VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA - MARCH 12: Paul Arriola #17 of the Seattle Sounders FC celebrates wih teammates the team's second goal against the Vancouver Whitecaps FC during the second half of the CONCACAF Champions Cup match at BC Place on March 12, … (Elizabeth Ruiz Ruiz / Getty Images)
Paul Arriola scored a pair of goals for the Sounders in his first start in a year due to injury, and Seattle earned a 3-0 result over Vancouver Whitecaps FC in the first leg of their Concacaf Champions Cup match.
Paul Rothrock also scored in the 70th minute off the bench for Seattle, and Stefan Frei made a pair saves to secure a clean sheet for the Sounders.
The second leg of the matchup will be Wednesday night at Lumen Field with the Sounders only needing to hold onto the three-goal advantage. The winner will advance to face the winners of Tigres UANL and FC Cincinnati. Like the Sounders, FC Cincinnati won the first leg of their matchup by a 3-0 result.
Arriola sustained a torn ACL in a match against Cruz Azul in the Champions Cup last March and missed the rest of the season for Seattle. He'd entered games as a substitute in three MLS contests for the Sounders over the last two weeks before earning his first start since the Cruz Azul game last March.
Arriola buried a pass from Jesús Ferreira into an open net in the 45th minute to give the Sounders the lead before halftime. Then in the 59th minute, Kalani Kossa-Rienzi's centering cross deflected off a defender and goaltender Yohei Takaoka before joining off Arriola and into the net for a 2-0 lead.
Rothrock entered as a substitute for Arriola in the 62nd minute and managed to extend the lead just eight minutes later.
A long cross from Cristian Roldan missed Danny Musovski, but fell to a charging Rothrock on the backside for a finish and a 3-0 lead.
The Sounders became the first MLS team to win the Concacaf Champions League in 2022, which earned them a spot into last summer's FIFA Club World Cup.
Away goals are the tiebreakers should it be necessary.
The Source: Information in this story came from FOX 13 Seattle reporting.
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