Raul Ruidiaz broke a tie early in the second half to lift the visiting Seattle Sounders to a 2-1 win against the Portland Timbers in the latest installment of the Cascadia Derby on Sunday.
It was the first victory for the Sounders (3-5-4, 13 points) against the Timbers since Aug. 15, 2021.
Portland (2-6-4, 10 points) has lost three straight and is 0-6-3 in its past nine matches.
Ruidiaz had an early chance to get the visitors on the board, settling a ball inside the box before getting a shot off that was snared by goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau.
Felipe Mora gave the Timbers a 1-0 lead in the 15th minute. Dario Zuparic lobbed a pass from midfield toward the 18-yard box. Jonathan Rodriguez hustled into the box and turned to get his chest on the ball to bump it over to the trailing Mora, whose right-foot kick from above the goal area beat goalkeeper Stefan Frei.
Cristian Roldan pulled Seattle level four minutes later. Albert Rusnak left a short ball for Roldan, and the midfielder took it to outside the arc before firing a shot that deflected off Portland defender Kamal Miller on its way past the outstretched hand of a diving Crepeau.
The goal was reviewed for offside but the call on the pitch stood.
Ruidiaz came close to putting the Sounders in front in the 32nd minute from high in the box but his shot rolled past the right post.
In the 41st minute, Rodriguez came within inches of regaining the lead for the Timbers with a chance off a corner that whistled just over the crossbar.
Ruidiaz didn’t miss on another opportunity in the 50th minute. Obed Vargas sent a short feed to Ruidiaz at the top of the box, and the Peruvian forward quickly shanked it high into the net for a 2-1 Sounders lead.
The Timbers struggled to generate an attack in the second half, but Santiago Moreno had their best chance when his shot from the top of the box in the 85th minute grazed the left post.
–Field Level Media
