Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
Score: Sounders FC 1 vs Portland Timbers FC 3 (AET)
Goal-scorers: Martins (79’); Valeri (48’), Wallace (100’), Urruti (116’)
Site: Starfire Stadium, Tukwila
Man of the Match: Lamar Neagle was the only Sounders forward left on the pitch and played the entire 120 minutes in the extra-time thriller against the Timbers. Chasing down every ball and working in a number of different areas on the pitch, Neagle remained the Sounders heart beat from start to finish. He didn’t get on the scoresheet but came close more than once.
Telling Stat: Seattle ended the match with seven men on the field following three ejections and an injury to Obafemi Martins that forced him off the pitch after all three of the home side’s substitutions were made. The three red cards is the most the Sounders have ever been given in a single match.
What You Missed: It was a match unlike any other that the Sounders or Starfire Stadium have seen. Heated as a Cascadia match always is, the Sounders and Timbers battled in front of 4,022 in Tukwila, just under two weeks before the teams will meet again at Providence Park in Portland.
It is also the first time that the Timbers have defeated the Sounders in any competition since the 2013 MLS Cup Playoffs when the two sides met in the Western Conference Semifinals. Before tonight’s match, the Sounders were 4-0-1 against their rivals from the south since 2014.
So What: With the Sounders now out of the U.S. Open Cup before the final for just the second time in the club’s existence in MLS, the club can now focus on retaining the MLS Supporters’ Shield, a race it currently leads with 29 points from only 15 matches. It will also have the CONCACAF Champions League to compete in come August when the Rave Green will begin group play with its two opponents, the Vancouver Whitecaps FC and CD Olimpia of Honduras.
