The Seattle Sounders played to a 1-1 draw with the Portland Timbers at Providence Park in Portland, Ore., on Saturday night in the 123rd all-time meeting between two of the oldest and most storied clubs in United States soccer. Albert Rusnák opened the scoring in the 30th minute before Santiago Moreno equalized six minutes later to split the points.
The Sounders had a great opportunity just four minutes in when Danny Musovski’s shot from the center of the box was blocked by Finn Surman.
Portland had a chance three minutes later when Juan Mosquera’s attempt from the edge of the box on the right side just barely missed the far corner.
The Sounders took the lead in the 30th minute when Musovski was played in behind from a beautiful pass from Cristian Roldan. He held off his defender before dropping a pass for Rusnák, who settled and fired a strike from the top of the box into the near corner.
Portland responded in the 36th minute when David Da Costa was played down the right end line where he cut a ball to the center of the box for Moreno, who smashed home from close range.
After both teams traded a couple half-chances, Roldan had a great hit in the 65th minute from the top of the box that just fizzed over the crossbar.
Paul Rothrock looked certain to reclaim the lead in the 73rd minute but a bit of last-ditch defending by Surman blocked the attempt from six yards out.
Georgi Minoungou had a chance in the 88th minute when he took a shot from a tight angle at the near post, but goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau got down quickly to push it wide for a corner.
The Sounders (5-4-5) finished the evening where they started in sixth place in the Western Conference with 20 points form 14 matches.
THREE TAKEAWAYS
Rusnák on the mark again
The Slovakian Designated Player scored his fourth goal in as many matches to give the Sounders the first lead of the contest. Rusnák is up to six goals and three assists in 13 matches (nine starts) this season.
Cascadia Cup implications
The Sounders and Timbers each earned a point toward the 2025 Cascadia Cup title. It was Seattle’s first match of the campaign after Vancouver beat Portland earlier in the year. The Timbers are the reigning champs, while the Sounders last won in 2021, their third of three in a row.
Back home
After three straight road matches in in eight days — seven of the last nine Sounders matches have been away from home — Seattle will return to Lumen Field next Saturday for a clash against FC Dallas (12 p.m. PT; Watch on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV | TICKETS).
