One year after Vancouver Whitecaps FC hoisted the Cascadia Cup at CenturyLink Field with a 1-0 victory, Sounders FC returned the favor Saturday night at BC Place.
And in doing so, the Rave Green also picked up a massive road win and climbed to within three points of the Supporters’ Shield-leading Whitecaps with four games remaining. The Sounders are now five points ahead of the seventh-place San Jose Earthquakes, who lost 3-2 to New York City FC.
Saturday night’s 3-0 victory was a momentous occasion for Andreas Ivanschitz, who scored the opening goal while making his first start for Seattle. Last week in San Jose, Ivanschitz entered the match as a substitute and set up the tying goal. Gonzalo Pineda also netted his first goal of the season on Saturday, curving a shot off the post and into the net for his first non-penalty kick goal as a Sounder.
With the win, Seattle captured its first Cascadia Cup title since 2011. Here’s what Head Coach Sigi Schmid and his players said about the result after the game.
Sigi Schmid:
“Today was a good victory for us. I hope we will gather some momentum and use that momentum as we move forward and keep gathering points to move up the standings as high as we can…Having played a really good first half, building on that first half is something that we need to do. Getting a win on the road, showing that we can beat the No. 1 team in the West – everything is still within our grasp. It’s just a matter of getting into the playoffs and then doing what we need to from there.”
Andreas Ivanschitz:
“It was awesome, not only for me but also because we won against a very good team. Three points on the road, that’s great for us. I’m very happy to score my first goal for the Sounders. That feels great for me. …I was very motivated. Of course, you have to do your best. You have to go out and give your best, and that is what I did. I was a bit nervous, but I was well prepared and my teammates helped me a lot.”
Zach Scott:
“You really want to be playing your best at the end of the season. For all the ups and downs we went through in the middle part of the season, this is really the right time to be peaking. It feels like if we can stay healthy, we are going to be playing our best soccer.”
