Sounders make noise with win at CONCACAF CL final against timid Pumas
Ruidíaz scored on a deflected shot late in the first half, added a second goal in the 80th minute and the Seatle Sounders beat Pumas to win the CONCACAF Champions League title
For many years, the Seatle Sounders talked of wanting to be the first team from Major League Soccer (MLS) to be crowned the club champions of CONCACAF, only to stumble along the way to accomplishing their goal.
It was finally achieved Wednesday night, adding another triumph to Seatle’s list of titles in record fashion.
Raúl Ruidíaz scored on a deflected shot late in the first half, added a second goal off a perfect counter atack in the 80th minute and the Seatle Sounders beat Pumas 3-0 to win the CONCACAF Champions League title.
The Sounders became the first team from MLS to claim the championship of club teams in North and Central America and the Caribbean since the current format was adopted in 2008. Seatle was the fith MLS team to reach the final and the first to finish the task.
“These are precious, precious moments. And then when you missed the opportunity a few times, you don’t want to do it too oten,” Seatle goalkeeper Stefan Frei said. “So I’m really happy we’re able to take care of this today and write history.
Nicolás Lodeiro added a final punctuation in the 88th minute with his third goal of the final ater he scored both Seatle goals on penalty kicks in the first leg last week in Mexico City when the sides played to a 2-2 draw. The title earned Seatle a spot in the FIFA Club World Cup and added to an already filled trophy case that includes U.S. Open Cup titles, a MLS Supporters’ Shield and two MLS Cup titles.
Officially, Seatle won the two-leg final 5-2. But with away goals not a tiebreaker in the final, whoever won the second leg in Seatle outright would be the champion.
“I am very frustrated and I am very proud of our team,” Pumas coach Andrés Lillini said. “We let everything on this field.”
Ruidíaz provided Seatle the lead in the 45th minute. His shot inside the penalty area deflected off Pumas’ forward Diogo and caught goalkeeper Alfredo Talavera moving the wrong direction. It set off a celebration with most of the record crowd of 68,761 cheering wildly enough to give Lumen Field a shake.
It was the largest crowd to ever atend a match in any round of the CCL. And they roared again ater the second goal. Precise passes from Alex Roldan to Jordan Morris to Lodeiro and then Ruidíaz let the striker in perfect position to beat Talavera.
“It was a great team goal. We knew those spaces were going to open up a bit when they were pushing,” Morris said.
Lodeiro’s goal just added to the party and the 3-0 win was the largest margin of victory in any CCL final match.
The sides were even at 2-2 ater a wild first leg. Pumas took a 2-0 lead thanks to a pair of goals from Juan Dinenno, the top scorer in the tournament. Seatle rallied behind two penalty kick goals from Lodeiro to draw level and simplify the second leg. The second of Lodeiro’s two goals in Mexico City came in the ninth minute of stoppage time.
But Dinenno was mostly quiet in the second leg. His best chance was a free kick midway through the second half that missed the net. Seatle goalkeeper Stefan Frei made a terrific save on Diogo’s free header in the 65th minute.
Frei was named the overall player of the tournament. Seatle also played short-handed ater Nouhou Tolo and João Paulo were subbed off with injuries inside the first 30 minutes. Seatle is concerned Paulo tore the ACL in his right knee.
“It’s been a team effort to push us over the line,” Seatle coach Brian Schmetzer said.
“Again, I can’t understate it, this is a hard tournament to win.”
Seatle managed to finish where Real Salt Lake (2011), Montreal (2015), Toronto (2018) and LAFC (2020) fell short in the past as MLS teams that reached the final. Real Salt Lake and Montreal both returned home ater pulling off draws on the road against Ligamx opponents, only to be defeated on their home turf.