Seattle (8-8-4) was beaten 2-1 at Los Angeles on July 4, losing for the seventh time in 11 games as it began to fall toward the bottom of the Western Conference. The Sounders, though, bounced back by tying Dallas 1-all on July 11 before winning a team-record four in a row, outscoring opponents 6-1.

The hot streak has moved Seattle into fourth place in the West, two points back of Dallas for third.

Montero's production has been key. The forward leads the team with eight goals and his nine assists are second in MLS, two back of Los Angeles' Landon Donovan.

"In Colombia, I was the top scorer twice, and I'd like to be on that path again playing here," Montero said.

Most of his production has come recently. Montero has collected five goals and six assists in nine games, getting at least one of either in each game for the longest such active streak in the league. He had a goal and an assist in a 2-0 win over Houston on Sunday.

"I think Fredy can still get better. But right now, we're seeing a very, very good Fredy Montero," coach Sigi Schmid said. "If he's not the best forward in the league right now, he's as good as any forward in the league. Edson Buddle has been banging away goals for the (Los Angeles) Galaxy, but right now, Fredy has found a really fine form."

Montero, though, hasn't found the net on 10 shots in three games against Chivas USA (5-10-3), one of them a 1-0 loss in the most recent meeting at The Home Depot Center on June 6, 2009.

Chivas is at the bottom of the West, two points behind seventh-place Houston. The club had its four-game unbeaten streak come to an end last Saturday, falling 2-1 at Toronto.

Chivas may have suffered an even greater blow when it learned that goalkeeper Dan Kennedy was lost for the season with an biceps tear sustained during the game.

Kennedy, who has a 1.14 goals-against average in seven games, will undergo surgery. He had started three contests in a row since Zach Thornton suffered an ankle injury in a 2-0 win at Kansas CIty on July 10.

Fortunately for Chivas, Thornton is expected to return in net Saturday. The 2009 MLS goalkeeper of the year shut out Montero and Seattle in all three meetings in 2009, accumulating 11 saves as Chivas went 2-0-1. Both victories came at The Home Depot Center.

"It's been about four weeks since my high-ankle sprain," Thornton told the club's official website. "I'm ready to go. I feel good."