Seattle swept the regular-season match-up with the Timbers with a 2-0-1 record to win the Cascadia Cup. The Cascadia Cup is a three-team Pacific Northwest competition played between USL clubs Seattle, Portland and Vancouver.

The Sounders also moved within two points of first-place Portland with eight games left to play.

The Sounders jumped on the first-place Timbers from the outset and created a series of goal-scoring chances in the opening half.

Seattle first threatened to break the tie on a free kick opportunity in the 24th minute. With regular free kick taker Leighton O’Brien out with a calf injury, midfielder Hugo Alcaraz-Cueller stepped in and bent a shot over the Portland wall and onto goal. Portland goalkeeper Josh Wicks jumped and swatted the ball away at the last second.

The Sounders again looked dangerous in the 29th minute when Greg Howes received a headed pass from Roger Levesque across the face of goal and shot into the arms of Wicks.

Midfielder Josh Gardner finally broke the stalemate in the 32nd minute with his first league goal of the season to give the Sounders a 1-0 advantage. Gardner wiggled free of his defender inside the box and fired a low shot past two Portland defenders and a diving Wicks into the back of the net. It was Gardner’s second goal in three games after going scoreless for the first 22 games of the season.

The Sounders continued to apply the offensive pressure after the goal.

In the 42nd minute, Midfielder Greg Howes pounced on a loose ball at the top of the box and cracked a low shot past a flurry of bodies in front of goal. Wicks was well-positioned and scooped up the shot to keep the score at 1-0.

The Pacific Northwest rivals opened the second half with increased intensity as both teams picked up a yellow card in the first five minutes.

Forwards Roger Levesque and Sebastien Le Toux combined to extend the Sounders advantage to 2-0 in the 68th minute. Levesque created the opportunity by fighting off a Portland defender to win a ball near the end-line and touching a ball across to Le Toux. The Frenchman then slotted the ball into the back of the net for his team-leading sixth goal of the season.

Goalkeeper Chris Eylander and the Sounders backline closed out a dominant performance by recording their eighth shutout of the season.

Seattle continues a four-game homestand with a regular-season match against Puerto Rico on August 4th, followed by a U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal game against the Colorado Rapids on August 7th.

Scoring Summary

Gardner 32, Le Toux (Levesque) 68

Lineups

SEA: Chris Eylander, Noah Merl, Taylor Graham (Danny Jackson ‘70), Zach Scott, Kevin Sakuda, Kenji Treschuk, Josh Gardner (Santa Maria Rivera ’83), Greg Howes, Hugo Alcaraz-Cueller, Sebastien Le Toux, Roger Levesque (Gabe Sturm ‘81)

POR: Josh Wicks, Shaun Higgins, Justin Thompson, Cameron Knowles, Leornard Griffin, Neil Dombrowski, Luke Kreamalmeyer, Kiki Lara (David Hague ‘65), Andrew Gregor, Matt Taylor (Lawrence Olum ‘85), Bryan Jordan (Troy Ready ‘81)

Shots – SEA:10 POR:6

Saves – SEA:2 POR:4

Fouls – SEA:11 POR:21

Offsides – SEA:2 POR:2

Corners – SEA:4 POR:4

Cautions – Dombrowski 25, Gregor 45, Griffin 49, Scott 50, Treschuk 81

Ejections –

Attendance – 3,287