SEATTLE – The Seattle Sounders will take one-goal aggregate cushion into the second leg of their Western Conference Championship matchup with the Colorado Rapids after riding goals from Jordan Morris and Nicolas Lodeiro to a 2-1 result in the first leg at CenturyLink Field on Tuesday.
Rapids forward Kevin Doyle scored the game’s opening goal for the visitors, with Morris bagging an equalizing tally in the 19th minute for the Sounders, the first-career playoff goal for the rookie forward. Lodeiro added a second on a 61st-minute penalty kick to give the Sounders the 2-1 advantage in front of 44,274 fans.
The goal was Lodeiro's fourth in the MLS Cup Playoffs, setting a new Sounders franchise record for postseason goals in just his first season with the club.
The Sounders can now afford to draw on the road in the second leg of the conference championship on Sunday in Denver and reach their first MLS Cup Final in franchise history.
The Rapids jumped on top the 13th minute after Doyle took a shot off a feed from Shkelzen Gashi that deflected off Sounders defender Chad Marshall, past goalkeeper Stefan Frei and into the net, staking the Rapids to the early 1-0 lead. The tally gave Colorado an all-important away goal, the first tiebreaker in the playoffs.
The Sounders equalized just six minutes later after midfielder Cristian Roldan teed up a shot from distance that skipped past Rapids ‘keeper Zac MacMath and deflected off the post. Morris pounced on the ensuing rebound and buried the ball into the Colorado net, knotting the contest at 1-1.
The Sounders grabbed the lead in the 61st minute after former Sounder defender Marc Burch was whistled for a foul on Lodeiro in the Colorado box, immediately drawing a penalty kick whistle from referee Chris Penso. The Uruguayan promptly capitalized, slotting his look from the past MacMath to give the Sounders the 2-1 advantage that held until the final whistle.
Midfielder Andreas Ivanschitz made his first appearance for the Sounders since spraining his knee against Real Salt Lake on Oct. 23, replacing Morris as a second-half substitute. The Rapids, meanwhile, will be without the services of midfielder Sam Cronin for the second leg, after he picked up a yellow card in the second half that leaves him suspended for accumulation.
The Sounders and Rapids will close their series at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City on Sunday (1 p.m. PT; ESPN/770 KTTH/El Rey 1360AM), with a date against either Toronto FC or the Montreal Impact in the MLS Cup Final on the line.
