Fought and Won

In the annals of the storied Portland-Seattle rivalry, each game exists as a singular event and another chapter in the larger story of the greatest rivalry in North American soccer. Some games stand taller than others, like both times that the Timbers knocked the Sounders out of the playoffs. But tonight's match at Lumen Field (on a goddamn THURSDAY) was already unique before a ball was even kicked. Aside from the unusual day, both teams were returning from a two-month break instituted by MLS for the FIFA World Cup. The Timbers were trying to get off on the right foot following a dreadful Apertura campaign that saw them earn 14 points from 14 games. Those poor results cost head coach Phil Neville his job.

Those were the stakes for the Timbers. But the Seattle Sounders, on the other hand, had only one objective on their mind. Innovation comes naturally to the Sounders. They have to constantly push the boundaries of what can be accomplished on a soccer field. However, sometimes they feel compelled to take inspiration from recent events.

The Sounders either innovate or copy. Technically, these are the only two options when it comes to playing soccer. You either introduce a new concept or you use an existing one. Tonight, the Seattle Sounders opted to do both.

10 days ago, the United States Men's National Team was knocked out of the World Cup after a 4-1 defeat to Belgium. That game occurred at Lumen Field; the home stadium of these Seattle Sounders. With one more Sounders game left on the grass surface FIFA mandated for all host stadiums, the Sounders harnessed the power of that grass to make history. 

The USMNT may have lost 4-1 to Belgium, but the Sounders knew that they could push the boundaries beyond that humiliation. They simply had to do more. It's in their DNA. Tonight's game ended with the Portland Timbers celebrating a 5-1 victory. It's the largest margin of defeat that the Sounders have ever suffered at Lumen Field. They conceded 5 goals at their vaunted home stadium (once referred to as an “Azteca”) for the first time in their history. And they chose this moment to innovate against the Timbers; their biggest rivals with interim head coach Jack Cassidy at the helm. You really have to hand it to them.

RECAP!

For the first five minutes, it appeared like nothing had changed. The Sounders were able to exploit space within Portland’s defensive structure, and it almost paid off with an opening goal. In the 5th minute, Jesus Ferreira took a shot from outside the box that glided along the grass. James Pantemis parried it, but the ball fell in the path of Paul Rothrock. After an easy finish, the stupid fire cannons lit up. However, those cannons had an unfortunate misfire because the offside flag was raised.

I don’t think semi-automated offside technology was needed for that call. If Rothrock happened to be onside, it would have continued a devastating Timbers trend in 2026. Portland entered this game having conceded a goal within 20 minutes in 7 of the 14 first halves they’ve played. A pretty clear offside saved them from making it 8 in 15.

That disallowed goal acted as a shot in the arm for the Timbers. Six minutes later, Antony was charging through Seattle’s midfield and attempted a through ball for Kevin Kelsy. The Venezuelan striker and Sounder center back Jackson Ragen both hustled towards the loose ball. Kelsy won the race and won a corner kick. Suddenly, Portland was growing into the game. Brandon Bye took a shot from distance in the 16th minute which deflected off of Ragen’s partner (Tino Lopez) for another corner. Both of these corners found the heads of Seattle defenders. The Sounders are pretty consistent on dead balls, so none of these events were surprising.

What happened next, however, created shock and awe. In the 18th minute, Kelsy dropped into the midfield to receive a pass from Finn Surman. The Venezuelan striker opted for a quick bounce pass to Diego Chara and began a vertical run directly up the middle of the pitch. While Kelsy was running, Chara found Jimer Fory on the left wing. With acres of space to run into, the Colombian fullback began his own forward run, but he had the ball at his feet. After reaching the boundary between the middle third and the final third, Fory launched a long ball into the box. Kelsy ran onto the ball and snapped it home with a deft flick of his head. 1-0 to the Timbers in glorious fashion.

The Sounders were shellshocked. But the Timbers saw a mismatch on Seattle’s right flank and realized that Kalani Kossa-Rienzi’s tendency to leave space in behind could be exploited repeatedly. David Da Costa took advantage of this in the 22nd minute by dribbling down the left wing until he reached the endline. Sounders goalkeeper Andrew Thomas closed down the already tight angle and saved a fiercely struck Da Costa shot. Two minutes later, the Timbers were attacking down Seattle’s right side again. Kelsy launched a diagonal switch to a wide-open Antony, and the field began to tilt towards Seattle’s goal again. After a quick cut inside, the Brazilian winger fired a shot from outside the box. It forced Thomas to make an excellent save. 

But Portland was still vulnerable to Seattle’s meticulously structured attack. In the 29th minute, Rothrock beat Surman on the dribble and fired a cutback cross into the box. Ferreira received it, but opened his hips and touched it to a wide-open Kossa-Rienzi. Pantemis came off his line and made a spectacular save to deny the University of Washington graduate from point-blank range. But the ball deflected towards the top of the box to a waiting Snyder Brunell. The 19-year-old midfielder took a shot on the volley with Pantemis still outside of the goal-frame, but Kamal Miller was there to heroically head the ball away. 

