Timbers Escape Seattle With 1-1 Draw Against Sounders

SEATTLE (AP) — Cristian Roldan scored his sixth goal of the season on a wild scramble to give Seattle an early advantage, and Diego Valeri scored on a penalty kick just before halftime to help the Portland Timbers escape with a 1-1 draw with the rival Sounders on Sunday night.

The 99th meeting between the Sounders and Timbers featured the top two teams in the MLS Western Conference standings with two months left in the regular season. Seattle had the better of the chances and extended its unbeaten streak to 11, but for the second time in the past week was forced to accept a 1-1 draw. The Sounders tied Vancouver 1-1 on Wednesday despite playing the majority of the second half with a one-man advantage.

Roldan scored in the 18th minute to ignite the crowd of 51,796, but Darren Mattocks drew a penalty during first-half stoppage time, and Valeri beat goalkeeper Stefan Frei. Valeri has 16 goals this season, scoring in sixth straight games.