LANGLEY, B.C. – Seattle Sounders FC 2 (7-7-2, 23 points) secured three points on the road against Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 (4-8-3, 15 points) on Saturday afternoon at McLeod Athletic Park. Midfielders Ray Saari and Zach Mathers provided goals for the Rave Green, while goalkeeper Bryan Meredith earned his second shutout of the season. Now tied for fifth place in the Western Conference, S2 wraps up its three-match road swing at Real Monarchs SLC on Saturday, July 8 (6:00 p.m. PT / Live-Streamed on SoundersFC.com).
Saari opened the scoring in the 31st minute when he pounced on a Vancouver clearance and struck a powerful volley that deflected off a Whitecaps fc 2 defender and redirected into the far side of the net. In addition to a team-high four assists, the Tulsa product now has two goals in the 2017 campaign.
Vancouver nearly pulled one back in the 37th minute when midfielder David Norman attempted to score directly for a corner kick, but Saari headed the ball off the line. S2 entered halftime with a 1-0 lead and has now won four of its five matches when leading through the opening 45 minutes.
In the 60th minute, Mathers extended Seattle’s lead to 2-0. The scoring play began on a rolling distribution from Meredith to Saari, who then found Charles Renken on the right flank. He combined with forward Irvin Parra, who sent a through ball to midfielder Lorenzo Ramos. Under heavy pressure, Ramos pushed a pass to the center of the area for a streaking Mathers. The second-year pro out of Duke delivered a hard strike into the top of the net for his team-leading sixth goal of the season.
S2 returns to action next Saturday at Real Monarchs SLC. Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m. PT.
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 2 |2 - 0| Whitecaps FC 2
Saturday, July 1, 2017
Venue: McLeod Athletic Park
Referee: Juan Marque
Assistants: Jasmain Parr, Erina Cho
Fourth Official: Jeff Arthurholtz
Attendance: 923
Weather: 71 degrees and sunny
SCORING SUMMARY
SEA – Ray Saari 31’
SEA – Zach Mathers (Lorenzo Ramos) 60’
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
WFC – Matthew Baldisimo (caution) 18’
WFC – David Norman (caution) 37’
WFC – Nazeem Bartman (caution) 39’
WFC – Sem de Wit (caution) 90+1’
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC 2 – Bryan Meredith; Brian Nana-Sinkam, Rodrigue Ele, Sam Rogers, Riley Grant; Lorenzo Ramos, Ray Saari (Francisco Narbon 67’); Charles Renken, Zach Mathers (David Olsen 67’), Shandon Hopeau (Azriel Gonzalez 77'); Irvin Parra
Substitutes not used: Trey Muse, Milo Barton, Jamie Dimitroff, Camilo Santiago
Total shots: 9
Shots on goal: 3
Corner-kicks: 2
Saves: 4
Whitecaps FC 2 – Spencer Richey; Deklan Wynne, Francis DeVries (Will Seymore HT), Sem De Wit, Kadin Chung; David Norman, Matthew Baldismo (Thomas Sanner 63’), Thomas Gardner; Andrew Thoma (Gloire Amanda 71'), Nazeem Bartman, Myer Bevan
Substitutes not used: Sean Melvin, Terran Campbell, Michael Baldisimo, Patrick Metcalfe
Total shots: 7
Shots on goal: 4
Corner-kicks: 5
Saves: 2
