Author’s note: Red, White and Green is Playing for 90′s column aimed at focusing on the Cascadian (Pacific Northwest) teams. In MLS, three teams – Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver – battle for the Cascadia Cup each year. Red, White, and Green will give a critical eye to Cascadia teams. The column is named Red, White, and Green based on the team colors. Red for the Portland Timbers as they are known as “Rose City”, white for the Vancouver Whitecaps as it is their primary color when they play, and lastly green for the Seattle Sounders as they wear “Rave Green” for most matches, home or away.
After defeating a feisty Chivas USA squad, the Seattle Sounders completed game 30 of the season and remained at the top of the Western Conference and Supporters Shield standing. The Sounders are currently tied at 57 points with the Los Angeles Galaxy. This is where things get interesting.
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The Sounders now head the Commerce City, CO to face the Colorado Rapids at Dicks Sporting Goods Park. This will be the third and final meeting between the two clubs this year. The first two matches were played at CenturyLink Field in Seattle back in April and August. Seattle won both matches by a score of 4-1 and 1-0 respectively.
The Sounders will need to fight the urge to look past the Rapids this Sunday ahead of their match with the Vancouver Whitecaps. There is little to no room for error for Sigi Schmid and his team. As I mentioned earlier, the Galaxy are hot on their heels and any slip up can cost them the number one seed and the Supporters Shield.
The Sounders then return home to face their Cascadia Rival, the Whitecaps, in front of a nationally televised audience on October 10th. Not only does this match have playoff implications for both teams, but the Cascadia Cup is on the line as well (check back next week for an article pertaining to the Cascadia Cup).
Aug 30, 2014; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Sounders FC midfielder Osvaldo Alonso (6) and forward Clint Dempsey (2) and defender DeAndre Yedlin (17) during the National Anthem prior to the game against the Colorado Rapids at CenturyLink Field. Seattle defeated Colorado 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports
It will be an extremely tough match as emotions tend to get involved when playing a rivalry match. Seattle will need to keep their calm in this match. There is also a possibility that the Sounders may not have Clint Dempsey or DeAndre Yedlin for this match as there is an international friendly the same night in Hartford, CT. Regardless who is on the pitch it will be a battle until the final whistle.
The last two matches of the season pit the Sounders and Galaxy against each other in a home and home series to end the 2014 MLS season. Seattle in all reality needs to win the first game of this two game series if they want any chance of possibly winning the Supporters Shield.
I don’t normally like to give predictions of future games, but I feel that the Sounders need to get a minimum of four points in these next two matches and hope that the Galaxy gets four or less as well to make it an exciting finish to the 2014 MLS season.