August 26, 2022 – Major League Soccer (MLS) – Seattle Sounders FC News Release
Seattle Sounders FC vs. Portland Timbers
(Seattle Sounders FC)
PORTLAND, OREGON – Seattle Sounders FC (10-14-3, 33 points) dropped a narrow 2-1 defeat to the Portland Timbers (8-8-12, 36 points) on Friday evening in a Cascadia Cup matchup at Providence Park. With the loss, Seattle remains three points adrift of the MLS Cup Playoffs with seven matches remaining in the regular season. Meanwhile, Portland claims its first Cascadia Cup since 2017 with the win, capturing the regional trophy from Sounders FC, who had held it since 2018.
Seattle got the early goal, scoring in the eighth minute courtesy of Yeimar Gómez Andrade. After a short corner was taken by captain Nico Lodeiro, the ball found the feet of Alex Roldan, who played a looping cross into the box. Yeimar met the ball with his head right in front of goal to bag the set-piece strike. It was Yeimar’s fourth goal in MLS regular-season play since joining the squad in 2020, as well as Roldan’s 12th regular-season assist.
Portland leveled the match in the 41st minute on a penalty. After Portland drew a foul inside the area, Dairon Asprilla sent Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei the wrong way to level the game before halftime.
The hosts then took the lead in the 51st minute, scoring off a free kick that was knocked around inside the 18-yard-box before finding the feet of Sebastián Blanco. Despite several close chances in the remainder of the second half, Seattle was unable to find an equalizer, as the match ended a 2-1 win for the home team.
Following Friday’s matchup in Oregon, Sounders FC faces a quick turnaround as it travels across the country to Florida to take on Orlando City SC on Wednesday, August 31 (4:30 p.m. PT / FOX 13, Prime Video, 93.3 KJR FM, El Rey 1360 AM).
MATCH NOTES
With today’s result, Sounders FC remains below the line in the race for the 2022 MLS Cup Playoffs. Including Seattle, six teams are separated by four points or less between sixth and 11th place in the Western Conference.
Tonight’s result in Portland clinches the Cascadia Cup for the Timbers for the first time since 2017. The Rave Green have claimed the last three Cascadia titles, an annual competition between Major League Soccer’s three Pacific Northwest clubs (including Vancouver Whitecaps FC).
Dating back to 1975 and the first match between these two rivals in the North American Soccer League, today’s contest at Providence Park marked the 116th…
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