SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC RESERVES v. PORTLAND TIMBERS US OPEN CUP 4TH ROUND - STARFIRE SPORTS, FORT DENT PARK, TUKWILA, WASHINGTON

Greetings to my brothers and sisters in Green. Sounders FC Reserves host the senior squad of our auld arch-rival, the Portland Treecutters. HIE, YE! WHAT DID YE CUT THEM TREES FOR YEH? THEY DONE NOTHIN’ TO YE! Right, sorry, lost my head. It’s gonna be a banger. Wooly is an adjective that can’t hope to describe the mayhem that’s about to ensue. The thrilla in Tukwila. Aye. Bring it on, you treecutting sods.

What: US Open Cup 4th Round tie, Seattle Sounders FC Reserves v. Portland Timbers.

Where: Starfire Sports, Fort Dent Park, Tukwila, Washington.

When: 7:00 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, Tuesday 6 May 2025 CE.

At Stake: Simply put, win and advance or lose and be eliminated.

Where to Watch: CBS Sports Network and Paramount+. Further information available on the United States FA website.

Where to Listen: If there’s any radio coverage of this match, I haven’t heard of it.

Before I get stuck in on this intro, there’s something we must attend to. Our Brother in Green, Tom Biro, was the victim of a hit-and-run accident. He’s in hospital just now and needs our help. I would not see our brother suffer. Here are the links to the digital get-well card and the gofundme that we hope will defray the crushing expense of his medical care. In addition, these are links to Bloodworks NW and America’s Blood Centre, where you can donate blood. Please give what you’re able to, and share on.

Right, on to the football.

Three rounds our youngers have survived in this tournament, ably assisted at times by reinforcements from the senior squad. The US Open Cup is the oldest and most prestigious domestic tournament this country has to offer. It’s the second-oldest sporting tournament in North America, 110 years in the making. It doesn’t get any better than this.

Support is vital. Starfire has a capacity of 4,500. Let’s pack it to the gills, yeh?! Imagine the full-throated roar of our number as the Portland are utterly slack-jawed from the reverberations. Yeh, it’s a pretty picture, innit? Let’s paint it in vivid colours, preferably Rave Green. Together.

What more is there to say? It’s US Open Cup football, under the lights at Starfire, nestled in The Evergreen. COME ON YE!!! SOUNDERS FOR THE CUP!!!

Before kick-off, please join me in the auld toast: “TO THE SEATTLE SOUNDERS FOOTBALL CLUB…AND VICTORY!!!”

Sounders FC Reserves and Guyana striker, Osaze De Rosario made his Sounders FC senior team debut on Saturday against St. Louis, in a 7 minute cameo appearance. De Rosario has scored 9 goals in all competitions this season. (photo credit: bvmsports.com)

The Good News

So far, so good. Sounders FC Reserves have cut a fair swath to 2nd place in the MLS Next Pro league table and are top scorers in the league with 22 goals from 7 matches. That’s an average of 3.14 goals/match. Enjoy that slice of Pi! In all competitions that average drops, but only to 2.90 goals/match. The lads are scoring a hatful of goals, and it’s lovely beyond description.

Sounders FC Reserves are perfect at Starfire this season with a 6-0-0 record in all competitions. Three victories in the league, and three victories in the US Open Cup.

We’ve been reinforced in this US Open Cup campaign so far by defenders Travian Sousa, Cody Baker, United States youth international Stuart Hawkins, Leo Burney, and goalkeeper Andrew Thomas. That’s a decent commitment from the senior squad. I wonder if we can expect more reinforcements seeing the strength of our opposition.

The Bad News

The Reserves are conceding goals at a rate of 1.60/match in all competitions. The US Open Cup figure is much better at 1.00 goals conceded/match. That said, the Treecutters are the first 1st Division opponent our youngers have faced. So we’ll have to be extra sharp at the back, in addition to our potent attack.

For all the fuss of MLS prohibiting Sounders FC from playing in the US Open Cup, the approach remains the same: Reserve team players, with reinforcements from the senior squad sprinkled in for the early rounds. The only thing that’s changed is the kit ours are wearing. I wonder if we can expect even more commitment from the senior squad should we advance to the Quarter-Finals. Is it possible we’ll see a nearly 100% senior squad line up in the kit of the Reserve team? It’s surreal just to picture it. All this fuss and nothing’s truly changed.

Portland are 8th best in the MLS league table now. They like nothing better than to turn us over and then gloat about it. If they think it’s worth it to play their first-choice players on two days turn-around, I wonder if that’s an advantage to them or us. Our current strategy of senior squad in goal and in the back four, with youngers in midfield and attack has worked extremely well so far. Can this tactic survive a 1st Division opponent?

The Side I Would Select

It’s kind of touch and go. It really depends on how badly Portland want to win US Open Cup. Timbers manager, former Manchester United and England midfielder Phil Neville, is rumoured to not think much of the US Open Cup. Sounders FC leadership has to assume that Portland will field its strongest team. Portland currently sits 8th place in the MLS league table, so it’s reasonable to assume that as many reinforcements as possible from the senior squad should be drafted into service. As Sounders FC don’t have a match ’til Saturday, it would be an excellent time to get players with not so many minutes a competitive run-out in a meaningful competition, and they could still be available for selection for the senior team.

