MLS Regular Season
Score: Sounders FC 2 vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC 0
Goal-scorers: Chad Barrett (5’, 38’)
Site: BC Place
Man of the Match:Chad Barrett made the most of his second start of the season, scoring twice in the first half to put Sounders FC in the driver’s seat. Barrett’s two goals were from the same spot on the left side of the penalty area, the first on an assist by Clint Dempsey and the second from Marco Pappa. Barrett now has 53 career goals, which is 12th among active MLS players and 33rd all-time.
Telling Stat: Dempsey and Pappa are now tied for the league lead with five assists apiece this season. In the first half of Saturday’s match, both of them found Barrett with a through ball over the top of the defense that the Sounders FC forward finished on his first touch.
Vancouver was in control of the match early on, but the Rave Green settled in midway through the first half and had kept 56 percent of possession by the final whistle. Whitecaps FC finished with nine more shots and 24 more crosses than the Sounders, but three of Vancouver’s attempts were blocked and five were saved by Stefan Frei.
What You Missed: Saturday’s win is the 100th regular-season victory for Sounders FC since entering MLS in 2009. The club has been consistently successful in its first six seasons as an MLS side, and is off to another strong start in 2015.
So What: Sounders FC got back in the win column after seeing its three-match winning streak snapped last weekend at Columbus Crew SC. Seattle closed the gap in the Western Conference standings, as the club is now two points behind first-place FC Dallas with a game in-hand on the Hoops. With their victory, the Rave Green also jumped to the top of the 2015 Cascadia Cup standings.
