VANCOUVER – Concluding a three-match road stretch on Saturday afternoon, Seattle Sounders FC (6-3-1, 19 points) claimed a 2-0 victory over Cascadia rival Vancouver Whitecaps FC (6-4-2, 20 points) in front of sold-out crowd of 21,000 at BC Place. With the win, Seattle moves to the top of the 2015 Cascadia Cup standings over its Pacific Northwest rivals Vancouver and Portland. On the season, Sounders FC has won both of its Cascadia Cup matches, having previously downed the Timbers 1-0 on April 26. The win also moves Seattle to within two points of Western Conference-leading FC Dallas, and one point behind Vancouver. The Rave Green have played one less match than Dallas and two less than Whitecaps FC.
Sounders FC drew first blood in the contest, with the Rave Green wasting little time to earn an advantage in the fifth minute of play. Clint Dempsey sprung new strike partner Chad Barrett with a vaulted through ball from midfield, allowing the MLS veteran to earn his first goal of the 2015 season with a simple stab of his right foot. Vancouver goalkeeper David Ousted was frozen after leaving his line to halt Barrett’s advance, but the Seattle forward’s cool finish bested the Whitecaps FC netminder. Barrett replaced the injured Obafemi Martins, who missed today’s contest with a tibial contusion.
Dempsey has now recorded a goal or assist in 10 consecutive MLS regular season matches dating back to last season, tied for the fourth-longest streak in league history and the longest since the 1998 season.
Barrett struck again before the stroke of halftime, this time with winger Marco Pappa providing the service. Pappa’s through ball found Barrett’s feet in the 38th minute – once again with the forward making a bursting run into Vancouver’s eighteen-yard-box. With a first-touch swing of his left foot Barrett doubled Sounders FC’s advantage, beating Ousted at his far post to give Seattle a 2-0 lead.
Pappa and Dempsey are tied atop the MLS leaderboard with five assists apiece on the season. Pappa’s mark matches a career-high previously set three times, including last season.
The win marked the first for Sounders FC at BC Place, with the club last earning an away win over Vancouver in 2011 at Empire Field. The Rave Green also snapped five-match winless streak (0-4-1) against Whitecaps FC.
After taking two wins from three consecutive road matches, Sounders FC now has five of its next six MLS matches at home. The Rave Green return to CenturyLink Field on Saturday, May 23 against new Western Conference addition Sporting Kansas City. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. PT, and the contest is being broadcast regionally on JOEtv and KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, as well as in Spanish via KUNS Univision Seattle and El Rey 1360 AM.
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 2 – Vancouver Whitecaps FC 0
Saturday, May 16, 2015
Venue: BC Place
Referee: Mark Geiger
Assistants: Ian Anderson, Greg Barkley
Fourth Official: Younes Marrakchi
Attendance: 21,000
Weather: Mostly Cloudy and 63 degrees
SCORING SUMMARY
SEA – Chad Barrett (Clint Dempsey) 5’
SEA – Chad Barrett (Marco Pappa) 38’
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
VAN – Matias Laba (caution) 28’
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC – Stefan Frei; Tyrone Mears, Brad Evans – C, Chad Marshall, Dylan Remick; Marco Pappa (Leo Gonzalez 90+2’), Osvaldo Alonso, Gonzalo Pineda, Lamar Neagle (Darwin Jones 85’); Clint Dempsey, Chad Barrett (Andy Rose 72’)
Substitutes not used: Troy Perkins, Zach Scott, Micheal Azira, Cristian Roldan
Total shots: 7 (Barrett, 3)
Shots on goal: 4 (Barrett, 2)
Fouls: 6 (6 players tied at 1)
Offside: 1 (Pappa, 1)
Corner-kicks: 3 (Pappa, 3)
Saves: 5 (Frei, 5)
Vancouver Whitecaps FC – David Ousted; Steven Beitashour, Pa-Modou Kah, Kendall Waston Jordan Harvey; Matias Laba, Russell Teibert (Gershon Koffe 64’), Cristian Techera (Darren Mattocks 61’), Pedro Morales – C, Kekuta Manneh (Kianz Froese 72’), Octavio Rivero
Substitutes not used: Paolo Tornaghi, Nicolas Mezquida, Tim Parker, Robert Earnshaw
Total shots: 16 (Manneh, 5)
Shots on goal: 5 (Manneh, 2
Fouls: 7 (7 players tied at 1)
Offside: 0
Corner-kicks: 6 (Morales, 5)
Saves: 2 (Ousted, 2)
MATCH NOTES
- Seattle Sounders FC improves to 6-3-1 on the season, including four wins in its last five matches, and ended a five-game winless skid against Vancouver.
- With 19 points, the Rave Green remain in third place in the Western Conference, with one game in-hand against first-place FC Dallas and two games in-hand against second-place Vancouver.
- Clint Dempsey has tallied a goal or an assist in all eight of his appearances in 2015. Overall, he has registered a goal or an assist in 10 consecutive matches, which is tied for the fourth-longest streak in MLS history and the longest since the 1998 season. Dempsey is tied for the MLS lead in both goals (seven) and assists (five).
- Chad Barrett’s fifth-minute scoring tally is the fastest goal Seattle has scored against Vancouver. Barrett’s 53 career goals rank 12th among active MLS players and 33rd in league history, moving him past Sounders FC Sporting Director Chris Henderson on the all-time list. Barrett has scored nine tallies in regular season play with Sounders FC since 2014 and became the fourth player to score for the Rave Green this season.
- Marco Pappa is tied for the MLS lead with five assists, matching a career-high previously set three times, including last season with Sounders FC.
- Goalkeeper Stefan Frei ranks tied for first with six wins and second with five shutouts. He remains in first place among MLS goalkeepers with 41 saves.
Rookie forward Darwin Jones made his MLS debut in the 85th minute. The rookie Homegrown Player nearly scored in the 90th minute when he got behind the defense, but his shot was saved.
POST-MATCH AUDIO
Post-match soundbytes from Sounders FC Head Coach Sigi Schmid, forward Chad Barrett, goalkeeper Stefan Frei and defender Brad Evans are available for download here.
