The Seattle Sounders defeated the rival Portland Timbers 1-0 at Lumen Field on Saturday night behind a first-half goal from Pedro de la Vega.
The Sounders opened the scoring in the 16th minute after a beautiful buildup in the attacking third. Jesús Ferreira tucked inside on the right side to receive the ball and allow Alex Roldan to overlap. Ferreira slipped in Roldan, who then laid a pass off in the center of the box for an onrushing de la Vega to hammer home first-time.
Nouhou saved a goal in the 30th minute when a ball deflected off Jackson Ragen and trickled in behind for Kevin Kelsy from 12 yards out. Nouhou lunged across to intervene and block the attempt.
Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei made an unbelievable save in the 34th minute to deny a certain goal from David Da Costa. The Portuguese midfielder ripped a left-footed strike from the top of the box, and Frei reacted quickly to parry away the shot with his left hand.
Paul Rothrock had a chance in the 42nd minute when he beat Timbers goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau to a loose ball and tried to chip it past him, but Crépeau denied him.
de la Vega almost unleashed another golazo in the 47th minute when he whipped in a one-timed strike from the left side of the box on the end of a Sounders counterattack, but it sailed just over the crossbar.
Kristoffer Velde almost leveled the match in the 67th minute when he looked to pick out the far corner with a left-footed strike from the top of the box, but it just missed wide.
Off the ensuing goal kick, Georgi Minoungou played in a beautiful first-time cross looking for Danny Musovski, but a slide from Kamal Miller deflected the ball of his own goalkeeper Crépeau and away from danger.
Rothrock looked to double the Sounders lead in the 80th minute when he got in behind on the left side, but his attempt was blocked from close range by Finn Surman.
Velde had a chance on a counter in the 83rd minute from the right side of the box, but it wasn’t hit with much pace and was easily corralled by Frei.
Musovski had a one-v-one in behind in the 88th minute, but a last-ditch recovery from Surman denied Musovski’s shot.
The Timbers had a golden chance in the third minute of stoppage time when Felipe Mora hit a shot from the center of the box, but it was right at Frei.
The Sounders needed to see out the final couple minutes down a man after Albert Rusnák was sent off for a challenge on Omir Fernández in the sixth minute of stoppage time. The referee initially cautioned Rusnák but upgraded the offense to a red card after Video Review.
Musovski was close to cementing the win in the eighth minute of stoppage time when he was in on a breakaway, but Diego Chara recovered to deny him in the box.
The Sounders finish the match fifth in the Western Conference with 49 points from 32 matches (13-9-10). Seattle will host Real Salt Lake in its penultimate match of the regular season next Saturday at Lumen Field (6:30 p.m. PT; Watch on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV | TICKETS).
THREE TAKEAWAYS
de la Vega back on the mark
de la Vega returned to the Starting XI for the first time since the Leagues Cup Final on Aug. 31 and rewarded Head Coach Brian Schmetzer with a goal. The Argentine Designated Player now has four goals and four assists in just over 1,000 MLS minutes this season.
Righting the ship
After a four-match winless blip following their Leagues Cup triumph, the Sounders got back in the win column on Saturday night with a victory over their fiercest rivals to boot.
JP returns
Sounders midfielder João Paulo came on as a late substitute for his first appearance since June 28. After fearing a tear in his ACL, João Paulo needed only a meniscus clean-up and was able to return to play this season.
