For the first of what will like be many meetings in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, the Seattle Sounders 2 and Portland Timbers 2 squared off at Starfire Sports Complex. This was the second meeting in five days between the two clubs with Seattle earning their first road win of the year last Friday night at Merlo Field in the Rose City.
The result would be much similar on this day as S2 got goals from Andy Craven and Pablo Rossi to lift S2 into the Fourth Round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup with a 2-1 victory over Portland Timbers 2. S2 will travel to Rio Tinto Stadium on June 17th for a matchup with Major League Soccer side Real Salt Lake.
Seattle put the pressure on from the very start against T2. New signing Sergio played a ball in behind the Portland defense to Andy Craven. Craven corralled the pass and fired a low shot to the far corner but goalkeeper Justin Luthy was able to get a hand on it.
Diagonal runs from Craven between the center backs were frequent in the first ten minutes though they did not all result in shots. Craven did get a shot off from a tight angle in the 6th minute. Sam Garza’s through ball in the 7th minute was just a little too hard allowing Luthy to gather.
Luthy would be called upon again in the 8th minute after a poor giveaway from Rennico Clarke in the defensive third. Victory Mansaray gathered the ball and played a pass to Garza who fired his shot right at Luthy for the save.
Portland finally settled down in the 14th minute. They were able to sustain possession for more than just two or three passes. Andy Thoma led the first foray in the Seattle area, his attempted cross was blocked into the path of Blair Gavin who fired a long-distance shot that sailed well off target.
The first big scoring chance for T2 came in the 23rd minute as Rundell Winchester showed off his speed. Winchester took a pass up the middle and outran Damion Lowe to the ball, his shot was blocked by Saif Kerawala in net but bounced off to the keeper’s left. Winchester attempted to get a second shot away only to send Lowe recover to knock the ball out for a corner kick.
Just two minutes later, Seattle had another big opportunity. Craven was once again played in behind the defense where he fired a sharp angle shot that was blocked by Luthy. The rebound bounced out to Victor Mansaray who fired a curling shot first time that just buzzed past the far post.
Portland nearly took the lead in the 34th minute as Damion Lowe almost put the ball in his own net. Winchester brought the ball down the left wing unmarked. He lined up a mid-high cross to the six-yard box, the ball went directly to Lowe who attempted to turn the header out for a corner. His header though did not go in the direction he wanted to, clipping the outside of the post.
Former University of Washington forward Brent Richards had the first shot of the second half in the 49th minute. He gathered a ball with his back to goal about 20 yards out, made a great turn and fired a quick shot that just missed the bottom corner.
Portland would take the lead five minutes later off a corner kick. Just like Friday evening, it was a center back out-jumping the S2 defense to head home the set piece. This time though it was the other center back Rennico Clarke with the powerful header past Kerawala to give T2 the 1-0 lead.
Andy Craven would have another great scoring chance in the 61st minute. It was all set up by Victor Mansaray who dribbled through four Portland defenders before finding Craven wide open and onside at the back post. Craven took one too many touches before firing his shot in Luthy’s chest. It was the third shot of the night that Craven has taken right at the goalkeeper.
Craven would redeem himself in the 66th minute. Once again, Mansaray would play in Craven behind the Portland defense. This time though, it opened up to be a breakaway for the Seattle forward. He took a dribble and put a headfake on that dropped the goalkeeper to his heel before rounding the keeper and slotting the ball home to level the scoreline at 1. It was a much needed goal for Craven especially with all of the missed chances in the match to date.
Seattle would have a chance to put the match away in second half stoppage time as Qudus Lawal found the ball at his feet in the 18-yard box after a poor clearing attempt from Danny O’Rourke. Lawal must have been surprised that the ball landed at his feet because he put his shot right at the goalkeeper. The whistle was blown a few moments later and our match was headed into extra time.
Sam Garza put S2 in a perfect position to take the lead just moments after the kickoff to start extra time. He made a darting run into the box, drawing Luthy off his line. Garza played a ball across the face of goal to the back post toward substitute Lorenzo Ramos but the ball was just beyond the reach of Ramos.
Pablo Rossi would score the game-winner in the 104th minute. It started with a lucky play from Sam Garza who played the ball into Rossi. It looks as though Clarke may get a foot on it but somehow the ball got through the T2 defender. Rossi gathered and slotted a shot into the side netting to give S2 a 2-1 lead.
Portland’s final chance would come in the 117th minute. Harrison Delbridge played a long ball over the top towards Belmar. Belmar got his head to the ball and flicked it back towards the top corner of the net. Kerawala saw it clearly, getting his hands up to make the save.
It is the third win of the season for S2 over T2. Could this be a preview of what’s to come when the big clubs clash in the Fourth Round of the US Open Cup? Sounders FC - Timbers FC comes to you from Starfire on June 16th. Stay tuned for coverage details from VAVEL USA.