Seattle drops 2-1 result to Portland in heated Cascadia Cup contest

SEATTLE, WASH. - Despite advantages in shots, shots on target, duels won and possession, Seattle Sounders FC (10-6-5, 35 points) fell 2-1 to the Portland Timbers (8-8-4, 28 points) on Sunday night in primetime action at CenturyLink Field. Sounders FC is now 11-11-6 all-time in MLS play (including postseason) against the Timbers. Dating back to 1975, the two sides have met 106 times across all competitions, with Seattle holding a 52-40-14 advantage. 50,072 fans attended tonight's match at CenturyLink Field, the highest single-game attendance figure in MLS this week, besting Atlanta's 44,405 against D.C. United tonight and 42,557 against Houston on Wednesday.

Portland drew first blood in the contest, with new frontline addition Brian Fernandez jumping on a loose ball that careened off Seattle's crossbar in the 20^th minute. Fullback Jorge Moreira took the initial shot on the play, with Fernandez pouncing on the opportunity in front of an open net after Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei leapt in attempting to make the initial save. For Fernandez, the strike was his seventh tally of 2019 since the Argentine forward joined Portland from Liga MX side Necaxa in May.

Seattle broke the deadlock in the 50^th minute, as a Román Torres long ball was misplayed by Moreira, allowing Raúl Ruidíaz to run onto the errant ball, with the Peruvian calmly converting past an onrushing Steve Clark. Recently representing his national team in Copa America, Ruidíaz continues his sensational form for the Rave Green, securing his team-leading eighth goal of the campaign in just nine starts (11 matches played). Ruidíaz now has 21 goals in 28 appearances across all competitions since coming to Seattle last summer.

Fernandez got his second of the night in the 51^st minute, making a darting near-post run and slotting a shot past Frei just moments after Seattle's equalizer. Including the June 12 in the fourth round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, Fernandez now has four goals against Sounders FC in his first two matches versus the club.

After three home matches in the past week - including Wednesday's international friendly versus Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund - Sounders FC heads back on the road for a Western Conference clash with the Houston Dynamo on Saturday, July 27. Kickoff for that contest is slated for 5:00 p.m. PT, with JOEtv providing broadcast coverage throughout Western Washington, and YouTube TV carrying the match regionally in Washington State. Local radio coverage is being provided by Sports Radio 950 KJR AM and El Rey 1360 AM.

MATCH NOTES

• With today's result, Sounders FC sits in third place in the Western Conference with 35 points (10-6-5), 11 points behind Supporters' Shield-leading LAFC. The club is now two points behind second-place LA Galaxy and one point ahead of fourth-place Minnesota United.
  
• Sounders FC is now 11-11-6 all-time in MLS play (including postseason) against the Timbers. Dating back to 1975, the two sides have met 106 times across all competitions, with Seattle holding a 52-40-14 advantage.
  
• 50,072 fans attended tonight's match at CenturyLink Field, the highest single-game attendance figure in MLS this week, besting Atlanta's 44,405 against D.C. United tonight and 42,557 against Houston on Wednesday.
  
• Sounders FC had its 13-game (11-0-2) regular-season home unbeaten streak snapped, which dated back to September 29 of last season. The streak was tied for the second-longest in club history and just one shy of the franchise record of 14 (10-0-4) set in 2013.
  
• Raúl Ruidíaz now has 21 goals in 28 appearances across all competitions since coming to Seattle last summer. He leads the club in goals this season with eight.
  
• Seattle now sits tied for first place with Vancouver (1-1-1) in the 2019 Cascadia Cup standings with four points (1-1-1), one point ahead of Portland (1-1-0). Sounders FC holds the first tiebreaker (head-to-head points) over Whitecaps FC. Two games remain in Cascadia Cup play, with Portland hosting Vancouver on August 10 and Seattle on August 23.

MATCH SUMMARY

Seattle Sounders FC 1 - Portland Timbers 2
Sunday, July 21, 2019

Venue: CenturyLink Field
Referee: Drew Fischer
Assistants: Jeremy Hanson, Matthew S. Nelson
Fourth Official: Alejandro Mariscal
VAR: Tim Ford
Attendance: 50,072
Weather: 81 degrees and mostly sunny

SCORING SUMMARY

POR - Brian Fernández 20'
SEA - Raúl Ruidíaz 50'
POR - Brian Fernández (Sebastián Blanco, Diego Valeri) 51'

MISCONDUCT SUMMARY

SEA - Kelvin Leerdam (caution) 66'
POR- Brian Fernández (caution) 82'
POR - Jorge Moreira (caution) 84'
POR - Diego Chara (caution) 90'+9'

LINEUPS & STATS

Seattle Sounders FC - Stefan Frei; Kelvin Leerdam (Saad Abdul-Salaam 72'), Román Torres, Kim Kee-hee, Brad Smith (Nouhou 87'); Gustav Svensson, Cristian Roldan; Jordan Morris, Nicolás Lodeiro, Harry Shipp (Joevin Jones 62'); Raúl Ruidíaz

Substitutes not used: Bryan Meredith, Xavier Arreaga, Jordy Delem, Danny Leyva

Total shots: 16 (Ruidíaz/Torres, 4)
Shots on goal: 8 (3 players, 2)
Fouls: 14 (5 players, 2)
Offside: 2 (Ruidíaz/Torres, 1)
Corner-kicks: 9 (Lodeiro, 9)
Saves: 3 (Frei, 3)                        

Portland Timbers - Steve Clark; Jorge Moreira, Larrys Mabiala, Julio Cascante, Jorge Villafana (Zarek Valentin 90'+2'); Diego Chara, Cristhian Paredes; Sebastián Blanco (Bill Tuiloma 90'+8'), Diego Valeri, Jeremy Ebobisse (Marvin Loría 75'); Brian Fernández

Substitutes not used: Kendall McIntosh, Andres Flores, Tomás Conechny, Dairon Asprilla

Total shots: 14 (Paredes/Ebobisse, 3)
Shots on goal: 5 (Fernández, 2)
Fouls: 12 (Moreira, 3)
Offside: 2 (Valeri/Fernández, 1)
Corner-kicks: 5 (Valeri, 5)
Saves: 7 (Clark, 7)