Coming off frustrating loss, Sounders focus on Timbers

RENTON — For better or worse, the Seattle Sounders won’t have much time to dwell on their loss to LAFC in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals. On just two full days of rest, the Sounders will travel down I-5 for a Cascadia Cup match against the Portland Timbers on Saturday.

In addition to the normal stakes of a rivalry match, this one carries some added weight due to the teams’ playoff position in the Western Conference. The Sounders are currently fifth in the West, three points ahead of seventh-place Portland.

“We need to regroup, focus and make sure we put together some good performances to close out the year,” Sounders right back Alex Roldan said following Friday’s training session.

Giving the Sounders a bit of added confidence ahead of the match is that they beat the Timbers in their first meeting this season. The Sounders won that game 2-1 in Portland.

Heading into that game, the Sounders and Timbers were the 13th- and 14th-ranked teams in the West. As it turned out, the match was a sort of turning point for both teams. Including that match, the Sounders are 9-3-3 (30 points) in their last 15 league games, while the Timbers are 8-4-3 (27) in the same stretch. Only the LA Galaxy (33) and LAFC (32) have more points among Western Conference teams.

The two teams have gone about their turnarounds in dramatically different ways. The Sounders have allowed the second fewest goals (18) among Western Conference teams, while the Timbers have scored the most (34).

Despite the progress, there’s a lot to play for during the final eight games of the season. The Sounders are just four points out of third, but also just three points out of the play-in game. Seven of their remaining matches are against fellow Western Conference teams and the other game is against the Columbus Crew.

“It will be one game at a time,” Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer said. “It has to be because all the games have meaning. Portland is right behind us in the playoffs. you can’t go into Columbus believing you can snatch a point. We have to keep believing we can get points to ensure we can move up in the playoffs.”

Timbers missing key pieces

Barring a long-shot appeal, the Timbers will be missing two of their top scorers for this match. Felipe Mora will likely be serving a suspension due to a red card, while Jonathan Rodriguez is out on yellow-card accumulation after being cautioned for embellishment against St. Louis City. Rodriguez (13 goals, four assists) and Mora (13 goals, two assists) have 32 goal contributions between them.

Nearly full strength

Every Sounders player is now at the point where they can fully participate in training, which includes Cody Baker (wrist) and Braudilio Rodrigues (hamstring). Rodrigues, though, will need to play some games with Tacoma Defiance before he gets his first-team debut.