After getting their season back on track, the Portland Timbers will gauge their progress when they host the Seattle Sounders on Saturday night.
When the Cascadia Cup rivals last met on May 12, the Timbers’ 2-1 loss was the final result of a dismal nine-match (0-6-3) winless streak.
Portland coach Phil Neville described that match as “probably the pivotal game for us … that was the start of our turnaround.” Since that loss to Seattle, the Timbers are 8-3-3 in 14 regular-season matches, including an unbeaten 6-0-2 mark at home.
The Timbers (10-9-7, 37 points) can now overtake Seattle (11-8-7, 40 points) in the Western Conference standings with a victory on Saturday, yet Portland might have both of its top scorers suspended.
Jonathan Rodriguez will miss Saturday’s match due to a caution-accumulation suspension, while Felipe Mora is set to miss two games after receiving a red card in last Saturday’s 4-4 draw with St. Louis City SC. Neville said the team was appealing Mora’s suspension and hoped to have the striker eligible to face Seattle.
If both Rodriguez and Mora are indeed unavailable, “We’re going to have to find a different way,” Neville said. “That’s what the best teams do.”
While the Timbers could have a short-handed roster Saturday, they’ll at least have the more rested roster. The Sounders are playing just 72 hours after a 1-0 loss to Los Angeles FC on Wednesday in a U.S. Open Cup semifinal.
Despite the disappointing nature of the Cup loss, Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer feels his team will rebound quickly.
“They understand the importance of (facing) Portland,” Schmetzer said. “It’s still a proud group. I think they’ve overcome a bunch of adversity already this year. I don’t see why they wouldn’t be able to continue that.”
Seattle is 7-1-1 in its last nine regular-season matches.
Jordan Morris has scored nine times in his last 13 matches and leads the Sounders with 10 total goals this season.
The Sounders and Timbers will meet again to close out the regular season on Oct. 19 in Seattle.
–Field Level Media