PORTLAND, Oregon (AP) - Clint Dempsey scored a hat trick, including two goals in the final five minutes as the Seattle Sounders staged a furious late rally to draw 4-4 with the rival Portland Timbers on Saturday.
Trailing 4-2 for most of the second half after goals from Diego Chara and Maximiliano Urruti early in the half gave Portland the advantage, Dempsey led Seattle’s stunning late comeback to earn a point in the first Cascadia rivalry matchup of the season.
Dempsey scored in the 85th minute to get Seattle back in the contest at 4-3. Seconds later Seattle defender DeAndre Yedlin was felled in the penalty box by Portland’s Ben Zemanski. Referee Hilario Grajeda immediately pointed to the penalty spot and Dempsey converted the chance to pull Seattle even.
Kenny Cooper scored in the third minute against his old club to give Seattle an early advantage, but it was Dempsey who stole the show with his first hat trick in any competition since January 2012 when he was playing for Fulham in the Premier League.
Diego Valeri also scored for Portland during a frantic first 25 minutes that was only surpassed by Seattle’s late rally.
Chara’s last goal came in September 2011 against New England. But Seattle was willing to give him space and he took advantage with two perfectly placed shots from outside the penalty box. His first goal deflected off goalkeeper Stephen Frei’s hand but had enough force to get into the net. His second goal came from about 25 yards leaving Frei no chance to save.
Urruti’s goal in the 57th minute appeared to give Portland some breathing space, but Dempsey’s late show forced the draw in one of the wilder matchups of a rivalry dating to the mid-1970s.
At Bridgeview, Illinois, Juan Luis Anangono’s 86th minute header from a difficult angle earned Chicago Fire a 2-2 draw with the Philadelphia Union.
Philadelphia scored twice within seven minutes in the first half to erase Chicago’s 1-0 lead after Mike Magee had opened the scoring in the 16th minute.
Maurice Edu finished from close range in the 32nd minute before Leonardo Fernandes’ 30-yard free kick in the 39th minute gave the Union a 2-1 lead.
Michael Bradley’s goal in the 11th minute was enough for Toronto FC to end the Columbus Crew’s unbeaten start with a 2-0 victory. Substitute Issey Nakajima-Farran added a goal in the 85th minute off a cross by Justin Morrow.
Elsewhere Saturday, Jose Mari scored a brace to lead the Colorado Rapids to a 2-1 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps, the Montreal Impact drew 2-2 at home to New York Red Bulls and D.C. United ended a 15-match winless streak with a 2-0 victory over the New England Revolution.
Je-Vaughn Watson scored two second-half goals in F.C. Dallas’ 4-1 rout of the Houston Dynamo and Sporting Kansas City and Real Salt Lake played out a 0-0 stalemate.
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