A second-half surge from Seattle Sounders FC was the story on Saturday evening as Vancouver Whitecaps FC lost 3-1 to their Cascadia rivals at CenturyLink Field.
After a scoreless opening frame, the home side gained separation with three goals in the first 15 minutes after intermission.
João Paulo opened the scoring from long-range following a half-clearance in the 46th minute, then the ‘Caps were unfortunate to concede an own goal off a deflected cross minutes later. The flurry continued in the 58th minute as Raúl Ruidíaz knocked in a header off a corner kick set piece.
Fredy Montero cut the deficit to 3-1 with a penalty kick after Lucas Cavallini drew a foul inside the box on Yeimar Gómez. The Sounders centre back was initially shown a red card, but had it downgraded to a yellow following video review.
It would be Vancouver who would be reduced to 10 men just three minutes later as Janio Bikel received a straight red card for a serious foul. The ‘Caps will be without Bikel and Cavallini in their next match, with the latter serving a suspension due to yellow card accumulation.
Playing shorthanded for the last 22 minutes, the ‘Caps would be unable to stage a comeback, allowing the 3-1 scoreline to stand.
MATCH DETAILS
VWFC Man of the Match: Bryan Meredith
Referee: Timothy Ford
Scoring Summary
46′ – SEA – João Paulo
53′ – SEA – Érik Godoy (own goal)
58′ – SEA – Raúl Ruidíaz (Jordan Morris, Nicolás Lodeiro)
65′ – VAN – Fredy Montero (penalty kick)
Statistics
Possession: SEA 69.6% – VAN 30.4%
Shots: SEA 22 – VAN 3
Shots on Goal: SEA 9 – VAN 2
Saves: SEA 1 – VAN 7
Fouls: SEA 10 – VAN 17
Offsides: SEA 0 – VAN 1
Corners: SEA 7 – VAN 0
Cautions
26′ – VAN – Janio Bikel
49′ – SEA – João Paulo
52′ – VAN – Lucas Cavallini
65′ – SEA – Yeimar Gómez
Ejections
68′ – VAN – Janio Bikel
Seattle Sounders FC
24.Stefan Frei; 18.Kelvin Leerdam (16.Alex Roldan 76′), 28.Yeimar Gómez, 3.Xavier Arreaga, 5.Nouhou Tolo (2.Brad Smith 73′); 4.Gustav Svensson (8.Jordy Delem 73′), 6.João Paulo (84.Joshua Atencio 89′); 7.Cristian Roldan, 10.Nicolás Lodeiro ©, 13.Jordan Morris; 9.Raúl Ruidíaz (17.Will Bruin 76′)
Substitutes not used
30.Stefan Cleveland, 11.Miguel Ibarra, 27.Shane O’Neill
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
1.Bryan Meredith; 28.Jake Nerwinski, 22.Érik Godoy, 13.Derek Cornelius, 53.Ali Adnan; 11.Cristian Dájome (32.Patrick Metcalfe 75′), 19.Janio Bikel, 15.Andy Rose (55.Michael Baldisimo 65′), 7.David Milinković (27.Ryan Raposo 65′); 12.Fredy Montero © (14.Theo Bair 75′), 9.Lucas Cavallini (87.Tosaint Ricketts 89′)
Substitutes not used
30.Evan Bush, 60.Isaac Boehmer, 4.Ranko Veselinović, 62.Damiano Pecile
