SEATTLE - The Seattle Sounders are officially playoff bound. And they're playing at home to boot.
The Sounders defeated Real Salt Lake 2-1 on Sunday at CenturyLink Field to secure a spot in the 2016 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, the team's eighth straight posteason berth. Midfielder Alvaro Fernandez scored his first goal of the season in the third minute and midfielder Cristian Roldan added his fourth goal of the year in the win in front of 50,002 fans.
The win pushed the Sounders into fourth place in the Western Conference and assured them home field advantage in the Knockout Round against fifth-seeded Sporting Kansas City at CenturyLink Field on Thursday, Oct. 27 (7 p.m., FS1/UniMas/KIRO 97.3 FM). The Sounders lost both meetings during the regular season to Sporting Kansas City, but prevailed in the same Knockout Round scenario in 2015 against the LA Galaxy at CenturyLink Field.
Single-game tickets for the match are on sale now.
The Sounders are now 5-0-2 in their last seven games at CenturyLink Field and are 6-3-3 in the postseason all-time at home, including two wins in Seattle in 2015. They are also the only team in MLS history to make the playoffs every year of its existence.
FC Dallas finished first in the Western Conference for the second straight season, followed by the Colorado Rapids in second. The LA Galaxy finished third and RSL held on for a playoff spot despite Sunday's loss to Seattle, finishing sixth. The reigning MLS Cup champion Portland Timbers finished seventh and missed the postseason, becoming just the third reigning champion in MLS history to fail to qualify for the playoffs.
