A thrilling Cascadia derby went the Seattle Sounders' way, as they rode two-goal efforts by Fredy Montero and Raul Ruidiaz to a 6-2 win over the Portland Timbers at Providence Park on Sunday evening.
Seattle's six goals matched their highest total in an away MLS match, set on August 25, 2012 during a 6-2 victory over Chivas USA. It was easily their highest goal total against their archrival in their respective MLS tenures.
The Sounders took a 2-0 lead courtesy of a first-half brace by Montero, his first goal coming in the 13th minute when he easily poked home a ball from Alex Roldan past Aljaz Ivacic for the 1-0 lead. Then Montero was at it again just before the half-hour mark, faking his defender out to give himself space to curl a pretty strike beyond Ivacic as Seattle's advantage grew to 2-0.
But the Timbers pulled one back moments later on a deflection past Stefan Cleveland off the foot of Sebastian Blanco, who scored in his first start since his ACL tear against the Sounders in September 2020. Portland leveled in the 52nd minute, as an initial shot from Claudio Bravo from beyond the box was stopped by Cleveland, but George Fochive punched home the rebound to establish level ground.
The match didn't stay that way for long, though.
After Portland's Larrys Mabiala was whistled for a foul just outside the box, Ruidiaz stepped up and blasted the resulting free kick into the upper-right hand corner, leaving Ivacic no chance as Seattle pulled ahead once more.
That set up another memorable finish between the longtime rivals, as Portland looked to avenge a 2-1 home loss to Seattle on May 9. But the Sounders extended their lead with less than 20 minutes remaining on another set piece, as Nicolas Lodeiro's initial attempt was stopped by Ivacic but left to Ruidiaz for an easy finish that secured his brace and 4-2 scoreline. That also gave him the lead in the Golden Boot presented by Audi race, plus was his 10th all-time against the Timbers, tying him for the all-time lead in the rivalry with Roger Levesque.
In the 77th minute, Seattle provided the icing on the cake behind an absolute banger from substitute Jimmy Medranda, who hit a Joao Paulo corner kick first-time off the bottom of the crossbar and in for a 5-2 lead. Nicolas Benezet added a stoppage-time goal on his Seattle debut to complete the scoring.
Goals
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: File this away as another Cascadia rivalry game for the ages, as Seattle scored their most goals in the MLS era against Portland. The Timbers should be applauded for turning around a 2-0 deficit at home, but thanks in part to an enormous second-half effort by Ruidiaz, this one ended with an emphatic Sounders' victory. Brian Schmetzer's team jumped into second place in the Western Conference, only one point behind Sporting Kansas City for the conference lead.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: Ruidiaz's brace turned the tables, but Medranda’s golazo – struck first-time on Joao Paulo's corner kick – won’t soon be forgotten. The Colombian midfielder/defender made a vigorous bid for AT&T Goal of the Week honors.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: It looked like Montero would claim the honors, but Ruidiaz stole the show in the second half, a memorable performance on a historic night for his team.
Next Up
- POR: Wednesday, August 18 at Sporting Kansas City | 8:30 pm ET (MLS LIVE on ESPN+)
- SEA: Wednesday, August 18 at FC Dallas | 8:30 pm ET (MLS LIVE on ESPN+)
