Sounders beat RSL 2-1 to clinch 8th straight trip to playoffs

The Seattle Sounders finally clinched the seemingly impossible: they’re headed to the MLS Cup playoffs for the eighth straight season after their 2-1 win over Real Salt Lake on Sunday. The win also means they’ll be the fourth seed and host their first playoff match – in just a few days.

Seattle’s starting XI was nearly identical to the one that Schmetzer sent out last week in Dallas except for returning captain Osvaldo Alonso, who served a one-match suspension last weekend. Nelson Valdez and Brad Evans returned to the bench after missing the Dallas match due to injury. Real Salt Lake’s lineup was rather curious, as coach Jeff Cassar chose to leave a number of starting players on the bench in this crucial meeting.

The match went off with a bang as a beautiful team move that saw backheels from both Cristian Roldan and Jordan Morris ended with a tidy close range finish from Flaco Fernandez to make it 1-0 Seattle after just three minutes. Unfortunately for the Sounders, some poor defense allowed Real Salt Lake to charge down the field and get space in the box, leading to a Luke Mulholland shot that deflected off Joevin Jones and into the net to make 1-1 just minutes after Seattle’s goal. Seattle continued to push and push, and in the 31st minute Roldan found the net after pouncing on Roman Torres’ saved header and firing it into the net.

The second half saw far more fouls than shots on goal in its opening minutes, with Kyle Beckerman and Erik Friberg getting booked fairly early. Roldan looked to have a good shout for a penalty as well, but the referee had none of it. RSL failed to get any good chances early on, and the Sounders piled on the pressure and earned a few corners in the process. The half was a bit slow overall and very few chances came as the Sounders did their best to preserve their lead. Surely they would have liked to snag another goal for safety, but they didn’t have to as they managed to ride out the 2-1 victory.

Man of the match: Cristian Roldan, who was instrumental in the first goal and scored the second. Even though he’s made that central midfield spot his own, he was excellent on the right side of the attack for much of the match.

Turning point: Even though Roldan’s goal won the match for Seattle, the early goal from Flaco Fernandez set the tone almost immediately.

One reason to worry: The quick goal from RSL exposed some of Seattle’s biggest weaknesses on defense, though the team responded well and looked fairly solid at the back for the rest of the match.

One reason to relax: The first part of the 2016 miracle is complete: the Sounders made the playoffs. Very few expected this to happen a few months ago, though it means a whole new task is ahead of the Sounders.

Other notes:

• The Sounders’ win gets them a home playoff game, though it’ll be in just three or four days. They’ll obviously benefit from the lack of travel, but hopefully the quick turnaround doesn’t present any problems.

• Fernandez had one of his best games since rejoining the Sounders earlier this season for his second stint with the team. Sure, he scored his first goal since returning, but he played quite well otherwise. His pace and lack of close control hurt him, but he still started several counterattacks and created a handful of good chances.

• Mr. Sounder didn’t get to play in his final home game. Zach Scott was honored with the Golden Scarf and an ECS tifo before the match, but the whistle blew at the end before Scott could get substituted on. Ever the consummate professional, Scott probably won’t admit his disappointment – but I’m sure he would have liked to thank the fans.