The Seattle Sounders’ 1-0 win over the rival Portland Timbers on Saturday night was about as positive an outcome for which they could have hoped. Pedro de la Vega returned to the starting lineup and scored the match-winner. Seattle kept its first clean sheet in its last seven MLS matches. And the Sounders defeated their southern rivals at home for the first time in 11 matches (0-5-5) dating back to May 2017.
The Sounders also put some breathing room between them and the Timbers in the Western Conference table.
“There are a lot of positives to take from this game,” said goalkeeper Stefan Frei. “It comes at a really good time for us…It’s been a long year. We started with Champions League in February. Physically, it’s been a long year, but mentally it’s been a long year too with ups and downs. It’s nice that we were able to reward our hard work with a trophy, but those ups and downs are taxing.”
Seattle ended its four-match winless blip after capturing the Leagues Cup trophy on Aug. 31 to give the club a fighting chance at a top four position and first-round home field advantage in the upcoming MLS Cup Playoffs. The Sounders are hoping this win can act as a springboard into potentially earning a trophy double this season.
“The important thing was for our guys to play a complete game, a 90-minute game,” said Head Coach Brian Schmetzer. “It was an exciting, intense game. It shows why this is the best rivalry in MLS.”
de la Vega was effective on the left wing, a more preferred position where he has looked unstoppable at times this year, which the Sounders will need come postseason play. Their Argentine Designated Player was the Leagues Cup Player of the Tournament and will need another solid run to try and lift another trophy this season.
“After [winning] the Leagues Cup, coming back into the regular season is difficult,” said de la Vega. “[But] we have players who are used to playing these types of games. That makes everything easier for us to handle. We needed to win this game.
“[I’m] very happy, not just for me, but for the team,” he continued. “It was great to see the [fans] in the whole stadium…I could feel that it was a derby and a different game.”
The Sounders will look to build on this performance when they welcome Real Salt Lake to Lumen Field next Saturday (6:30 p.m. PT; Watch on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV | TICKETS) in their penultimate match of the regular season. Back-to-back home wins would set Seattle up nicely for a cross-country Decision Day clash against New York City FC, but for now, the Sounders are going to relish in this weekend’s rivalry victory.
“I’m going to go back and enjoy this moment with a bunch of happy soccer players and a bunch of happy coaches, especially my good friend [Club Director of Goalkeeping] Tommy Dutra,” said Schmetzer. “We don’t like the Timbers, and this was very cathartic for us.”
