Sounders vs. Whitecaps 9-27: Postgame Show

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And by Providence Swedish, official health care partner of Seattle Sounders FC. The Sounders FC post-match show starts now. It's a final here from Lumen Field. Seattle Sounders 2, Vancouver Whitecaps 2.

Two goals for the Sounders in the second half, one by Albert Rusnak. And Rusnak had the assist on the other goal, a corner kick that was headed in by Jackson Reagan. Let's go down onto the field. Michelle Lutka is with Jackson Reagan.

Jackson, obviously disappointing to not come away with three points tonight, but the big bright spot, this team has clinched a spot in the postseason for the 16th time. Congratulations on that. Walk me through the match. It was obviously an emotional one. What do you think worked well? for your team tonight? Yeah, a lot of ups and downs, and I think what we did well tonight is just resilience. After they scored, I think it's easy to put our heads down, and we responded right away and went up.

and scored and tied it, and then we went up and scored again. But, I mean, got to be able to close out the match after that. You mentioned the goals. Obviously, your first goal of the season, your fourth of your career. What can you say about the timing of that? How crucial was it when that happened in this match? Yeah, I felt like it's about time for this year. But, you know, I...

Albert and Jesus and whoever else puts in a lot of good service. So just trying to get my head on it and put it on target. For you personally, what is it like when you score? It doesn't happen that often, so I got to work on my celebration, but it's great. I mean, listening to the fans say my name is amazing and hearing the crowd go crazy, so it's awesome.

Focusing on the back line tonight, obviously two injuries. You had to make some substitutions early on with both Alex and Yamar leaving the match. But what does it say about Kim and Kalani that they were able to step in like that on such short notice and still put in? such a solid performance. Yeah, I think it's great and it's what's expected at this club. I think we could put any single person off the bench into the game at any moment and they're going to play well. I think that's...

That shows how deep of a team we have and the culture at this club. It was an amazing atmosphere in here tonight. Obviously, the fans were on their feet. You could feel them. Did you feel like this was a playoff presence? And if so, what do you think that's going to do as you guys look to obviously take on your other Cascadia rival next week, Portland?

Yeah, I think it definitely felt like a playoff game and it just shows it's even more important that we can get at least three points in the next weekend and then after that as well so that we can get some home games in the playoffs.

Jackson, thank you so much for the time. Congratulations on the point tonight, and again, a trip back to the postseason. Thank you. Jackson, back to you. Thank you, Michelle. That's Jackson Reagan scoring a goal tonight. Albert Rusnak assisting on his goal and Albert scoring moments later as we take you through kind of the match timeline. This game was 0-0 at the half. Sounders had to make, as Michelle mentioned, those two injury substitutions.

Alex Roldan going down in the 8th minute. Yamar going down in the 14th minute. Early substitutions for Kalani Koza-Rienzi and Kim Kihi coming onto the field. Then, 52nd minute, Vancouver get their first goal. Brian White scoring there. 54th minute, just a couple minutes later.

Albert Rusnak on that corner kick finds Jackson Reagan. 55th minute, just about 90 seconds after that first goal. An attack down the left side comes. Paul Rothrock slips it into Jesus Ferreira, who finds Albert Rusnak at the back stick. and that gets slammed into the roof for the Sounders. 2-1 lead, but...

A Vancouver goal in the 69th minute off of a corner kick as well gave it that 2-2 game. And that is where we end tonight with the Sounders and Whitecaps splitting the points with a 2-2 draw at Lumen Field. We welcome you into the postgame show.

Jackson Feltz, Shane O'Neill, former Sounders center back, and of course the coach, Pete Fewing. We are here for the next half hour to break this thing down. And we'll start, gentlemen, with just opening thoughts, Shane, on what is a 2-2 draw tonight. Yeah, it was an interesting game. First half, you know, it was kind of a little bit of... Just kind of seeing what the other team was going to be bringing to the table, not a whole lot. And then the game totally opened up in the second half.

