SEATTLE, WASH. - Two goals from forward Clint Dempsey and a third tally from midfielder Cristian Roldan propelled Seattle Sounders FC (9-12-3, 30 points) to an emphatic 3-1 victory over bitter rival Portland Timbers (8-10-8, 32 points) in front of 53,302 fans at CenturyLink Field and a national television audience on Sunday evening. Unbeaten over its past four MLS matches (3-0-1) under Interim Head Coach Brian Schmetzer, Sounders FC has earned three consecutive victories, propelling the club to within two points of the postseason position currently occupied by Portland in the race for the 2016 MLS Cup Playoffs.
Following a hard-fought first 45 minutes of action fraught with missed chances on both sides, Seattle took the lead in the 61st minute of play, as Roldan won a penalty with a slaloming run into Portland's area before being fouled by Vytas Andriuskevicius. Dempsey stepped to the spot to take the ensuing penalty-kick, burying his opportunity in the back of Jake Gleeson's net to give the home side a 1-0 lead. For Dempsey, the goal was his seventh tally of the 2016 MLS campaign.
Dempsey netted his second goal of the night for Seattle in the 80th minute to place a vice grip on the match, receiving a pass from Roldan before comfortably slotting a smooth shot past Gleeson at the Portland netminder's far post. With his eighth goal of the season, Dempsey is now tied with Jordan Morris for the team lead in scoring. Dempsey also has eight goals versus the Timbers in seven matches. This mark stands alone as the most goals scored by a Sounders FC player versus any single MLS opponent.
Three minutes later, it was Roldan who once again impacted the match, this time adding a goal of his own to seal the victory off of a Nico Lodeiro corner-kick. Sounders FC captain Brad Evans provided a header to the back post, with Roldan converting the glancing ball with a header of his own to make the score-line 3-0. Roldan now has two goals and two assists in his last four games, while Lodeiro registered his fourth assist in as many games since signing with Seattle on July 27.
While Portland captured a consolation goal through substitute Fanendo Adi in stoppage-time, the home side had secured its victory in the second matchup of the season between the two Cascadia clubs, with a third and final contest looming on the horizon next Sunday.
The Rave Green now prepare for two road matches inside of a week, with Schmetzer's side traveling to face the Houston Dynamo at BBVA Compass Stadium on Wednesday, August 24 (6:00 p.m. PT / JOEtv, ROOT SPORTS, 770 KTTH, El Rey 1360 AM). Seattle then prepares for its last regular season matchup against the Timbers on Sunday, August 28 at Providence Park. Kickoff for that contest is slated for 2:00 p.m. PT, with ESPN televising the match nationally, and KIRO Radio 97.3 FM and El Rey 1360 AM providing regional radio coverage.
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 3 - Portland Timbers 1
Sunday, August 21, 2016
Venue: Xbox Pitch at CenturyLink Field
Referee: Alan Kelly
Assistants: Adam Wienckowski, Kyle Atkins
Fourth Official: Kyle Atkins
Attendance: 53,302
Weather: Partly cloudy and 71 degrees
SCORING SUMMARY
SEA - Clint Dempsey (penalty) 61'
SEA - Clint Dempsey (Cristian Roldan) 80'
SEA - Cristian Roldan (Brad Evans, Nico Lodeiro) 83'
POR - Fanendo Adi (Alvas Powell) 90'+3'
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
SEA - Andreas Ivanschitz (caution) 37'
SEA - Joevin Jones (caution) 40'
POR - Diego Chara (caution) 42'
SEA - Nico Lodeiro (caution) 84'
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC - Stefan Frei; Tyrone Mears, Brad Evans - captain, Chad Marshall, Joevin Jones; Osvaldo Alonso, Cristian Roldan, Nico Lodeiro, Clint Dempsey, Andreas Ivanschitz (Erik Friberg 71'); Jordan Morris (Oalex Anderson 89')
Substitutes: Tyler Miller, Alvaro Fernandez, Herculez Gomez, Zach Scott, Nelson Valdez
Total shots: 17 (Dempsey, 6)
Shots on goal: 6 (Dempsey/Roldan, 2)
Fouls: 8 (Alonso, 2)
Offside: 1 (Roldan, 1)
Corner-kicks: 6 (Ivanschitz, 4)
Saves: 5 (Frei, 5)
Portland Timbers - Jake Gleeson; Alvas Powell, Steven Taylor, Liam Ridgewell - captain, Vytas; Diego Chara, Jack Jewsbury (Ned Grabavoy 81'), Diego Valeri, Darlington Nagbe, Lucas Melano (Fanendo Adi 72'); Jack McInerney (Jack Barmby 78')
Substitutes not used: Chris Konopka, Amobi Okugo, Taylor Peay, Jermaine Taylor
Total shots: 16 (Valeri, 6)
Shots on goal: 6 (McInerney, 3)
Fouls: 14 (Vytas, 4)
Offside: 0
Corner-kicks: 3 (Jewsbury, 2)
Saves: 2 (Gleeson, 2)
MATCH NOTES
- After the 3-1 victory, Sounders FC improved to 9-12-3 in the 2016 MLS regular season. With 30 points, the Rave Green currently occupy eighth place in the Western Conference and sit two points below Portland for the sixth and final postseason spot.
- Seattle is now 8-4-4 in league play against the Timbers since 2011, including an unbeaten mark of 6-0-2 at CenturyLink Field. Across all competitions and iterations since 1975, Seattle holds a 48-34-12 advantage over Portland.
- In front of a season-high crowd of 53,302 Sunday evening, Sounders FC jumped to a 13-2-2 record with home crowds above 50,000.
- Interim Head Coach Brian Schmetzer has posted an unblemished 3-0-1 mark since taking over the managerial role on July 26. In those four matches, the Rave Green have trailed for just seven minutes and have outscored opponents 9-4. Schmetzer deployed the same starting XI for the third consecutive match.
- Clint Dempsey scored two goals on Sunday evening, giving him eight goals versus the Timbers in seven matches. This mark stands alone as the most goals scored by a Sounders FC player versus any single MLS opponent. Dempsey is now tied with Jordan Morris for the team-lead with eight goals in 2016.
- Goalkeeper Stefan Frei passed Kasey Keller for the most career saves for the Rave Green. Frei's tally of 273 saves surpasses Keller's previous record of 270.
