In an exhibition match against Chivas U.S.A. of Major League Soccer, the Seattle Sounders took an early lead thanks to a goal by Sebastien Le Toux, but eventually fell to the MLS side 3-1 in front of 5,599 fans at Qwest Field on Saturday.

The match marked the return of ex-Sounders Makyel Galindo and Preston Burpo to Seattle; both were members of the Sounders’ 2005 USL First Division championship. Galindo, in just 45 minutes of play, wowed the Seattle crowd with a wonderful goal and a number of dazzling scoring opportunities.

After a slow opening to the match, the Sounders struck in the 12th minute. Midfielder Leighton O'Brien drew a foul in the middle of the field and took a quick free kick before the Chivas U.S.A. defense could get organized.

Le Toux ran onto the pass in the penalty box and kicked a short-range volley past Burpo for the 1-0 lead.

Just moments later, however, the Sounders saw their lead disappear. A bad bounce resulted in a hand-ball by defender Zach Scott within his own penalty box, giving a penalty kick for the MLS side.

In the 14th minute, Claudio Suarez, one of the most decorated Mexican national team defenders, took the penalty kick and calmly played it past Seattle goalkeeper Chris Eylander for the equalizer.

Later in the first half the MLS side found the net again. In the 27th minute, forward Matt Taylor passed it to Galindo for the breakaway opportunity. The former Sounder showed no reservations against his former teammates and calmly slotted a shot past Eylander for the 2-1 lead.

Danny Jackson nearly found the equalizer for Seattle in the 33rd minute. The defender-turned-midfielder made a couple nifty moves in the box but fired a hard shot well over the crossbar from about 12 yards out.

Towards the end of an exciting first half, Galindo nearly added an assist to his tally in the 42nd minute. The forward’s cross found Rodrigo Lopez in front of the net for the goal, but the play was called back for offsides.

A couple minutes later, a long-distance Galindo shot deflected off the fingertips of a diving Eylander and hammered off the crossbar. It would be Galindo’s last play of the night, as Chivas U.S.A. coach Preki didn’t want to exhaust his leading scorer.

In the second half, Chivas U.S.A. extended its lead to 3-1. In the 57th minute, midfielder Francisco Mendoza made a run at the Sounder defense. He then played a pass to John Cunliffe, who fired a hard shot along the left side past Eylander for the goal.

The Sounders made numerous substitutions in the second half, including those to Jackson and Scott, who have each played every minute of USL-1 play this season. Seattle, however, was unable to find another goal for the remainder of the match.

As compensation for signing Galindo last season, Chivas U.S.A. agreed to come to Seattle for a friendly match with the Sounders – much like they did last year for the Burpo signing.

Chivas U.S.A. was without the service of forward Ante Razov, midfielders Jesse Marsch and Sacha Kljestan, and defender Jonathan Bornstein, who all competed in the U.S. national team’s international friendly against China. U.S. national team goalkeeper Brad Guzan made the trip to Seattle, but did not enter the game.

The Sounders are 1-3 in exhibition matches against MLS club teams in the last three seasons. Earlier this year, Seattle lost 3-2 to Eddie Johnson and the Kansas City Wizards. In 2006, the Sounders lost to Chivas U.S.A. 1-0.

Next week the Sounders get back to USL First Division play. They will travel to the East Coast for away matches against Charleston

Scoring summary—1, Seattle, Le Toux (O’Brien) 12:00; 2, Chivas U.S.A., Suarez (pk) 14:00. 3, Chivas U.S.A., Galindo (Taylor) 27:00; 4, Chivas U.S.A., Cunliffe (Mendoza) 57:00.

Lineups—SEA: Eylander, Merl, Besagno, Scott (West 79), Jackson (Tomlinson 61), Sakuda, O’Brien, Gardner (Rivera 69), Levesque (Treschuk 74), Le Toux (Schmid 69), Howes. CHV: Burpo, Barrera (Vaughn 46), Suarez (Zotinca 46), Thomas (Hernandez 41), Perez, Nagamura, Lopez, Mendoza (Solorzano 78), Cunliffe, Galindo (Hamilton 46), Taylor.

Shots—SEA: 7; CHV: 10
Saves—SEA: Eylander 3; CHV: Burpo 1
Fouls—SEA: 18; CHV: 12
Offsides—SEA: 5; CHV: 2
Corners—SEA: 2; CHV: 2

Cautions—SEA: Besagno 18, O’Brien 44; CHV: Mendoza 66.

Ejections—None.

Attendance—5,599.