Seattle Sounders eliminate Vancouver Whitecaps from Champions Cup | OneFootball

By Justin Ruderman

Seattle Sounders FC ousted Cascadia rivals Vancouver Whitecaps FC 5-1 on aggregate in the Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16, following a 2-1 second-leg victory on Wednesday in Spokane. 

The Sounders, who won 3-0 in the first leg at BC Place,  will meet either FC Cincinnati or Tigres UANL in the quarterfinals next month. 

Seattle nearly put the tie to bed within the first minute of the match as Albert Rusnák found himself with a close-range opportunity, but sent his finish wide of the mark.

The Whitecaps responded by growing into the game, resulting in their lone goal via Jeevan Badwal's guided curler from the top of the box, nestling into the top left corner despite a touch from goalkeeper Stefan Frei.

Pressure mounted in the second half as Vancouver threw numbers forward in an effort to close the aggregate gap, but that only allowed Seattle to slam the door shut with a pair of goals at the other end.

First, Danny Musovski equalized with a towering header in the 79th minute before Paul Rothrock added the nail in the coffin on the counterattack in the 83rd minute.

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Three Things

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