On to the next round: Sounders push past Antigua

SEATTLE – The Seattle Sounders came into the home leg of their Concacaf Champions Cup tie with Antigua GFC with a 3-1 lead. A pair of goals from Pedro de la Vega in the 24th and 88th minutes and another from Paul Arriola in the 53rd minute secured an identical 3-1 home win on Wednesday, giving them a 6-2 win on aggregate.

The Sounders got off to a strong start with a pair of quality chances before the opening goal. In the 10th minute Danny Leyva hit a nearly perfect through ball for Jordan Morris as Morris split a pair of defenders, but the ball got caught up in his feet. Seattle regained the ball and Morris laid it off for a shot from Jesús Ferreira from the top of the box, but his attempt sailed high of the far corner. Then in the 19th minute Alex Roldan was able to win and keep control of the ball along the right side before sliding a ball through a few defenders for João Paulo to run onto and hit a cross intended for Morris at the back post, but goalkeeper Luis Moran was able to cut it out.

In the 24th minute Seattle found the breakthrough on a play started by Danny Leyva finding Alex Roldan with his header. Roldan played Morris in behind and Morris laid it off to de la Vega who had an initial shot blocked but followed his shot, picked up the rebound and left no doubt with his second attempt to give the home side a 1-0 lead on the night and a 4-1 aggregate lead.

The two sides exchanged looks as Antigua had a shot from the top of the box in the 30th minute that forced a decent save from Andrew Thomas in goal as he dove to his left to catch the ball and preserve the lead. The Sounders had a couple of chances to add to that lead in the 34th and 45th minutes when Ferreira first found Morris on one of his many runs that split the centerbacks but had his shot saved by the GK, then Morris got a flick on a corner kick at the near post and sent the ball to Jackson Ragen at the back post but his header didn’t trouble the ‘keeper.

Like they did in the first leg, the two sides went into halftime tied 1-1, this time with Antigua getting their goal in the first minute of stoppage time on a superb cross from midfielder Cristian Hernandez to José Gálvez ghosting in at the back post, and Galvez hit a beautiful volley that beat Thomas from close range. The play was initially flagged for offside, but after a prolonged review by the VAR team the goal was indeed awarded without center referee Selvin Brown going to the monitor to review it himself.

The Sounders, carrying a 4-2 aggregate lead, made sure Antigua didn’t benefit from any swing in momentum coming out of halftime. Paul Arriola picked off a pass in the 48th minute at the edge of the box and found de la Vega for a pointblank shot, but the GK did well to block the shot. Five minutes later in the 53rd it was Leyva again starting the play, heading down an Antigua goal kick to Arriola who hit a pass that sliced through the defense for Ferreira. Ferreira took the ball to the end line before cutting back, surveying his options and spotting the run that Arriola had continued to the top of the box before hitting his own pass through traffic for Arriola to stroke into the far post to make it 2-1 on the night.

There were looks at goal for both sides, but the most interesting incidents over the following half-hour were only technically soccer-related. First de la Vega made a run to get on a through ball that drew the GK all the way out to the sideline where rather than really trying to defend he instead tried a choke slam and shove that earned him a yellow card and Seattle a free kick in the 59th minute. Later in a stretch perfectly suited to Yakety Sax Danny Musovski, who entered the game for Morris at halftime, had a series of crashes in and around the Antigua box as he tried to find an opportunity to shoot before the play was eventually blown dead and called back for an offside at the start of the sequence.

Finally in the 88th minute Pedro de la Vega iced the game with his second goal of the night and third goal of the tournament. João Paulo hit a pass for PdlV on the right to put him in a pocket of space at the edge of the box and de la Vega carried the ball to a tight angle before finishing inside the far post and heading towards the Brougham End to celebrate. The goal made it 3-1 for the night and 6-2 on aggregate. With this result the Sounders advance to the next round where they’ll face Cruz Azul. Seattle will host the first leg of the tie next Wednesday, March 5.

Key moments

10 - Shot! Leyva plays a through ball for Morris that gets caught up in his feet, but he and Ferreira are able to keep possession with Ferreira getting a shot off from the top of the box.

19 - Chance! Alex Roldan keeps a play alive along the right sideline and plays a clever slip pass for JP who hits a cross that the GK cuts it out just before it reaches Morris.

