A pair of Pauls and a trio of goals saw the Seattle Sounders defeat the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-0 in the first leg of the Concacaf Champions League Round of 16. Paul Arriola and Paul Rothrock were the goal scorers, with Arriola earning a brace in his first start in over a year due to injury.
The entire squad played to near perfection against a very difficult Vancouver side. Osaze De Rosario was a nuisance for the Whitecaps’ defense, while Jesus Ferreira and Paul Arriola applied pressure from the sides. The Sounders’ defense, who were down to just one natural center back, held a clean sheet against a squad that had scored 10 goals in their last four matches.
The match started slowly with each team trying to figure each other out. Searching for spaces to make passes and control possession. Most of the pressure applied by the Sounders in the earlier moments of the match went through Jesus Ferreira and the right side of the pitch.
The Sounders had the better chances in the opening 15 minutes. First it was Osaze De Rosario who had a chance after a long ball from Stefan Frei found Paul Arriola. De Rosario didn’t get strong enough contact to beat Vancouver goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka.
In the 15th minute, Jesus Ferreira found Paul Arriola in the box after a defender slipped. The ball got behind Arriola briefly but he was able to get a dangerous shot off forcing another save from Takaoka. Then, in the 22nd minute, Albert Rusnak caught the Whitecaps sleeping and took a freekick quickly from just outside the box. The effort went inches wide of the post in front of a relatively empty net.
Just past the half-hour mark, the Whitecaps had a chance through winger Kenji Cabrera who drove a shot through the box, requiring a goal-line clearance from Nouhou to deny the Vancouver goal.
Just a moment before halftime, the Sounders got their breakthrough. A mishandled back-pass from Whitecaps defender Mathías Laborda was recovered by Jesus Ferreira in the opposition’s box. Ferreira could’ve taken the shot 1v1 against the keeper, but instead he slid the ball across to Paul Arriola who had an open net to score into.
Arriola is making his first start for the Sounders since March 11 of last season. That was the match against Cruz Azul in CCC where he tore his ACL. Just a day over an exact year past the moment, he gets the start and scores a goal in his return. A full-circle moment for Arriola. The Sounders took a 1-0 lead into the halftime break, a potentially crucial away goal in the series.
The second half started with unrelenting pressure from the Whitecaps. The Sounders could not string together more than a couple passes before turning the ball over. Despite the pressure, the Whitecaps never fully got a clear chance to strike. The Sounders defense would bend, but not break.
In the 58th minute the game was turned in its head. A through ball from Osaze De Rosario found the foot of Kalani Kossa-Rienzi who was deemed to be just onside, before his cross into the box somehow found a touch from Paul Arriola after a deflection off both a defender and the keeper.
If you thought one away goal was good, well two is even better! A 2-0 lead for the Sounders at the hour mark had the team running with confidence.
The Whitecaps surged back with pressure, attempting to come back from a two-goal deficit, and in the 69th minute Ralph Priso had a chance to score but an acrobatic save from Stefan Frei kept the 2-0 lead.
The Sounders capitalized on the Vancouver miss with a counter-attack through Cristian Roldan. Roldan attempted to find Danny Musovski in the box, yet the ball skipped past him. However, the ball made it past everyone in the box and Paul Rothrock was the man in the right place and the right time to make it a 3-0 game.
The final 20 minutes of the match was largely played in the Sounders defensive half. The Whitecaps, desperate for a goal, threw everyone forward looking for a chance to get one back.
Tacoma Defiance defender Antino Lopez, who was called-up for this match, came into the game and immediately made an impact. A last-ditch tackle in the box to deny Brian White’s attempt at goal just as the clock hit the 90th minute.
Lopez would make another play in stoppage-time, getting his head to the ball to clear a cross that was destined to find a Whitecaps’ player at the far post.
In the 95th minute, the Whitecaps nearly had their goal. Stefan Frei collided with Jackson Ragen trying to catch a dangerous cross. The ball was spilled in the box and fell to the feet of Germany legend Thomas Müller, whose shot thankfully hit the crossbar and was eventually cleared away.
The Sounders ultimately held on to the 3-0 scoreline and will bring a three-goal advantage into the second leg of the Round of 16 matchup. The second leg will be held at One Spokane Stadium on Wednesday, March 18, due to Lumen Field undergoing World Cup preparations.
The Sounders will face the San Jose Earthquakes this Sunday at PayPal Park. The Earthquakes have started MLS play with a perfect 3-0-0 record and have yet to concede a goal this season.
(Cover Photo: Jon Brennan / House of Sounders)