Obviously, a little bit of a tough moment there for Schneider. Brunel loses the ball. Vancouver hit him on a little bit of a sucker punch. Down 1-0. We're kind of thinking, oh, here we go again. But it was absolutely electric. Next five minutes, classic Sounders.

just overwhelming two goals and you know in a blink of an eye you're up 2-1 you're kind of sitting back being like all right 2-1 let's see it out unfortunately just a little bit of a set piece there again Ken Laborda, you know, coach, you mentioned him before the game, and he gets on the scoresheet again.

Well, that was his fifth goal. It was a great header. Fry couldn't do anything on either one of the goals. It was unfortunate for him. Yeah, they scored in the 52nd minute. We scored 54, 55. I wrote down good response. Then I wrote down great response.

And then it was an entertaining game. You're right, Shane. It was kind of two halves, right? The first half was teams trying to find their way and find their rhythm. And then the second half was just we're going at you, you're going at us. And a lot of fouls, the referee.

You know, if this was a Portland-Seattle game, I think it would have been different. But I think there's a little bit of a better respect between Vancouver and Seattle. The referee was quite inconsistent, so there were some fouls that you thought, well, that should have been a yellow. Or that should have been a foul and it wasn't called. Or that should have been a second yellow. Yeah, but I will say he was inconsistently consistent because he was...

It was both ways. Yeah, that's true. It wasn't just for the home team, the Sounders. But I liked the energy that we had in the second half. We had chances. Fry comes up with a huge save. Just near the end, I think it was probably one of the last kicks of the ball. And so he keeps it at 2-2. I think it was a fair result. I rarely...

Say that I mean there's years where I don't say that was a fair result I think it was fair result looking at the two coaches after the game They connected shook hands talked for a second. They came back together again a second time to debrief. I think both teams, I will say this, you can't fault the Sounders for effort, right? I mean, everybody put it out and guys coming onto the field, the subs coming on.

Brought a lot of energy. Georgie, when he came on, was very good. So great goals for us, great goals for them, and we move forward. We move forward indeed because we have to look to fight ahead to the Portland Timbers.

Portland Timbers are coming up this next Saturday, one week from tonight here at Lumen Field. We'll talk about that later on. We'll say that tonight's Toyota, the man of the match, is Albert Rusnak with the goal and the assist. I will mention that your local Toyota dealers are proud to present. tonight's man of the match. Very cool for Albert Rusnek. He is the 13th player in Major League Soccer history to have 70 goals and 70 assists in MLS regular season play. He's the second...

player to do so, joining Diego Fagundes. A big congratulations to Albert Rusnak, one of only 13 players in this league's history to go 70-70 after his goal and assist tonight. We'll also mention that Delta Air...

Lions is proud to donate one soccer ball for every mile ran by Sounders FC players this season through Rafe Foundation's One Mile, One Ball program. We'll take a break. We'll come back, continue talking about tonight's 2-2 draw. We'll get to our play of the match, and we have more to discuss. us from this game. Jackson Feltz, Shane O'Neill, Pete Viewing will continue next on Sports Radio 93.3 KJRFM.

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Welcome back to Lumen Field and the Sounders FC postgame show following a 2-2 draw tonight against the Vancouver Whitecaps. The Whitecaps now have eight points. I believe they've won Cascadia Cup. And your Seattle Sounders getting one point here tonight as we have also clinched a spot in the 2025 MLS Cup playoffs. We did that.

thanks to some other results around the league. So we are in the dance. The only question left is, what seed will the Sounders be? Will we end up having to face San Diego, Minnesota?