GK    Thomas

LB     Baker-Whiting

LCH    Hawkins

RCH    Yamada

RB     Kossa-Rienzi

LDM    Joao Paulo

RDM    Leyva

LF     Kent

CAM   Tsukanome

RF     Minoungou

CF     De Rosario

The Side I Think The Gaffer Will Select

If the Sounders organisation is in the US Open Cup to win it, then I think you get the most available senior squad players that are fit to play. If the powers that be in Longacres see the tournament as a development lab for our youngers, then you’d expect to see only three or four senior team players added. Five Sounders FC squad players were in the team against Oakland Roots, which is considered a second-division team. Then there’s the whole rivalry part of it. So there are many variables involved. I think Herve Diese’s team might look very much like the one that lined up against Oakland Roots in the 3rd Round, with the exception of Cody Baker who got himself sent off in that match. So maybe Kossa-Rienzi to replace? Last time out they played in the 5-2-3 shape the senior team has often been seen in this season.

GK     Thomas

LB     Sousa

LCH    Yamada

CH     Hawkins

RCH    Burney

RB     Kossa-Rienzi

LDM    Kingston

RDM    Brunell

LF     Gomez

CF     De Rosario

RF     Kang

Intangibles

Starfire mystique.

Sounders Reserves have yet to lose at home this season, with a perfect 6-0-0, with three victories each in MLS Next Pro and US Open Cup.

Outspent again.

Sounders FC 2025 transfer spend: €1.45M (potential of up to €2.49M)

Sounders FC Reserves 2025 transfer spend: €0*

Portland Timbers 2025 transfers spend: €14.87M

*As far as has been disclosed. Some transfer terms for the Reserves were unavailable.

Crowd size.

Starfire seats 4,500. Supporters are very close to the pitch. If it’s a sell-out it could get loud. Really loud. If not many come on a Tuesday night, it could be very quiet, which would favour the visitors. 205 came to see the Reserves play Washington Athletic Club, 2,300 v. Spokane Velocity, and the amount of supporters that saw the Oakland Roots 3rd round tie is…unknown. I wasn’t able to find that information anywhere. End of the day, the bigger the crowd, the better that match is going to be.

Officiating.

I was unable to find out who will be the match official for Tuesday night.

Commitment.

How badly do Timbers want to win US Open Cup? Are they willing to have senior squad players in the team on only two days rest? Will they use players, and if so, how many, from their Reserve Team in MLS Next Pro? Is the Sounders FC organisation committed to winning US Open Cup? How many players from the senior squad can be expected in the team?

General notes on personnel

Portland transfers IN:

Lassiter (Chicago Fire) free

Ortiz (Independiente del Valle) €1.5M

Kelsy (Shakhtar Donetsk) €6M

Smith - draft

Fory (Independiente Medellin) €1.45M

Da Costa (RC Lens) €5.74M

Fernandez (Colorado Rapids) €176,000

Portland transfers OUT:

Ikoba (FC Cincinnati) free

Loria (Saprissa) free

Toye (Sporting Kansas City) free

Williamson (Charlotte FC) €97,000

Sulte (Indy Eleven) loan

Evander (FC Cincinatti) €11.5M

Comparison against common opponents

n/a

Know Thine Enemy

The Treecutters, as they lined up in their 4:1 defeat at San Jose at the Coleman Avenue ground on 3 May. Because there’s a two-day turnaround between Saturday’s league match and the USOC tie on Tuesday, I’d expect to see very few of this lot…unless Portland wants to win so much that they’re willing to start first choice players on two days off.

GOALKEEPER

Maxime Crepeau, 30

Canada (24/0)

Notable Clubs: CF Montreal (3/0), Vancouver Whitecaps FC (57/0), Los Angeles FC (40/0), Portland Timbers (22/0)

Estimated Transfer Value: €3.5M

Notes: Developed by Celtix du Haut-Richelieu and Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Named USL Goalkeeper of the Year in 2018. Won MLS Cup and MLS league championship double in 2022 with LAFC.

DEFENCE

Claudio Bravo, 28

Argentina

Notable Clubs: Banfield (49/0), Portland Timbers (104/2)

Estimated Transfer Value: €1.8M

Notes: Developed by CA Banfield.

Juan Mosquera, 22

Colombia (2/0)

Notable Clubs: Independiente Medellin (48/3), Portland Timbers (73/3)

Estimated Transfer Value: €3M

Notes: Developed by Club Carlos Sarmiento Lora and Independiente Medellin.

Finn Surman, 21

New Zealand (7/1)

Notable Clubs: Wellington Phoenix (45/1), Portland Timbers (12/0)

Estimated Transfer Value: €500,000

Notes: Developed by Selwyn United and Wellington Phoenix. Won an OFC Nations Cup with New Zealand. Named OFC Men’s Nations Cup Best Young Player 2024.

