TUKWILA, Wash. - The Portland Timbers advanced to the Round of 16 in the 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup with a 3-1 win after extra time against Cascadia-rival Seattle Sounders FC in front of 4,022 fans at Starfire Stadium in Tukwila, Wash., on Tuesday night.
With the win, Portland advanced to the Round of 16 for the third consecutive year to face an opponent yet to be determined. The Timbers will learn their Round of 16 opponent on Thursday as U.S. Soccer will conduct a live draw at 8 a.m. (Pacific).
Timbers midfielder Rodney Wallace registered a goal and an assist in the victory, netting the game-winning goal 10 minutes into the first half of extra time, while forward Maximiliano Urruti added a late insurance goal in the 116th minute. Setting Portland off on the right foot, midfielder Diego Valeri tallied the opening goal for the Timbers in the 48th minute off a cross from Wallace on the left flank.
The U.S. Open Cup win marked Portland’s fourth straight victory in all competitions, including three consecutive wins in regular-season play. Additionally, the Timbers snapped defending U.S. Open Cup-champion Sounders FC’s 20-game unbeaten streak (19-0-1) at Starfire Stadium since 2005.
Wallace tallied the game-winning goal in the 100th minute, converting a rebound from close range. Midfielder George Fochive’s initial attempt from just outside the penalty box was saved by Sounders FC goalkeeper Troy Perkins, but redirected to Wallace in front of goal. The goal marked Wallace’s first in U.S. Open Cup play for the Timbers and his third goal for Portland in all competitions against Seattle since 2011. Fochive recorded the assist on Urruti’s goal late in the match, delivering a pass to the forward on the right side of the penalty box before Urruti fired a hard shot underneath Perkins’ hands.
Valeri’s go-ahead goal just after halftime was his second in all competitions this season, as the midfielder made his first appearance for the Timbers since May 23 against Toronto FC.
Seattle played the final seven minutes of extra time with seven players following ejections to midfielder Micheal Azira and substitute forward Clint Dempsey in the 113th minute. Seattle first went down a man in the 69th minute as defender Brad Evans was issued a second yellow card for a foul on defender Jorge Villafaña. After Sounders FC forward Obafemi Martins leveled the match in the 79th minute with a goal off a corner kick, Martins left the match in the 86th minute due to injury – reducing Seattle to nine players heading into extra time.
Tuesday’s fourth-round match marked the sixth meeting between the two Cascadia rivals in U.S. Open Cup play, dating back to their first tournament match as second-division sides in 2005. Each of the last three U.S. Open Cup games between the two clubs has gone to extra time.
Keeping the Timbers in the lead following Valeri’s go-ahead goal, goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey made a crucial save on a curling effort from Martins in the 51st minute and followed that with an incredible reaction save on a point-blank volley from midfielder Aaron Kovar in the 56th minute. Kwarasey finished with four saves in the match.
Following Tuesday’s U.S. Open Cup match, Portland returns to MLS league play on Saturday, June 20, against the Houston Dynamo at Providence Park; kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. (Pacific). Saturday’s match will be broadcast on KPTV with a local radio broadcast on 750/102.9 The Game and in Spanish on La GranD 93.5 FM.
Portland Timbers at Seattle Sounders FC (Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup)
June 16, 2015 – Starfire Stadium (Tukwila, Wash.)
Goals by Half 1 2 ET1 ET2 F
Portland Timbers 0 1 1 1 3
Seattle Sounders FC 0 1 0 0 1
Scoring Summary
POR: Valeri (Wallace), 48
SEA: Martins, 79
POR: Wallace, 100
POR: Urruti (Fochive), 116
Misconduct Summary
SEA: Rose (Caution), 20
SEA: Evans (Caution), 38
POR: Paparatto (Caution), 54
SEA: Evans (Ejection), 69
POR: Jewsbury (Caution), 106
POR: Peay (Caution), 111
SEA: Azira (Ejection), 112
SEA: Dempsey (Caution), 113
SEA: Dempsey (Ejection), 113
Lineups & Stats
POR: GK Kwarasey, D Powell (Peay, 36), D Borchers, D Paparatto, D Villafaña, M Jewsbury ©, M Fochive, M Nagbe, M Valeri (Fernández, 60), M Wallace, F Adi (Urruti, 96)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Weber, M Nanchoff, M Yartey
TOTAL SHOTS: 13 (Wallace, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Five players tied, 1); FOULS: 12 (Four players tied, 2); OFFSIDES: 5; CORNER KICKS: 4; SAVES: 4
SEA: GK Perkins, D Fisher, D Evans ©, D Marshall, D Gonzalez (Mears, 84), M Roldan (Remick, 72), M Azira, M Rose, M Kovar (Dempsey, 71), F Martins, F Neagle
Substitutes Not Used: GK Frei, D Mears, M Jones, M Thomas
TOTAL SHOTS: 13 (Kovar, Martins, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Martins, 2); FOULS: 19 (Rose, 4); OFFSIDES: 2; CORNER KICKS: 8; SAVES: 2
Referee: Daniel Radford
Assistant Referees: Michael Kampmeinert, Jeff Hosking
4th Official: Jeff Arthurholtz
Attendance: 4,022
Time of Game: 2:32
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 72 degrees
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial.