Four minutes later, the Timbers were attacking again. Chara scooped up the second ball from a shanked Nouhou clearance and moved it to Da Costa, who unleashed a ferocious shot with his weaker left foot. Thomas made a good save at the near post. The Timbers weren’t going anywhere. They were pushing for a second goal. And it nearly came in the 43rd minute. Ariel Lassiter stood over a free kick from about 25 yards out. He curled the ball around the wall and forced Thomas to make a finger-tip save to push the ball off the post. However, Antony was crashing the box and was in a perfect position to receive the rebound. But the ball bounced back at a high speed and an awkward angle, causing the Brazilian winger to shank the finish. Both teams entered halftime knowing that there was still work to be done.

Portland began the second half right where they ended the first half: by exploiting Seattle’s right side. In the 48th minute, Da Costa dribbled to the endline again and played a low cross into the center of the box. It leaked out of the box to Cole Bassett, who quickly passed the ball to Antony. The Brazilian winger took a curling shot that Thomas easily caught.

Then the Timbers won a free kick in the middle of the pitch in the 56th minute. Lassiter sent the ball towards Thomas’ left post and the waiting head of Bye. A glancing header found the foot of Miller, who swept it home to double Portland’s lead. Now defeat was written all over Seattle’s faces. The Timbers knew exactly what they had to do next.

These Seattle Sounders have conquered almost everything that MLS has to offer (except MLS is Back, of course). Their players are battle-tested across a myriad of difficult environments. Which is what makes this next sentence outrageously funny. The hardened Sounders still find a way to fall to pieces against the Portland Timbers. Especially at their home stadium. They cannot find a way to dominate their biggest rivals at Lumen Field. Even last year’s 1-0 Sounders win (which is really beginning to look like a true outlier) wasn’t accomplished through domination. The Timbers had some half-chances and opportunities to find a tying goal. But Portland wasn’t organized or disciplined enough to capitalize on another Seattle team presenting itself as beatable at Lumen.

Tonight was different. After Miller continued the proud tradition of getting a center back goal at Lumen, it was time for one of the new arrivals to make his mark in his first Cascadia Cup game. In the 60th minute, Bassett received a pass in the center circle and quickly moved the ball to Kelsy. You won’t be surprised to learn that Seattle’s right side was vulnerable again. That’s where Da Costa was charging forward, and he received Kelsy’s slip pass in stride to begin another run towards goal with the ball at his feet. After a couple stepovers and a cut inside, he found Bassett on the right side of the box. With one swing of his left boot, Cole Bassett became Goal Bassett once again. 3-0 Portland in the 60th minute. Let’s check in on the mood inside Lumen Field really quickly.

Well THAT can’t be good. Now the Sounders were stomped into the temporary dirt. Blood was still in the water. With chants of “Our house, in the middle of Shittle” raining down from the traveling supporters, Antony dribbled the ball down Seattle’s vacant right side again in the 63rd minute. He opted to test Thomas from a tight angle, and the Seattle goalkeeper with a very stupid haircut made another save from close-range. But Kelsy was at the doorstep to smash home the rebound. 4-0 Portland, 63rd minute. The Seattle Sounders were dead.

At this moment, right after the hour mark, boos were raining down from the lower bowl. They had begun 7 minutes earlier when Miller doubled Portland’s lead, but now it was time for an exodus. The fans began to leave the site of this fully developed disaster. Some of them probably had work in the morning. Others were definitely upset about a season-ticket renewal email that hit their inboxes prior to kickoff. Either way, they ceded the initiative in the stands to the seagulls, who were already circling and ready to feast.

Now the Sounders just needed to avoid being shut out. In the 71st minute, Brunell fed Danny Musovski on the left side of the box. Pantemis made a big save to protect the clean sheet. In the 78th minute, Albert Rusnak sent a curling free kick towards the far post. Kossa-Rienzi got on the end of it, and Pantemis had to make another big save through a crowd of bodies. Another Pantemis save occurred in the 80th minute from a Rusnak free kick. 

But that was only the start of the Sounders’ attempt to keep a streak alive. In every year since 2022, a Seattle player has gotten a red card in a Timbers-Sounders game at Lumen. Ragen began this tradition in the Parachute Game of 2022 before Leo Chu got his chance to shine in 2023. The Cascadia Cup win on Decision Day in 2024 was marked by an Obed Vargas red card. Even last year, in the dying moments of a game that the Sounders had already won, Rusnak made a late challenge from behind on Omir Fernandez, earning himself a straight red. It was vitally important that this streak needed to continue. And, folks, we nearly got the funniest one of them all.

Antony beat Rothrock to the loose ball from Rusnak’s saved free kick. Two hands to Antony’s back (I’ll allow it, let them play) took Antony off balance and put the ball at Rothrock’s feet. Now the energetic winger was running with the ball down the endline. Antony recovered and tried to get a foot in to jar the ball loose as Rothrock was crossing into the box. Rothrock went down, and referee Rosendo Mendoza pointed directly to the penalty spot.

It looked like a pretty clear penalty until a replay of the challenge was shown.

Folks, it looks like Rothrock took a dive here. Antony doesn’t appear to make any tangible contact here that would cause Rothrock to lose balance. It sure looks like he went down willingly. Why is this important?

In the 49th minute, Rothrock picked up a yellow card for a hard foul on Da Costa. Since this dive could win a penalty if not properly called, a case could be made that Rothrock committed the sin of simulation. That would have to be punished by a yellow card, which would result in Rothrock getting sent off with his second caution. Folks. FOLKS. We’re so close to one of the greatest MLS moments of all time. After Breel Embolo was sent off in the World Cup for a much less serious simulation offense (also a second yellow), it seemed clear that this exact scenario is why yellow cards need to be shown for diving. Trying to con your way into a penalty kick goes against the spirit of the game. Justice needed to be shown for Rothrock’s deceit. And it would have been the most satisfying way for the red card streak to continue.

