March 18 – After taking their Cascadia rivals, the Vancouver Whitecaps, to the woodshed last week, the Seattle Sounders returned to the Emerald City with the luxury of a three-goal lead, and their eyes firmly on a potential quarter-final tie with either FC Cincinnati or Tigres UANL.
On the artificial turf of One Spokane Stadium, the pace of play had an extra zip about it that Osaze De Rosario immediately exploited for the home side as his header just went wide after an excellent delivery from Jesús Ferreira.
The Whitecaps response was from their talisman, Sebastian Berhalter, who has built a reputation on long-range shooting, and his right-footed effort from distance brought a decent save from the Sounders captain, Stefan Frei. This was followed by an Aziel Jackson header as Berhalter turned provider.
The confidence was surging. In the 24th minute, a fast break found Ben White, and his simple lay off was sensationally bent into the top corner by the youngster, Jeevan Badwal, for a finish of exceptional quality. 1-0 Whitecaps and a small degree of hope.
De Rosario has been Seattle’s most dangerous forward in the early weeks of the MLS season, and he tested Yohei Takaoka in the 30th minute, which the Whitecaps keeper dealt with quite comfortably. He then followed up that effort with a right-footed shot from a tight angle that went high and wide.
Jesper Sørensen was busy pacing the sidelines, while his opposite number, Brian Schmetzer, took notes, with Sørensen feeling more comfortable.
The pace slowed, and match referee Oshane Anthony Nation, started getting involved, issuing yellow cards to Mathías Laborda and Aziel Jackson for Vancouver, while Snyder Brunell entered the book for a bad foul just a minute before half-time.
Neither Sørensen nor Schmetzer made changes, electing to hold their cards close to their chests at the start of the second period.
A quiet start to the second half saw the Whitecaps sit back and concede possession to the Sounders in a reversal of the 1st leg, which saw Seattle shred Vancouver on counterattacks.
In the 53rd minute, Brunell headed wide, while five minutes later, De Rosario shot high. Minute 65, and Schmetzer made his move, deciding to shut up shop, bringing on Paul Rothrock, Danny Musovski, and Peter Kingston. As a block, they fell back to the top of the box and asked Vancouver the question of whether they had the savvy to break them down.
Former German international Thomas Müller was the first to try having his right-footed shot blocked and then proving his dexterity by shooting wide with his left foot.
With frustration building and time dwindling, Müller had yet another opportunity, and again he couldn’t convert. They would be made to pay for their profligacy as second-half substitute, Musovski, towered above the Vancouver back line to power his header past Takaoka after a superb cross from Kingston. Game, set, and match, Seattle.
There was even time for the other substitute, Rothrock, to finish at the far post, with Kingston getting his second assist of the night to put the exclamation point on the final score. Schmetzer’s three changes affected the entire game and made him look like a genius.
Vancouver will head back to Canada and wonder what could’ve been after reaching the final last year. The home leg, where they didn’t show up and were unable to cope with Seattle’s counterattacking ability, was the deciding factor.
The Sounders march on after a highly impressive two legs, and they’ll be a match for anyone.
Seattle Sounders 2 v 1 Vancouver Whitecaps (5-1 agg)