SEATTLE SOUNDERS PREVIEW

July 27, 2007 - Vancouver Whitecaps FC men meet Pacific Northwest rivals Seattle Sounders for the final time this regular season on Friday.

Bob Lilley’s side return home to Swangard Stadium for the fourth encounter against their Washington State neighbours, with the Whitecaps looking to snap a seven-game winless steak after suffering a 2-1 defeat at league leaders Portland Timbers on July 19. The streak includes a July 12 setback in Seattle, as Frenchman Sebastien Le Toux scored the only goal to help the Sounders win 1-0 at Qwest Field. Before their last meeting, Vancouver had the better of Seattle after recording two early-season victories. Friday’s game will also count towards the fan-based Cascadia Cup competition, which also involves Portland.

Whitecaps assistant coach Todd Wawrousek is pleased his side have not allowed their recent form to affect them. “The spirit is remarkably high and it’s a credit to the team that they have maintained their training habits,” Wawrousek told whitecapsfc.com. “Obviously, when things don’t go the way you map them out and you’re not getting results, that can cause dysfunction in teams. However, I think there’s still an internal belief in this team that we have the ability to get a bit better in the different aspects of our game. Anytime when goals dry up a bit, you have bit of uncertainty and you lack a little bit of swagger you had when you were scoring goals. We’re continuing to work on that in training and hopefully, that will translate into our performance.”

After playing eight games within the space of four weeks, which included an extended road trip to the southeastern US and Puerto Rico, the Whitecaps have had the luxury of more than a week to prepare for the second visit of Seattle this term, with the Sounders four points ahead of the USL-1 champions in the standings after going undefeated in their last four league games. A 3-2 win over Rochester Raging Rhinos in Upstate New York on Saturday kept Seattle within touching distance of leaders Portland, with Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar scoring a late winner at PAETEC Park. It was Seattle’s second win in Rochester this month. Brian Schmetzer’s side then followed Saturday’s victory by defeating English League Championship club Preston North End 2-1 at Qwest Field on Monday night.

With three games against Seattle under their belt, the Whitecaps will be fully aware of their visitors’ abilities. “Everyone has the appropriate attention and focus towards our opponent in Seattle on Friday,” added Wawrousek. “We not only know them quite well, but respect them for the talents that they have. We know where their danger points are and we’ll try and neutralize those danger points on Friday.”

Both clubs also have plenty of opportunity to finish the season strongly, as Vancouver and Seattle play nearly all of their remaining regular-season games at home in the coming weeks.

Friday’s game at Swangard Stadium kicks off at 8:00 p.m. Single game tickets start at just $16 and are available by calling Ticketmaster at 604.280.4400 or visiting whitecapsfc.com. For more information on Whitecaps ticket packages and group rates, please call 604.669.WAVE (9283) or visit our tickets page.

You can also watch Friday’s game between the Whitecaps and Seattle live on Fox Sports World Canada & Fox Soccer Channel in the US. You can also listen to the game live on TEAM 1040 radio and team1040.ca.

More News
Return To Whitecaps News