Kamal Miller, 27

Canada (47/0)

Notable Clubs: Orlando City SC (28/0), CF Montreal (60/3), Inter Miami CF (22/0), Portland Timbers (33/0)

Estimated Transfer Value: €2.8M

Notes: Developed by Malvern SC, North Scarborough SC, and Vaughan Azzuri. Won a Canadian Championship with CF Montreal. Won a Leagues Cup with Inter Miami CF.

Antony, 23

Brazil

Notable Clubs: Corinthians (3/0), Arouca (63/8), Portland Timbers (53/11)

Estimated Transfer Value: €4M

Notes: Full name: Antony Alves Santos. Developed by Coritiba, Renovicente, and Joinville.

MIDFIELD

David Da Costa, 24

Portugal

Notable Clubs: Lens (107/9), Portland Timbers (11/2)

Estimated Transfer Value: €6M

Notes: Developed by Lens. Played for Portugal at youth levels (11/2).

David Ayala, 22

Argentina

Notable Clubs: Estudiantes (32/0), Portland Timbers (66/2)

Estimated Transfer Value: €3M

Notes: Developed by Estudiantes. Ayala has played for Argentina U17s (13/0).

Joao Ortiz, 29

Ecuador (9/0)

Notable Clubs: Universidad Catolica (1/0), Plaza Colonia (3/0), Deportivo Quito (2/0), Cumbaya (18/2), Clan Juvenil (27/1), Deportivo Cuenca (20/0), Delfin (55/3), LDU Quito (13/0), Independiente del Valle (68/2), Portland Timbers (9/0)

Estimated Transfer Value: €1.8M

Notes: Full name: Julio Joao Ortiz Landazuri. Developed by El Nacional and Universidad Catolica. Won a Copa Sudamericana, Ecuadoran league title, Recopa Sudamericana, and a Ecuadoran Supercopa with Independiente del Valle.

Santiago Moreno, 25

Colombia (1/0)

Notable Clubs: America de Cali (41/7), Portland Timbers (118/18)

Estimated Transfer Value: €3.5M

Notes: A native of Cali, Colombia. Signed with Portland on 29 July 2021.

FORWARD

Felipe Mora, 31

Chile (11/1)

Notable Clubs: Audax Italiano (121/33), Universidad de Chile (26/18), Cruz Azul (33/12), UNAM (51/15), Portland Timbers (110/44)

Estimated Transfer Value: €2.5M

Notes: Developed by Audax Italiano. Won a Chilean league championship with U. de Chile. Won Chilean League Golden Boot with U. de Chile with 13 goals in 2017.

Familiar Faces

Portland Goalkeeper Trey Muse was at Sounders FC Academy and played for the Sounders FC Reserves (24/0) until his move to San Diego Loyal SC in 2021.

Squads

Sounders FC Reserves from:

Helleren, Shour, Alvarez, Carli, Diaw, Katsaros, Lopez, Sandnes, Yamada, Baer, Brunell, Dodzi, Emert, Gaffney, Gomez, Kang, Kingston, Pedder, Robles, De Rosario, Hassan, Khoury, Tsukanome, Veillard.

Note: The squad could also include the following players:

Thomas, Castro, Baker-Whiting, Bell, Burney, Hawkins, Kossa-Rienzi, Sousa, Joao Paulo, Leyva, Kent, Minoungou, Frei, Kim, Vargas, Alex, Rusnak, Cristian, Nouhou, Gomez Andrade, Musovski, de la Vega, Rothrock.

Portland from:

Muse, Pantemis, Araujo, Zuparic, Eric Miller, McGraw, Smith, Fory, Paredes, Fernandez, Lassiter, Rodriguez, Kelsy.

Note: The squad could also include the following players:

Deisenhofer, Eisenberg, VanPelt, Gallardo, Carlson, Krapf, J. Izoita, Nystrom, Jura, Marquinhos, VanVoorhis, Tate, Bautista, Enriquez, Guerra, Nunez, Linhares, Crepeau, Antony, Da Costa, Surman, Mora, Mosquera, Moreno, Ayala, Bravo, Ortiz, Kamal Miller, Burns, Pope, Bunbury, Johnston, Moreno, Santos, Ondo, Bamford, Revaldo, Lund,

E. Izoita, Santos.

Injury List

(best guess and MLS Matchday 11 injury list)

Sounders FC Reserves -

OUT: unknown.

MATCHDAY DECISION: unknown.

Portland -

OUT: Chara (leg).

MATCHDAY DECISION: Fory (leg), Pantemis (leg), Rodriguez (leg).

Discipline

(as listed on mlssoccer.com at press time)

Sounders FC Reserves: Baker was booked twice against Oakland Roots in the previous round and will serve a one-match ban.

Portland: No players suspended; it’s their first match in the tournament.

Fun Fact

This is the first meeting of the Sounders FC Reserves and the Portland Timbers senior squad in any competition. Probably because it was never supposed to happen.