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Sounders, 'Caps resume Cascadia Cup action

Jul 5, 2013 - 8:37 PM Vancouver, BC (Sports Network) - Cascadia Cup play resumes on Saturday as Vancouver Whitecaps FC welcomes Seattle Sounders FC to BC Place.

The two sides faced one another recently as the Sounders earned a 3-2 victory over the 'Caps at CenturyLink Field on June 8.

And while Vancouver came away from the Emerald City with a loss, it did manage to spark a four-match unbeaten run for the Whitecaps. Martin Rennie's side followed the defeat at Seattle with three straight victories before earning a hard-fought point from a 1-1 draw at Sporting Kansas City on Wednesday.

The 'Caps were trailing at Sporting Park until the dying minutes of the opening period when Camilo Sanvezzo curled a superb free kick into the upper corner.

"It was fantastic," Rennie said of Sanvezzo's equalizer. "That's his 13th goal in the past 14 competitions, which is an incredible rate. He works a lot on his free kicks and that was a fantastic hit. It was a great goal and I don't think there are many people that are going to save that."

The fine forward play of Sanvezzo and Kenny Miller has kept Darren Mattocks out of the lineup. But while Miller has not scored since a 4-3 victory over the New England Revolution on June 15, Sanvezzo has made himself indispensable in the starting lineup, even with a quick turnover for Saturday's clash with Seattle.

"I feel very good, but it's not just me - its our team," Sanvezzo said after the match. "Our team is playing very strong. When the team is playing well, that gives me confidence. We are a little tired from this trip, but we have a big game Saturday. Tomorrow and Friday we will do everything we can to get fresh and continue to play well for our supporters."

Seattle is in an impressive run of form as well. The Sounders have won three of their last four league contests to climb level with the Los Angeles Galaxy on 24 points, though Seattle has two games in hand.

The Sounders earned a 2-0 win over D.C. United on Wednesday thanks to a brace from Obafemi Martins, who became the club's sole leading scorer this season with the performance.

Seattle dominated the match but did not manage to put United away until Martins bagged an insurance goal in second-half stoppage time.

"I think tonight was one of those games that you just have to grind out. I don't think it was our best soccer. There were a couple of opportunistic goals," head coach Sigi Schmid told Seattle's official website. "Not having played in a while and playing irregularly over the last month, practice is not the same as games, so it takes a while to get your rhythm. I thought we were a little disjointed and it's one of those games that you just have to roll up your sleeves and grind out."