Sounders FC vs. Portland Timbers
Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinal
Wednesday, July 9; 7:30 pm PT; Starfire Stadium; Tukwila, Wash.
Webstream: SoundersFC.com
Record: Portland is 4-5-9 in the 2014 season and seventh in the Western Conference.
Head-to-head: Seattle and Portland played to an eventful 4-4 draw at Providence Park on April 5 with Clint Dempsey scoring a hat trick to lead Seattle back from an early deficit.
All-time Series: Seattle leads the all-time MLS series at 3-2-4, but Portland leads the overall series at the MLS level (including playoffs) at 4-3-4. In the U.S. Open Cup, Seattle is 7-4-1 against Portland, dating back to the USL/A-League era.
How they got there: The Timbers reached the quarterfinals with a 3-0 home win over the Orlando City U-23s of the PDL in the fourth round and a 3-1 road win over Sporting Kansas City in the fifth round. Seattle earned a 5-0 win over PSA Elite of the USASA in the fourth round, then advanced on penalty kicks against San Jose following a 1-1 draw in the fifth round.
Player to watch: Forward Gaston Fernandez has four of Portland’s six Open Cup goals, scoring two in both prior matches. The 30-year-old forward from Uruguay has six goals in MLS play, but has gone scoreless since June 1.
Notes: Sounders FC is 13-0-1 at Starfire in the U.S. Open Cup, including two qualifying matches in 2009 and two matches this year. … Seattle and Portland will meet again on Sunday at CenturyLink Field in regular season play. … This will be the fifth time in club history that the Sounders will play the same opponent in consecutive matches in the Open Cup and MLS regular season. It will only be the second time that both matches come at home and the third time those matches came during the same week. The previous matches were May 23 and 26, 2009, against the Colorado Rapids; July 11 and 21, 2009, against the Houston Dynamo; Sept. 2 and 12, 2009, against D.C. United; and July 4 and 7, 2010 against the LA Galaxy. … Whoever advances will host the winner of the Chicago Fire and Atlanta Silverbacks in the semifinals.