LAFC or Vancouver again in the first round. We will see how that shakes out. It is time for our Emerald Queen Casino play of the match. We could go with one of the two goals that happened early in the second half, but... I would like to go to one of the very last kicks of the game. What a moment it was for the Vancouver Whitecaps as they had a free kick right outside of the box. But Stephen Fry does what Stephen Fry does, and he came up.

big again. Sounders need to stand strong defensively. Ball goes short. Back to the referee, gets the way. Oh, what a save. Ball bounces around. Strike. Good block by Jackson Reagan. And it was a massive save there from Stephen Fry. The play of the match is presented by Emerald Queen Casino, the betting capital of the Northwest. Shane, you defended right in front of Stephen Fry for a long time, and he makes those massive plays become common.

place it's sort of like you know danny the subdued call there but it's like that's because we're all very used to him making those big moments yeah and there was a lot going on in that play it was a it was a set piece routine they clearly worked on it was right outside the box and like danny said the referee

He's in this terrible position where it's like, holy, you know, like he's almost blocking Steph. So Steph has to make this instant reaction shave up to his top left. And he does a great job. He still got that pop. And then the best part there, too, obviously, the ref had off sides.

but Jackson making a big block on that follow-up too. So it was a huge play because obviously that was, what, 95th minute, so you give up a goal there, and it's curtains. Yeah, Fry is, like I said, it came through a crowd. The one other thing that he does well that... we're used to seeing is where he parries it right he did push it a little further and

To your point, Jackson was right there to clean it up. That's another thing, these little details, right, when goalkeepers make saves. If the other team gets to the ball first, saw today on the EPL, right, goalkeeper makes a save. Defenders don't get there quick enough.

and then it's in the back of the net after the goalie's done all the work. So we had great goals, but that was a terrific save from Fry. And you know what? There's a debate right now in the... in the world I don't think it is with Brian Schmetzer and Tommy Dutra but you know should Fry be starting or should Andrew Thomas be starting right there that save is

puts the boat more towards Stefan Fry to continue on. He's clutch. He's clutch, and he couldn't have done anything on the goals. Yeah. Well, unfortunately, it wasn't a win today, but this season, when the Sounders win, you'll win a free mid-chicken the next day exclusively in the McDonald's.

McDonald's app with any minimum $2 purchase. Download the McDonald's app today and check out the deals waiting for you. As we wrap up this game, I'm going to go back to the very, very start of the pregame show, which was that the Sounders have found themselves...

inside of a little bit of a funk post-Leagues Cup championship. They won Leagues Cup. It was big. It was huge. We had the week off. Come back from that, and you get a draw against the Galaxy that should have been a win. You lose to Miami, and then last weekend, it's a loss at Austin. second when it could have been a draw so shane pete based on what we saw tonight did you see enough momentum and enough from the sounders to say that they are now out of this funk

Well, it's still coming together. Obviously, I think that... Well, I think one of the biggest takeaways from tonight is Vancouver's a tough team. Vancouver is a very good team. This is a real team. You've kind of been seeing them at the top of the standings all year long, kind of wondering, is this going to sustain?

And I think this is a really, really solid team. So this had the kind of feel of a playoff game. It really did, especially in the second half. And so I think a big key for this team is getting Jordan Morris up and running to that. confidence, that sharpness, and obviously the disappointment was because of the nature of the injuries in the first half, you kind of had to take him off at halftime to keep your sort of one change available late. And so he only got 45 minutes.

But the more Jordan Morrison get going, I think it's just going to raise this team ceiling even higher. I feel better about where the team is after this game than I did after the Austin game and the L.A. game for sure. And to your point. Shane, the fact that we had to make two subs in the first 15 minutes with injuries, I like that the energy was there and the grit was there and the 90 minutes of battling were there.

You're right. This is a very good Vancouver team. And it was a physical game and a hard game, a lot of challenges, a lot of guys going to the carpet, a lot of guys getting hit and ending up on the carpet. And so I liked, and you're right, it felt like a playoff game today for sure.

