Seattle Sounders FC (6-11-2, 20 points) fell by a score of 3-1 versus Cascadia rival Portland Timbers (7-6-8, 29 points) on Sunday afternoon at Providence Park. Defender Chad Marshall scored his third goal of the season off a corner-kick from Andreas Ivanschitz in the second half, but the Rave Green couldn't overcome a brace by Portland midfielder Diego Valeri and a second-half tally by Fanendo Adi. Next up, Sounders FC faces the LA Galaxy in a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinal matchup on Wednesday, July 20 (7:30 PT / Live-Streamed on SoundersFC.com) before visiting Sporting KC on Sunday, July 24 (12:00 p.m. PT / ESPN, KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, El Rey 1360 AM).
A torrid first half that included 14 shots between the two sides and a 53-percent possession advantage for Sounders FC culminated in a late Portland goal through Valeri. In the 44th minute of play, Portland midfielder Lucas Melano unlocked the Seattle defense before laying the ball off to an advancing Valeri. The Argentine unleashed a low, driven shot that skipped off the turf and underneath Sounders FC goalkeeper Stefan Frei, giving the home side a 1-0 advantage heading into the halftime break.
Portland wasted little time following the intermission to build upon its lead, as Valeri took aim from a tight angle down the right flank, lofting an acute shot over Seattle's backline to make the score-line 2-0 in the 50th minute. The strike gave Valeri his ninth regular-season tally of the 2016 campaign.
Nine minutes later, Seattle capitalized on one of its offensive opportunities, as Marshall recorded his third goal of the season off of an Ivanschitz corner-kick. The veteran defender rose above Portland's backline to head home Seattle's lone strike of the match to pull the Rave Green within a goal.
Portland countered in the 64th minute, with Melano leading the attack once more, this time finding striker Fanendo Adi at the top of Seattle's six-yard-box for a clean finish. The goal was Adi's team-leading 10th goal of the 2016 MLS season for the Timbers.
Sounders FC continues its three-match road swing over the next week, beginning with a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup midweek clash at the LA Galaxy on Wednesday, July 20 (7:30 p.m. PT / SoundersFC.com). Sigi Schmid's side then heads to the heartland for a nationally-televised Western Conference showdown at Sporting Kansas City (12:00 p.m. PT / ESPN, KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, El Rey 1360 AM).
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 1 - Portland Timbers 3
Sunday, July 17, 2016
Venue: Providence Park
Referee: Jair Marrufo
Assistants: Frank Anderson, Jeff Hosking
Fourth Official: Mark Geiger
Attendance: 21,144
Weather: Cloudy and 70 degrees
SCORING SUMMARY
POR - Diego Valeri (Lucas Melano) 44'
POR - Diego Valeri (Jermaine Taylor) 50'
SEA - Chad Marshall (Andreas Ivanschitz) 59'
POR - Fanendo Adi (Lucas Melano) 64'
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
POR - Jack Jewsbury (caution) 11'
SEA - Joevin Jones (caution) 37'
SEA - Osvaldo Alonso (caution) 66'
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC - Stefan Frei; Tyrone Mears, Brad Evans - captain, Chad Marshall, Joevin Jones (Dylan Remick 72'); Osvaldo Alonso, Cristian Roldan, Erik Friberg; Jordan Morris, Nelson Valdez (Herculez Gomez 77'), Andreas Ivanschitz (Aaron Kovar 72')
Substitutes: Tyler Miller, Oalex Anderson, Oniel Fisher, Tony Alfaro
Total shots: 13 (Valdez, 4)
Shots on goal: 6 (Roldan/Valdez, 2)
Fouls: 10 (Friberg/Alonso, 2)
Offside: 1 (Morris, 1)
Corner-kicks: 12 (Ivanschitz, 12)
Saves: 3 (Frei, 3)
Portland Timbers - Jake Gleeson; Alvas Powell, Nat Borchers, Liam Ridgewell - captain, Jermaine Taylor; Darlington Nagbe, Jack Jewsbury (Ben Zemanski 65'), Diego Valeri (Jack Barmby 90'+2'), Diego Chara, Lucas Melano (Ned Grabavoy 83'); Fanendo Adi
Substitutes not used: Wade Hamilton,Taylor Peay, Jack McInerney, Zarek Valentin
Total shots: 16 (Valeri, 5)
Shots on goal: 7 (Valeri/Adi, 2)
Fouls: 12 (Melano, 3)
Offside: 2 (Melano/Adi, 1)
Corner-kicks: 4 (Jewsbury, 2)
Saves: 5 (Seitz, 5)
MATCH NOTES
- Sounders FC is now 6-11-2 in the 2016 MLS regular season, including a 1-6-2 record on the road in league play. With 20 points, the Rave Green remain in ninth place in the Western Conference.
- Seattle's record becomes 7-4-4 all-time in MLS action versus Portland, including a 2-4-2 mark at Providence Park.
- Sunday's match was the 93rd meeting between all competitions between the two sides, dating back to 1975 in the North American Soccer League. Seattle holds the all-time advantage with a record of 47-34-12.
- Seattle remains at the bottom of the table for the 2016 Cascadia Cup after Sunday's result. Vancouver and Portland are tied with six points apiece through three matches, while Seattle has yet to earn a point with one game in-hand.
- Chad Marshall scored his third goal of the season in the 59th minute, which is one shy of his career-high set in 2008 and 2009 with Columbus. He is currently tied with forward Clint Dempsey for the second-most goals on the season for Sounders FC. Andreas Ivanschitz was credited with his team-leading fifth assist of the season.
- After being called for a yellow card in the second half, midfielder Osvaldo Alonso will be suspended for the next MLS match versus Sporting KC due to yellow card accumulation.
