The Vancouver Whitecaps were victims to a lack of finish as they allowed the Seattle Sounders to come back twice from one goal deficits to end the Cascadia Cup opener in a 2-2 draw in front of a sellout crowd. The Caps took the lead twice with goals from Alain Rochat and Gershon Koffie while the visitors responded with tallies from Eddie Johnson and Freddy Montero.
The Whitecaps started quickly when Darren Mattocks had the ball fall right to him ten feet from goal but he was unable to gather the ball which the Sounders eventually cleared with ease. Omar Salgado found himself on a one on one battle with Jeff Parke and was able to muscle his way into a shot but a solid stop by Bryon Meredith kept the game level.
The pressure by the Caps finally paid off in the 12th minute when Omar Salgado sent in Alain Rochat who was able to get in a long run before firing the ball past a diving Meredith to open the scoring for the home side. Rochat returned the favor in the 33rd minute send a ball over the backline which found Salgado but the former 1st overall pick was unable to find the target from inside the six yard box.
The Sounders had their first chance from a deep free kick from Rosales which chipped into the box but was cleared by Vancouver’s defenders. With less than ten minutes to go Eddie Johnson made a run on the right side of the net but his cross got deflected over the net.
Darren Mattocks almost opened up his MLS account as he was once again beat the offside trap getting in alone on Meredith. However the finish wasn’t there for the youngster as his attempt was wide of the far post going into touch. Just before the half the Sounders almost put the game at level as a free kick from Rosales found itself to Johnson to the right side of the net but once again the attempt failed to hit the target.
Coming out of the break the Whitecaps almost extended the lead as Mattocks found himself alone with a chance on goal. However the young striker, making his first start as a Whitecap, lacked the touch as fired his attempt well over the bar.
That Caps and Mattocks were made to pay for that miss when a Rosales cross found Johnson streaking to the net and the American striker headed the ball past Cannon to even the score at 1. The goal immediately lifted the Sounders leading to a couple more chances which were both brilliantly stopped by a diving Cannon. The Sounders pressure continued as a Freddy Montero strike from distance forced Joe Cannon into another acrobatic stop.
It took another 15 minutes before the Caps got their next chance when a cheeky back heel by Chiumiento to Mattocks was once again skied over the net. Moments later Eric Hassli, a second half sub, just missed the net as he got his head to the end of an Alain Rochat cross.
Eric Hassli almost duplicated his magic from mid-when he blasted a volley shot, crossed in by Koffie, over the net. Chiumiento almost broke the deadlock minutes later as he was able to get inside of Johansson but his blast from outside the box just found the side netting.
The renewed Whitecaps attack finally broke through in 82nd minute as a Camilo free kick from about 40 yards glanced the head of Koffie and bounced past a diving Meredith to give the Caps a 2-1 lead. In the final minutes, after another couple of missed opportunities by the home side, Freddy Montero collected a cross by Johnson, slipping by DeMerit and top cornered his strike to end the match in a draw.
The opening match for the Cascadia Cup could have ended differently if the Whitecaps were able to be more clinical in their finish, the first point brought up by Martin Rennie in his post-game conference. The addition of pace by Mattocks made a major impact on the match and kept Seattle’s defenders on their back heel.
While it was Vancouver’s most impressive overall performance this season, the game will feel like two points lost instead of one gained against a rival. It will be vital for players to shake the disappoint off after a game like this as the Caps must turn around and travel east to face their Canadian rivals, TFC, on Wednesday in the second leg of the Voyageurs Cup.
(image courtesy of Bob Frid)
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