Sounders hope 2nd game begets 1st goal

It's another day and another rivalry for Sounders FC, which will meet the MLS expansion Vancouver Whitecaps for the first time today.

The 3 p.m. match at sold- out Starfire Sports Stadium in Tukwila will conclude the Cascadia Summit, which began Friday with the Sounders’ 2-0 loss to Portland.

In that one, Sounders coach Sigi Schmid went with most of his probable first 11, including seven players going the full 90 minutes.

That heavy workload means that Schmid will switch players, and priorities, today.

“It’s a situation of looking at some different people,” he said. “There are some guys who didn’t suit up (Friday) because we knew they were going to play (today). And it’s a chance for guys to make a case for themselves and show that they can bang away goals.”

That’s something the club failed to do against the Timbers, as the Sounders launched 18 shots but put only four on goal and none past Portland goalkeeper Troy Perkins.

“What’s important is that we finish our chances once the season starts,” Schmid said after the game. “But we’ve got to bury chances at practice, and bury chances in practice games.”

The Sounders returned to training Saturday, while the Whitecaps and Timbers met in the second day of competition at the summit.

Before the game, supporters of the three Northwest clubs gathered in the stadium to discuss the new rivalries.

Among other things, they heard Sounders general manager Adrian Hanauer say the current allotment of 500 away tickets for Cascadia Cup games – games between MLS teams in the Northwest – is a one-season experiment that will be assessed and could be adjusted up or down in later seasons.

Don Ruiz, 253-597-8808 don.ruiz@thenewstribune.com twitter/donruiztnt blog.thenewstribune.com/soccer