CSS' first Sounders match article! With the opportunity provided by the PNW experience doubleheader, CSS is presenting its first match recap article for the Sounders match against the Portland Timbers on August 29th! The Sounders comes into this match going undefeated in its last 5 matches, and in its last match coming back to beat the Columbus Crew with goals in the 88th and 89th minute. Not only that, but the Sounders are coming off three road victories within the span of a single week, something that hasn't been done in the past decade. All of that leads into a huge large matchup against the Timbers, who are 1 win, 2 draws, and 2 losses in their last five matches and the opportunity to add more points and draw further away from Sporting Kansas City.
Last weeks recap: Last match against Columbus was the first time that the Sounders would play the Crew since losing to them in the 2020 MLS cup final in ugly fashion. In front of 19,401 fans in Columbus, Ohio, Seattle would pull off a comeback that saw all three of the matches goals take place after the 75th minute. Bradley Wright-Phillips put a goal away in the 77th minute, spurring the Columbus crowd on to eventually chant "F*** Seattle," but it would be the Sounders who got the last laugh. Xavier Arreaga would score in the 88th minute to equalize, and Will Bruin would put the dagger in the home crowds heart with an 89th goal that would give Seattle three points and silence Columbus. That win would put Seattle at the top of the Western conference once again with 12 wins, 6 draws, and 3 losses to the tune of 42 points. As previously mentioned, adding three more would help to widen the gap between second and first place.
Starting lineup:
Goalkeeper: Stefan Cleveland would step back into goal for this match against Portland at home, a face Sounders fans have come to know and love. Stef holds down the fort as it seems Stefan Frei is somewhat nearing a return, which would could possibly see by mid-September
Backline: The defensive backline consists of Xavier Arreaga, Brad Smith, Shane O'neill, and Yeimar for this weeks matchup against the Timbers. They look to put up their first shutout of Portland this year, having allowed 1 goal in the first match this year and 2 in the second match.
Midfield: The Sounders five midfielders for this match would be Joao Paulo, Cristian Roldan, Alex Roldan, Kelyn Rowe, and captain Nicolas Lodeiro.
Congratulations to Cristian for being called up to the US national team for the World cup qualifiers!
Attacking front: Raul Ruidiaz would be the lone attacker up front for the Sounders.
Congratulations to Raul for being called up to the Peru national team for the World cup qualifiers!
Bench: The bench unit would consist of Nouhou, Fredy Montero, Will Bruin, Spencer Richey, Nicolas Benezet, Danny Leyva, Josh Atencio, AB Cissoko, and Jimmy Medranda!
The Sounders tifo reads "Bonfires are in our blood"
First half: The match started out with two quick fouls in the 2nd and 3rd minutes. Portland would come out on the attack with an edge to them, putting a great shot on goal but an even better save from Stef Cleveland keeps the Timbers off the scoreboard. In the 8th minute, Portland's Eryk Williamson suffers a gruesome non-contact knee injury and had to be stretchered off. Hoping the best for Williamson. In this first half, there were only a handful, if that, of real chances that had the potential to actually equal a goal. The rest of the attacking opportunities in this opening half weren't dangerous. The story that I wanted to keep an eye on, was what sort of energy would we see in this match after those two quick fouls to start the match off. In the 43rd minute, Nico Lodeiro was taken down from behind, resulting in a yellow card for Josecarlos Van Rankin of the Timbers. This card would draw the ire of the Portland players and HC Giovanni Savarese, and Savarese would manage to get a yellow card as well. Two yellow cards for Portland in the span of two minutes. The half would come to a close, with a 0-0 draw.
Halftime adjustments and notable moments: This was a half that really did not feature many dangerous opportunities for either team, as mentioned in the first half recap. Statistically, Portland is dominating this game, leading in every stat except for shots on goal, passing accuracy, and clearances. This game just got a bit chippy towards the end of the half here, so now it will be something to watch to see how these teams come out of the half and what adjustments are made in order to put goals in the back of the net. Seattle would benefit from getting wider more often, as their chances when they did space the field were far better than everything else that they have tried. The backline has done it's job in this game, but offensively the one shot on goal will not get things done, and will need to change in the second half. I would not be surprised to see Will Bruin and or Fredy Montero brought on in the second half.
Second half: The half would start off with a flurry of chances created by Brad Smith, but bald Brad would not be able to find anyone on the receiving end of his crosses in order to put away a goal. In the 52nd minute, Joao Paulo would fire off a rocket that would ricochet off of the cross bar, close but not quiet there. The Sounders offensive momentum would continue as Raul Ruidiaz would whip a great cross to Alex Roldan on the other side of the field, but that cross would be completely whiffed at by Alex. As my friend in the press box Javier pointed out, not being able to capitalize on opportunities will almost always not end well, and in the 57th that would ring even more true as Stef Cleveland comes off of his line too far, and Portland's Sebastian Blanco would take advantage, scoring his 2nd goal of the season and putting the Timbers up 1-0. Three minutes after that, the Sounders would get a string of three crosses: The first would be a header goal barely punched away by Steve Clark in goal for Portland, the second another rocket by Joao Paulo saved away, and the third and final cross being headed but just rolling to the side of the net and out of bounds. As this match continued, the Sounders would time and time again get corner kick after corner kick but were not able to find a teammate that was able to get a shot past Portland's Steve Clark. In the 85th minute, Raul Ruidiaz would get off an amazing shot, but it would be saved off of the right hand of Steve Clark in a diving effort. Clark simply refused to concede a goal. In the 94th minute, Portland would get a counter attack and catch Stef Cleveland too far off of his line, with the Timbers' Felipe Mora recording the goal to put Portland up 2-0.
Sounders substitutions in this match:
73rd minute: Brad Smith, Shane O'Neill, and Alex Roldan off for Nicolas Benezet, Jimmy Medranda, and Fredy Montero
87th minute: Kelyn Rowe comes off for Will Bruin
Post-match thoughts: After a 6-goal performance by the Sounders in the last match against Portland, they simply could not capitalize off of the chances that they were creating. They got corner after corner, but they could not put one into the back of the net against this 9th place Timbers club. It would be a case of quality over quantity, as Portland would record 10 shots on goal, only 2 on target, and they scored those 2 on target. The Sounders had 16 shots in total, and 5 of them on goal but were not able to put anything away. Seattle had a whopping 12 corners to Portland's 2. Portland made the chances that they had count, while Seattle was left wondering how they couldn't put even one away after putting 6 in the back of the net in the last contest against their Portland rival. Obviously this is only one match, but it is a disappointing result in front of 45,737 and during this first ever PNW Experience doubleheader. A tough loss after an outstanding last week on the road. Portland now jumps to 6th place in the West, while Seattle stays at #1.
Player of the game:
Sounders player of the game: None
Charles' player of the game: F Raul Ruidiaz 2 shots, 2 on target, 94.7 pass percentage.
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