Pineda scores on late penalty as Sounders salvage 2-2 draw with Whitecaps

VANCOUVER – Gonzalo Pineda scored on a penalty in the 82nd minute Saturday as the Seattle Sounders salvaged a 2-2 draw against the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Vancouver looked to be on its way to a third straight Major League Soccer victory before Whitecaps defender Jay DeMerit was judged to have fouled Seattle’s Cam Weaver inside the penalty area late in the second half.

The Whitecaps were furious with the decision by referee Ismail Elfath and could only watch as Pineda stepped up to the spot and cooly chipped a shot behind Vancouver’s David Ousted for his first goal with the Sounders.

Seattle striker Obafemi Martins then struck the post behind Ousted moments later as the Sounders came close to grabbing an unlikely victory.

Vancouver had taken a 2-1 lead in the 66th minute when midfielder Gershon Koffie scored his first goal of the season on a horrendous goalkeeping error by Seattle’s Stefan Frei.

In an effort to keep a ball in play, Frei ventured way out of his net and booted a clearing attempt up the middle of the pitch instead of safely up the sideline. Koffie pounced on the mistake and fired a shot from a distance that Frei could only watch bounce into his vacated goal.

Koffie had two more chances in second-half stoppage time, but Frei got a piece of both efforts, including one on the last kick of the game.

Erik Hurtado also scored for Vancouver (4-2-5), which has just one win against Western Conference opponents so far in 2014.

Seattle (8-3-2), which entered play first in the MLS standings with five wins in its last six games, got its other goal from Chad Barrett.

Apart from being an important game in the Western Conference standings, Saturday’s encounter was the second match of the Cascadia Cup competition, a mini-tournament played between the Whitecaps, Sounders and the Portland Timbers. The team with the most points in the games played amongst the three clubs at the end of the season takes the title, which Vancouver did last season.

Both sets of fans at B.C. Place kept up a constant hum of chanting and singing in a game that had the passion of a European derby. The Sounders had a large section of travelling fans in one corner of the stands, while Vancouver’s supporters section took up its usual spot in the home end.

After a rocky start for the visitors, Barrett opened the scoring in the 36th minute off a cross from Kenny Cooper. Barrett got in front of Vancouver defender Nigel Reo-Coker and glanced a header past Ousted for his second goal of the season in his first start.

The Whitecaps, who had the majority of the chances and possession in the first half, got that one back just three minutes later on a highlight-reel effort from Hurtado. The striker with the bleach-blonde Mohawk cut back twice to free himself from two Seattle defenders after collecting the ball on the right hand side and blasting a shot into the roof of the net over top of a helpless Frei. Hurtado now has three goals in three games — two in MLS and one in the Amway Canadian Championship.

Vancouver midfielder Sebastian Fernandez then had a chance to give the home side the lead at the half, but his shot in stoppage just sizzled wide of the top corner.

Whitecaps head coach Carl Robinson said earlier this week that he wanted his team to put its stamp on the match, and Vancouver was a bit unlucky to not open the scoring in the game’s first 10 minutes.

Manneh, who had a hat trick in last year’s 4-1 victory over the Sounders in Seattle, had a good chance four minutes in, but saw his effort stopped by Frei.

Koffie then busted through the middle and ripped a shot that went off the crossbar and landed just inches from the goal-line before being cleared by a defender.

Fellow midfielder Pedro Morales then found himself alone in front of the goal, but the ball got caught up in his feet and he couldn’t get a shot away.

Robinson has said his team needs to capitalize on its chances — something it hasn’t done enough of in its last three outings — and that came back to bite the Whitecaps as the Sounders weathered the barrage before opening the scoring with Barrett’s effort.

The Sounders were without influential playmaker Clint Dempsey, who is away with the U.S. national team preparing for the World Cup in Brazil. Fellow midfielder Brad Evans was also at the American camp, but failed to make Jurgen Klinsmann’s 23-man roster. He started on the bench for Seattle before being subbed on in the second half.

Notes: The Whitecaps came in having not played a game since bowing out to Toronto FC in the Amway Canadian Championship semifinal 10 days earlier. … The Cascadia Cup has been played between the Whitecaps, Sounders and Timbers every year since 2004. Vancouver won its fourth title last season, while Seattle and Portland have each has won competition three times. … The Sounders host Real Salt Lake next Saturday, while the Whitecaps’ visit the Timbers on June 1st for another Cascadia Cup matchup. … Seattle and Portland tied the first game of the competition 4-4. … Whitecaps defender Steven Beitashour is away at Iran’s World Cup camp.