Sounders tie Whitecaps 2-2 in Cascadia rivalry
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) - Fredy Montero scored in the 90th minute to give the Seattle Sounders a 2-2 tie with the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday.
Eddie Johnson also scored for Seattle (7-2-2). Alain Rochat and Camilo scored for Vancouver (5-3-3) in front of a sellout crowd of 21,000 at B.C. Place Stadium.
Montero took Johnson's header on the run, lifted the ball around Vancouver captain Jay DeMerit, put it on the ground and fired home a shot from the top of the 18-yard box.
It was first matchup in the 2012 version of the Cascadia Cup rivalry between Seattle, Portland and Vancouver, B.C.
A year ago, the arrival of Portland and Vancouver to join Seattle in creating arguably the most heated rivalry in all of MLS was among the biggest stories league wide. Now, it enters Year 2 with more matchups between the rivals, but still the same intensity.
"The history between the three teams has been around long before I have," said Seattle's Roger Levesque. "That passion, that fight and that rivalry is there with both teams."
Seattle is coming off a wild five-game, 15-day stretch during which it picked up 12 points to move into third place in the Western Conference but missed a chance to take over the top spot in the league because of a 1-0 loss to Real Salt Lake last Saturday at home.
Right behind Seattle in the standings are the improving Whitecaps, who have won three of four and need just one more victory to match their entire win total from their inaugural season.
Seattle has excelled on the road dating back to last season. League wide, the Sounders have the longest current unbeaten streak away from home, having gone 7-0-1 over their last eight road contests.
Seattle laid claim to the Cascadia Cup for the first time at the MLS level by winning at both Portland and Vancouver last season and coming away with draws at home against each side. Figuring out the Cup winner this season will be a bit more complicated and things are somewhat stacked against the Sounders.
With the league going to an unbalanced schedule, the Whitecaps, Sounders and Timbers will play each other three times. But Seattle has to play twice at Vancouver and twice at Portland with just one home game against each this season. Vancouver will travel twice to Portland, with the first match in that rivalry on May 26.
The balance will be flipped next season with Seattle hosting Portland and Vancouver twice and the Whitecaps hosting the Timbers two times.
Eddie Johnson also scored for Seattle (7-2-2). Alain Rochat and Camilo scored for Vancouver (5-3-3) in front of a sellout crowd of 21,000 at B.C. Place Stadium.
Montero took Johnson's header on the run, lifted the ball around Vancouver captain Jay DeMerit, put it on the ground and fired home a shot from the top of the 18-yard box.
It was first matchup in the 2012 version of the Cascadia Cup rivalry between Seattle, Portland and Vancouver, B.C.
A year ago, the arrival of Portland and Vancouver to join Seattle in creating arguably the most heated rivalry in all of MLS was among the biggest stories league wide. Now, it enters Year 2 with more matchups between the rivals, but still the same intensity.
"The history between the three teams has been around long before I have," said Seattle's Roger Levesque. "That passion, that fight and that rivalry is there with both teams."
Seattle is coming off a wild five-game, 15-day stretch during which it picked up 12 points to move into third place in the Western Conference but missed a chance to take over the top spot in the league because of a 1-0 loss to Real Salt Lake last Saturday at home.
Right behind Seattle in the standings are the improving Whitecaps, who have won three of four and need just one more victory to match their entire win total from their inaugural season.
Seattle has excelled on the road dating back to last season. League wide, the Sounders have the longest current unbeaten streak away from home, having gone 7-0-1 over their last eight road contests.
Seattle laid claim to the Cascadia Cup for the first time at the MLS level by winning at both Portland and Vancouver last season and coming away with draws at home against each side. Figuring out the Cup winner this season will be a bit more complicated and things are somewhat stacked against the Sounders.
With the league going to an unbalanced schedule, the Whitecaps, Sounders and Timbers will play each other three times. But Seattle has to play twice at Vancouver and twice at Portland with just one home game against each this season. Vancouver will travel twice to Portland, with the first match in that rivalry on May 26.
The balance will be flipped next season with Seattle hosting Portland and Vancouver twice and the Whitecaps hosting the Timbers two times.