24 - GOAL! Morris gets in behind and lays the ball of for PdlV. The first shot is blocked, but de la Vega picks up the rebound and puts his second attempt away! 1-0 Sounders (4-1 on aggregate)

30 - Save! Antigua get their first dangerous shot with a look from the top of the box and Thomas leaps to his left to catch and hold onto it.

34 - Chance! Ferreira plays a through ball for Morris who beats the defense but has his shot saved but the GK.

45 - Miss! Morris flicks on a corner to the back post for Ragen, but his header is well off the mark.

45+1 - Goal, Antigua. Jose Galvez ghosts in on Seattle’s left side and puts away a great ball from Cristian Hernandez with a fantastic volley. Initially called offside, the goal is given after review. 1-1 (4-2 aggregate)

48 - Shot! Seattle with an early look as Arriola picks off the ball and finds de la Vega in the box but his pointblank shot is blocked by the GK.

53 - GOAL! Ferreira to Arriola to retake the lead! Leyva heads a ball down to Arriola, who finds Ferreira with a through ball. Ferreira cuts the ball back at the end line and finds the run of Arriola at the top of the box and he puts it int he bottom corner. 2-1 Sounders (5-2 aggregate)

59 - Wrastlin’! PdlV gets the GK isolated out on the touchline and rather than play soccer, Luis Moran opts for some good ol’ fashioned wrastlin’ and gets a yellow for it.

73 - Chance! Ferreira finds Rothrock with a great pass, but Rothrock can’t get the ball out of his feet and collides with the GK.

87 - Crossbar! Antigua have a close look at goal following a free kick, with a header hitting off of the crossbar. The follow up shot is sent wide of goal.

88 - GOAL! PdlV bags another one! JP hits a slick through ball and de la Vega dribbles to a tight angle and puts it through the GK’s legs. 3-1 Sounders (6-2 aggregate)

Quick thoughts

MVPdlV: The campaign starts here. Although Brian Schmetzer cautioned that Pedro de la Vega needs to work on his discipline if he is going to reach his full potential – specifically noting unnecessary flourishes leading to opportunities for opposing teams – the Sounders coach was obviously pleased with the performance from the Argentine No. 10. His brace tonight and his goal from the first leg have him leading the scoring race in the tournament, but beyond the goals de la Vega was a menace all night. He created chance after chance for his teammate, showed some incredible skill and physical ability, and worked nonstop from whistle to whistle as evidenced by his 88th minute goal. Pedro de la Vega may not literally be an MVP, but we’re starting to see the player the Sounders hoped they were getting when they set a club transfer fee record to bring him here.

Jesús is reborn: Jesús Ferreira may have only come away with a single assist from this game, but he had at least as much of a shout as de la Vega for the standout performer tonight. He created five chances according to Fotmob – tied with Jordan Morris for the most on the night – and completed 44 of 50 attempted passes as he managed to be both a creative force and a crucial piece in possession as the Sounders quickly worked to calm the game down from the frantic pace Antigua started the game with. Ferreira went 2 for 2 on attempted dribbles as well as winning 4 of 6 duels during his 74-minute outing. It’s the kind of performance that he can build on, but if this is any indication of what he’ll look like going forward Ferreira’s acquisition is an absolute steal.

The road only gets rougher: Despite the scoreline, Antigua were obviously no pushovers. They gave Seattle a physical contest that pushed a number of players well outside of their comfort zone. Now things only get tougher as the Sounders advance to face Cruz Azul in the Round of 16. La Maquina currently sit fifth in the Liga MX Clausura table, but they finished top of the table in the Apertura. They boast players familiar and frustrating to Sounders fans in Georgios Giakoumakis and Mateusz Bogusz, along with a wealth of domestic and international talent at their disposal. On top of that Seattle’s MLS schedule just keeps rolling with a trip to Salt Lake and a home matchup with LAFC before each leg of their tie with Cruz Azul. It won’t get easy any time soon, but a difficult journey will make success all the sweeter.

Notable quote

Brian Schmetzer on how he rates his team’s performance and the upcoming meeting with Cruz Azul: “1 to 10, I give my team a good grade... we’ve played a lot of Mexican teams, but we have not played Cruz Azul ... We have done well, traditionally, in this tournament... we are looking forward to this challenge."

Player Spotlight

Danny Leyva – Danny Leyva was given a rare opportunity to start and play 90 minutes in midfield and did not miss his chance as he completed 83 of 96 passes including 4/6 long passes, 11 passes into the final third, had 1 successful dribble and won 8 of 12 duels (6/10 ground duels, 2/2 aerial duels).