Mendoza went to the monitor after the VAR official recommended a review. This is the angle he got.

Even in a blowout loss, the Seattle Sounders still find a way to get away with it. If the angle from the corner flag was used, it was evident that there was no contact from Antony. But there are unalienable truths in MLS, and it was time for another one to make its appearance: a PRO referee can never tell the difference between a foul and a flopping fish.

After a couple minutes at the monitor, Mendoza overturned his initial call. Instead of justifyingly sending Rothrock to the showers, he awarded the Sounders a free kick on the edge of the box. I left Lumen Field with a smile on my face and constant laughter and joy. Yet I was still upset that Paul Rothrock didn’t get a deserved second yellow for diving. They can’t keep getting away with it.

The Sounders used that sudden jolt of momentum to desperately try and get a goal on the board. Peter Kingston came close in the 86th minute, but Pantemis made another big save at the near post. This forced a corner kick. Rusnak sent the ball in one minute later and it found the head of substitute striker Osaze de Rosario, who executed a tough header with a high degree of difficulty to pull one back for the Sounders. He dropped his head and flicked the ball to the far post in a goal that you could really only shrug at. 4-1 Portland, 87th minute.

Ten minutes of stoppage time was added for the lengthy VAR review, a lot of subs, and all the goals the Timbers scored. With so much additional time, it was only natural for the Sounders to stretch the limits of their innovation. In the 8th minute of stoppage time, Da Costa got the ball on Seattle’s right once again. He blew past Ragen, who is getting pretty tired of being left in the dust by Timber attackers (THIS IS A NATHAN FOGACA REFERENCE). A simple cutback into the middle of the box was met by Alexander Aravena for his first Portland goal. 5-1. Innovation complete. Humiliation complete. A historic defeat, masterminded by a team that always knows how to beat Seattle. Glorious.

FIVE GOALS!

I could opt to break down all five goals that the Timbers scored tonight. But number 3, 4, and 5 all followed the same pattern of exploiting the acres of space the Sounders left on their right side. This is a signature feature of Brian Schmetzer’s Ol’ Reliable; the right back always pushes up and becomes the right winger in possession while the nominal “right winger” tucks inside and acts as a second number 10. Tonight’s defeat was so bad that it might force Schmetzer to change Ol’ Reliable. Is there some poetry in a team from Portland, Oregon destroying the right wing of their opponent? Definitely. 

But I am going to opt for a frame-by-frame breakdown of Portland’s first goal. The latter three strikes can be attributed to the Timbers finally being aggressive on the counterattack and exploiting open space quickly instead of slowing play down and “enjoying the ball.” The first goal is stupendous in almost every aspect. Let’s get into it.

We start right as the clock is about to enter minute 19. Finn Surman has the ball outside of Portland’s box without any high pressure from the Sounders. This is kind of abnormal from Seattle, but they do have numbers deeper in the midfield to try and win the ball and counter quickly towards the Timbers. It’s not a bad plan.

Now we can properly talk about Portland’s buildup shape! It’s a classic 4-3-3 look with the fullbacks pushed higher and Diego Chara (the lone 6) dropping deeper. This isn’t anything revolutionary. But Seattle has the numerical advantage in the midfield, so Kevin Kelsy has decided to drop deeper to provide some support in buildup.

To those on the field in ugly green shirts, Kelsy seemingly comes out of nowhere here. This touch is very important because it solidifies in Seattle’s mind that Kelsy is deeper in the midfield. He isn’t occupying the center backs and he’s deeper than Cole Bassett and David Da Costa. Look at how structured this is, even considering Kelsy’s drop.

Kelsy gets his lone touch, which seems a little heavy at first. But it sets up a spectacular first touch from Chara to take Snyder Brunell completely out of the play. 

Chara follows up that excellent first touch with a pretty risky pass on the ground to Jimer Fory. Jesus Ferreira could intercept it, but he doesn’t.

The wingers are the MVPs of this play at this current moment. Antony is holding the width at the top of the screen, which keeps Tino Lopez from coming off his line to challenge for the ball. Ariel Lassiter has completely inverted into the middle of the pitch, which allows Kelsy’s vertical run to act as a supporting move instead of the primary thrust. Phil Neville’s Timbers never did this. They always thought in the present moment instead of thinking about how the play will develop. Once again, it isn’t revolutionary. But dear GOD is it effective.

Jimer Fory has always been able to play this pass. But it can’t be played if the primary objective is “enjoying the ball.” Kelsy has been making these runs all season. They wouldn’t pay off when the primary objective is “enjoying the ball.” This play is already awesome. But it needs one more touch of brilliance to become legendary.

Kelsy has spent his entire time in Portland begging for service. An incalculable number of these runs have gone unrewarded. Now, as the ball floats towards him in this rivalry game, he decides to pay tribute to Robin van Persie. The header is unbelievable. He chips Thomas, who is simply caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. It’s quick to blame the Sounders for failing to track his gut-busting vertical run. Kelsy bypasses the entire midfield and both center backs during his heroic charge to the penalty area. It’s a goal of the highest quality, and an instant entry into the storybooks.

However, this ended up being the “worst” chance that the Timbers converted in this game.

