Finally, a huge 800-pound gorilla is off the shirts in rave green. It’s the first victory in two years for Sigi Schmid’s Seattle Sounders in league play over Bruce Arena’s Los Angeles Galaxy, as they cruised to a 2-0 victory at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Wash.

Eddie Johnson nearly had a chance in the 80^th minute but was called offsides, denying a corner. Mike Magee got challenged by Zach Scott in the air in the 82^nd minute, forcing a free kick for Landon Donovan. David Junior Lopes could not head the delivery in.

That was the microcosm of what has been a sorry night for the Galaxy, who have yet to gain a positive result on the road. A shot for Edson Buddle in the 86^th minute sailed wide left, and a shot from Mike Magee in the 90^th was high.

Seattle improve to 5-1-1 (16 points) while LA drop to 3-4-1 (10 points). A recap of the night’s action will be posted on Bleacher Report and the View from Victoria Street. Keep it right here on b/r for continuing coverage of the 2012 Major League Soccer season and all things World Football.

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75 minutes have passed between the Los Angeles Galaxy and Seattle Sounders, and it’s the home side on the cusp of something historic as they lead 2-0 at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Wash.

Mike Magee’s cold shooting streak continued with a miss in the 63^rd minute of play. In the 65^th minute, a Landon Donovan corner was cleared and had to fend off a counterattack from Seattle’s Mauro Rosales. Eddie Johnson was hoping to get a brace in the 66^th minute of play but was held up by David Junior Lopes.

Sean Franklin was hoping for some space in the 67^th minute of play but was held up by Osvaldo Alonso, who recovered from the knock he suffered in the 25^th minute. A vain attempt from Bryan Gaul in the 67^th minute was collected by Sounders backup goalkeeper Bryan Meredith. Marcelo Sarvas tried his luck in the 69^th minute but missed wide right.

For the Sounders, they are within touching distance and can sit on the advantage if they so wish. As for Los Angeles, time is running out to salvage a result and they need to hurry.

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Los Angeles Galaxy goalkeeper Bill Gaudette may curse the day Josh Saunders checked in for rehab, as he is facing a rave green firing squad in the form of Fredy Montero and Eddie Johnson. Goals from Montero and Johnson have paced the Seattle Sounders to a 2-0 lead over the Los Angeles Galaxy before 39,002 at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Wash.

Fredy Montero nearly made it a brace in the 54^th minute of play but was denied. In the 60^th minute, a free kick from Mauro Rosales bounced off the wall, forcing the Sounders to regroup. Bryan Mereditch made a save on Landon Donovan just after the hour mark.

Seattle are in full command of this match. If this result stands, it will be the first time in about two years that the Sounders have recorded a victory against the Galaxy in league play. Historically, the Sounders have had the Galaxy’s number in U.S. Open Cup play. That could change in several minutes.

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The rout may be on here at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Wash. The home team, Seattle Sounders FC are all business against a weakened Los Angeles Galaxy outfit. Fredy Montero has made it 2-0 Seattle in the 48^th minute of play.

A goalkeeper change was made for Seattle before the half: Bryan Meredith took over for starter Michael Gspurning. A sensational long-distance strike from Montero, 25 meters out, hit the top right corner to give the Sounders a 2-0 lead.

Eddie Johnson nearly made it 3-0 in the 50^th minute on a breakaway that had to be collected by Bill Gaudette off his line. Another chance from Johnson a minute later also missed.

It is clear that the LA Galaxy are a virtual shell of themselves from last season, and even with Edson Buddle being subbed in the 53^rd minute of play for Adam Cristman, this may look like a mountain too high to climb for the visitors.

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It’s halftime at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Wash. and a 40^th minute goal from Eddie Johnson has paced the Seattle Sounders to a 1-0 lead over a weakened Los Angeles Galaxy team.

Galaxy manager Bruce Arena elected to rest a number of his start players tonight and even though it took them all of 40 minutes, Seattle have taken advantage of the absence.

The Sounders have been testing Bill Gaudette, with four shots on goal compared to a goose egg for LA. Seattle have won 59 percent of their duels and their passing accuracy (79 percent to 69 percent) and ball possession numbers (56.5 percent to 43.5 percent) have been superior.

The scoreline does not tell the story: Seattle have dominated the first half of play by sending the house on what is essentially the Galaxy’s B team.

The silver lining for Los Angeles is that they are only down a goal and have time to make it a contest.

However, Sounders manager Sigi Schmid feels that his team could have done more in terms of building a comfortable lead, and that is going to be something to watch in the second half.

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Attack, attack, attack some more. That was the game plan suggested by former Seattle Sounders Kasey Keller. It took them 40 minutes, but, as called in the Bold Predictions, Seattle have scored first and are now ahead, 1-0 on the Los Angeles Galaxy.

In the 33^rd minute of play, a sequence from Seattle was halted by Marcelo Sarvas, who was cautioned for his challenge on Brad Evans. That triggered a free kick for Mauro Rosales in the 35^th minute, and Fredy Montero was denied by Bill Gaudette. The rebound was nullified due to Zach Scott being ruled offsides.

A header attempt for Adam Christman in the 36^th minute missed wide right. That was one of the few chances LA had on goal. Bryan Jordan nearly found someone in a white shirt in the 38^th minute, but the cross was cleared. Eddie Johnson was open on goal in the 40^th minute but took too much time to get a shot off.

However, Johnson was able to get the ball seconds later and convert on a chance from Rosales inside the box. It was his second goal in as many games.

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At the half-hour mark, there is no score between the LA Galaxy and Seattle Sounders at CenturyLink Field.