I feel better about where they are now than where they were the next games that we've got coming. RSL's in, Portland's in seventh place, right? So they're still trying to find their way higher up the table. RSL's in 11th. they could get into the 8 or 9 spot to get a playoff berth. That would be a huge thing for their club. They've struggled over the last...

Five, six, seven years. So there's a lot to play for. We're going to get challenged every game ahead of us. And New York's third place in the East. Yeah, and we'll see on that RSL game, which is a rescheduled game. It was meant to be played in that League's Cup. We'll see what call-ups look like. We don't know who's going to be called up. Christian Roldan could be called up by the United States again. That would mean...

Obed away with the U-20 World Cup. Christian could be away with the United States. It's going to be an interesting situation if that happens. But that's a couple weeks away. We don't know yet. We'll see what happens there. As for next week, it's Portland.

And it's time to talk about Portland as we wrap up the pre-match show. We will talk about the Timbers next. We'll mention Sounder fans. Sound Transit would like to remind everyone to obey all signs and signals when around train tracks. Light rail trains are quiet and come in both directions. So stay aware and play it safe. Learn more about safety.

and security on Sound Transit by visiting soundtransit.org slash ride dash with dash us. Sounders, Portland. We will preview next weekend's match here at Lumen Field next. Sports Radio 93.3 KJR FM. Sounders fans. looking for behind-the-scenes content, interviews with your favorite players and coaches, and expert X's and O's analysis, make sure to check out the Sounders FC podcast with the captain, Brad Evans, and myself, Steve Zakiwani. Whether you're a diehard, sounder, faithful...

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Hey there, Sounders fans. All of us at Sound Transit love when you take the train to the match. But we want to remind you to use crosswalks and obey traffic signals near tracks. Trains are quieter than you expect. Travel in both directions and approach at varying speeds that are difficult to judge. The amount of time you might save by ducking or going around a crossing gate isn't worth risking your life for. So next time you're by a track, play it safe.

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Now back to Seattle Sounders soccer on Sports Radio 93.3, KJR-FM. Welcome back to Lumen Field. Seattle Sounders, Vancouver Whitecaps, a 2-2 draw here tonight. We bring you back into the postgame show.

And I'll mention that Sounders FC Soccer is presented by Providence Swedish, official healthcare partner of Sounders FC. And it's now time to take a look ahead at what's next. And what's next is, I don't know, one of the larger, maybe largest regular season matches of the season. And that is because it is the Portland Timbers coming here to Lumen Field to face your Sounders. That will happen next Saturday, October 4th.

time as this week's game. It will be a 7.30 kickoff here at Lumen Field. Our Providence Swedish pre-match show will begin at 7 o'clock. I will tell everybody that you can listen right here. Sports Radio 93.3 KJR FM. Next Saturday. Folks, you can also watch it. MLS season pass on the Apple TV app and listen in Spanish language on LRA 1360. But again, our Providence Swedish pre-match show will start at 7 o'clock right here, 93.3 FM. Shane.

As somebody who kind of came into the Sounders and, you know, I imagine that rivalry is one of those things that gets communicated at a lot of levels. When you came into the Sounders. What was it like coming into this rivalry and learning about the intense hatred that there is for the Portland Timbers and everything revolving the Rose City? Well, it's just such an icon.

iconic game. Growing up, watching MLS, and even as a young player, the best away trips were always away to Seattle and away to Portland because of the passion. You can't replace the passion. And so when that rivalry game comes, there's always just that little bit of extra. And, you know, some years when they open up the big rafters and everything, it's just an amazing spectacle. It's always got a little bit of something. Obviously, there's been some...

Characters who've been playing in it for Diego Chara, I mean, Stefan Fry. How long have those guys been playing in this game? You know, it's pretty iconic. So, yeah, really excited for that one next week. What was that process like where you come in here and maybe if you can kind of take us...

to that first time where you played Portland and the messaging and the intensity and I don't know if it was on another level or who stepped up in the locker room, maybe it was Christian, maybe it was Steph, to say, everybody, we bleeping hate these guys and we're going to bleeping take it to them.