This diagram is a work of art. All three shots from inside the six-yard box were can’t-miss chances, so the Timbers scored all of them. Notice the difference between shots on the right side of the field and the left side. There was always space on the left.

The tactics involved to create this shotmap were nothing extraordinary. Instead, the competence that the Timbers showed in regards to positional discipline, commitment to moving the ball quickly (you might have noticed that very few superfluous touches were taken by Portland players) and a willingness to make hard runs resulted in the best attacking performance of the year BY FAR. 

Seattle has been dealing with injuries to their backline all season. Players like Lopez and Kossa-Rienzi have been able to step up to the plate week after week no matter which opponent is on the table. But tonight’s game was different. Cristian Roldan’s reinvention as a defensive midfielder came at the exact time Joao Paulo’s effectiveness began to decrease. The Snack Man acts as the shield to Seattle’s backline. Was his presence missed yesterday? Obviously yes, but not to the extent of changing the result. He probably prevents one of those counterattacking goals at most. Speaking of counterattacking goals, would you like to see something awesome? Yes you do!

The jump in fast break success is very noticeable. That’s what happens when you commit to counterattacking instead of “enjoying the ball.”

All five goals will steal the headlines. But tonight’s victory isn’t about the scoring. Well, yeah, it is about the scoring. But it’s mostly about having a defined objective and succeeding with flying colors.

DUELS!

Oh my God.

Duels, duels, duels. That word permeated the training facility since players returned about a month ago. In order to win games of soccer, you just have to beat your opponent on and off the ball. If those basics are taken care of, scoring goals becomes a secondary effect.

The Seattle Sounders never get dominated on second balls. Until tonight. Portland players were everywhere. It wasn’t just a factor of making hard tackles, but outstanding positional discipline. They were simply everywhere they needed to be. And it looked so effortless, which is utterly fascinating. So many aspects of last night’s performance were complete indictments of Phil Neville. None more so than these otherworldly duel numbers. The Sounders eventually gave up. The Timbers simply didn’t. Just a simple matter of organization made this team competitive. Not just competitive. Ruthless and dominant.

BOX TILT!

Box tilt victory! As a treat!

34-29 isn’t a whopping victory. Neither of their splits from half-to-half are anything special either (12-10 in the first half and 22-19 in the second). Portland made the most of their box touches while Seattle squandered theirs. There really isn’t much else to say!

PLAYER RATINGS!

Everyone gets a 10. I dare you to disagree.

James Pantemis

Throughout the awful start to the season, Pantemis sat between the sticks making incredible save after incredible save. Since Seattle is actually a baseball city, I think a baseball comparison makes some sense here. Bear with me. Elite starting pitchers should never be defined by wins and losses. Those stats can only be achieved based on the amount of offense that a pitcher is provided. Jacob deGrom, Dave Stieb, and Felix Hernandez all mowed down opposing hitter but barely had any consistent run support throughout their careers. Does that make them worse pitchers than Pete Vuckovich, who won the 1982 AL Cy Young despite only striking out 105 batters in 223.2 innings pitched? Vuckovich won 18 games that season. The voters trusted wins and awarded him the trophy.

Pantemis has been begging for run support this season. As he kept standing on his head to keep the Timbers in games, his attack rarely delivered. Tonight, he finally got some long overdue run support. He was credited with four saves; all of which were quality stops. Unfortunately, through no fault of his own, the Timbers did not get a clean sheet. Sometimes you just get beaten on an excellent header. It happens. 

Brandon Bye

The biggest change I noticed in Bye’s game was how often he stayed back. Under Neville, Bye acted as the primary width provider on the right side and was often tasked with flying up and down the flank to defend and attack. I’ve praised the quality of his crossing throughout the season. So isn’t it incredibly ironic that both of his assists in 2026 have come from headers?

Bye’s presence as a true fullback and not a quasi-winger didn’t completely nerf his ability to get forward. However, he struck an excellent balance between the two, as any fullback should. An outstanding performance.

Finn Surman

Fotmob’s ratings aren’t gospel, but I think it says a lot that Surman was the lowest-rated Timber tonight. He simply didn’t have a lot of stuff to do. His most notable moment of the match was blocking Brunell’s 2nd-minute shot. A proper performance; one that doesn’t make the highlight reels but brings stability. 

Kamal Miller

He really likes playing in these games. I don’t know what else to say. After scoring a world-class volley against Vancouver last year, he scrambled home Bye’s header to make it 2-0 tonight. Now he has both Cascadian clubs checked off on the goalscoring list. But that second goal might not have been possible without his heroic goal-line clearance in the 29th minute.

I love when defenders get a standout defensive highlight and score a goal. After the game, I asked Miller which one he preferred more. “The block. The block for sure….If that goes in, they get momentum and, you know, the game could be completely different. We’ll be in here feeling sorry for ourselves.”

I find the use of the phrase “feeling sorry for ourselves” intriguing. It’s still one game and the Timbers still have many bad patterns to break if they want to turn the season around. One of which is their ability to respond to conceding a goal. That’s something to note for the future.

Jimer Fory

Tonight was Fory’s first game at Lumen Field after missing last year’s edition due to injury. You might remember his excellent performance in the 1-1 tie at Providence Park last year. Fory’s assist is his major highlight from this game, and his passing on the whole was excellent. It can be hard to remember just how good of a passer he is when he’s encouraged to take more risks with the ball. He ended the night with 2 tackles, 1 interception, 2 clearances, 1 block, 8 recoveries, and only 1 foul. The assist will steal all the headlines, but everything off the ball was superb as well.

