LAFC’s dreams of an MLS Cup treble ended in cruel fashion on Saturday, with Jordan Morris scoring four minutes into the second overtime period to give the Seattle Sounders a 2-1 victory in the Conference Semifinals. West before a sold out crowd of more than 22,000 spectators. A cold fall night at BMO Stadium.
LAFC, which appeared in the final two games of the MLS championship, was looking to become the first team in 17 years to play for the title in three consecutive seasons. But those hopes were dashed by a Seattle team that was outplayed but never gave up, building on a stellar nine-save night from goalkeeper Stefan Frei for its first win over LAFC in 11 games.
The Sounders, whose only other win in Los Angeles came in the 2019 Western Conference semifinals, got their other first goal from LAFC defenseman Maxime Chanot on an own goal midway through the second half.
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Ryan Hollingshead scored the only goal for the black and gold in the 50th minute.
Seattle will face the winner of Sunday’s second conference semifinal between the Galaxy and Minnesota United in the Western Conference final next week.
Although LAFC played for the 50th time this season, Saturday’s game was its first in 15 days, a pause in the playoffs necessitated by the FIFA international break, while Seattle had been off since Nov. 3. But while some LAFC players complained that they were robbed of the long layoff. Although they lacked momentum and rhythm, the Sounders accepted it because it allowed Morris and Albert Rusnák, the team’s two leading scorers, to return from injury.
Morris exited Seattle’s playoff opener last month after 52 minutes with a hamstring injury. But his return failed to win back the Sounders. Nouhou, the team’s solid full-back, did not return from international duty with Cameroon after falling ill, while midfielder Paul Rothrock was out with a quadriceps injury. They were replaced on the left side by defender Jonathan Bell and teenage midfielder Reed Baker-Whiting, who combined for two minutes of play in the first round of the playoffs.
LAFC was unable to take advantage of that inexperience during a goalless first half in which they failed to get a shot on goal. It was the fourth time in four games that LAFC failed to score in the first 45 minutes.
The second half has been a different story, with seven of LAFC’s last nine goals coming after the intermission. Hollingshead got the last of those Saturdays, waving his right arm to catch the attention of Mateusz Bogusz, then running towards the center of the box before scoring a right-footed shot from Frei.
That was the only chance LAFC had of Frei as the short-handed Sounders, playing in the conference semifinals for the 14th time in 16 seasons, refused to weaken. And Chanot got them back into the game nine minutes later, sticking his right foot into a cross from Obed Vargas aimed at no one in particular and deflecting it into his own goal to tie the score with half an hour remaining.
After that, LAFC turned up the pressure again, launching a pair of shots on goal four minutes apart, neither of which really bothered Frei. However, the Seattle goalkeeper had to single-handedly stop an attempt by Aaron Long in the 87th minute to keep the score tied.
LAFC didn’t give up in overtime, putting three more tries on Frei in the first 12 minutes and pushing another two just wide of the left post. But again the Sounders, who spent most of the night playing defense, going more than an hour without a shot on goal, bent without breaking to set up Morris’ game-winning goal.
The decisive score came after LAFC’s Ilie Sánchez headed a corner kick from the edge of the box. Seattle’s Cristian Roldan volleyed into the penalty area, where LAFC’s Kei Kamara unsuccessfully battled a Seattle defender for the ball, which bounced toward Morris. The Seattle forward turned to his left to set up his shot, then launched a right-footed try just inside the far post, keeping the Sounders undefeated in their last 10 games and sending them to the conference finals for the first time since 2020.
This story originally appeared on Los Angeles Times.