I think the problem for me is the first year I was playing was the COVID year, so we played them probably like six times. Oh, that's right, yeah. With no one watching. Oh, but we've ever seen it. I mean, it was like every other week we're like, oh, Parla, yeah, here we go.

Until the following year where we had the crowds. I gave away a penalty in Portland. I'm thinking, oh, geez, here we go. But luckily, I believe we either drew or we won the game. So it didn't kill the whole game. But it's a great game. Great, great game. It's always a great atmosphere, and you've got to love it. Pete? I would agree. And there's been so many strange things that have happened where the away team wins.

five in a row, right? So us at Portland, we win. Them here, they win. And I think it was like five or six of those. Clint Dempsey would go in and just, I think he scored nine goals against them in six games. The U.S. Open Cup game where Clint took the referees. uh note card and ripped it up red wedding yeah yeah and and so yeah it's been it's one of those games it's funny because it's fun to see we do

I've done camps forever. We used to do a camp at the Nike campus in Beaverton, Oregon for the Nike employees' children. Then we would do one for the Microsoft employees' children, right? And talk about two different dynamics, right? Two different gene pools. to be quite honest with you. And the Vancouver game and the Portland game, they're just different, right? This game, guys are picking each other up. In the Portland-Seattle game, nobody wants...

their teammates to be picking them up. It's a long history. It's been a great rivalry. And each team has had their success in MLS, right? And there's a bit of a big brother, little brother. syndrome, right? We're the big brothers. They're the little brothers. We win cups. We go to titles. We play for big games. And their Super Bowl every single year is playing us. But they do have their MLS Cup. Sure, they have one.

We have a lot more and a lot more trophies, and they can just cry while looking at our trophy cabinet. Yeah, I did love when, just at the beginning of the season, about six years ago, Merritt. Paulson, the owner of the team, they put a sign on Highway 99 that said Portland Soccer City, USA. It's like, okay, we're going to...

We're going to punch you in the face for that. So it's always been a good rivalry. And you never know how it's going to go. I mean, some of the games the last couple of years have been back and forth. But there's been some very lopsided games as well. Well, in the words of Brian Spencer, the actual. words of Brian Schmetzer here on the airwaves of 93.3 KJRFM Portland sucks

We have that drop. We're going to play it all throughout the week. By the way, Shane O'Neill, 2021, May 9th at Providence Park. It was, as you said, a two-to-one sounder win. So you guys got the win despite that. Despite the penalty. Exactly. So it all worked out. Last year, the Sounders won at Providence Park 2-1. The Timbers also got a 1-0 win there. The last two games between these two teams, the last game of last year, and then...

Earlier on May 17th of this year, both 1-1 draws. So it has been back and forth here. We'll see what happens next Saturday here at Lumen Field. 7.30 kickoff, 7 o'clock pregame here on KJR. Sounders, Timbers.

Again, here we go. All right, that'll do it for our broadcast tonight. I want to thank everybody with our crew, Jordan Thompson and Keeley Dunning, our broadcast producers. Travis Moger doing a great job back in the studio, our technical director there, our technical producer here on...

site is terry ryan great call tonight from danny jackson and brad evans with michelle ludka on the sideline and my good friends here for pre-half post pete fewing and shane o'neill my name is jackson felt we thank you all so much for listening once again again here from Lumen Field. It is a 2-2 draw with the Sounders and Vancouver Whitecaps. Have a good rest of your weekend, everybody.

You've been listening to the Sounders FC Postman Show. Sounders FC Soccer is brought to you by Michelob Ultra. 95 calories and 2.6 grams of carbs. It's only worth it if you enjoy it. Get 30% shorter average wait time when you buy and book online at discounttire.com. And by Providence Swedish, official healthcare partner of Seattle Sounders FC. Tune in next time for more Sounders FC soccer.

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