Whitecaps retain Cascadia Cup at Sounders’ expense

Seattle Sounders 0-2 Vancouver Whitecaps

SEATTLE, WA–It seems ages ago that Seattle Sounders FC started the season with a 7-1-3 record. Since then, they have now lost nine of their last ten in all competitions, including now a seventh straight in the league following a 2-0 loss to Vancouver Whitecaps on Sunday night. Vancouver retains the Cascadia Cup with the win and win their third Cascadia Cup in four seasons. The Whitecaps ended their own seven-match winless streak in all competitions and return to the top of the Western Conference table. Seattle sinks to 11th in the West.

It was a virtually uneventful first half, thought Thomas Müller came very close on the volley from a free kick, but it was cleared off the line by both Andrew Thomas and Paul Rothrock. The second half was nearly as uneventful until the 77th minute. Emmanuel Sabbi after making an uncontested run from midfield sent a thru ball to Rayan Elloumi that caught the Sounders defense off guard and Elloumi finished to put the Whitecaps ahead.

It got worse for the Sounders five minutes later when the Whitecaps were awarded an indirect free kick inside the Sounders’ area following an errant back pass. Oliver Larraz laid the kick off to Müller who curled it past the wall and past Thomas far post to make it 2-0.

It was an anemic attacking performance by the Sounders who were outshot 16-4, and failed to register a shot on goal compared to four for the Whitecaps.

Injuries, which include Jesus Ferreira going off at halftime with a suspected hamstring injury, have not helped the Sounders, but Brian Schmetzer is not going to make that an excuse.

“It’s frustrating, but I’m not going to use it as an excuse,” Schmetzer said of the injuries. “Jesús is a talented player. We lost another talented player for a while. Guys are getting closer to coming back.”

The Sounders will need to rebound on Wednesday against Austin FC–who have yet to win on the road this season. Kickoff is at 6:30pm PT on Apple TV. The Whitecaps host Houston in what has become a battle for top in the West at BC Place on Wednesday (7:30pm PT, Apple TV).

Photos by Paul Kahl