The Sounders continued to press in spite of being held at bay for the first fifteen minutes. Eddie Johnson nearly opened up the scoring in the 17^th minute off a Zach Scott delivery, but Galaxy goalkeeper Bill Gaudette was there to collect. Fredy Montero’s delivery for Johnson in the 19^th minute missed wide due to a lack of space.

Seatte’s Jhon Kennedy Hurtado had to clear a chance for Adam Cristman in the 20^th minute of play, forcing a corner. In the 22^nd minute, a Mauro Rosales corner was cleared. A minute later, Montero was stopped by Gaudette in acrobatic fashion. But this was a testament to the attack-oriented play Seattle had in store for the visitors.

Osvaldo Alonso got challenged by Landon Donovan and was a bit shaken up in the 25^th minute of play. In the 29^th minute, a free kick for Rosales was deflected to David Estrada, who was snakebitten and sailed his shot out of reach.

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At CenturyLink Field, it is scoreless between the LA Galaxy and Seattle Sounders.

With Bruce Arena employing a 5-2-3 formation, the undermanned Galaxy were forced to defend for their lives, resting Todd Dunivant, Robbie Keane, Edson Buddle (who was on the bench) and David Beckham. Early in the first half, Seattle took advantage, although they needed to adjust first.

Landon Donovan’s first attempt in the second minute never really threatened. In the sixth minute, a chance for Mauro Rosales nearly found Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, but Bill Gaudette was there to collect. A chance in the seventh minute for Donovan missed wide left after Marcelo Sarvas’s first shot was deflected.

In the 10^th minute, Montero tried his luck but was denied by Gaudette. A minute later, Eddie Johnson’s header sailed over the bar and out of play. Rosales couldn’t find Montero or David Estrada in the 13^th minute off the right side. Johnson tried to get open in the 15^th minute but was offsides.

It’s still early in the match, but Seattle are being held at bay by this Galaxy 5-2-3 and will need to adjust their attack a little more to open up the scoring.

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Sigi Schmid’s Seattle Sounders come into Wednesday night motivated to finally get a positive result against Bruce Arena’s Los Angeles Galaxy at CenturyLink Field in Seattle (kickoff: 7 p.m. PT/10:00 p.m. ET, KDOC and KWHY). With a record of 4-1-1, the Sounders are poised for an assault at the top of the MLS Western Conference standings.

“It's a big game for us,” Sounders goalkeeper Michael Gspurning told SoundersFC.com, according to ESPN’s Scott French. “Especially because L.A. is the champion. Wednesday is a big test for us. Everybody is 100 percent motivated -- maybe even a bit more.” 

Midfielder Mike Magee believes that Seattle is just one of a number of rivals that have popped up in the Galaxy’s 17-year history.

“I think we've developed a lot of rivalries in this league,” Magee said. “I wouldn't say it's one of the bigger ones -- not to the level of us and Chivas [USA] -- but we've definitely had some heated matches. Felt at times they've had some choice words for our team. That's a hard place to play. When we go there, they definitely step up their level.” 

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David Beckham may not be available to start for Bruce Arena’s Los Angeles Galaxy tonight against Sigi Schmid’s Seattle Sounders at CenturyLink Field (kickoff: 7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. ET, KDOC and KWHY). In spite of Beckham’s condition changing for the better and the Galaxy’s schedule lightening up a bit, the gauntlet of three games in one week was something on Arena’s mind.

“We’re taking it one game at a time this year with everything,” Arena stold MLSSoccer.com’s Luis Bueno. “We haven’t made any decisions [with] what’s going to happen over the season.

“We don’t know whether David will be selected for Great Britain’s Olympic team, so we don’t know a lot of those things that will play a role in how much he plays during the year and especially in the week where we have three games.”

The last time Beckham played three matches in eight days was during the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals against Toronto FC and the season opener with Real Salt Lake.

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The possibility of Bruce Arena’s Los Angeles Galaxy making it four in a row on the road against the Seattle Sounders is in the balance tonight at CenturyLink Field (kickoff: 7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. ET, KDOC and KWHY).

Despite the perceived home field advantage, Seattle has been good to Galaxy, who have been able to record positive results left and right.

"It's a game we enjoy," Galaxy captain Landon Donovan said this week to MLSSoccer.com’s Luis Bueno. "We enjoy playing there. The big crowd is daunting for a lot of teams but I think for us, it gives us a lot of energy and we really enjoy it." 

With Los Angeles near the bottom of the MLS Western Conference, the need to gain a positive result in the Pacific Northwest is very strong.

"We know they're a great team and we've got to be on our game," Galaxy defender Sean Franklin said. "We've kind off had their number the last couple of years, but every game is tough and it's a new year."

Los Angeles Galaxy goalkeeper Bill Gaudette was called in to take over for Josh Saunders, and in spite of surrendering a penalty kick that he failed to save, Gaudette impressed in his team debut, a 1-1 draw with FC Dallas at the Home Depot Center.

As for Gaudette, he elected to keep his feet firmly on the ground on Monday, according to LAGalaxy.com’s Larry Morgan.

“Just another game,” Gaudette said. “Nothing different from years past. You’re just excited to help the boys out. The guys in front of me did a great job. The boys are fighting and I’m doing what I can to help them. I’m happy to be part of it.”

Defender A.J. DeLaGarza was impressed by Gaudette’s skills in the eventual draw.

“We have three very good keepers (Saunders, Gaudette and Brian Perk),” DeLaGarza said. “Anyone who steps in is going to do a very good job for us.”