Vancouver.
That's really all I want to write about this match right now. Between helping a friend clean his house for a move, watching the Mariners be generally awful (COME ON MILLWOOD, SUCK A LITTLE LONGER SO WE CAN CUT YOU!) and the Thunder marching along through the playoffs (THANK YOU FOR WINNING ONE LAKERS), not to mention preparing myself for this little road trip up into enemy territory that I'm making today, I'm a bit tired. So there aren't any lineups. Expect something close to full strength minus Leo Gonzalez, Brad Evans, and Michael Gspurning.
Vancouver should be similar, though they did play in their four-team Canadian championship tournament on Wednesday, tieing 1-1 on a stoppage time strike from Hassli (remember him?).Speaking of which, today will be Seattle's first look at the new BC Place (which, contrary to what seems to be popular opinion around the league, is no more "soccer specific" than Centurylink is).
Some of us may take this game for granted. It'll be a glorified home game (sounds like Seattle will be invading Canada again this year) and our guys finally got a full week off. Sounds easy right?
Wrong.
Vancouver's defense has been pretty darn stingy in it's own right this season, and while they haven't scored in the expected bunches, Hassli is clearly beginning to heat up. And Seattle knows what a hot Hassli is like. Frankly, if the Sounders win this one, it'll be their best win of the season.
Here's hoping Montero responds to this game the way he did to Cascadia matches last year, with a pair of braces. It's been a while since they've lost on the road as well. Cascadia Cup defense starts now. Here's hoping for another sweep.