FULLTIME: The Portland Timbers ran their winning streak to four games against the Seattle Sounders for the first time ever, scoring a come-from-behind 4-1 win on Saturday. The Timbers’ first three goals came in a 10-minute stretch before which the Sounders had comfortably controlled most of the match.

The Sounders had taken the lead on a well-taken Raúl Ruidíaz shot and had a couple very good opportunities to extend their lead. But after Héber replaced Léo Chú and the Sounders shifted into a 4-4-2, the momentum began to shift. Dairon Asprilla then brought the Timbers level with a bicycle kick goal in the 71st minute and it was all downhill from there.

TIMBERS 4, SOUNDERS 1: Juan Mosquera added an exclamation point, scoring on a counter off a shot from the edge of the box.

TIMBERS 3, SOUNDERS 1: Jaroslaw Niezgoda scored off a rebound in the 83rd minute. Frei failed to handle what looked like a relatively routine save, was able to stop the initial shot but was defenseless against Niezgoda.

TIMBERS 2, SOUNDERS 1: Nathan Fogaca got free on a counter and beat Stefan Frei.

TIMBERS 1, SOUNDERS 1: Dairon Apsrilla grabbed the equalizer in dramatic fashion, scoring on a bicycle kick in the 71st minute.

TIMBERS 0, SOUNDERS 1: Raúl Ruidíaz scored his 11th career goal against the Timbers, smoothly finishing a well-placed cutback pass from Obed Vargas, who had been played in by Nicolas Lodeiro. It was Vargas’ first MLS assist.

LINEUPS: Cristian Roldan was a surprising scratch from Saturday’s lineup after it was revealed that he had been placed in concussion protocol. Raúl Ruidíaz effectively took his place in the lineup with Jordan Morris sliding over to right midfielder. The other changes in the lineup are Obed Vargas and João Paulo replacing the injured Josh Atencio and Albert Rusnák.

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Rarely has their been a match in this rivalry with the Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers heading in such opposite directions. The Sounders sit atop the Western Conference on 16 points and a +12 goal-difference, while the Timbers are 12th and riding a six-game winless run.

The Sounders should be close to full health. The Timbers just found out that they’ve lost Eryk Williamson for the year, joining the likes of Sebastian Blanco, Felipe Mora and Yimmi Chara on the list of players who have been declared out for this match.

Those statistics are in direct opposition to the way this rivalry has been going. The Timbers come in riding a three-game winning streak after sweeping the series last year. The last time the Sounders beat the Timbers was on Aug. 15, 2021, a 6-2 win at Providence Park.

Notes

• Gio Savarese has an 8-5-1 record against the Sounders, the most wins of any opposing coach against Seattle in that time.
• Raúl Ruidíaz has scored 10 all-time goals against the Timbers — including the playoffs — the most of any player in the history of MLS era of the rivalry. Fredy Montero has nine all-time goals against the Timbers, two of which came while he was with the Whitecaps.

• The Sounders and Timbers have combined for 67 goals scored (34 by the Sounders) in their meetings at Providence Park. That’s the most of any fixture in MLS since the Timbers joined the league in 2011.
• The Timbers have only taken 55 shots this season, 10 fewer than any other team that has played at least seven games this season.
• After their 3-0 win over St. Louis City, the Sounders have outscored their first seven opponents 15-3. No team in MLS history has scored that many goals while allowing that few during the first seven games of a season and only two teams have posted a better goal-difference (LAFC +16 in 2019 and Kansas City +13 in 2000).
• Aljaz Ivacic made eight saves in last week’s 1-0 loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps. That’s the most saves any goalkeeper has made since the start of last season.
• Nicolás Lodeiro now leads MLS with 74 assists since making his Sounders debut in 2016 and his 114 total goal contributions are second most in that time (Carlos Vela has 119).

Absences: Injury, international duty and suspension

Portland

OUT: Felipe Mora (L knee), Sebastian Blanco (L knee), Yimmi Chara (R hamstring), David Bingham (L hamstring), Eryk Williamson (R knee)

Seattle

QUESTIONABLE: Josh Atencio: (Right Adductor Strain); Albert Rusnák (Right Heel Pain); Dylan Teves (Right Hamstring Strain)

Officials

Referee: Drew Fischer; Assistant Referees: Kathryn Nesbitt, Jeremy Hanson; Fourth Official: Alex Chilowicz; VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero; AVAR: TJ Zablocki

How to Watch

Match date/kickoff time: Saturday, 7:39 PM

Venue: Providence Park, Portland

Global Streaming English: MLS Season Pass (Taylor Twellman & Jake Zivin)

Global Streaming Spanish: MLS Season Pass (Sergio Ruiz & Mariano Trujillo)

Local Radio: 93.3 KJR-FM Seattle, iHeartMedia (Danny Jackson & Steve Zakuani)

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

Is this game available to stream for free? N

Will Sounders radio be available as an alternate feed? N

Lineups

Highlights will be posted as the match progresses.

This is Seattle Sounders at Timbers; watch with us

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