Rarely, if ever, have the Seattle Sounders looked worst than they did in the first 45 minutes of Sunday’s Cascadia Cup clash with the Portland Timbers. Almost from kickoff, the Timbers looked quicker, more organized and even more motivated. They jumped out to a 4-0 lead and looked well on their way to most decisive win in this rivalry during the MLS era, if not ever.
The Sounders managed to at least salvage some pride, scoring two early second-half goals to inject some life into the match. And though they managed to get a few more good looks, never were able to push across the final goal that really would have made it interesting and ultimately were forced to settle for a 4-2 loss.