It’s Rivalry Week! After earning its first road win of the season on April 12, Sounders FC returns home to face the Portland Timbers, its I-5 nemesis to the south, in the club’s first 2015 Cascadia Cup clash. Sunday’s match is the first of three fixtures between the two sides, including two at CenturyLink Field. To little surprise, Seattle-Portland was ranked as the top rivalry in MLS by MLSsoccer.com fan voting in March.
Will Sunday’s match live up to its top-billing rivalry? History says it will. Before we jump into the matchup preview, let’s look at some other noteworthy musings regarding the Rave Green.
Seasonal Sizzles
Sounders FC currently sits in fourth place in the Western Conference with 10 points (3-2-1), but has at least one game in hand on each of the three teams ranked ahead of it. With nine goals scored and five allowed, Seattle ranks first in the conference and second overall with a plus-four differential. The Sounders are one of only five clubs to have a win in at least 50 percent of its matches.
Obafemi Martins is tied for second in MLS with four goals, while Clint Dempsey is tied for second with three assists. Martins and Dempsey are currently the only players in MLS to average at least 0.80 goals per 90 minutes among players who have appeared in three matches.
Last Week’s Listings
Saturday’s match against the Rapids featured a lot of shots. A LOT of shots. In fact, the 3-1 Sounders win featured 44 shot attempts – 27 for Colorado and 17 for Seattle – which set a new club record. Colorado’s 27 shots eclipsed the previous club opponent record of 26. Sounders FC has registered at least nine shots on goal in consecutive matches for the first time in club history.
Specifically, Lamar Neagle displayed a top performance for the second straight match. His two first-half goals resulted in the third multi-goal game of his career. In addition, his five shots on goal catapulted him to the team-lead. After not registering a single attempt in the first four matches, Neagle is now one of six players in MLS with 10 shots on goal. He became the first player in club history to have five shots on goal in two consecutive fixtures. With the brace, Neagle moved into third all-time in franchise history for goals with 24, passing Eddie Johnson’s 23.
Stefan Frei accounted for eight saves against the Rapids, the most saves he’s had in a Sounders kit. Previously, he reached that mark with Toronto FC on two occasions.
Matchup Mashup
Next up, Sounders FC faces the Portland Timbers. The Timbers started the 2015 season with three draws and a loss, before claiming victory in two of its last three matches. Most recently, Portland shut out New York City FC 1-0 at Providence Park.
Sounders FC is 5-2-4 in the regular season against Portland, and have never lost to the Timbers at home (3-0-2). Last season, Seattle won the series 2-0-1, earning results in high-scoring 4-4, 2-0 and 4-2 scorelines. Despite Seattle’s apparent success against their Cascadian counterparts, Sounders FC has never beaten Portland in its first matchup of the season (0-1-3).
Throwback
In the three matches between the two sides in 2014, there were 16 combined goals. Although the lowest scoring of these affairs was a 2-0 Seattle win on July 13, it contained a statistical anomaly.
In the first half, Seattle had 0 shots on goal. It was one of five times during the season the Sounders had zero shots on goal in a half. However, Seattle made up for it in the second half.
The home side raided the net with a barrage of opportunities in the second half. By the end of the 45-minute period, Seattle had nine shots on goal, tying the club record for most shots on goal in a half. To be held to zero shots on goal in one half, then tie a franchise record with nine in the second half against your bitter rival is a storyline tailor-made for Seattle-Portland. Never doubt what can happen when these two teams take the pitch.
Key(s) to the Game
Get Clint Dempsey involved. Dempsey is the only player in the league to score three goals and tally three assists this season, and has done so in just four matches. The U.S. National Team captain has scored a goal or added an assist in each of his league appearances so far.
In addition, Dempsey has had immense success against the Timbers. He is the all-time series leader with five goals, including a hat trick last April. If the Sounders want to open Cascadia Cup action with one win and three points, it all starts with Deuce.
