Forrest’s lone goal leads Sounders to Cup victory

TUKWILA — Making his Sounders FC debut, Kevin Forrest left the field as the game’s hero Tuesday night.

What the Edmonds-Woodway graduate didn’t know at the time is that he was close to never getting that chance.

Forrest, who has been on the roster since early in the season but had not yet suited up for a game, was in the starting lineup for Seattle in its U.S. Open Cup play-in game against Colorado, and in the 61st minute he headed home the game’s only score to give Seattle a 1-0 victory.

What he was unaware of, however, is that Sounders FC coach Sigi Schmid was getting a sub ready to go in for Forrest, who, by his own admission, wasn’t having a particularly good game.

“He ended up scoring a good goal,” Schmid said. “Unfortunately, I didn’t see the goal because I was busy trying to organize something and I was looking away from the play at the moment.”

Nine minutes later, Forrest walked off the field to an ovation from the 4,007 at Starfire Sports Complex, the unlikely hero of a game he had little impact on the game up to the goal.

“Yeah, to be honest there were nerves, and I was in a position I’m not that comfortable with,” said Forrest, a natural forward who played left midfield Tuesday. “To be honest I didn’t have that great of a game, but you just go out, and

Sigi always tells me it’s just thinking, thinking ahead, thinking at a faster pace, and that’s what I’m working on. It wasn’t a great game, but you just keep going, keep improving, keep working. It’s nice to contribute.”

The win moves Seattle into the field of 16 of the U.S. Open Cup, the country’s cup championship open to professional and amateur clubs. The USL Seattle Sounders reached the semifinals in each of the past two Open Cups. Seattle and Colorado played to a 2-2 tie in a regular season MLS game on Saturday.

Forrest’s goal was assisted by Roger Levesque, who flicked a Sanna Nyassi throw in with his head into the box.

“I think everyone on the field, including our entire team, was surprised that Sanna had a long throw,” said Levesque. “I’ve never seen it in practice before, but he stepped up, chucked it in the box, and I was standing at the right place at the right time, just trying to get anything I could on it to direct it to the goal.”

Short-handed in a few spots because of injuries, Seattle started four players that also started on Saturday: goalkeeper Kasey Keller, defender Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, midfielder Nathan Sturgis and forward Sabastien Le Toux. Colorado, on the other hand, used only one starter from Saturday’s game, midfielder Mehdi Ballouchy. Colorado’s starting goalkeeper Tuesday was Preston Burpo, who played for the USL Sounders from 1997 to 2005.

“It matters,” Schmid said of the Open Cup. “It’s been a while since I’ve been able to be in the U.S. Open Cup … But for us, starting starters was really out of necessity.”

Seattle had several other scoring chances — a mad scramble in front of the Colorado goal in the 13th minute, another couple of shots on goal in the 27th minute, and an impressive move to beat his defender and 30-yard laser by Nyassi in the 56th minute that Burpo had to make a nice save on — but could not break through until Forrest’s goal.

Chris Eylander, who started Seattle’s last Open Cup play-in game, is out with a knee injury, which forced Keller into action on what otherwise would have likely been a night off. He came through with a shutout, making four saves, none bigger than a diving stop on an 87th-minute blast by Colorado’s Michael Holody.

Forrest was drafted by Colorado out of the University of Washington in the first round of last year’s supplemental draft, but battled injuries and never played for the Rapids. He signed with Seattle in late March after Colorado opted not to sign him, but has not been on the 18-man squad that suits up for games. His father, Ward, played for UW and for the Sounders in the 1970s, and like his father, Kevin is battling to make it with this version of the Sounders.

“When my dad was on the Sounders, he was kind of a reserve type player, so I’m kind of in a similar spot to him,” he said. “He wasn’t really able to break through on the first team, and for me it’s just that challenge … I’ve just got to work and give it my best shot. If I’m good enough I’ll make it, and if I’m not I won’t.”