Sounders FC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC
MLS Regular Season
Friday, October 10; 7 pm PT; CenturyLink Field
TV/Radio: NBC Sports Network; KIRO Radio 97.3 FM; ESPN Deportes Radio, 1490 AM (Spanish)
Sounders FC hosts Vancouver Whitecaps FC with CenturyLink Field opened to full capacity for the Cascadia Cup clash on Friday. Here are three key matchups for Seattle if it hopes to take back the Cascadia Cup and keep its hold on the top spot in the Supporters’ Shield standings.
Seattle’s three-pronged attack vs. Vancouver’s defensive road woes
Nobody has been able to slow Seattle’s attacking duo of Obafemi Martins and Clint Dempsey in the last two months, and now Lamar Neagle has joined the fray, too. In the last eight matches, that triumvirate has combined for 12 goals and 12 assists while Sounders FC has gone 6-2-0. In that span, Dempsey has scored or assisted in every match, Neagle is on a six-match point streak and Martins has posted four braces. Meanwhile, Vancouver is winless in its last nine road matches (0-4-5) and has allowed 14 goals in that span. In the past three matches away from BC Place, the Whitecaps defense has allowed seven goals and lost all three matches.
Pedro Morales vs. Osvaldo Alonso
With all of Seattle’s attacking brilliance, Alonso’s dominance in the midfield has been overshadowed. Now with another big challenge ahead, he will be charged with limiting the possession of Morales, who has 10 goals and 10 assists to lead Vancouver in both categories. The Chilean Designated Player has two assists against Seattle this season and has been a catalyst to success for the Whitecaps. In the 13 matches that he has registered a goal or an assist, Vancouver is 8-1-4.
Southsiders vs. Over 50,000 screaming Sounders fans
The Emerald City Supporters will lead the stadium in songs and chants throughout the match, as they do each match at CenturyLink Field. When the crowds grow larger, as it will with Seattle’s home stadium opened to full capacity on Friday, so grows the intensity and passion of ECS. The results translate on the field, too, as Sounders FC has gone 11-0-3 when attendance exceeds 40,000 and 9-0-1 when there are over 50,000 at CenturyLink Field. Vancouver’s Southsiders do well to support the Whitecaps, but have the deck stacked against them on Friday.
