CARSON, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 27: Pedro De La Vega #10 of the Seattle Sounders celebrates after scoring a goal in the first half during the Leagues Cup Semifinal between the LA Galaxy and the Seattle Sounders at Dignity Health Sports Park on August 27, … (Orlando Ramirez - Leagues Cup / MLS / Getty Images)
Pedro de la Vega scored seven minutes in, and Osaze De Rosario added an insurance goal on a brilliant effort in the 57th minute as the Seattle Sounders advanced to the Leagues Cup final with a 2-0 victory over the LA Galaxy on Wednesday night.
The Sounders will host Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF in the final of Leagues Cup on Sunday at Lumen Field. Miami beat Orlando City FC 3-1 earlier on Wednesday evening behind two goals from Messi to advance to the final. The victory also gets Seattle into the CONCACAF Champions Cup next year.
The Sounders had to play the last ten minutes and stoppage time down a man as Nouhou Tolo picked up a red card in the 80th minute on a hard foul of Gabriel Pec. Nouhou will miss the final due to the infraction, which was upgraded to a red card after a VAR review. Danny Musovski will also miss the final due to a red card from the quarterfinals.
But Seattle's defense rose to the challenge and held the Galaxy without a shot down the stretch despite the man advantage. In fact, the only shot on goal came from Obed Vargas, which was saved by Galaxy goaltender Novak Mićović in the 87th minute.
Messi has sparingly played on artificial surfaces since his move to the MLS in 2023. But with a trophy on the line, Messi could play in Seattle for just the third. He played for Argentina against Bolivia in the 2016 Gold Cup, and for FC Barcelona in a friendly against the Sounders in 2009.
de la Vega allowed Seattle to play from the lead almost from the start. De Rosario sparked a run into the LA zone and forced Mićović to make a save. Mićović made another save on Jesus Ferreira off the rebound before de la Vega buried a third chance for a 1-0 Seattle lead.
Andrew Thomas came up with a big save for Seattle in the 28th minute, making a diving stop on a chance from Diego Fagúndez to keep the Galaxy off the board.
Thomas made four saves for the Sounders as he pitched a second straight shutout effort in Leagues Cup for Seattle.
De Rosario had a pair of chances that didn't find the net in the first half, but delivered a needed insurance goal in the second half on a terrific individual effort.
On a long throw-in from Alex Roldan, De Rosario controlled the ball, flicked a pass over his head to himself, then fought through Mathias Jørgensen, John Nelson and Maya Yoshida to deliver a right-footed finish by Mićović for a two-goal lead.
The red card to Nouhou made the closing minutes more uncomfortable than the Sounders would have preferred. It also forces one of Seattle's top defenders to miss the championship match against Messi and Miami.
The Source: Information in this story came from FOX 13 Seattle reporting.
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