Sounders fall 2-1 in first Cascadia Cup match of the year

In the most bittersweet way, Seattle fell to their Canadian rivals 2-1 at BC Place. Both goals came from former Sounder and Rave Green all-time leader in goals and assists, Fredy Montero. He just slipped away from defenders twice in the box to head it past Stefan Frei, breaking Seattle hearts. To add insult to injury, Mauro Rosales subbed on in the 87th minute just to enjoy beating his former side with Montero.

Will Bruin and Roldan were dangerous late, and Bruin found the net in the 89th minute from a low cross by Lodeiro. Roldan also had a great header that was only cleared as far as Lodeiro, who got to the touchline for the cross. After falling behind 2-0, Seattle kept going but were unable to find the net a second time to equalize. They did come very close right at the death when a Wingo header found Bruin’s foot, but Kendall Waston blocked it right before the whistle blew for full time.

Until the 88th minute, the Sounders had two glaring problems in this match: they weren’t able to mark Montero on crosses, and they just couldn’t finish. Outside of two great shots by Dempsey, one from about 35 yards out in the first half that careened off the crossbar and a second from 25 yards out in the dying minutes that smashed the post, Seattle was lacking in front of goal.

Vancouver’s defense was not great most of the night, requiring some excellent saves from Ousted, but the Rave Green offense didn’t do too much to trouble them.

For most of the match Fredy disappeared, but as we know Montero can do, he appears and scores when he is needed the most and that’s what he did. It wasn’t all rainbows and lollipops for the Colombian; he picked up a yellow for taking out Harry Shipp with a harsh tackle at midfield.

Compared to the second half the first half was a bit lazy, but it was nonetheless a similar story of Seattle dominating for stretches and then falling short in front of goal. The Sounders were significantly better in the first 20-25 than they were in the final 20 minutes. Through the first 45, the Sounders racked up almost 60% of possession.

Sounders picked up two cards, the first for Lodeiro after he delayed a restart in the 37th minute. Shipp got the second one in the 44th minute after being beat by Alphonso Davies and pulling him down to stop his attacking the Seattle backline. It was a good time for a tactical foul, and the subsequent free kick from 35 yards out only led to a poor Waston header over the goal.

Seattle’s best chances came early on with plenty of crosses being peppered in by Jones, but most were cleared or resulted in one of Seattle’s nine corners (seven in the second half). The best shot came from Dempsey, when he smashed it with a simple flick from 35 yards out, David Villa-esque, but it pinged off the crossbar.

Vancouver earned their first yellow card in the 26th, when Sheanon Williams kicked Roldan just minutes after knocking over Lodeiro. Nothing too dangerous, but a card nonetheless.

The Whitecaps’ best chance of the first half came in the 34th minute via Fredy Montero, when he created space by pushing off Fisher at the PK spot and trying to get a shot by Marshall that flew wide. They had a couple great crosses from Techera after he got plenty of space on the left wing, with him once finding Bolanos at the PK spot for a poor header and another finding Davies, who hit a great half volley but sent it 30 rows into the stands.