Diego Chara

In the 23rd minute, certified pumpkin Jordan Morris was leading a Sounders counterattack. Diego Chara chased him down, put in a trademark tackle, and won the ball back. Is it 2016 again?

Seriously, is it 2016? Chara acted as a single pivot in Portland’s 4-3-3 shape, but wasn’t solely confined to the base of the midfield. Instead, there were times where he was higher than either Bassett or Da Costa. That phenomenon was usually seen when the Timbers were in their defensive shape. All three midfielders routinely swapped positions in and out of possession. You can’t do that against a team like Seattle unless you’re an absolute genius.

Chara has played in 38 Portland-Seattle games in his career. He never played in one like this before. His tried-and-true controlled aggression was the unifying force between every single defensive action that the team performed tonight. There can only be one Diego Chara, and he took the field surrounded by 10 teammates who were willing to get as stuck in as he was. 

Cole Bassett

How exactly can Cole Bassett and David Da Costa coexist? That was a question posed throughout the early months of the season. Cassidy solved it right away: make them dual 8s in a 4-3-3 and let them cook.

Let’s start with Bassett’s excellent display. When he was a part of the double pivot, he’d often occupy Da Costa’s spaces with his bursts into the final third. Tonight he set up shop in the right channel and became nearly unplayable, especially in transition.

The triangle he created with Bye and Lassiter was supremely successful. This is the type of performance that can be replicated game after game. And Bassett was ready to go after missing both Vancouver games. He previously made his mark in the Rocky Mountain Cup with some big goals for the Rapids. Now he’s taking those talents to the Cascadia Cup. Who cares about the quality of a finish when all goals count the same? By simply being in that space to receive Da Costa’s pass, he had already succeeded. Why not embarrass Nouhou and Andrew Thomas too? 

David Da Costa

A lot of my thinking is done out loud. I think I can relate to Phil Neville in that regard. While previous Timbers games under the old regime would feature scattered, audible shouts of “David Da Costa! David Da Costa!” on the sideline, tonight’s game gave way to a new motto: “Look at him go.”

That’s what I kept muttering to myself in the pressbox as Portuguese Dave routinely galloped down the left side of the field as he kept taking the ball to the endline over and over again. The repetitiveness of Neville’s endless shouts is now replaced by a DP-quality player getting to the primary assist zone on a constant basis. Truly glorious.

I’ve been talking about the Lens tape since Da Costa joined the Timbers last season. There has always been a player of extremely high quality within Portuguese Dave’s unassuming frame. Tonight was the Lens tape but in a Timbers jersey. He did everything. Excellent positioning to break up play and the quality to turn those giveaways into dangerous and direct attacks. Fierce dribbling that left Jackson Ragen and countless others stumbling. And precise decision-making that left Seattle’s vaunted defense utterly bamboozled. He’s a left-sided 8. He has always been a left-sided 8. His most encouraging performances occur when he’s marauding down that right sided channel. The Sounders gave him that space today. He put them in jail. It’s only going to get better from here. 

Ariel Lassiter

Vindication for Ariel Lassiter, the dead-ball specialist. But if you only focus on the set pieces, you miss everything else. You’d miss a crucial clearance in the 53rd minute that kept Paul Rothrock from getting a point-blank shot on goal. You’d miss the inverted run to open up the space for Kelsy’s first goal. Both of those plays were crucial to the story of this game. And Lassiter has been waiting for a moment like this.

During the first few months of the season, he was one of Portland’s most productive players. Yet he never got the game time that his production deserved. He needed to start this game, especially with Kristoffer Velde absent due to the birth of his child. Normally he plays on the left to maximize the deliveries from his wicked left foot. But on the right he always found space to provide danger. His curling free kick in the 43rd minute was sublime, yet it was kept out of the net by some excellent goalkeeping. If Velde isn’t back by next Wednesday, another Lassiter start should be on the cards. Scratch that. He should be starting even if Velde is back. You can’t take the team’s best set-piece taker and put him on the bench anymore.

Antony

Like Da Costa, Antony provided terror on the left wing. Although he didn’t score or provide an assist, he had opportunities to accomplish both. In addition, his defensive work was outstanding. 3 tackles, 3 recoveries, and 2 interceptions is nothing to sneeze at. He knew what he had to do today. Just a bit unfortunate not to register a goal involvement.

Kevin Kelsy

The apologies need to be as loud as the disrespect. Everyone with a brain can see that Kevin Kelsy is an excellent striker. 

In a game where every player on the pitch was brilliant in some regard, Kelsy still managed to elevate himself. Box-crashing? Absolutely. Spearheading the press? You got it. Being positionally disciplined while also exercising freedom to roam? Hell yeah. And that’s not even talking about the two goals!

Would it have felt better if Kevin Kelsy scored the elusive hat-trick in tonight’s game? He had the chance to do so in the 74th minute but a poor first touch let him down. That’s just a young player making a slight technical error. It happens. He bossed the game with every other involvement. Now he’s up to a team-leading 7 goals on the season and has registered 5g/1a in his past 5 games with the Timbers. The stock is still very low for some reason. You can always keep buying.

In addition, give Tyson Alger’s excellent account of Kelsy’s journey a read. It still blows my mind that he isn’t beloved by this fanbase. Some of you are just being difficult on purpose. Real Seattle behavior there. 

