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Portland Timbers

Timbers Fall 4-2 to Cascadia-Rival Seattle Sounders FC

August 24, 2014 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Portland Timbers News Release


PORTLAND, Ore. - Portland attempted 21 shots and forward Fanendo Adi netted a second-half brace, but the Timbers could not overcome an early deficit in a 4-2 loss against Pacific Northwest-rival Seattle Sounders FC in front of a sold-out crowd of 20,814 at Providence Park on Sunday afternoon.

Seattle (14-7-3, 45pts) received a brace from forward Obafemi Martins and goals from forwards Clint Dempsey and Chad Barrett in the win. It was Portland's first home loss against Sounders FC since July 10, 2011, snapping a five-match, home unbeaten streak against Seattle. It was just Portland's third home loss during the 2014 season and first since June 27.

Portland earned a MLS-club record 13 corner kicks and held the edge in possession throughout the match (55 percent), but conceded two goals in the first half as Sounders FC made the best of their chances off the counterattack. After both teams hit the woodwork in the first 14 minutes, Martins opened the scoring in the 18th minute, converting a low cross from midfielder Brad Evans in front of goal. Dempsey doubled Seattle's lead in the 34th minute as he finished a through pass from Martins on a quick counterattack following a Timbers corner kick.

Seattle made it 3-0 in the 70th minute when Barrett converted from close range inside the penalty box. Culling the lead back down to two goals, Adi netted his first goal at Providence Park in the 73rd minute, finishing a well-placed cross from Rodney Wallace. Following Martins' second goal of the match in the 76th minute, Adi netted the brace in the first minute of second-half stoppage time when he powered home a pass from midfielder Steve Zakuani.

Portland's 21 shots on Sunday tied for the second-most in a single match this season.

Despite the loss, the Timbers remain just two points behind Vancouver in fifth place in the Western Conference standings.

Notes:

- Sunday's crowd of 20,814 marked the 64th consecutive sellout at Providence Park. The Timbers have sold out every regular-season match at Providence Park since their inaugural MLS season in 2011.

- Midfielder/forward Darlington Nagbe returned to the starting lineup for the first time since July 27 against Montreal. Nagbe, who sustained a knee sprain against the Impact, missed matches on Aug. 2 (LA Galaxy) and Aug. 9 (Chivas USA), before playing 37 minutes as a substitute on Aug. 16 (New England).

- The Timbers have only lost four regular-season matches at Providence Park since 2013 (14-4-12 overall).

- Defender Danny O'Rourke made his 200th career MLS appearance on Sunday at Providence Park. O'Rourke, who made 147 appearances for Columbus from 2007-2013, has appeared in 12 games since joining the Timbers on May 27, 2014.

- Midfielder Will Johnson made his 33rd consecutive regular-season start for Portland on Sunday.

- Portland's 13 corner kicks set a new Timbers MLS club record, surpassing the previous record of 12 set on May 12, 2013, against Chivas USA.

- Portland's 21 shots on Sunday ranks tied for second-most in a single match this season.

- Midfielder Diego Valeri became the Timbers MLS career leader in corner kicks (175) after attempting eight against Seattle.

- After scoring two goals on Sunday, Portland's 41 goals scored this season through 25 matches ranks as the third-most in MLS. The Timbers are on track to record 55 goals this season, surpassing the MLS-club record mark (54) set during an impressive 2013 campaign.

- With two saves on Sunday, goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts reached 200 saves in his Timbers MLS career.

- The loss snapped Portland's five-match, home-unbeaten streak against Sounders FC in all competitions. Prior to Sunday, the Timbers last lost a home match against their Cascadia rivals on July 10, 2011.

- Portland has registered at least one point in 13 of the last 18 regular-season matches, logging 27 points during the span.

- Midfielder Rodney Wallace recorded his first assist of the season on Sunday, delivering a pinpoint cross to forward Fanendo Adi in the 73rd minute.

- Forward Fanendo Adi became the first Timbers MLS player to record a brace in three separate matches this season. Adi has tallied two goals in a match three times this season (May 28 at Chivas USA, June 7 at Real Salt Lake and Aug. 24 vs. Seattle).

- Adi became the second Timbers player to register two goals in a match against Sounders FC this season. Midfielder Diego Chara scored a brace in a 4-4 draw against Seattle on April 5 at Providence Park.

- Adi's brace at Providence Park on Sunday marked his first two career goals at home for the Timbers this season. The forward has scored four goals away from home in 2014.

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