There are a few ways you can look at the Seattle Sounders' 2-2 tie with the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday. Either you can be satisfied that, despite playing their worst game of the season, they pulled out a point on the road against a Cascadia Cup opponent. Or you can focus on the reality that the defense looked downright awful at times and that the team with a week of rest looked much less energetic than the one who was playing its seventh match in 23 days.
Both are perfectly valid ways to see this game, and maybe both deserve equal attention.
On the one hand, the Sounders showed some real guts. Fredy Montero's 90th minute equalizer was their first late goal of the season. Admittedly, they haven't really needed them much, as this was just the fourth time all year they've headed into the final 10 minutes of a game in which a goal would sway the outcome. Still, it's always nice to see they still have those kind of heroics in them.
The whole second half, in fact, was really a gut check. Unlike the other games in which they were either tied or trailing at halftime, the Sounders were absolutely played off the pitch in the first 45. It may be overstating it to say they dominated the second half, but their offense generated a ton of chances. If not for Joe Cannon making several very good saves, we could actually be talking about the Sounders stealing three points.
But we can't just ignore what happened in the first half. The defense was repeatedly caught out of position, the centerbacks were repeatedly beaten by a high line and the midfield was just getting dominated. Hopefully, lessons were learned.
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Goals by Period |
1 |
2 |
Tot |
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Seattle Sounders FC |
0 |
2 |
2 |
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Vancouver Whitecaps FC |
1 |
1 |
2 |
Scoring Summary:
VAN - Alain Rochat (Omar Salgado) 12'
SEA - Eddie Johnson (Mauro Rosales, Fredy Montero) 47'
VAN - Camilo 83'
SEA - Fredy Montero (Eddie Johnson) 90'
Seattle Sounders FC - Bryan Meredith, Adam Johansson, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Marc Burch (Zach Scott 85), Mauro Rosales, Osvaldo Alonso, Alex Caskey (Andy Rose 46), Alvaro Fernandez (David Estrada 72), Fredy Montero, Eddie Johnson.
Substitutes Not Used: Andrew Weber, Roger Levesque, Sammy Ochoa, Cordell Cato.
TOTAL SHOTS: 11 (Montero 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Montero 4); FOULS: 13 (Johansson 4); OFFSIDE: 0; CORNER KICKS: 6 (Rosales 6); SAVES: 0.
Vancouver Whitecaps FC - Joe Cannon, Lee Young-Pyo, Martin Bonjour, Jay DeMerit, Alain Rochat, Gershon Koffie, Jun Marques Davidson, Davide Chiumiento (Camilo 80), Sebastien Le Toux, Darren Mattocks (Eric Hassli 64), Omar Salgado (John Thorrington 74).
Substitutes Not Used: Jordan Harvey, Etienne Barbara, Matt Watson, Brad Knighton.
TOTAL SHOTS: 11 (Mattocks 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 2 (Camilo, Rochat 1); FOULS: 10 (Davidson 4); OFFSIDE: 2 (Mattocks, Salgado 1); CORNER KICKS: 2 (Chiumiento 2); SAVES: 3 (Cannon 3).
Misconduct Summary:
VAN - Gershon Koffie (caution) 84'
VAN - Camilo (caution)
Referee: Frank Stott
Referee's Assistants: Frank Anderson, Brian Poeschel
4th Official: Yader Reyes
Attendance: 21,000
Time of Game: 1:53
Weather: Partly cloudy and 59 degrees
All statistics contained in this boxscore are unofficial
SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC
Sigi Schmid - Head Coach
(Thoughts on the match)
"In the first half we didn't do a good job against the central part of their midfield. Davidson was free a lot to orchestrate it and they were constantly playing three against two. What we did at halftime is we dropped Montero into the hole a little bit to deal with Davidson and played more of a 4-3-2-1 to match up with that. Also, the guys I think were a little more honest. I think we cheated a little bit defensively in the first half and that gave them opportunities. In the second half we did a better job of that."
