Sounders out to continue home success against Whitecaps

The Vancouver Whitecaps' stay atop MLS' Western Conference didn't last long.

But the Whitecaps will have a chance to reclaim first place when they travel to Seattle on Saturday night for a Cascadia Cup clash with the Sounders.

However, the Whitecaps haven't won at Lumen Field since 2016. The Sounders are 8-0-2 at home in that span, outscoring Vancouver 22-4.

The Whitecaps (4-2-1, 13 points) dropped into a tie for second with the Houston Dynamo after a 3-1 loss to the visiting Los Angeles Galaxy in a No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown last weekend.

The Whitecaps' Brian White tied the score on a header off a Ryan Gauld corner kick in the 77th minute, only to see the Galaxy score in the 80th and 82nd thanks to some defensive miscues.

"It's a knife in my heart. It's the worst way that we could lose. Because it's all our fault," Whitecaps coach Vanni Sartini said. "We need to remind ourselves that without humility, without following the plan to the T, no one is good here. No one is good. If we don't follow the plan to the T, we're going to suffer."

The Sounders (1-3-3, 6 points) played to a scoreless draw last weekend at FC Dallas.

"Emotionally, it seems like we left some points on the table," Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer said. "On the road, sometimes a point is a good point. That contradicts my feelings a little bit emotionally. But when I look at it, coming here and stealing a point isn't a bad thing."

Seattle earned its first victory of the season in its last home match, defeating CF Montreal 5-0 as Raul Ruidiaz scored twice.

Schmetzer said winger Leo Chu (knee) and midfielder Pedro de la Vega (hamstring), the team's big offseason acquisition, could see time Saturday after both have missed multiple games with injuries.