Paul Rothrock’s second touch nearly won the game.
The Sounder winger had been on the pitch for two minutes when a diagonal long ball from Cristian Roldan found him making a run behind the Portland Timbers defense. His first touch perfectly cushioned the pass. His second was a nearly point-blank attempt on goal. It seemed like Rothrock simply needed to put the ball on target to break the deadlock.
Rothrock was denied. A sliding, last-ditch challenge by Timber defender Finn Surman blocked his shot on the goal line, maintaining the 1-1 scoreline.
It was the Sounders’ best chance to leave with a win. Coach Brian Schmetzer’s team drew with their Cascadia rival Timbers 1-1 Saturday evening at Providence Park in Portland.
Both goals were scored in a six-minute span, starting with Sounder midfielder Albert Rusnák’s 30th-minute strike and ending with Timber winger Santiago Moreno’s tap-in goal in the 36th minute. The Sounders and Timbers have drawn their past two meetings dating back to the 2024 season.
As expected, Schmetzer made several changes to his starting lineup after heavily rotating his personnel during the Sounders’ 4-0 midweek loss against LAFC. Only three players — forward Jesús Ferreira, center back Yeimar and left back Nouhou — retained their spots after starting Wednesday.
Schmetzer also returned to a four-player defense. South Korean center back Kim Kee-Hee partnered Yeimar in the middle, flanked by right back Alex Roldan and Nouhou. Obed Vargas and Cristian Roldan started in the double pivot, while Rusnák was recalled to orchestrate the offense in the attacking midfield. Goalkeeper and captain Stefan Frei, winger Ryan Kent and striker Danny Musovski rounded out the Sounders’ strengthened lineup.
Unlike the Sounders, the Timbers and coach Phil Neville rotated significantly less during their scoreless midweek draw against Real Salt Lake. Seven of the Portland players who were on the pitch for the kickoff against the Sounders Saturday were in the Timbers starting lineup Wednesday.
The Sounders’ fresh legs almost put them ahead four minutes into the game, when a cross by Alex Roldan almost found Musovski six yards from the goal. Musovski, who entered the match as the Sounders’ joint-leading goal scorer in MLS this season, whiffed while trying to volley the ball toward the goal leading to a harmless corner.
Portland’s best chance of the first half hour came minutes later, when Timber defender Juan Mosquera dragged a shot from just inside the penalty box wide left in the eighth minute after leading a Portland counterattack.
The 30th minute, however, sparked a flurry of goal scoring for both teams. The Sounders struck first, when Cristian Roldan hit a slicing long ball from deep in his own half down the middle of the field for Musovski, who ran down the pass, held the ball up, then laid it off for Rusnák. The Slovak midfielder curled a shot along the turf, beating Portland goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau at the near post for the 1-0 lead. It was Rusnák’s team-best sixth MLS goal of the season.
Their advantage didn’t last long. Six minutes after Rusnák opened the scoring, Portland’s quick transition attack found the back of the net. Strong interplay between Mosquera and midfielder David Da Costa, signed as a designated player by the Timbers from Ligue 1 side Lens before the season, progressed the ball down Portland’s right wing.
After receiving the ball near the byline, Da Costa hit a low cross that found Portland winger Santiago Moreno. He easily tapped the ball into the goal from inside the 6-yard box, scoring his second goal in three matches and equalizing the match 1-1.
Both teams, once again, struggled to threaten the goal after the restart. Kent, playing on the left wing, was the biggest threat for the Sounders. He consistently drove toward the byline trying to find angles to cross, shoot or play in overlapping fullback Nouhou.
Kent was part of the buildup play for the Sounders’ first significant chance of the second half, bringing down a Sounders clearance for Rusnák in the 66th minute. He squared the ball to Cristian Roldan, whose shot from just beyond the 18-yard box blazed over the Portland crossbar.
Rothrock came on for Kent in the 71st minute before nearly breaking the deadlock in the 73rd. His fellow substitutes Georgi Minoungou and Pedro de la Vega — who had one shot saved and another blocked — each missed chances late, too, forcing the Sounders to settle for a draw.