Score: Sounders FC 0 vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC 1
Site: BC Place
Records: Sounders FC (11-4-2, 35 points). Vancouver Whitecaps FC (6-3-7, 25 points).
Man of the Match: Stefan Frei had five saves and also came off his line to stop several Vancouver runs behind the Seattle defense before they turned into shots. The lone goal came on a bending shot from Sebastian Fernandez in the 12th minute, but there wasn’t much Frei could do to stop the shot into the upper corner. After posting three shutouts in the previous five matches, Frei was in good form again at BC Place, but couldn’t get his sixth clean sheet of the season.
Telling Stat: 6-2. Sounders FC was able to outshoot the Whitecaps 14-13, but Seattle only got two shots on goal, compared with six for Vancouver. As noted, Frei was able to keep those efforts from extending Vancouver’s lead, but all it needed was the one shot from Fernandez that was the difference in the match.
What You Missed: Already without five starters due to injury, suspension and international duty, Sounders FC lost another in the days before the match when Obafemi Martins suffered a hamstring injury. The speedy forward had missed the previous match to serve a red card suspension and was slated to return to action, but instead joined Djimi Traore (injury), Osvaldo Alonso (yellow card accumulation), Gonzalo Pineda (yellow card accumulation), Clint Dempsey (returning from the World Cup) and DeAndre Yedlin (returning from the World Cup) on the list of players unavailable to Sigi Schmid.
So What: No time to rest for Seattle as Sounders FC will meet the Portland Timbers in consecutive matches on July 9 and July 13. The first match will be at Starfire Stadium on Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, and the second will be the only home match of the season against the Timbers – in which the stadium will be opened to full capacity.
