PORTLAND, Oregon - Stephen King scored the winning goal Wednesday night as the Seattle Sounders FC defeated the Portland Timbers, 2-1, in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.In the opening minute, Sanna Nyassi found room on the right side, and crossed to a diving Roger Levesque, whose header beat Portland keeper Steve Cronin inside the near post. It was only the fourth goal allowed by Portland at PGE Park this year.
In the 27th minute, Seattle found the back of the net again when Nate Jaqua ran into some trouble in the box then dropped the ball back to King, who drove the ball left post past Cronin.
Portland finally broke through the Seattle defense in the 43rd minute. Mandjou Keita scored his third goal of the U.S. Open Cup. David Hayes lofted the ball into the box, finding Keita front and center, and he tapped it right of goalkeeper Kasey Keller. It was his sixth goal in his last four games.
Neither side scored in the second half, and Sounders FC came out on top, halting Portland's 12-game unbeaten streak.
King's goal was his second in a Sounders FC kit. He scored in the 4-1 Open Cup Play-in win over Real Salt Lake on April 28. Levesque's goal was his first with the MLS side Sounders. It was his tenth goal in his career against the Timbers. He has now played 25 matches against Portland in all competition.
With the win Sounders FC advances to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup where they will face the Kansas City Wizards on July 7 at 7:00 p.m. PT at Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila.
Seattle's next regular season MLS game is scheduled for July 11 at 7:00 p.m. PT on the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field.
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