Down goes LAFC: Sounders end winless streak in dramatic fashion

The Seattle Sounders punched their ticket to the Western Conference Finals, finally getting one over on LAFC with a 2-1 win on the road. It took an unreal performance from Stefan Frei and a 109th minute winner from Jordan Morris to end their 10-game winless streak against their Southern California rivals.

The first half was tight as the two sides combined for a total of just 7 shots. The best look of the game belonged to Jon Bell who had a pair of attempts in the 43rd minute, but his first was blocked and the second was cleared off the line and out of a scrum in front of goal. Neither goalkeeper had to make a save during the opening 45 minutes as Seattle were mostly able to stifle LAFC’s ability to generate real chances.

Unfortunately, LAFC found a breakthrough almost out of nothing shortly after the second half kicked off. In the 50th minute, Seattle’s defense was set scrambling a little as Mateusz Bogusz sent in a cross from Seattle’s left side of the area headed for Ryan Hollingshead at the top of the box. Yeimar attempted to step to challenge for the ball but couldn’t quite get there ahead of Hollingshead who got a first-time shot off that beat Frei at the opposite post to give LAFC a 1-0 lead.

The Sounders were undeterred and in the 59th minute they had their answer. Obed Vargas and Albert Rusnák played some slick passes around the right corner of LAFC’s area before Vargas got to the end line and hit a ball to Jordan Morris near the penalty spot. Maxime Chanot stepped in front to deny Morris, but was overcome by a Rave Green spirit and put the ball in the back of his own net to make it 1-1.

Seattle looked to find another goal when opportunities arose, but it was LAFC who had the bulk of the chances. Fortunately Stefan Frei stood in their way time and time again, coming up with clutch saves in the 87th minute and the 5th minute of stoppage time, dragging the two sides into extra time.

The first 15-minute period of extra time was dominated by the hosts. For the first time all game LAFC controlled possession, holding 65% to Seattle’s 35% during the period, and paired it with 10 shots to Seattle’s 1 while forcing Frei into 3 saves. The same story continued in the match’s final 15 minutes, at least as far as possession was concerned, but possession doesn’t put points on the board.

The Sounders came out for the final 15 minutes of play looking dangerous, as Georgi Minoungou received a pass from Josh Atencio around midfield and drove towards goal before shooting from around 25 yards out in the 108th minute. His shot forced Hugo Lloris to dive to his right and put the ball out for a corner just to be safe. On the ensuing corner the ball popped out to Cristian Roldan who put it back into the area; Minoungou got a foot to the ball to keep it alive and pop it out towards Morris, who let the ball run across him as he turned around a defender and smashed it in at the near post with a first-time shot to give Seattle the lead in the 109th minute.

Collective, team defense and another huge save from Frei in the 120th minute made sure that score stood up. Seattle, not having beaten LAFC in 10 tries, went to the number 1 team in the West and ended their season for a change. The streak has ended and a new streak can begin, but first the team’s attention turns to the other semi in the West where the winner between the LA Galaxy and Minnesota United will face the Sounders.

Key moments

8 - Clearance! The Sounders try to pass out of pressure in the back but a weak pass back from Obed Vargas creates a turnover that Yeimar ends up stepping in to clear out of the area.

18 - Dime! Reed Baker-Whiting sends a great ball forward to Jordan Morris who gets on it and opens up some space for himself, but his cross for Albert Rusnák pulls the play away from goal.

28 - Shot. Aaron Long hits a shot on the turn after an LAFC free kick, but his attempt goes wide.

34 - Handball. Rusnák finds Morris with a great ball, but the ball connects with his hand as he controls it and the play is blown dead.

39 - Shot! Obed Vargas gets the first shot for Seattle, coming in from the left wing and evading Jesus Murillo before firing but it’s easily caught by Hugo Lloris.

43 - Chance! Rusnák sends in a free kick that nearly finds Morris but Lloris punches it away. Jon Bell gets to the rebound and has a couple attempts but the first is blocked and the second is cleared by Maxime Chanot.

50 - Goal, LAFC. Ryan Hollingshead has the finish on a ball from Mateusz Bogusz as Yeimar can’t beat him to the ball and the shot goes just out of the reach of Stefan Frei. 1-0 LAFC

59 - GOAL! An own goal to level the score as Obed Vargas sends a ball across goal that’s headed for Morris, but put in the back of the net by Chanot! 1-1

67 - Chance! Morris gets a diving header on a great cross from Alex Roldan off of a set piece, but the header just misses.

87 - Save! Long has an acrobatic attempt headed for the bottom corner, but Stefan Frei gets down to paw it away. A rebound falls to an LAFC player, but their close-range shot is blocked out for a corner.

90+4’ - Stop! Denis Bouanga works through most of the defense, but can’t beat Jackson Ragen as the defender puts his body in the way and sends the ball out for a corner.

90+5’ - Save! Frei comes up with an incredible reaction save on the following corner, stopping a header from the 6-yard box from Hollingshead.

91 - Shot. Bouanga gets out into a sprint down the wing and is able to be corralled, but he finds Timothy Tillman at the top of the box. Tillman gets a shot off, but Frei is able to catch it.

100 - Save! Frei again, this time denying Bogusz with a huge kick save!

105 - Shot! Vargas has a rip from 25 yards out and sees his shot go just over the bar.

108 - Shot! Georgi Minoungou gets the ball around midfield and drives before shooting from distance and forcing Lloris into giving up a corner with a diving save.

109 - GOAL! Jordan Morris turns and hits a first-time shot into the top corner to beat Lloris and put Seattle in front! 2-1 Sounders

120 - SAVE! Frei comes up huge one more time, getting both hands to a shot from Hollingshead and slamming into the post for his efforts to keep Seattle in front.

Quick thoughts

A big moment for Jordan Morris: Despite having the best season of his career, having won the starting Mo. 9 spot for Seattle and putting up one of the best non-Obafemi Martins+Clint Dempsey seasons from any Sounders striker in the MLS era, Jordan Morris has consistently been questioned. There are valid critiques of Morris, as well as plenty less valid ones, but the fact that in many of the team’s biggest moments he has not been the player who stood up and scored the needed goal. He hadn’t scored against LAFC since the 2020 playoffs, but tonight he stepped up when the team most needed a goal and scored a gorgeous one to boot.

Dealing with absences: The big news coming into this game was the absences of Nouhou and Paul Rothrock, both mainstays during the second half of the season on the left side for Seattle. In their stead, Brian Schmetzer inserted Jon Bell and Reed Baker-Whiting as he shifted the team into more of a three centerback setup and played Bell as the left-most of the three centerbacks with RBW operating as a left wingback. They put in a great pair of performances, particularly Bell who played all 120 minutes in his first start since the opening Leagues Cup game against Minnesota on July 26. They’ll both likely be back to the bench for the next round, but through no fault of their own.

Anything can happen: This result wasn’t supposed to happen. LAFC were the top seed in the West with big names and big talents throughout their roster. The Sounders needed penalties (twice) to get through the Houston Dynamo, only scoring one goal across both legs, and LAFC have had their number in a way that would be almost comical if it hadn’t caused so much heartache. But especially in the playoffs, none of that means anything when it comes to one single game. Seattle persevered and came out on top. No matter what comes next, we know that our Sounders can handle it. We only have to believe, and they’ll put in the work. Some team is going to win MLS Cup, so why not hope that it could be us. It could happen.

Notable quote

Player spotlight

Stefan Frei – There’s no clean sheet, but Frei made 9 saves, each and every one of them a beauty to behold. His distribution was good, but his saves are the reason the Sounders are on to the conference finals.