The Seattle Sounders battled the Vancouver Whitecaps to a 1-1 draw at BC Place on Sunday in the final match of the 2021 MLS Regular season.
Fredy Montero handed the Sounders a lead in the 8th minute as he calmly converted a penalty kick earned by Cristian Roldan, sending Whitecaps goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau the wrong way.
Vancouver piled on the pressure after going behind early, with the hosts generating several quality chances from set pieces. That momentum materialized in an equalizer in the 20th minute, with Brian White knocking the ball across the box for Ryan Gauld to head home.
Both teams traded chances for the duration of the opening half, with neither side able to find the breakthrough.
In the second half, Vancouver controlled the tempo for the first 15 minutes before the Sounders carved out a couple of half chances and regained a foothold in possession. Jordan Morris entered the match at halftime and, after, the Rave Green had weathered the storm, grew into the match and showed flashes of his attacking potential.
Montero denied Vancouver a chance at the go-ahead goal in the 83rd minute when he cleared Ranko Veselinović's flicked header from a corner off the line. The Sounders then generated a chance of their own to secure all three points as a spell of pressure from the Rave Green lead to a first-time shot from substitute LĂ©o ChĂº from inside the box, but the Brazilian was unable to steer his effort on frame.
The best chance of the second half fell to the Sounders in second half stoppage time. Xavier Arreaga and Montero each had opportunities score from close range after the Whitecaps failed to clear a free kick, but Crépeau managed to save both efforts.
THREE TAKEAWAYS
No. 2 Seed
Seattle's draw in Vancouver coupled with the Colorado's 5-2 win over LAFC sees the Sounders finish the MLS regular season second in the Western Conference. As the No. 2 seed, they will host Real Salt Lake in Round One of the 2021 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs. Tickets will go on sale on Monday, Nov. 8 (HERE).
CCL Clinched and Cascadia Cup Winners
While the Sounders certainly wanted to win the West, they emerged from Sunday's match with a spot in the 2022 Concacaf Champions League and the 2021 Cascadia Cup in tow.
The spot usually reserved for the U.S. Open Cup winners goes to the team U.S. based team with the highest points outside of the Supporters' Shield winner and opposite conference winner. Seattle earned this spot in the region's premier club tournament by finishing the campaign with 60 points. The also Sounders retained their Cascadia Cup title from 2019, beating out their regional rivals the Portland Timbers and Whitecaps,
Straight Ahead
With the MLS regular season wrapped up, the Sounders have on objective in mind: making another run through the MLS Cup Playoffs. With the No. 2 seed, they have clinched home-field advantage until the Western Conference Final, should the Rapids also advance that far. Seattle will use the next couple of weeks getting star players like RaĂºl RuidĂaz, JoĂ£o Paulo and NicolĂ¡s Lodeiro healthy while also ramping up preparations for their 13th consecutive trip to the postseason.
