Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Seattle Sounders
Audi 2017 MLS Cup Playoffs – Western Conference Semifinals, Leg 1
BC Place – Vancouver, B.C.
Sunday, Oct. 29 – 8:30 pm ET
WATCH: ESPN in the US | TSN1/4, TVAS2 in Canada
Cascadia rivals fighting for a spot in the Western Conference Championship series – it doesn’t get much bigger than an Audi 2017 MLS Cup Playoffs matchup between the Vancouver Whitecaps and Seattle Sounders.
Vancouver and Seattle will begin their Western Conference Semifinal battle on Sunday, when the third-seeded Whitecaps will host the second-seeded Sounders at BC Place.
The Whitecaps enter the first leg riding high after their 5-0 demolition of San Jose in the Knockout Round on Wednesday night. Vancouver put in a comprehensive performance in that match, getting goals from former Sounder Fredy Montero, Cristian Techera, Kendall Waston and a brace off the bench from Nicolas Mezquida to throttle the Quakes and record their first-ever MLS Cup Playoffs win. Vancouver’s first three goals came off set pieces, a major strength for the Whitecaps in 2017.
They’ll look to keep the momentum from their outburst rolling on Sunday against the visiting Sounders. As the West’s No. 2 seed, Seattle avoided the Knockout Round and will be a bit fresher than Vancouver for the first leg. They’ll be without several of their most important players, however. Forward Clint Dempsey is suspended for the first leg after picking up a red card in the regular season finale, while Jordan Morris, Brad Evans, Ozzie Alonso and Gustav Svensson are all dealing with injuries of various severity.
Vancouver and Seattle are of course very familiar with each other. The Pacific Northwest rivals met three times this regular season, splitting the series 1W-1L-1D. The ‘Caps beat Seattle 2-1 in April at BC Place, the sides drew 1-1 in Vancouver on Aug. 23 and the Sounders won the season finale between the clubs 3-0 at CenturyLink Field on Sept. 27.
- Sounders prep for "lethal, efficient" 'Caps side
- W2W4: Go big or go home for Vancouver?
- Sounders newcomers ready to help team defend the title
- Robinson likes Vancouver's underdog status
- Seattle heading to Vancouver "to win" first leg
- The Province: Kendall Waston is "the true leader of the team"
- Tactical Preview: Vancouver vs. Seattle
- Meet the rookie who's quietly becoming key for Whitecaps
- Sounders' Roldan aims to put postseason experience to good use
- Whitecaps expand seating capacity at BC Place for playoff match
- GK Marinovic repaying Whitecaps' faith
Vancouver Whitecaps
- Suspended:None
- Suspended next yellow:None
- International Duty:None
- On Loan: DF Sam Adekugbe (IFK Goteborg / SWE), MF Deybi Flores (CD Motagua / HON), FW Kyle Greig (FC Cincinnati / USL), MF Ben McKendry (FC Edmonton / NASL)
- Injury Report: OUT – DF David Edgar (PCL, MCL tear), MF Matias Laba (ACL tear)
Projected Starting XI
(4-2-3-1, left to right)
GK: Stefan Marinovic – Marcel de Jong, Tim Parker, Kendall Waston, Jake Nerwinski – Tony Tchani, Aly Ghazal – Christian Bolanos, Yordy Reyna, Cristian Techera – Fredy Montero
Seattle Sounders
- Suspended: FW Clint Dempsey (red card suspension)
- Suspended next yellow:None
- International Duty:None
- Injury Report: OUT – FW Jordan Morris (right hamstring strain), DF Brad Evans (lower back); QUESTIONABLE – MF Ozzie Alonso (right quad strain), MF Victor Rodriguez (right lateral quad strain), DF/MF Gustav Svensson (left hamstring strain)
Projected Starting XI
(4-2-3-1, left to right)
GK: Stefan Frei – Nouhou Tolo, Chad Marshall, Roman Torres, Kelvin Leerdam – Cristian Roldan, Jordy Delem – Joevin Jones, Nicolas Lodeiro, Harry Shipp – Will Bruin
All-Time Series
- Overall: Vancouver 7 wins (26 goals) … Seattle 8 wins (29 goals) … Ties 5
- At VAN: Vancouver 3 wins (12 goals) … Seattle 4 (16 goals) … Ties 4
Referees
Referee: Kevin Stott
Assistant Referees: Jeffrey Hosking, Kermit Quisenberry
4th Official: Ricardo Salazar
Video Assistant Referee (VAR): Mark Geiger
