The Seattle Sounders defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1 on Wednesday night at ONE Spokane Stadium in Spokane, Wash., in Leg 2 of the Round of 16 of the Concacaf Champions Cup. Seattle advances to the Quarterfinals via a 5-1 aggregate score after a 3-0 win in Vancouver in Leg 1 last week. Jeevan Badwal opened the scoring in the first half for the Whitecaps on Wednesday before Danny Musovski and Paul Rothrock scored four minutes apart late in the second half to seal the win.
Albert Rusnák almost gave the Sounders a dream start inside the opening minute, but his shot from the center of the box went begging and missed to the right.
The Whitecaps’ first look at goal came in the 14th minute when Sebastian Berhalter whipped in a free kick from just outside the left side of the 18-yard box that was right at Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei.
Vancouver took the lead in the 24th minute when Badwal hit a one-timed effort with his left foot from the top of the box off a dropped pass from Brian White. The 20-year-old’s shot was tipped by Frei but ricocheted off the far post and into the net to cut Seattle’s aggregate lead to 3-1.
Osaze De Rosario had a wonderful opportunity in the 58th minute when he beat two Whitecaps defenders to a loose ball in the final third, but his eventual shot went over the crossbar.
Musovski leveled the match and iced the series in the 79th minute when Tacoma Defiance loanee Peter Kingston clipped a ball to the center of the box where the recent North Macedonia international rose for a towering head that beat goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka.
The Sounders added one more for good measure in the 83rd minute when Kingston got in behind again and put in a dangerous ball to the middle of the box looking for Musovski. The ball sailed just past Musovski’s head but found the late run of Rothrock, who smashed home the game’s go-ahead goal and made it 5-1 on aggregate. The goal was the third in as many matches for Rothrock, who also scored in Leg 1 and tallied the winner in San Jose over the weekend.
Takaoka made a great diving save in the first minute of stoppage time to prevent a third Sounders goal from Nikola Petković from the edge of the box.
The Sounders will take on the winner of fellow MLS side FC Cincinnati and Liga MX’s Tigres in the quarterfinal. FCC holds a 3-0 aggregate lead after Leg 1 last week, with Leg 2 slated for Thursday in Monterrey.
Seattle now returns to MLS action on Sunday for a road match in St. Paul against Minnesota United (11:30 a.m. PT; Apple TV).​
The Seattle Soccer in Spokane momentum will continue next week as Reign FC kicks off a three-game series in the Lilac City.Â
THREE TAKEAWAYS
Dry Sider Display
The Sounders hosted a competitive match in Eastern Washington for the first time, giving their fans on the other side of the state a home victory to enjoy while Lumen Field in Seattle undergoes FIFA World Cup renovations.
CCC Pedigree
Still the only Major League Soccer team to win the modern iteration of CCC, the Sounders return to the quarterfinals for the first time since that cup-lifting season in 2022.
Super Subs
Sounders Head Coach Brian Schmetzer sent on Musovski, Rothrock and Kingston in a triple-substitution in the 65th minute, and the trio made the difference on Wednesday night. Musovski and Rothrock each got on the score sheet with Kingston providing the assist on both goals.
