This will be the second straight year that the Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers will face off in the U.S. Open Cup. Last year, the Sounders won 3-1 in extra time on their way to their fourth U.S. Open Cup title in six years. The Timbers are looking for a bit of revenge as they head to Starfire looking for a win.
The Seattle Sounders begin their quest to defending the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup trophy when they take on their hated rivals, thePortland Timbers. This will be the second straight year that the two Cascadian rivals will square off in the U.S. Open Cup. Last year, Seattle won 3-1 after extra time. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30pm PST and can be streamed via YouTube.
The Sounders are coming off their fourth Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in six years and are looking to become repeat champions again in 2015. The Timbers best run in the Open Cup came two years ago when they made it all the way to the semifinals against Real Salt Lake, losing 2-1.
The Sounders have been virtually unbeatable at Starfire. They hold a 19-0-1 record in competitive matches at the facility going back to 2005. The Sounders look at Starfire as a fortress and will look to keep it that way. It won’t be easy as they are facing a Timbers squad that just completed their first ever three game winning streak in MLS play. The Timbers also haven’t played a competitive match since their 2-0 win over the New England Revolution on June 6th.
The Sounders are coming off a convincing 3-0 victory over FC Dallas this past Saturday. The win didn’t come without some injuries though. It appears that Gonzalo Pineda reinjured his ankle and his status is uncertain. Osvaldo Alonso and Chad Barrett will more than likely not be playing either as they are trying to recover from a hamstring injury. The Timbers have their own injuries to worry about as well. Diego Valeri is listed on the MLS injury with an ankle sprain. Ben Zemanski is still recovering from ACL injury he suffered back in February.
Portland feels they have the toughest draw of all the remaining teams in the tournament and feel if they win, they have a great chance to win the entire tournament.
“We got the toughest draw of anybody, but in some ways we like it because we have a chance to knock off the team that won it last year, which would mean we have a really good chance of winning it if that happens,” Timbers head coach Caleb Porter said at the team’s training facility last week before his team had their first off weekend of the season. “But we certainly have the toughest game of any team.”
Tournaments are crazy and you never know what can happen. Porter shouldn’t look too far ahead yet as he is facing a club that he hasn’t beaten since November 7, 2013. Since then, Porter and the Timbers are 0-4-1 across all competitions against the Sounders. Take it one game at a time Porter, one game at a time.
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