SEATTLE — For the fourth straight time, the Portland Timbers came to Seattle and got the result they needed. In a sense, the 2-1 loss was less costly than some of the previous encounters. In another sense, though, it was perhaps the most unexpected.
The Sounders came into the meeting the team with more rest, riding a 13-game home unbeaten streak and as healthy as they had been all year. None of that mattered as they wasted chances both early and often and, most painfully, surrendered the deciding goal about a minute after scoring the equalizer.