Sounders advance to Concacaf quarterfinals with victory over Vancouver Whitecaps
SPOKANE, WASHINGTON - MARCH 18: Emmanuel Sabbi #11 of the Vancouver Whitecaps passes the ball against Kalani Kossa-Rienzi #85 and Jesús Ferreira #9 of the Seattle Sounders during the second half of a CONCACAF Champions League match at ONE Spokane Sta (Caean Couto / Getty Images)
Danny Musovski and Paul Rothrock scored late goals to secure a 2-1 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps to advance to the quarterfinals of the Concacaf Champions Cup on Wednesday night in Spokane.
The win followed a 3-0 result over the Whitecaps in Vancouver last week in the first leg of the match to give the Sounders a decisive upper hand heading into Wednesday's meeting. The match was held at ONE Spokane Stadium due to grass installation at Lumen Field in preparation for the World Cup.
A goal from Jeevan Badwal in the 24th minute gave the Whitecaps a chance to get back into the match. A pass from Brian White at the top of the box set up Badwal for a strike that clanged in off the left post for a 1-0 Vancouver lead.
The Whitecaps controlled the majority of possession in the contest and made a strong push in the second half as they tried to cut further into Seattle's lead.
Musovski and Rothrock both entered the match as substitutions in the 66th minute, replacing Paul Arriola and Osaze De Rosario before putting the match away for the Sounders.
Peter Kingston found space and delivered a cross that Musovski managed to head past Yohei Takaoka in the 79th minute to tie the game at 1-1 and give the Sounders a 4-1 lead on aggregate in the match.
Just four minutes later, the Sounders added on to seal the win. Kingston's run up the right side led to a cross that just missed Musovski, but Rothrock was able to control on the backside of the box before finding the back of the net for his second goal of the two-game series.
The Sounders will face the winner of Tigres UANL and FC Cincinnati. Like the Sounders, FC Cincinnati won the first leg of their matchup by a 3-0 result last week. The second leg is Thursday night in Mexico.
The Sounders became the first MLS team to win the Concacaf Champions League in 2022, which earned them a spot in last summer's FIFA Club World Cup.
The Source: Information in this story came from FOX 13 Seattle reporting.
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