FULLTIME: The Seattle Sounders clinched a playoff spot for the 13th straight season, putting away the Vancouver Whitecaps with a 4-1 win on Saturday. The Sounders got goals from Shane O’Neill, Nicolas Benezet, Will Bruin and Leó Chú. Kelyn Rowe had three assists and Fredy Montero added two more.

SOUNDERS 4, WHITECAPS: Leó Chú opened his Sounders account with a beautiful goal off a feed from Fredy Montero in the 90th minute.

SOUNDERS 3, WHITECAPS 1: Will Bruin restored the Sounders’ two-goal lead, blasting a feed from Fredy Montero into the top corner in the 55th minute. Kelyn Rowe also picked up his third assist of the match.

SOUNDERS 2, WHITECAPS 1: After about 45 minutes of domination, the Sounders conceded a somewhat fluky goal after Brian White pounced on a rebound and hit it through a couple defenders to pull one back in first-half stoppage time.

SOUNDERS 2, WHITECAPS 0: Nicolas Benezet wasted no time adding a second, taking a feed from Will Bruin and smashing it through Thomas Hasal’s legs. Kelyn Rowe got a secondary assist on the play.

SOUNDERS 1, WHITECAPS 0: Shane O’Neill got his first goal of the season, hitting a header back across the goal from an absolutely perfect Kelyn Rowe cross. João Paulo was also credited with a secondary assist off the corner kick routine.

When the Seattle Sounders last faced the Vancouver Whitecaps, the two teams were at opposite ends of the standings. While the Sounders remain at the top, the Whitecaps have steadily risen.

Although still outside of playoff positioning, Vancouver are undeniably playing much better soccer these days. Since that last meeting the Whitecaps have lost just 2 of 18 games and are 6-1-2 over their past nine. That has them just one point behind Minnesota United for the final Western Conference playoff spot with seven matches left to play. They’re also just two points out of fifth with a game in hand.

The Whitecaps’ turnaround largely coincides with Designated Player Ryan Gauld’s addition and the subsequent improvement in form by Brian White. The Whitecaps are 6-1-4 with Gauld on the roster and are 4-1-1 in his six starts. With Gauld drawing so much of the defense’s attention, White has exploded with eight goals in the last nine games, including a hat trick in his last appearance.

The stakes aren’t quite as high for the Sounders, but they do need to win in order to both maintain their Western Conference lead and retain any hope of catching the New England Revolution in the Supporters’ Shield race.

Still, the Sounders are heavy favorites for good reason. The Whitecaps are just 1-4-8 on the road and haven’t won in Seattle since March 19, 2016. The Sounders are 7-0-2 against the Whitecaps at Lumen Field in the nine meetings since.

Notes

• The Sounders will clinch a playoff spot if they win or tie this game. It would mark the 13th consecutive season in which they have qualified for the postseason, an MLS record.
• The Sounders are riding a 10-game unbeaten run against the Whitecaps that dates to April 14, 2017.
• No two U.S. or Canadian teams have faced one another more often in their history than the Sounders and Whitecaps. This will be their 145th encounter all time, spanning three different leagues. Their first meeting was on June 7, 1974. The Sounders have gone 70-50-24 in those games.
• The Sounders are defending their fourth Cascadia Cup title of the MLS era. They are currently second in the standings.

Absences: Injury, international duty and suspension

Seattle

QUESTIONABLE: Benezet (L hip flexor strain)

OUT: Raul Ruidiaz (int’l duty), Xavier Arreaga (int’l duty), Nouhou (int’l duty), Cristian Roldan (int’l duty), Alex Roldan (int’l duty); Delem(R ACL tear); Lodeiro (R knee surgery); Morris (L ACL tear)

Vancouver

DOUBTFUL: Ranko Veselinović (right groin injury); Andy Rose (left calf strain)

QUESTIONABLE: Erik Godoy (right foot injury)

OUT: Maxime Crepeau (int’l duty), Lucas Cavallini (int’l duty), Javain Brown (int’l duty); Caio Alexandre (left foot, fifth metatarsal fracture);

SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: SEA: Yeimar Gomez Andrade, Raul Ruidiaz ... VAN: Cristian Dajome

Officials

REFEREE: Ted Unkel. AR1 (bench): Nick Uranga; AR2 (opposite): Peter Balciunas; 4th: Victor Rivas; VAR: Younes Marrakchi; AVAR: Jeremy Hanson

How to Watch

Match date/time: Oct. 9, 6:08 PM PT

Venue: Lumen Field, Seattle

Online Streaming: Amazon Prime (affiliate link, in-market), ESPN+ (affiliate link, out of market)

Local English TV: Fox13+ (Costigan, Keller, Zakuani)

Local Radio: 950 KJR-AM Seattle (Costigan, Keller, Zakuani)

Local Spanish Radio: El Rey 1360 AM (Rodriguez, Maqueda, Tapia)

Local Spanish TV: KUNS-TV Univision-Seattle

International TV:

China: China Sports Media

Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Spain: DAZN (Europe)

Latin America (ex. Brazil): ESPN Latin America

Southeast Asia & Oceania: beIN Sports

Sweden: C-More

United Kingdom & Ireland: Premier Sports

Lineups

Highlights will be posted as the match progresses.

This is Seattle Sounders vs. Whitecaps; watch with us

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