Sounders advance to Western semifinals with 1-0 win over KC

In a match that was both exciting and tense for the entire 90 minutes, the Seattle Sounders progressed to the Western Conference semifinals after a 1-0 victory over Sporting Kansas City on Thursday night. Nelson Valdez, who didn’t score a single goal in the league in 2016, came up big with the late winner for Seattle.

Just a few days after their Decision Day victory over Real Salt Lake, the Sounders put out the same starting XI for their knockout-round match against Sporting KC. The away side also kept the same starting lineup as in its previous 2-0 win over San Jose.

The rain poured in buckets onto the pitch at CenturyLink Field from kickoff, and it took both teams a few minutes to get organized on the soaking turf. Sporting KC had the first big chance, with Paulo Nagamura going through on goal and firing in a shot that Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei parried away easily. Minutes later, the away team managed another great chance as Nagamura had another shot knocked away by Frei. The defense didn’t clear it well enough, as Graham Zusi was able to get the rebound and shoot again. His shot nicked the side of the post and out of play, giving the Sounders a very lucky break.

The Sounders’ first real chance didn’t come until around the 20th minute when some tight passing in the box led to the first of two dangerous corners for the home side. Seattle had a few close chances afterwards, but nothing came too close to the goal. A dicey foul call against Seattle’s Osvaldo Alonso gave KC a dangerous free kick that forced Frei into a diving save yet again. Neither side came particularly close again in the half, with a few set pieces and only a couple chances from open play filling out the rest of the first 45.

After a fairly even start to the second half, the Sounders got a huge break after it had looked like Sporting took the lead. Matt Besler latched onto a deep free kick and knocked it into the back of the net, but the assistant referee judged him offside. The Sounders’ Nicolas Lodeiro was fouled in the attacking third after some impressive footwork, but his free kick was fired over the bar by Roman Torres. A foul by Alonso on Kansas City’s Benny Feilhaber led to a crazy few minutes that eventually saw Feilhaber get a yellow card for yelling at the referee.

Jordan Morris almost had a great break for the Sounders, but he was whistled for an apparent foul that killed the attack. Feilhaber came very close around the 80th minute, but he was eventually denied by Frei near the goal line. Yet another free kick for the Sounders nearly turned into a goal, but Torres just missed from close range.

Finally, in the 88th minute, the tide turned. Valdez, who hadn’t scored an MLS goal since this exact match a year ago against Los Angeles, powerfully headed in a Joevin Jones cross into the back of the net to send Seattle to the semifinals.

Man of the match: Frei saved Seattle’s blushes numerous times. He often picks up these awards by default, but he truly deserved it in this match. His diving save against a free kick was absolutely crucial in keeping the score 0-0.

Turning point: Valdez’s goal absolutely changed the game and put Seattle into the next round. Considering his record in 2016, that was quite impressive.

One reason to worry: The Sounders had a particularly tough time against KC, and it won’t be any easier against Dallas in the next round.

One reason to relax: The Sounders are through and that’s all that matters. They kept knocking at the door and found a goal in the unlikeliest of places. Valdez came through big for his team after not coming through at all for almost an entire year.

Notes

• Seattle had a number of chances snuffed out well by KC, but it really didn’t do well with many of those opportunities. The Sounders need to find ways to actually get good shots on goal in the next round against Dallas.

• Alonso had some very dicey tackles, and his foul against Feilhaber while on a yellow was reckless and foolish. He hasn’t learned his lesson, and the Sounders nearly paid dearly for it.

Spenser Davis also covers the Sounders for Sounder at Heart.