MLS Week 18: Team of the Week

Jul 13, 2014; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Sounders FC defender Zach Scott (20) wins a header against Portland Timbers forward Fanendo Adi (9) during the first half at CenturyLink Field. Seattle Sounders FC defender Chad Marshall (14) is at right. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Central Defense: Chad Marshall, Seattle Sounders 

Another standout on Derby Day in Seattle, Chad Marshall continued to prove why he is one of the underrated catalysts of the Sounders dominance in MLS play this season with another strong 90 minute effort against the Timbers where his work against the likes of Darlington Nagbe and Fanendo Adi kept Portland off the scoresheet long enough for Seattle to secure the three points over their rivals late in the match.

For much of the early stages of the match on Sunday it was the Sounders defending a strong counterattack from Portland that presented plenty of moments where the back line was sprung into action. Each time the Sounders defenders answered the call, with Marshall doing a lot of the defensive work in ensuring that the dangerous Adi wouldn’t make an impact on the match in what was the match’s most important 1 on 1 defensive battle for Seattle.

When Marshall wasn’t controlling Adi in a battle between strike and centerback, the former Columbus Crew man and two time MLS Defender of the Year was helping defensive partner Zach Scott and fullbacks in Yedlin and Jalil Anibaba maintain their shape whenever the Timbers did threaten in possession. If it wasn’t for their strong defensive effort there was a good chance that Portland could have scored the match’s first goal, something that likely would have turned the story of the match from an expected Sounders three points into a stolen result by the hated Timbers in the biggest regular season match of 2014 for Seattle. That didn’t happen thanks to the veteran experience of Marshall, who allowed keeper Stefan Frei to earn a clean sheet in the process.