SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC vs VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC
CENTURYLINK FIELD, Seattle, Wash.
Oct. 10, 2014 (WEEK 31, MLS Game #296)
7 p.m. PT (NBCSN; TSN)
A critical match in the hopes of both teams sets up the final Cascadia Cup match of the season as Seattle Sounders FC entertain Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Friday evening at CenturyLink Field. Sounders FC come into the match tied atop the MLS overall table with the LA Galaxy in their chase for the Supporters’ Shield, coming off a 4-1 win at the Colorado Rapids last weekend. Whitecaps FC enter the weekend two points out of fifth place and the final playoff position in the Western Conference, coming off a second consecutive win in a 2-0 defeat of FC Dallas last weekend at BC Place.
REFEREE: Jair Marrufo. AR1 (bench): Frank Anderson; AR2 (opposite): Jeff Hosking; 4th: Alejandro Mariscal
MLS Career: 172 games; FC/gm: 23.3; Y/gm: 2.8; R: 34; pens: 50
SUSPENDED: VAN: Sebastian Fernandez (caution accumulation; through Oct. 12)
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: SEA: Brad Evans … VAN: Jordan Harvey, Pedro Morales, Russell Teibert, Kendall Waston
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: SEA: Osvaldo Alonso, Lamar Neagle, Obafemi Martins, Gonzalo Pineda, Zach Scott, DeAndre Yedlin, Gonzalo Pineda … VAN: Gershon Koffie, Andy O’Brien, Mauro Rosales, Matias Laba, Steven Beitashour
DISABLED LIST: VAN: Caleb Clarke (season-ending injury)
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: SEA: DeAndre Yedlin (USA, vs. Ecuador, Oct. 10); Sean Okoli (U.S. U-23) … VAN: Carlyle Mitchell (Trinidad & Tobago; vs. Dominican Republic, Oct, 8; vs. Saint Lucia, Oct. 10; vs. Antigua and Barbuda, Oct. 12); Darren Mattocks (Jamaica, vs. Japan, Oct. 10); Christian Dean (U.S. U-23)
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (10 meetings): Sounders FC 3 wins, 15 goals … Whitecaps FC 3 wins, 16 goals … Ties 4
AT SEATTLE (4 meetings): Sounders FC 2 wins, 8 goals … Whitecaps FC 1 win, 8 goals … Ties 1
2014 (MLS)
5/24: VAN 2, SEA 2 (Hurtado 39; Koffie 66 – Barrett 36; Pineda 82)
7/5: VAN 1, SEA 0 (Fernandez 12)
• The teams are meeting for the third time this season. Sebastian Fernández scored the game’s lone goal to give Whitecaps FC the victory July 5 at BC Place; Gonzalo Pineda converted a late penalty kick to bring Sounders FC back for a 2-2 draw when the teams met May 24 at BC Place.
• After going the first six meetings between the clubs in MLS play winless, Whitecaps FC are undefeated in the last four meetings vs. their Cascadia rivals, with victories in three of those contests.
• The clubs have a rivalry dating back to 1974 in the old North American Soccer League, and continuing through the A-League and USL First Division. The clubs have met 134 times, with Seattle holding a 63-49-22 edge.
• Coaches record: Sigi Schmid v VAN: P10 W3 L3 T4 … Carl Robinson vs. SEA: P2 W1 L0 T1
LAST MEETING (MLS)
• The game's lone goal came in the 12th minute. Sebastian Fernandez collected a pass inside from Pedro Morales, took a touch then unleashed a blast from 30 yards that tailed past Sounders FC goalkeeper Stefan Frei and into the back of the net.
• Whitecaps FC goalkeeper David Ousted was called upon to make just two saves in keeping the clean sheet.
• VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC (4-2-3-1): David Ousted - Steven Beitashour, Johnny Leveron, Carlyle Mitchell, Jordan Harvey - Gershon Koffie, Matias Laba - Sebastian Fernandez (Russell Teibert 86), Pedro Morales (Christian Dean 90), Kekuta Manneh (Nigel Reo-Coker 68) - Erik Hurtado.
• SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC (4-4-2): Stefan Frei - Jalil Anibaba, Chad Marshall, Zach Scott, Leo Gonzalez (Aaron Kovar 86) - Lamar Neagle (Tristan Bowen 55), Brad Evans, Micheal Azira, Marco Pappa - Chad Barrett, Kenny Cooper (Cam Weaver 74).
SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC
Seattle Sounders FC won their second consecutive game in fine fashion, defeating the Colorado Rapids 4-1 on Saturday afternoon at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. Sounders FC are still tied for first place in the Western Conference and the MLS overall table with 60 points from 31 games.
LAST MATCH
• Sounders FC took the lead after just the 11th minute. Rapids center back Marvell Wynne was adjudged to have handled the ball in the box, and Clint Dempsey finished cheekily from the spot from the resulting penalty, chipping the attempt into the corner for the 1-0 lead.
• Sounders FC doubled the lead in the 28th minute. Osvaldo Alonso received a through ball from Marco Pappa in midfield and quickly turned before putting Obafemi Martins alone behind the Rapids back line, and he calmly finished from inside the box.
• The score was 3-0 from the best goal of the match in the 33rd minute. Marco Pappa and Dempsey linked up for a beauty, Dempsey’s delightful back heel set up a classy, patient finish from Pappa from the top of the box.
• The Rapids pulled a goal back two minutes before halftime. Deshorn Brown hammered home a simple finish off a floating deflection in the box to make the score 3-1. But Martins put the game away with his second goal in the 70th minute, tapping home from almost on the goal line after a terrific feed from Lamar Neagle.
• Sounders FC head coach Sigi Schmid made no changes to the team that came back for a 4-2 win against Chivas USA at CenturyLink Field.
• SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC (4-4-2): Stefan Frei - DeAndre Yedlin, Chad Marshall, Jalil Anibaba, Brad Evans - Lamar Neagle (Kenny Cooper 86), Micheal Azira, Osvaldo Alonso, Marco Pappa (Andy Rose 76) - Clint Dempsey, Obafemi Martins.
TEAM NEWS
• It was a second consecutive four-goal game for Sounders FC, the seventh time they’ve hit for four goals this season. They are second in MLS with 61 goals on the season, five behind the LA Galaxy.
• “I thought it was a good game for us. I thought we played well the first 35 minutes. I thought our counter was really dangerous,” said Sounders FC head coach Sigi Schmid. “We scored our goals and had some other chances along the way. In the second half I thought we were really professional about what we needed to do. We probably could have scored three or four in the second half and we did a good job of keeping them off the board.”
• Said Brad Evans: “It truly is going to be a battle until the end. Earlier in the season, we had a 10-point cushion. We knew that wasn’t going to be that easy, it’s never going to be that easy.”
• It was the most goals Sounders FC have scored in back-to-back games since last May 11-18, when they netted four goals in consecutive home wins vs. FC Dallas and San Jose.
• “We’ve been in first place for a while now and we didn’t want to give it up. We wanted to get the three points today,” Schmid said. “We’ve got 19 wins now and we want to keep going.”
• Said Marco Pappa: “It always helps with the confidence. Confidence is really important in soccer. We’re in first place and we’ve had good games. I hope we can continue like this and we can get stronger for the playoffs.”
• Obafemi Martins scored a pair of goals for a second consecutive match, his league-leading fifth multiple-goal game of the year. He has 17 goals this season, sitting in fourth place in the MLS Golden Boot standings.
• Martins has scored two goals in a game in four of his last eight contests, dating back to Aug. 24. He has nine goals in that stretch.
• Clint Dempsey recorded a goal and added an assist, the eighth consecutive game where he’s had a goal and/or an assist, the longest such streak in MLS this season. He has four goals and five assists in that span, dating back to Aug. 24.
• Marco Pappa also collected a goal and an assist, his first goal since Aug. 10. He has a goal and two assists over the last three matches.