(On it being a tight match)
"We almost had one there with Zach Scott at the very end. Obviously when they went up 2-1 they thought they pretty much had it and Fredy Montero scored a great goal off Eddie Johnson's flick, and then Zach had a good look at that header. We were fortunate a little bit that Mattocks didn't have a good day finishing because he had some good opportunities. These are what big games are all about and I think it was a great game for the fans."
(On the derby with Whitecaps FC)
"These games (Cascadia Cup) are very emotional games and the home team gets there crowd behind them and sometimes maybe [the home team] goes a little more forward. If you leave a little bit of space Montero can exploit that. I'm happy he got that one today.
Fredy Montero
(On his goal)
"It was headed to me by Eddie Johnson. I just faked one and tried to put the ball in the far post. I was looking to score that goal earlier. At the end of the game I had my chance and I scored."
(On Joe Cannon)
"I've faced Joe Cannon a few times before. I think I scored two here before. At the end of the game I got the opportunity to score really far from the goalie. He was out of the box, so I like to do that."
(On the Cascadia derby)
"It's always good to have a goal in those kind of games. I'm really happy about that because it's always good to get points away. Obviously we'll want to do better for the next game."
(On the match)
"We know we are better than we showed the first half and in the second we got the opportunity to tie the game."
(On Whitecaps FC)
"It doesn't matter what kind of player they have out there, it's always the game you want to win because of the rivalry between Seattle, Portland and Vancouver. It's good for us to tie here and hopefully when they come to Seattle we can get the victory."
(On the second half of the match)
"Goals change the games and we got the opportunity to score really early in the second half. It was the beginning for us to start to play better."
(On the atmosphere)
"It is a long trip for fans and it's always good to go back home with a victory or [not to] lose the game. Hopefully we did the best we can and it was a good point for us. It's always good to have that support. As a player we feel really proud of the team and our fans and just want to do the best we can on the field."
Mauro Rosales
(Thoughts on playing Whitecaps FC)
"I think they're a very good team now. They've grown as a team and they're showing that they're on a good level. They have many good players plus a fantastic stadium that they have. All the fans coming to support them. Whitecaps in their second year already they show that they are in the MLS for something and they're working towards it. It's very good for the league. Personally, I enjoy to play here and to play this kind of a game. It was a battle to the last minute and I think for people who like football this is one of the best rivalries for fans to support."
(Thoughts on the match)
"In the second half we dominated, but in the first half they dominated. We could've scored in the second half late in the game, but I think we've been in many situations trying to score at least one and we had a good game. We need to keep going like this. We were playing away, and they're a very good team so I think it's a good point to take in the last five minutes."
Eddie Johnson
(On the match)
"It was good. In my career I was fortunate to play in a couple derbies, some big games. I knew the importance of the game. In these games you try not to get caught up in the rivalry so much and just try and relax and play your game. I thought the first half was really difficult and they came out with a better mentality. We were a bit flat. They were able to score early in the game. I thought we made some adjustments at halftime and we came out better in the second half. We were fortunate to fight through the second half and get two goals and come out of here with something."
(On playing against Jay DeMerit)
"I've had a chance to play with Jay on the national team and when he was at Watford I used to play against him when I was in England. I know Jay is a physical guy, I knew he was going to be physical today. I know he doesn't like running out of the width of his 18-yard box so if I stayed more central it was going to be tough. I was just trying to work from around the pitch today and I thought he battled great and he was hard to play against. In these games its not pretty soccer all the time, it's about when you get your opportunities and try to capitalize on them because you don't get that many, especially in a big rivalry like this. Credit to our team we showed a lot of character."
(On earning a late draw)
"We could have gone either one of two ways and we went the right way. We didn't' give up, we didn't put our head down, we didn't start moaning and pointing fingers. The most important thing is we know we're a team that can create opportunities and we believed in our abilities. Credit to Fredy on the last goal, it was a pretty special individual play by him."
