Seattle Sounders rally to take lead in Western Conference Championship

Seattle Sounders midfielder Nicolas Lodeiro has been named the Major League Soccer 2016 Newcomer of the Year.

Only this time around, the Sounders have a shiny, new weapon to unleash on what was seemingly an impenetrable defense, considered the best in MLS.

There is something insatiable in the way Nicolas Lodeiro plays soccer.

They did this while facing one of the top defensive midfield duos in MLS in Sam Cronin and Jermaine Jones.

Thanks to a freakish bounce and a controversial penalty, the Seattle Sounders took a 2-1 lead in the MLS Western Conference finals over the Colorado Rapids Tuesday evening at CenturyLink Field.

The scoring started early in the match when Kevin Doyle scored on the deflection to give the Rapids a 1-0 lead.

Both the Sounders and Rapids will feel like they had chances to do better, especially Seattle.

“He has proven over the course of seven months – until July – that he is a first-rate goalkeeper in this league”, Colorado coach Pablo Mastroeni said.

However, both Toronto and Colorado navigated this task well and will have home supporters behind them in the next games.

CenturyLink Field in Seattle created a raucous atmosphere for the home side, with over 40,000 fans in attendance. The victor advances to the MLS Cup Final against the Eastern Conference champion.

Morris, who drew the Sounders level in the first half, said there was no issue with the hamstring strain that prevented him from joining up with the United States squad over the recent worldwide break. “So I think that balancing act, in the end, was OK for us”. A deflected ball rolled to Lodeiro in the penalty area and he was taken down by Marc Burch.

“Jordan touched the ball, and I went for (it)”, Lodeiro said.

“Do you want to get me in trouble?” “It was a clear penalty”. The Uruguayan smashed his spot kick down the middle for his fourth postseason goal, easily beating goalkeeper Zac MacMath, the fill-in for the injured Howard. The Sounders, it should be said, have been held scoreless in just one of the 18 games since Brian Schmetzer took over.

But the goal was not even among his most impressive moments. He also led his team in shots, completed passes in the Colorado half, and successful crosses.

“He’s unbelievable”, Morris said.

The Rapids made a decision to go with MacMath as their starter this season, trading their second-round pick of the 2017 draft to Philadelphia to retain him.

That’s a fine result for Seattle considering the start, but that away goal could loom large for Colorado. The first came in the 31st minute when a waist-high cross found striker Nelson Valdez for an attempted volley from six yards out. The University of Washington product embarked on a long run in the 20th minute, and when no Colorado defender closed him down, he unleashed a long shot that ricocheted off the post.

“What we wanted was to come here and find that goal – the road goal – and I think the guys did a fantastic job in the first half of pushing the game at times”, Mastroeni said.

The Rapids reached the MLS title game twice, losing in 1997 and winning in 2010.