Whitecaps Come Up Short

Playing in front of a sell-out crowd naturally motivated the Whitecaps with a line-up that was almost identical to the one used in the match against Columbus earlier this season.

The Sounders draw a huge following when ever they travel north of the 49th to take on the Pacific Northwest rivals, which is no different when the Cap’s travel south.

Hurtado managed to score in his third straight match, while Gershon Koffie popped his first of the season and also being named Budweiser Man of the Match.

The Cap’s outshoot Seattle by a margin of 24-8, but the end result seemed a little disappointing against the top team in the league, but regardless they (the Caps) are undefeated in five straight MLS contests.

In addition they have sold out the past six home games and for this Head Coach Carl Robinson has to be pleased with the performance of his club to date.

The Caps managed to get eight shots toward the net in the first 10 minutes of the game, while in the sixth minute Koffie sent a strike past the post.

It wasn’t until the 15 minute mark that Seattle came to life, while the Cap’s pressed Seattle caused problems on the counter attack.

In the 36th minute Seattle’s Chad Barrett headed one in after taking a pass from Cooper and less than 3 minutes later the Cap’s answered off the foot of Hurtado to tie the match.

Vancouver outshoot Seattle 14-4 in the first half only coming away with a 1-1 draw heading to the dressing rooms.

In the 66th minute, Frei left his net to prevent a throw-in, but Koffie chested down his throw and sent a left-footed half volley into the vacated net from 40 yards to give Whitecaps FC a 2-1 lead.

The 81st minute saw Jay DeMerit called for a penalty when he out jumped Seattle’s Cam Weaver and headed away a cross from danger.

Sounders FC midfielder Gonzalo Pineda calmly chipped in the ensuing penalty to level the score at 2-2.

Whitecaps FC dominated the six minutes of stoppage time as Koffie came close on two occasions while Morales was buzzing in the final third, unfortunately for the Cap’s the match ended in a 2-2 draw.

The ‘Caps next Cascadia derby is June 1st as they meet Portland Timbers at ProvidencePark.

Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. PT, live on TSN2 and TEAM 1410 radio.