Eddie Johnson scored the lone goal on an assist from Mauro Rosales as Seattle Sounders FC (10-8-4, 37 points) defeated the Portland Timbers (9-4-12, 39 points), 1-0, Sunday night in front of a record crowd of 67,385 on the Xbox Pitch at CenturyLink Field.
Seattle extended its club-record unbeaten streak to 10 games (7-0-3) and took the lead in the 2013 Cascadia Cup standings with seven points (2-1-1). Sounders FC is now fifth in the West, and second with 1.61 points per game.
After an hour of scoreless play, Rosales, who entered the match just four minutes earlier, whipped in a free kick that Johnson headed inside the far post for his sixth goal of the season. Johnson now has six career goals in Cascadia Cup play, including four in five games against Portland.
It marked the sixth assist of the season for Rosales, leading Sounders FC.
Clint Dempsey made his Sounders FC home debut, starting at forward alongside Johnson. The U.S. National Team captain finished with four shots, including an overhead rebound attempt in the 70th minute that was blocked and a 75th minute header that was cleared off the line by Diego Valeri.
Michael Gspurning made four saves, including two in stoppage time, en route to his seventh shutout of the season. It was his second shutout in four games against the Timbers.
In the 16th minute, Ryan Johnson got behind the Seattle defense for a one-on-one with Gspurning, but the Austrian keeper came off his line to make the stop. In second half stoppage time, Andrew Jean-Baptiste headed a deflected cross on frame, but Gspurning dove to make the save.
In the 35th minute, Valeri hit the post on a shot from 20 yards out and Gspurning punched it clear before the Timbers could convert the rebound.
Sounders FC returns to action on Saturday at Columbus. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. PT at Crew Stadium.
Scoring Summary:
SEA – Eddie Johnson (Mauro Rosales) 60′
