Jordan Morris scored, had an assist and earned a penalty, and the Seattle Sounders extended their MLS is Back Tournament stay with a comfortable 3-0 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps on Sunday night.
Nicolas Lodeiro converted from the spot for Seattle's opening goal, and Raul Ruidiaz added a second-half insurance tally as the Sounders finished Group B on four points with a plus-2 goal differential. That will at least be enough to secure at least one of the top four third-place finisher spots in the last 16, though a second-place finish is also possible.
Vancouver have now conceded five goals unanswered after letting a two-goal lead slip away in a 4-3 loss to San Jose back on Wednesday. On Sunday, they were outshot 17-8 overall and 7-2 in efforts on Target.
They're still technically alive for one of those third-place spots as well, but would likely have to beat Chicago by several goals in both teams' Group B finale and get help elsewhere.
Goals
- 16' - SEA - Nicolas Lodeiro (PK) | WATCH
- 34' - SEA - Jordan Morris | WATCH
- 51' - SEA - Raul Ruidiaz | WATCH
Man of the Match presented by Heineken
Jordan Morris. The US national team wide man was a terror on the left most of the night for Seattle. His ability to carve out space inside the 18 led to Seattle's opener from the spot, and his own finish to double the lead was more difficult than it looked. He probably should've put away another goal himself the cross that he instead got a slight touch on to set up Ruidiaz's 51st-minute tap in.
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: As the Sounders advance, they may have concerns at center back. Yeimar Gomez Andrade missed out on Sunday's match with a hamstring strain, and Xavier Arreaga had to come off midway through the second after looking wobbly when he took a soccer ball to the temple.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: The Sounders' second goal was a wonderful moment of transition understanding between the night's three goal-scorers, with Ruidiaz and Lodeiro combining to spring Morris. Lodeiro's ball over the top was inch perfect, and yet Morris had a lot to do to weather Jake Nerwinski's challenge and finish past Maxime Crepeau .
- YOU MAY HAVE MISSED: Crepeau was forced off in the 58th minute after he appeared to take an inadvertent boot to the hand from Handwala Bwana. With backup goalkeeper Bryan Meredith away due to a death in the family, on came 21-year-old Thomas Hasal for his MLS debut, and he immediately made an excellent double-save on Ruidiaz and then Lodeiro to keep the deficit at three.
Up Next
- SEA: To be determined
- VAN: Thursday, July 23 vs. Chicago Fire FC (9 am ET | ESPN, ESPN Deportes in the US; TSN in Canada)
