For the first time this season, the Portland Timbers will face its northern rival when they take on the Seattle Sounders Sunday at CenturyLink Field (6:30pm PT, FOX Sports 1). One of the most intense rivalries in the country, the teams are renewing a derby that was first played on May 2, 1975 and one which will be celebrating its 40th anniversary one week after this Sunday's match. Here are five numbers to know for #SEAvPOR in the latest Quick Strikes by Simple.
41 From Peter Withe in July, 1975 to Fanendo Adi last August, 41 different Portland Timbers have scored against the Seattle Sounders in a league match. Out of the current Timbers, Adi, Rodney Wallace, and Diego Chara lead the way, each having scored two MLS goals against Seattle. Darlington Nagbe also has scored two competitive goals versus the Sounders, notching one in the 2013 MLS Playoffs and another is the 2014 U.S. Open Cup.
14 Since joining MLS in 2011, Portland has squared off against the Sounders in 14 competitive matches (which includes U.S. Open Cup and MLS regular season and playoffs). Nagbe joins Seattle’s Osvaldo Alonso as the only two players who have competed in every Portland/Seattle match in the Timbers MLS era.
12Timbers defender Nat Borchers was busy on Sunday making five blocks in helping Portland earn a a shutout and 1-0 win against New York City FC. The center back currently leads all of MLS with 12 blocks in 2015.
4Dairon Asprilla's game-winning goal in that win over NYCFC came in the 79th-minute. The Timbers have scored four of their seven goals this season after the 75th minute.
36 Defender Alvas Powell is currently second in MLS with 36 tackles, which is one behind Vancouver's Matias Laba. The 20-year-old Jamaican International also has an assist this season. In addition, the Timbers are the only team with three players in the top 12 in MLS for tackles made this season with Diego Chara and Jorge Villafana joining Powell.
