The Seattle Sounders defeated the San Jose Earthquakes 4-1 on Sunday on Decision Day at CenturyLink Field.
Nicolás Lodeiro scored his seventh goal of the season in the 52nd minute when he cleaned up a loose ball in the box after his own free kick. Raúl Ruidíaz scored his team-leading 12th goal of the year just one minute and 43 seconds later off a feed from Cristian Roldan, who made a great piercing run through the middle of the Earthquakes’ defense.
Marcos López answered on a free kick in the 57th minute to pull one back for San Jose.
Jordan Morris restored the two-goal advantage in the 74th minute when he finished with a cheeky dink past J.T. Marcinkowski after a beautiful slipped pass from Lodeiro.
López scored an own goal in the 80th minute when a pass from Morris deflected off Ruidíaz and then López and into the net.
The Sounders finish the regular season second in the Western Conference on 1.77 Points Per Game. Seattle will host the No. 7 seed LAFC in the Round One of the 2020 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs.
THREE TAKEAWAYS
BIG PLAYERS STEP UP
The Sounders turned to three of their best offensive weapons in Lodeiro, Ruidíaz and Morris to step up when they needed them. The trio has a combined 29 goals and 22 assists this season and answered the call to send the match squarely in Seattle’s favor just after halftime.
DECISION DAY DOMINANCE
The Sounders won on Decision Day for the seventh year in a row, which continues to bode well heading into the postseason. The last time Seattle failed to win on Decision Day was in a 1-1 draw with the LA Galaxy back in 2013.
PLAYOFFS COMMENCE
All eyes turn to Seattle’s upcoming defense of its 2019 MLS Cup title. The Sounders will open with a match against LAFC, a team they have beaten twice during the 2020 regular season.