Jose Caicedo

It surprised me to see Caicedo on the bench when the starting lineup was released. It was pretty easy to assume that a fully healthy Caicedo would be one of the first names on the teamsheet. But his duty was to replace Bassett and play as an 8. I thought he did pretty well. If Chara can be labeled as a destroyer, Caicedo is definitely an interruptor. The violence of Chara’s tackles is a nice contrast to Caicedo’s silky movement to cut off passing lanes. In this system, he could play either of the midfield roles. Do not discount his ability on the ball. I noticed some great battles between him and Surman in training; some of which saw Caicedo easily get the better of Portland’s prized center back.

Alexander Aravena

He needed that goal. The team needed that goal. It was coming for months, and it finally happened in Seattle. 

After replacing Lassiter on the wing, he routinely found himself with plenty of space to operate in. But it was a diagonal run to the center of the box that finally got him on the scoresheet. Those runs were frequent in the Neville era. Now they’re finally getting rewarded. Awesome.

Joao Ortiz

In the 5th minute of second-half stoppage time, Ortiz had a nice passing sequence with Ian Smith and Antony. Just some good intermediate runs, quick passing, and solid positional interchanges. It was the only sequence I have from him in my notes, but he was also playing as one of the 8s. Like Caicedo, I think he can perform in both midfield roles. 

Felipe Mora

The poacher didn’t get a shot off but linked play really well. In his brief cameo, he made a big run through the middle of the pitch like Kelsy did on his goal. He stayed higher than Kelsy to occupy the center backs and open space for Aravena’s goal. Well done.

Ian Smith

Smith and Lassiter are the two best set-piece takers on the team. I think one of them has to be on the pitch at all times going forward. He didn’t really do much in his brief cameo, but sometimes you don’t have to do a lot to see out the final moments of a 5-1 victory. 

Coach Rating: 10

He will never have to buy a beer in the city of Portland ever again.

Nothing that the Portland Timbers did tonight was extraordinary aside from what the final score says. In the span of a month, Jack Cassidy simplified the gameplan and put every player into a role with competent instructions that got the best out of all of them. That’s exactly what good coaching is supposed to do. I could run through every single one of the basics that the Timbers did correctly today, but this article is far too long already and I have more paint to throw at the city of Seattle. So I think I can keep this section relatively simple. After all, that’s what led the Timbers to a historical victory tonight.

Two things stand out from his post-game presser. The first words out of his mouth were “I’m delighted for the players.” They were the ones who took his instructions to heart and passed every test with flying colors. He gave them a platform for success and they shattered the expectations laid out for them. No one expects to go into Seattle and win. Simply not losing can be a victory in itself. But there has never been a Portland Timbers team that has dominated the Seattle Sounders quite like this team did tonight. They performed like this with the helpful guiding hand of a manager who aced the basics.

Using the term “defensively fluid” seems like a bad thing, but the Timbers were seamlessly able to morph between different shapes based on where the ball was throughout this game. It took 10 minutes of heavier pressure to truly lock in, but very few Seattle players got free runs into space with the ball at their feet. Compare that to the endless marauding runs of Da Costa, Antony, Lassiter, Aravena, Bassett, and Caicedo. Beyond encouraging to see for a team that was set up to fail defensively under Neville. A lot of that credit goes to Liam Ridgewell, a coach who often gets maligned for the team’s defensive struggles. 

Yet there were still regrets in the aftermath of this timeless victory. “I’m disappointed we didn’t get the clean sheet,” Cassidy said after the game. That would have been the cherry on top of this beautiful cake. The team will be motivated to keep improving defensively. This is a hell of a building block.

It is so refreshing to see competence be effective in a game like this. After two and a half years of chaos under Neville, Ned Grabavoy has to be feeling vindicated in his roster decisions after tonight’s performance. And the new head coach has to be delighted with what he saw in this game. Seattle games can act as springboards. This might be the biggest one of them all.

Table Time

The Sounders currently believe that the sky is falling. They remain in 6th place, but 3 consecutive losses doesn’t look great in the form table. Portland climbed up to 11th and are now 3 points out of a playoff spot instead of 6. But the real victory tonight comes in the Cascadia Cup table.

Portland’s Cascadia Cup hopes were hanging by a thread entering tonight’s game. In many ways, the quest for the regional rivalry trophy took a backseat amidst all the big-picture topics surrounding this game. But the Timbers (and Alexander Aravena in particular) just announced that they’re not surrendering regional bragging rights without a serious fight.

Now the Cup math becomes very interesting. In order to have a chance at retaining the trophy, they need to defeat the Sounders again in two weeks by multiple goals. A 3-goal victory would be fantastic because it would clear the way for a slim but realistic scenario to occur: back-to-back 1-0 wins by the Sounders against the Whitecaps when they meet later this year in league play. That is easier said than done, but it’s entirely possible for the Sounders to get away with it twice against Vancouver. It just feels very weird to root for it. That scenario wouldn’t be possible, of course, if the Timbers don’t stomp the Sounders on August 1st in Portland. No worries, folks. Just gotta make history again.

Final Whistle

You know that you’ve screwed up if you can get Portland and Seattle fans to agree on something. Scheduling this storied fixture for a Thursday night didn’t sit well with anybody. But you have to play the games anyway, and only one team truly showed up for the fight tonight.

