Raining on their own parade: Sounders drop points to Timbers

SEATTLE – A wet and frustrating evening in Seattle ended in a 1-1 draw for the Seattle Sounders who once again failed to find a way to beat the Portland Timbers at home. This time, a largely dominant performance in the first hour of the match was all but undone by a series of mental errors and meltdowns over a span of about 120 seconds.

The Sounders were on top of the Timbers from the opening minutes of the game, showing their intent in the 5th minute when Yeimar hit a great ball over the top for Jordan Morris. Morris attempted to take the ball out of the air, but after a touch off of his chest he basically dribbled the ball with his hand and was called for the offense. They continued to push for an opener, only being stymied by some last-ditch defending and quality play from goalkeeper James Pantemis.

They found their breakthrough in the 37th minute through an excellent corner from Albert Rusnák, connecting with Yeimar at the penalty spot who was wide open and placed his header as well as anyone could hope for. The goal gave Seattle a 1-0 lead and Yeimar his first league goal of the season.

Seattle started the second half much the same way they started the first, putting Portland under pretty consistent pressure as they took six shots before Portland took their first. Unfortunately that first shot – coming off of a play where the ball was taken off of Pedro de la Vega in midfield and the Timbers immediately shifted into attack – proved to be a decisive one. Antony easily eliminated Nouhou on the dribble and Jackson Ragen made an ineffectual attempt at a tackle, allowing him to take a clear shot that he slotted into the far side netting to tie the game in the 68th minute.

The referee then decided he was done being nice in the 69th minute when Obed Vargas was shown a second yellow card for a “clear display of dissent.” There was an apparent moment of confusion as the referee didn’t initially seem to realize that he had already given Vargas a first yellow before consulting his notes and showing the red card. The Sounders spent the final 20 minutes and change down a player, but seemed undeterred by that small fact.

Playing 10 v 11 the game was much more open as both teams pushed for a winner. Seattle had outshot Portland 6-1 in the first half, and 6-1 before the Timbers equalized in the second half, but the two sides each took 5 shots with the game in the balance for the remainder of the second half. Evander nearly had a winner for Portland in the 76th minute, but put his shot off of the post following a corner in what was arguably the best chance following the equalizer.

The draw leaves Seattle in 4th place in the West on 57 points with a date with the 5th place Houston Dynamo in the first round of the playoffs. The Sounders were undefeated against Houston during the regular season, drawing 2-2 on the road on June 19 and winning 1-0 at home on Sept. 28. The draw also kept the Sounders from clinching a Concacaf Champions Cup spot, but they can still get in if they win MLS Cup or one Inter Miami, Columbus Crew, FC Cincinnati, LAFC, LA Galaxy, Real Salt Lake or the Colorado Rapids do.

Although the Timbers remained in ninth place in the Western Conference, they did win the Cascadia Cup and also will get to host their play-in match against the Vancouver Whitecaps, who weren’t able to secure BC Place.

Key moments

5 - Hand ball. Yeimar plays a great ball over the top to get Jordan Morris in behind, but after attempting to bring the ball down out of the air Morris touches the ball with his hand and the play ends.

19 - Shot! Obed Vargas clips a clever ball over the top for Morris who slots a pass for Pedro de la Vega to put him in on goal. As de la Vega lines up his shot a defender slides in out of nowhere to block the effort.

30 - Shot! Paul Rothrock cuts in at the top of the box after receiving a pass from Cristian Roldan, but his effort is caught easily by James Pantemis.

37 - GOAL! Albert Rusnák sends in a corner that Yeimar jumps to meet at the penalty spot and heads it into the side netting at the back post! 1-0 Sounders

49 - Chance! Obed Vargas dribbles around a couple of defenders into the box and plays a dangerous ball across the goal that Rothrock slides onto at the back post but he can’t direct the shot on goal.

59 - Shot! Pedro de la Vega gets on the ball running into space and plays a slip pass for Morris. Morris carries it into the box and gets a good shot 1-on-1 with the GK, but Pantemis makes the save.

68 - Goal, Portland. Antony dribbles around Nouhou and Jackson Ragen at the top of the box after a de la Vega turnover in midfield before slotting the ball into the side netting at the far post to beat Frei and tie the game. 1-1

69 – Save! de la Vega makes a marauding run into the box and fires off a shot that looks destined for the far post, but Pantemis makes a nice kick save.

69 - Red card. On the ensuing rebound, Obed Vargas is fouls Dario Zuparic and then picks up a second yellow card for dissent, and the Sounders are down to 10 men immediately after conceding.

76 - Post! Evander gets on the ball following a corner and dribbles through the box before firing a shot that looks to beat Frei but hits the post.

82 - Shot! Nouhou nearly puts Seattle back in front, running onto the rebound from a Rusnák shot and smashing his effort just wide.

Quick thoughts

Portland pain continues: It’s been 94 years… or at least it feels that way. It’s been 7 years, 3 months and 6 days since the last time the Sounders won at home against the Portland Timbers in a regular season game. This one seemed like it could be the game that changed the course of that history, but a series of poor plays and choices – the kinds that seem to happen disproportionately in these games – meant that history repeated itself. It’s now been 11 regular season home meetings without a win and the second straight in which the Sounders surrendered a lead. It’s not good enough, plain and simple. Onto the next.

Assist King: Albert Rusnák tied Nico Lodeiro’s regular season assist record for the Sounders with his assist on Yeimar’s goal, his 16th of the season. He finishes the regular season with 10 goals and 16 assists, moving him into sole possession of second most regular season goal contributions for the Sounders, passing Clint Dempsey on 25 and trailing only Obafemi Martins who had 30 (17 goals, 13 assists) in 2014. Although many were questioning whether he deserved his Designated Player spot earlier in the season and throughout his tenure with the club, he seems to have gone quite some ways to answering that question and securing his spot going forward.

The road to the Cup: The exact dates aren’t quite confirmed yet, but finishing in 4th the Sounders booked a first round ticket to face the Houston Dynamo in the best-of-three series. The day’s results put them in a position to meet with LAFC once again in the conference semifinals - assuming Seattle advance and LAFC come out on top of their series with the winner of the Vancouver Whitecaps-Portland Timbers play-in game. From there, should they win, they would meet one of RSL, Minnesota United, LA Galaxy, or the Colorado Rapids in a conference final. It’s certainly possible, with the clear toughest matchup coming in that semifinal bout in Los Angeles. They may not have ended one bad streak tonight, but there’s a chance to break another on the horizon.

Notable quote

Stefan Frei on the feeling after the match: “It sucks immediately after, because you think you played well and it’s hard to play down a man. But we need to find a second goal ... to take advantage of your good play you have to have that killer instinct."

Player spotlight

Yeimar – Yeimar was a huge part of Seattle’s effort to punish Portland’s weakness on set pieces, racking up three shots and a goal. He was clean in possession, and racked up 14 defensive actions and 14 recoveries, and was largely free of fault on the goal Seattle gave up.