Seattle 3 Tigres UANL 1 (3-3 agg, Tigres advance on away goal)
April 15 – Tigres UANL secured their place in the Champions Cup semi-finals on the away goal rule against Seattle Sounders at Lumen Field.
The Sounders went into the tie two goals down on aggregate and knew they had to start fast against a Tigres side who have now made the Champions Cup semi-finals in seven of their last nine appearances.
Sounders immediately pressured the Mexicans and in the 11th minute were ahead with Albert Rusnak opening the scoring with a shot down the middle from a Cristian Roldan assist. VAR reviewed but saw no issue and Sounders looked to be on their way.
All that was shattered in the 31st minute when a corner from Juan Brunetta found the head of centre back Joaquim who powered his header past Sounders keeper Stefan Frei.
Suddenly the Sounders task had become enormous with another three goals needed to win the series.
With the scores level at 1-1 at half time, Brian Schmetzer brought on Danny Musovski and his impact was immediate. In the 48th minute he was on the end of a low cross from Jordan Morris to put the Sounders back on top but still need to chase the game.
Seattle continued to press, dominating possession (69% over the match) and peppering the Tigres goal 20 shots to Tigres’ 10.
Eventually Rusnak netted his second of the game to take the score to 3-1 with a blast from distance. Level on aggregate but behind due to the away goal, Sounders became more frenetic.
Four minutes into added time Rusnak had another power drive blocked, while Musovski agonisingly headed wide of the left post.
The 2020 winners march into the semi-finals where they will meet Nashville, conquerors of Club America on Tuesday night. The 2022 Champions Cup winners Seattle will lick their wounds and wonder what could have been.