The Seattle Sounders are on top of the table again. And Sebastien LeToux is

on top for the first time.

LeToux scored three goals on Thursday night -- the first hat trick this

season by a Sounder -- and Andre Schmid tallied his first goal of the year

as Seattle rolled to a 4-0 win against the California Victory at Qwest

Field.

The Sounders boosted their record to 15-6-6 and 51 points heading into

Sunday’s regular-season finale at Minnesota (3 p.m. PDT).. A win against the

Thunder, which would be the first in three tries for Seattle this summer,

would clinch first place regardless of what happens to Montreal (14-5-8, 50

point) in its finale at Rochester on Saturday, or to Portland (14-5-8, 50)

in its closer at Vancouver on Sunday.

LeToux’ three goals give him 10 for the season, deadlocked with Montreal’s

Charles Gbeke for first place in that department. Rochester’s Hamel Diallo

has nine goals.

Seattle, coming off an emotional 2-1 overtime loss to FC Dallas of MLS on

Tuesday in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals at Qwest, needed just 5 œ minutes to

get on the board against California, which was shut out for the sixth

straight game.

Josh Gardner, playing about 45 yards up from the goal on the left wing side,

sent a long ball across the field, where LeToux ran onto it just inside the

top of he penalty area. LeToux ripped a shot that deflected off the hand of

Victory goalkeeper Eric Reed and bounced into the back left corner.

LeToux made it 2-0 at 23:08. Roger Levesque, playing inside the box with his

back to the goal, sent the ball out toward the left side where LeToux rushed

up to it, and from 10 yards up floated it over Reed into the back left

corner.

The French forward completed the hat trick at 60:02. Going one on one

against Reed, LeToux’ first shot was saved by the California keeper. But

Reed wasn’t able to gain control of the ball, and before he could find his

footing again, both the ball and LeToux got behind him, leaving LeToux wide

open for a sharp-angle shot from the left six of the six-yard box that found

the center of the net.

Schmid made it 4-0 at 65:13 when Kenji Treschuk sent a ball across the box

to Schmid, who ripped a 12-yarder from the right side into the goal.

LeToux nearly had a goal near the end of the 11th minute. With Reed playing

way off his line, LeToux fired at a wide-open net. Reed had no chance to get

back in time, but one of his defenders did and cleared the ball away an

instant before it would have bounced into the net.

California, despite its last-place status and goal-scoring drought (now at

589 minutes, dating back to a 2-1 victory at Minnesota on July 26), wasn’t

without its dangerous chances during the first half. Sounders goalkeeper

Chris Eylander had to come up with three saves, stopping Mike Munoz midway

through the eighth minute and again near the end of the ninth, then grabbing

a hard shot that Hugo Casillas took from the top of the box in the 33rd.

Eylander was on the way to his 13th shutout of the season, but wound up

getting a rare breather in this one. Eylander came out in the 69th minute,

as backup Ben Dragavon got a chance for some playing time. Dragavon did his

part to preserve the clean sheet when he dove toward the post to stop a

California free kick in the 87th minute.

Because he didn’t play the full game, Eylander remains with 12 shutouts, one

behind Portland’s Josh Wicks.

The Sounders will open the playoffs on the road late next week at an

opponent yet to be determined. The second game of the two-game total-goals

series will be at Qwest Field on Sunday, Sept 16 at 6 p.m.

Sounders 4, Victory 0

First half -- 1, Sea: Sebastien LeToux, from Josh Gardner, 6th minute; 2,

Sea: LeToux, from Roger Levesque, 24th.

Second half -- 3, Sea: LeToux, from Levesque, 61st; 4, Sea: Andre Schmid,

from Kenji Treschuk, 66th.

Shots -- Cal 15, Sea 17. Saves -- Cal (Eric Reed) 5, Sea (Chris Eylander,

Ben Dragavon) 7. Corner kicks -- Cal 2, Sea 4. Offsides -- Cal 0, Sea 2.

Fouls -- Cal 12, Sea 14. Cautions -- Cal: Josh Tudela, 14th minute; Yuri

Morales, 56th. Sea: Treschuk, 28th minute; Craig Tomlinson, 82nd. Attendance

-- 2,501.