The pre-game atmospheres are always interesting for these matches, particularly in Seattle. Their stupid band begins to play stupid music for their stupid fans at some point during warmups. Today, three Sounders legends were being honored on the field. I’d like to highlight Kasey Keller briefly, because he does have ties to Portland after competing with the University of Portland soccer team under former head coach Clive Charles. After jump-scaring me during a viewing of Transforming the Beautiful Game: The Clyde Best Story in early June, seeing Keller again (this time in person) felt a little too soon. But the Sounders were (allegedly) motivated for this game, due to the pregame ceremonies and the opportunity to start of the MLS Clausura on the right foot.

You all know by now that it didn’t happen. As soon as the final whistle blew, Seattle players seemingly vanished from the pitch like the way their fans vanished from the stands around the hour mark. When the scheduled “Fight and Win” chant was shown on the video board at its usual time, it barely registered among Sounders fans. Ironically, that was the time of the match where the Timbers scored 3 goals in 7 minutes. Folks. FOLKS.

Prior to this game, I said that all the Timbers needed to do tonight was fight and win. I didn’t expect them to take it this literally. I can only applaud them for another spectacular commitment to the bit in a rivalry that is constantly inventing and recycling new bits and inside jokes. How else would you describe this legendary victory? The Portland Timbers fought, and the Portland Timbers won. Every second ball, every aerial duel, every chance to run up the score on the most entitled club in the United States. They took every opportunity to fight and they dominated. They took this mouthwatering opportunity to win and they humiliated the Sounders to a historic degree. It only took one game after Phil Neville was fired (much to the chagrin of Sounders fans, who were ready to present him with a lifetime contract) for the Portland Timbers to dole out a blowout that has sent the city of Seattle into a reckoning.

That reckoning has to start at the top. Adrian Hanauer is no stranger to marching angrily towards the home locker room. He famously did exactly that last summer when Seattle players protested about a lack of bonuses that they felt entitled to after the Sounders got a second opportunity to fail to win a single game in the Club World Cup. He berated the players in the locker room before that fateful game against Minnesota, and they promptly engaged in an act of quiet quitting on the pitch; losing that game 3-2 at home. Once again, Timbers and Sounders fans united behind the same goal: pushing for players to get their fair share of the prize pool. After his tirade, Hanauer promptly took that money and did JACK SHIT with it.

This entire Seattle roster has been built using pennies and allocation money. With Nikola Petkovic’s injury freeing up the THIRD of Seattle’s THREE available U22 slots, Hanauer has shown no desire to pony up the cash to strengthen a team that is clearly sunsetting from the historic decade of achievement since Brian Schmetzer took the job (as an interim) in 2016. Instead, he orders general manager Craig Waibel to not spend actual money with a defined goal of improving the team. That’s a very tough situation for any general manager to be in. 

So Waibel had to get smart. He chose to trade a truckload of that allocation money to Dallas for Jesus Ferreira (who barely made an impact in tonight’s game outside of assisting KKR’s golden chance in the 29th minute) and Paul Arriola (a man with more racist tweets than goal involvements). Re-signing Albert Rusnak to a DP deal became a necessity because they needed some level of production from the 10 role and Hanauer was too much of a tight-fisted boss to free up money for a much-needed high-quality DP. Do you know who Seattle’s DPs currently are? Rusnak is one, and he did nothing in this game outside of providing an assist on a set piece. Ariel Lassiter did the same thing, and he’s not on a DP deal. Jordan Morris is another, and he still hasn’t scored a goal against the Timbers since Barack Obama sat in the Oval Office. The Mercer Island native got bullied throughout the first half and continues to prove that the initials “DP” can stand for multiple things at once (Designated Pumpkin). Pedro de la Vega has been somewhat impactful when he’s healthy, but he pays rent for a medical suite at Longacres.

Is Hanauer’s fear of spending money tied to De la Vega’s constant health problems? Could it be that he won’t buy a foreign U22 because he gets nightmares about Leo Chu? Or, and this is by far the funniest option, is he hoarding all of this cash to try and build a soccer-specific stadium in Renton? Does he wake up in the middle of the night and constantly look at property values in a city that is geographically in the armpit of the Puget Sound metropolitan area? What is the reason for all of this ham-fisting? Does Adrian Hanauer go out to dinner and immediately unleash a tirade onto any waiter asking him if he’d like an appetizer; loudly proclaiming to multitudes of stunned customers and staff that ordering extra food before your main food arrives is stupid and wastes money? Or is Tom Dundon the only appetizer-eradicator within the Pacific Northwest?

Brian Schmetzer can only coach with what he’s given, and the injury report combined with Waibel’s skin-flint roster produced a starting lineup full of Tacoma graduates and Nouhou wearing the captain’s armband. It wasn’t the players farther down the roster who really let the Sounders down though. That honor belongs to the Designated Pumpkin, a 32-year-old Slovenian midfielder making $2.6M per year (the most on the team), the aforementioned captain, and a center back who is getting USMNT shouts! Maybe Jackson Ragen is meant for the national team. After all, he knows what it’s like to get blown out at Lumen Field!

But Schmetzer is in control of a locker room full of players exactly like him: Puget Sound natives who have grown up knowing who the Portland Timbers are and developing the hate that this rivalry needs to stay hot and fresh. Fans do not come and go, but players do. Schmetzer has a squad of players who should want despair and pain to rain onto the Timbers every time they meet. Yet he has accumulated a 3-5-6 record against a team that he’s hated for his whole life at his home stadium. His players were not equipped to face this hungry Portland team tonight, and he left a giant weakness in the team that got routinely exploited en route to the worst loss in club history. Forget the Timbers. This is the worst loss that the Sounders have ever suffered. It’s spectacular.