• “We have great players with great technique. We played a combination and then when I was in front of the goalkeeper I decided to cut it because I’m not that good with my right foot,” Pappa said. “So I put it to my left foot and then I decided to chip it.”
VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC
Vancouver Whitecaps FC won their second consecutive match on their home ground, defeating FC Dallas 2-0 on Saturday afternoon at BC Place. Whitecaps FC sit in sixth place in the Western Conference with 43 points from 31 games.
LAST MATCH
• Whitecaps FC took the lead in the 14th minute. Mauro Rosales sent in a perfect delivery from the right and Sebastian Fernandez outjumped his marker and headed the ball high into the net for the opener.
• The pair combined again in the 18th minute to double the Vancouver lead. Rosales picked up a loose ball just inside the Dallas half and ran toward goal before playing in Fernandez on the left, and he buried a low shot past Dallas 'keeper Raul Fernandez to make it 2-0.
• Whitecaps FC head coach Carl Robinson made no changes to his team for a second consecutive match, keeping the group that came back for a 2-1 win against Real Salt Lake at BC Place.
• VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC (4-2-3-1): David Ousted - Steven Beitashour, Andy O'Brien, Kendall Waston, Jordan Harvey - Russell Teibert, Matias Laba - Mauro Rosales (Kekuta Manneh 82), Pedro Morales (Mehdi Ballouchy 89), Sebastian Fernandez - Erik Hurtado (Darren Mattocks 67).
TEAM NEWS
• Whitecaps FC took their second consecutive victory, following a two-game losing slide, their third win in a row overall at BC Place. It was their first consecutive wins in league play since May 3-10. They hit the road riding a three-game away losing streak and a nine-game winless run on their travels, since their last road win June 1 at Portland.
• “I said two games ago, we have five cup finals, and we have to take it one game at a time. We are running out of games, it is important that we respond appropriately the next upcoming games,” said Whitecaps FC head coach Carl Robinson. “We have two wins now, but we know we have a massive game against Seattle next Friday and those are the games you want to play in. They are big games, and obviously the Cascadia Cup is on the line and we want to win. We will go there full of confidence, but it will be a tough game.”
• Sebastian Fernández scored a pair of goals in a game for the first time in MLS, his first goals since July 5. He has 5 goals in 30 appearances this season.
• “He was a threat all game. His movement patterns and positional sense, getting into areas and causing problems for them was evident throughout the game. You guys will think it was his best game because he scored two goals but he has been playing like that regularly for me without the goals. Today the goals were a bonus,” said Robinson. “If you see his training every day, if you watch him, you can see that his work ethic is fantastic and he is a very talented football player. He’s got ability, and when he gets in the final third he make things happen. The last three or four weeks, even though he has not scored, his work ethic has been very valuable.”
• Mauro Rosales assisted on both goals; he has three assists in eight games since arriving in a trade from Chivas USA.
• “I thought it was his best game since he has been here and I think sometimes we’re very lucky to have him. I wanted to get him off earlier but he said “five minutes” and I let five minutes go and he said “another five minutes” and then another. … He was excellent. His technical ability is amazing and he had a massive influence on the game,” Robinson said.
• Said Rosales: “I probably was a little selfish by trying to stay on the field knowing we have a lot of good players on the bench. I felt very well playing with them. I felt like I can get better with the team by getting more minutes. I wasn’t trying to be selfish and not let the other guys play. It’s part of my work and part of getting better. I hope I can build better performances.”
• It was also a sixth clean sheet at the defensive end over the last 11 matches for Whitecaps FC, dating back to July 30.
• “I said to the guys at half we were too open, I had to address a few things and I did. Credit to the back four, especially in the second half, they defended properly and showed a lot of character out there. The game was won in the first half, but the game was managed fantastically well in the second half,” Robinson said.
• Said goalkeeper David Ousted: “It feels fantastic. It’s a good time to get on a streak. Hopefully we continue to play this way. I love the intensity. I love how we’re going into every tackle. We have a belief in this squad that can win every game.”
