With goals early and goals late, the Seattle Sounders rolled to a 4-2 win on Sunday evening over the New York Red Bulls at CenturyLink Field, the club's first multi-goal victory since March 16 in Chicago, also a 4-2 final score.
In the second minute, Cristian Roldan earned a Seattle corner, which Nicolas Lodeiro sent flying into the box. Gustav Svensson, oddly not credited with what should have been an assist, sent it onward to Jordan Morris, who chested it into the back of the net for an early lead. The goal is Jordan's second of the week after scoring for the United States Men's National Team in a friendly against Uruguay on Tuesday.
21 minutes later, Morris returned the favor. Roldan sent a cross over the box to the left side, then Morris headed it back to the right and Lodeiro's waiting foot. The Uruguayan midfielder tapped it in to double Seattle's lead.
Despite the Red Bulls equalizing the match in the second half, an own goal by Sean Davis in the 83rd minute put the Sounders back in front. Lodeiro then sealed New York's fate with a 94th minute goal on a counter-attack that needed the Video Assistant Referee's (VAR) help to officially be counted. Seconds later, the final whistle sounded.
The win is Seattle's second in a row at home and shoots the club up the Western Conference table to 49 points and second place, one above Minnesota United in third place and six above the seventh place team in the conference, who hold the final playoff spot.
With most teams having four matches left in the MLS regular season, pressure is every team on to maximize every point available and hold higher seeding with the league's new single-elimination playoff format starting this year. LAFC have already secured the conference's top spot and the only playoff bye.
The Sounders will now face FC Dallas in a mid-week match at CenturyLink Field on Wednesday, kicking off at 7:30 p.m. 950 KJR's Pre-Match Show will start at 7:00. On Saturday, Dallas lost 4-0 against the Fire in Chicago.
After seeing the returns of ten players from International Duty, as well as Victor Rodriguez finally making an appearance returning from a hamstring injury, the Rave Green are healthy and ready to hit the MLS playoffs in full force. Check out highlights from the 4-2 win on Sunday below, as well as KJR's Postgame Show and interviews with various key players.