He took to the podium after the game behind a black backdrop. This never happens. MLS teams never miss an opportunity to get any form of sponsorship dollars. It was time for a funeral instead of a press conference. Not a single pen click was heard. Just silence and boiling anger. “Zero excuses for that performance. Just not good enough. And I’ll add me too. That’s the worst loss we’ve ever faced, and it’s the worst loss to the Timbers ever.”

He can never stop coaching the Seattle Sounders. Nothing can pull him away from this club. While Sounders fans lined up in droves to offer Phil Neville a lifetime contract extension, I’d like to take the opportunity to do the same for my dear friend Brian Schmetzer. There is no one better equipped to coach the Seattle Sounders. He always lets his hatred of Portland cloud his judgement when it comes to this game. In 2023, he took Leo Chu off the pitch to bring Heber on. This change completely negated Seattle’s ability to have a downfield outlet. One iconic bicycle kick and three goals later, he was explaining to reporters in a delightful press conference that the players needed to be reminded that this fixture is a rivalry. But he can never get out of his own way when it comes to games against the Timbers. Tonight, he left a runway on his own right flank and got bombarded by a Venezuelan striker, a Portuguese midfielder, and a Brazilian winger. One DP and two U22s; the exact kind of investment his boss refuses to lift a finger towards. An interim head coach who just joined the Timbers organization this year ripped him to shreds with a simple but effective gameplan. Now he owns the worst loss in Seattle Sounders history AND the worst loss to the Portland Timbers in Seattle Sounders history. Schmetzer-ball is historically efficient. Ticking off both of those boxes in one game might be the most efficient feat of Schmetzer’s coaching history. Sign the contract, please. No one is more worthy of getting beaten to shreds by the Portland Timbers.

After we go further down the pyramid, we arrive at the fans. They are the worst. Schmetzer is the best, but these fans are awful. Back in 2022, they offered to collab with 107ist on a tifo protesting Portland’s ownership. This request was denied by 107ist, who had already engaged in similar protests and had more to lose by staging a targeted tifo in their home stadium. The request was also submitted very late, giving 107ist (an objectively outstanding organization that deserves so much more appreciation than what they are already given) very little time to even collaborate on a tifo if the offer was even accepted. ECS decided to go ahead with their initial plan and pinned the declined request on 107ist in a classic Seattle display of performative activism. After the game (in which the Timbers won 2-1 and lifted the Cascadia Cup) their rented shuttle bus broke down and a legion of sad Sounders fans had to spend the night in Portland. That’s what justice looks like.

There was a parallel to this situation today. Another Cascadia Cup game is another opportunity to collaborate on a potential tifo to unite both fanbases. The third team in Cascadia, the Vancouver Whitecaps, currently hold the trophy and are under serious threat of relocation. “Save the Caps” banners were draped over the Brougham End, but tonight’s game presented another unique opportunity to speak out for a cause bigger than each of the clubs themselves. Iron Front was a success. I think Vancouver’s potential relocation is similarly dangerous to the health of Major League Soccer. After the anthems, the tifos rose in each section.

Rather than display their support for their threatened northern neighbors in their first Cascadia Cup game of the year, ECS opted for another sloppy mural showcasing various points around the Puget Sound region that have a direct connection to the Sounders. Their team was stacked with several of those local players tonight, and that team was historically blasted by the Portland Timbers.

Meanwhile, the far-away pair of sections in the northeast corner opted for something much more important.

107ist stood up for their vulnerable neighbors. Their counterparts chose to perform another classic Seattle act of autofellatio. They are the worst of the worst without being the actual worst of the worst. They deserved every bit of this blowout. 5eatt1e. It’s who they are now. 

But there is an opportunity for the Sounders to rectify their embarrassment in two weeks’ time. Directly after the 6-2 (where the Timbers actually put up a fight and simply fell victim to a Sounders team in tip-top form) Portland returned the favor with an extremely satisfying 2-0 win at Lumen. All of y’all have two weeks to get in all of your licks while you can. Offer Jordan Morris a contract extension. Send Brian Schmetzer new pens in the mail. Give Adrian Hanauer an appetizers-only menu. Nothing in this rivalry can ever be taken for granted. Except, of course, the Portland Timbers beating the Seattle Sounders at Lumen Field. It never gets old. Touch the grass while you still can.

Or, if you’re fortunate enough, take some grass for yourself.

Timbers fans are about to have a spectacular weekend. The looming question of the head coaching vacancy can get kicked down the road due to the splendor of a Thursday night on a grassy Lumen Field. These players just did what they absolutely needed to do: return from the break with fire and passion in their belly and beat the everloving crap out of their biggest rivals. But now their focus turns from ancient foe to old friend as Santiago Moreno and FC Dallas come to town on Wednesday. Then it’s time for a serious opportunity for revenge against RSL next Saturday. And, finally, the Sounders make their return trip to Providence Park one week later. The Sounders have gone through nightmares, car shows, and paratrooper-inspired horrors against these Timbers before. Now they can add the “Grass-tastrophe” to the list. It will never get old. Enjoy the weekend. The climb continues.