(On his goal)
"It was one of those goals with good buildup. Whenever the ball goes out wide to Mauro it was just trying to get in the box between the two centre backs. I think for the first time tonight I was free on goal where I wasn't battling with the defenders. It was a well crossed ball, I think him and I are starting to develop a little partnership. Three of the goals I've had he's assisted on two of them. Whenever the ball gets out wide to Mauro we know he's a good passer of the ball and I was just trying to do what us forwards get paid to do, which is score goals when the ball comes in. I was very fortunate and blessed today to get on the end of one."
VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC
Martin Rennie - Head Coach
(Thoughts on the match)
"It was an exciting game for the fans. Both teams put a lot into the game. For us, it was one of the best performances of the season. We showed a lot of passion, hunger and quality at times, but it's a bit disappointing not to come out with a win. We probably had three one-on-one chances and didn't hit the target and that's disappointing at this level because that makes a big difference to the game. We also lost a goal in the 90th minute through poor defending. It was a fantastic strike by Montero. We played well enough to win the game today, but at the same time we made a bunch of technical breakdowns which cost us the win. This afternoon was a day to see how far we've come so far, especially against one the league's top teams."
(On Montero's goal)
"It was a cross from the right hand side, which we needed to stop. Second of all, Montero got between our defenders and that's criminal because there was no one on the further side for us to mark. We dived in a little at the edge of the box and he was clinical with his finish."
(On Darren Mattocks)
"I thought he was fantastic today with his movement. Obviously he has to improve on his finishing. He caused a lot of problems along with Omar on the other side. You have to give guys a chance to see if they're up to the level and those guys absolutely showed they are. They will be exciting top tier players for the Whitecaps over time and it's exciting for us to have them and it's also great for us to have Camillo and Hassli to come on. Darren is a pretty clinical finisher normally, but he has to continue working on his game. He will get goal scoring chances because of the pace of his play and his ability to hold the ball. Everything aside from the two missed chances was excellent. Perhaps he's a bit rusty, but it's probably the biggest game he's played in his life and I thought he handled it fantastically well."
Darren Mattocks
(On his scoring chances)
"Seattle's a very good team and a physical team. For myself to create so many chances is really good for the team. I think we're up there with the best teams in the league. We've just got to move forward from here and see what next week brings in Toronto."
(On coming back from his injury)
"I was excited and I gave my team a good start. This is my first start of the season, but give me a couple of games and I'll be firing on all cylinders."
Jay Demerit
(Thoughts on the match)
"Anytime you end a game in a draw, it feels like a loss. That's the best we've played all season and it's a great thing to build on. If we play like that every week then I think we'll come off on the winning end a lot more than other times. It was kind of a bittersweet game. We still got a point and that's a positive. It's better than losing the game, but when you tie games like that, it hurts a little bit more, so hopefully it'll give us some fire heading into the next game."
(On the teams' rivalry)
"This is what it's all about. These Cascadia Cup games are really important for the teams, but also for the fans. I really enjoyed the atmosphere down to the battle. We had a couple of chances to finish the game and we didn't do that, but those are great learning experiences. It's good to have that at the beginning of the season. We look forward to the next one"
Alain Rochat
(Thoughts on the match)
"In BC Place, we don't fear anyone. No matter who's coming, we try to play our game and continue to focus on winning. We were close to a big win this afternoon, but we have a lot more games to play."
(On his goal)
"I was surprised to go through everyone. I was looking for an option, but it was open for me to go straight to the goal so I didn't hesitate."
Davide Chiumiento
(Thoughts on the match)
"I thought it was a good game and maybe one of the best from our side. Against Toronto, I don't think we played a great game, but today after the game, I think we played our best game. For our fans and people that came to the game, I think they saw an exciting game. "
(Thoughts on his play)
"Maybe it's my fault, but I have to understand that fouls here are different than in Europe. A couple of referees need time to blow the whistle. Sometimes I thought I was fouled, but if they don't want to give it, it's ok."