Vancouver Whitecaps 1-3 Seattle Sounders: Montero Brace, Strong Second Half Land Sounders The Cascadia Cup

For much of the night, Fredy Montero seemed just a bit off. He wasn't bad per se, but he'd certainly seen better nights. And then, in the 64th minute, it came together; Montero gathered a poor clearance from Jay Demerit just outside the area and used a stunning bit of skill to find space before lofting a left footed shot into the top corner to give Seattle a 2-1 lead. It wouldn't take long for Montero to put things away; just three minutes later Montero dribbled into space outside the box and sent in a powerful chip that deflected off of Demerit and over the keeper. It's tough to say whether the shot would have kept its trajectory and gone in if not for the deflection, but what matters is that it did.

That might be for the best, because the Whitecaps continued to look threatening for the rest of the evening; the Sounders would have other chances-both Sammy Ochoa and Lamar Neagle were denied by the post-but Vancouver were denied several times by the post as well and forced Kasey Keller to make several outstanding saves. The Sounders showed their superiority and certainly played well enough to win, but on another night it's easy to see this game ending up a draw and the final scoreline is likely harsh on Vancouver. They fought all game long and make Seattle work for it, but it wasn't to be.

It was clear that the Sounders were missing Mauro Rosales, but it's reassuring to note that Seattle played well enough tonight against a clearly motivated and inspired Whitecaps side to beat any of the teams remaining on their domestic schedule. Even without Rosales-and Blaise Nkufo, Steve Zakuani, O'Brian White, James Riley, Tyson Wahl and Erik Friberg-the Sounders are still a very good team. With just four league games remaining and an eight point cushion over FC Dallas for a bye in the playoffs the Sounders don't necessarily need to keep up this pace for the rest of the year, but for momentum's sake it would be nice if they could. And it can't hurt the Sounders confidence that they put together a solid performance tonight. The players are aware how important Rosales has been to their success, and if they can win without him it will only serve to magnify the boost to morale when he returns.

And so the Cascadia Cup returns to Seattle for the first time since 2007 (and the first time they've had a crack at it since 2008.) With the win the Sounder move back ahead of Real Salt Lake into second place in the Western Conference and have all but locked up a first-round bye. The focus will now move to qualification for the knockout stage of the CONCACAF Champions League (Seattle can secure a place in the quarterfinals with a win over Communicaciones on Tuesday) and the quest for a third straight US Open Cup. There's still a lot to do, but watching Kasey Keller hoist the Cascadia Cup in front of Seattle's traveling support gave the impression that the captain's trophy-hoisting arm is just getting warmed up.

Vancouver Whitecaps 1-1 Seattle Sounders, Half Time: Honors Even After Intense And Thrilling First Half

The Seattle Sounders and Vancouver Whitecaps go to the break even at one after a highly entertaining, end-to-end first half. Vancouver drew first blood in the 22nd minute after a perfectly executed corner clearance and counter attack, Davide Chiumento sliding a perfect low cross past an outstretched Kasey Keller for Camilo to send into an open net. The Whitecaps lead would last for ten minutes before Alvaro Fernandez won a penalty for Seattle after his cross in the box struck Jay Demerit in the hand. Brad Evans stepped up and buried the spot kick to equalize.

The Sounders started a bit slowly and Vancouver had the better of the play for much of the first half, but Seattle seemed to wake up after Vancouver went ahead and were far more dangerous as time ticked along. There are more goals in this game and Seattle seems the more likely to score as it stands but Vancouver still looks very dangerous on the break and with the Sounders pressing so heavily the openings are there. Seattle tightened up after Camilo's goal but with the pace down the wings and physical presence of Eric Hassli it wouldn't take much of an opening for Vancouver to test Kasey Keller.

Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Seattle Sounders: Lineups And Analysis

Given Erik Friberg's hip injury, James Riley's concussion, Tyson Wahl's suspension due to yellow card accumulation and Mike Fucito being less than 90 minutes fit the Sounders will go with Brad Evans, Zach Scott, Leo Gonzalez and Nate Jaqua in the lineup this evening. Aside from that things are as expected for Seattle, with the only even moderate surprise being Alvaro Fernandez slotting on on the right and Lamar Neagle on the left. 

The biggest challenge for Seattle will be keeping the Whitecaps speedy wingers in check down the flanks, especially on the counter. Zach Scott has been vulnerable when asked to do more than mark a single player out of the game, and though Leo Gonzalez has been strong defensively on the season he's far from what could be called speedy and it's always a worry when the opposition in able to get behind him in transition.

Vancouver Whitecaps XI:

Joe Cannon; Jonathan Leathers, Jay DeMerit, Michael Boxall, Jordan Harvey; Davide Chiumiento, Gershon Koffie, Peter Vagenas, Camilo Sanvezzo; Eric Hassli, Mustapha Jarju.

Seattle Sounders XI:

Kasey Keller; Zach Scott, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Leo Gonzalez; Alvaro Fernandez, Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans, Lamar Neagle; Nate Jaqua, Fredy Montero

Vancouver Whitecaps Vs. Seattle Sounders: Sounders Looking To Reclaim Cascadia Cup With Victory

With a win tonight the Seattle Sounders can bring home the Cascadia Cup and maintain a solid grip on a first-round playoff bye. To do it they'll have to overcome the loss of Mauro Rosales and deal with the threat posed by Whitecaps striker Eric Hassli.