The Seattle Sounders will face the Vancouver Whitecaps at Swangard Stadium in Vancouver on Friday night at 8pm in a nationally televised match on Fox Soccer Channel.

Seattle comes into the match white-hot and riding a seven-game winning streak overall, which has moved the club into second place in USL First Division. With a match-up against the first-place Portland Timbers looming on August 1, Seattle will be looking to make a late-season charge for its first USL regular-season title.

The Sounders offense has erupted for eight goals in its past three matches after struggling to find the scoring touch for much of the season. Forward Roger Levesque, who has recorded two goals and five assists in those three matches, has been a key part of the offense’s revival. Still, the Sounders remain an offense-by-committee with six different players scoring at least one regular-season goal.

The Vancouver Whitecaps boast a dangerous forward tandem of Eduardo Sebrango-Rodriguez and Joey Gjertsen. The 34-year-old Cuban-born forward Sebrango is the second leading scorer in USL First Division with seven goals in 12 matches, but has been out due to injury since June 24. Gjertsen, a Tacoma native and former Evergreen State College soccer star, was the 2006 USL First Division MVP.

Vancouver, the 2006 USL First Division Champions, has lost four consecutive league matches and has not won since a 1-0 victory over Miami FC on June 22. Without Sebrango in the lineup, the Whitecaps have been not able to find the back of the net with just three goals in their past seven matches.

Friday’s match is the fourth and final regular-season match-up between the two Pacific Northwest rivals. Seattle lost the first two meetings of the year against Vancouver 1-0 on April 21 in the league opener and 3-1 on May 12th. The Sounders bounced back to win the third match 1-0 on July 12 on a Sebastien Le Toux first-half goal.

The Pacific Northwest rivals have combined to win the last two USL First Division Championships. The Sounders prevailed in the 2005 championship before Vancouver grabbed the USL First Division title from Seattle this past season.

The Seattle Sounders have also been making noise outside the USL league and around the world. Seattle upset Chivas USA of MLS 3-1 in the U.S. Open Cup to advance to the cup quarterfinals for the first time since 2003. The Sounders then followed that victory with a 2-1 victory over Preston North End FC of the Coca-Cola Championship for the club’s first victory over a high-level English opponent since 1982.

Seattle begins a four-game homestand with an August 1st match-up against the first-place Portland Timbers at Qwest Field. Kick-off is at 7:00pm and tickets are still available through SeattleSounders.net.