Sounders surge in the second half to defeat ‘Caps
SEATTLE, WA – A second-half surge from Seattle Sounders FC was the story on Saturday evening as Vancouver Whitecaps FC lost 3-1 to their Cascadia rivals at CenturyLink Field.
After a scoreless opening frame, the home side gained separation with three goals in the first 15 minutes after intermission.
João Paulo opened the scoring from long-range following a half-clearance in the 46th minute, then the ‘Caps were unfortunate to concede an own goal off a deflected cross minutes later. The flurry continued in the 58th minute as Raúl Ruidíaz knocked in a header off a corner kick set piece.
Fredy Montero cut the deficit to 3-1 with a penalty kick after Lucas Cavallini drew a foul inside the box on Yeimar Gómez. The Sounders centre back was initially shown a red card, but had it downgraded to a yellow following video review.
It would be Vancouver who would be reduced to 10 men just three minutes later as Janio Bikel received a straight red card for a serious foul. The ‘Caps will be without Bikel and Cavallini in their next match, with the latter serving a suspension due to yellow card accumulation.
Playing shorthanded for the last 22 minutes, the ‘Caps would be unable to stage a comeback, allowing the 3-1 scoreline to stand.
Whitecaps FC look to bounce back when they visit San Jose Earthquakes on Wednesday. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. PT live on TSN and TSN Radio 1040.
Additional Notes: Maxime Crepeau, Cristián Gutiérrez, Thomas Hasal, Leonard Owusu, Russell Teibert were not medically cleared for Saturday’s match. Jasser Khmiri is away on international duty for the Tunisian men’s national team… Midweek trade acquisition Evan Bush was available on the bench.
MATCH DETAILS
VWFC Man of the Match: Bryan Meredith
Referee: Timothy Ford
Scoring Summary
46′ – SEA – João Paulo
53′ – SEA – Érik Godoy (own goal)
58′ – SEA – Raúl Ruidíaz (Jordan Morris, Nicolás Lodeiro)
65′ – VAN – Fredy Montero (penalty kick)
Statistics
Possession: SEA 69.6% – VAN 30.4%
Shots: SEA 22 – VAN 3
Shots on Goal: SEA 9 – VAN 2
Saves: SEA 1 – VAN 7
Fouls: SEA 10 – VAN 17
Offsides: SEA 0 – VAN 1
Corners: SEA 7 – VAN 0
Cautions
26′ – VAN – Janio Bikel
49′ – SEA – João Paulo
52′ – VAN – Lucas Cavallini
65′ – SEA – Yeimar Gómez
Ejections
68′ – VAN – Janio Bikel
Seattle Sounders FC
24.Stefan Frei; 18.Kelvin Leerdam (16.Alex Roldan 76′), 28.Yeimar Gómez, 3.Xavier Arreaga, 5.Nouhou Tolo (2.Brad Smith 73′); 4.Gustav Svensson (8.Jordy Delem 73′), 6.João Paulo (84.Joshua Atencio 89′); 7.Cristian Roldan, 10.Nicolás Lodeiro ©, 13.Jordan Morris; 9.Raúl Ruidíaz (17.Will Bruin 76′)
Substitutes not used
30.Stefan Cleveland, 11.Miguel Ibarra, 27.Shane O’Neill
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
1.Bryan Meredith; 28.Jake Nerwinski, 22.Érik Godoy, 13.Derek Cornelius, 53.Ali Adnan; 11.Cristian Dájome (32.Patrick Metcalfe 75′), 19.Janio Bikel, 15.Andy Rose (55.Michael Baldisimo 65′), 7.David Milinković (27.Ryan Raposo 65′); 12.Fredy Montero © (14.Theo Bair 75′), 9.Lucas Cavallini (87.Tosaint Ricketts 89′)
Substitutes not used
30.Evan Bush, 60.Isaac Boehmer, 4.Ranko Veselinović, 62.Damiano Pecile