Seattle invaded Portland on Saturday in an early season Major League Soccer matchup. These two Cascadian Cup rivals—and their fan bases—know each other far too well, however, for this to be considered simply a regular MLS game in April.
The game was an offensive showdown, finishing with both sides at four goals each. It was a showcase game, featuring the hottest rivalry in United States soccer, and a shot count between the two teams totaling 41.
The added noise from both fan bases before the game was nothing compared to the noise level during the first 15 minutes of the game, which saw three goals scored.
The Sounders struck first, as former Timber Kenny Cooper tapped in a goal off a corner in the fourth minute. The majority of the Providence crowd was stunned as Seattle took an early lead, but that quickly changed as Portland answered with a ninth-minute goal from the birthday boy Diego Chara. That goal was followed by a goal from Diego Valeri, giving the Timbers a 2–1 lead in the 14th minute.
Goals were the main attraction on Saturday, much to the delight of the 20,814 fans at Providence Park. Seattle tied the game at two before the half with a goal from U.S. soccer star Clint Dempsey. A 2–2 game going into the second half, the Timbers quickly broke the tie and then built their lead with goals from Chara and Maximiliano Urruti.
The attitude of the game changed after the Timbers’ fourth goal. Substitutes began to come on, and the life of the Sounders looked diminished. It stayed that way until the 85th minute when Dempsey put in a shot from inside the box, reducing the lead to just one.
But the face of U.S. soccer wasn’t done quite yet, despite having his playing time monitored after playing Mexico in an international friendly just 72 hours earlier. The Sounders drew a foul in the box, and Dempsey calmly put in a penalty to tie the game.
The game ended 4–4, and the Providence Park crowd exited with excitement from Sounders fans and unsatisfied Timbers fans. Portland has yet to win a game this season in five tries, losing two and now tying three.
A tie after leading by two goals is not the outcome Portland wanted, but there were some positive aspects of this game that head coach Caleb Porter can take with him going into their next game on Saturday against Chivas USA. Biggest of those was Portland’s offense, which looked far from last season’s form.
Four goals are the most the Timbers have scored this season, and they had even more opportunities than that to put the ball in the back of the net. The offensive attack was led by two goals from Chara, who doubled his career output of goals in a single game. Both his goals came from outside the 18-yard box, which made his final stat line even more impressive.
Scoring goals is great for Portland, but giving up four goals on your home field is defense that Porter can’t allow going forward, especially to a team that had a long goalless streak at the field formerly known as Jeld-Wen last season.
The Timbers play Chivas USA at home this weekend before going on the road for two games against Real Salt Lake and Houston.
