They won the game but lost the chance to advance to the next round of the playoffs. That was the situation for the Seattle Sounders and their fans Wednesday night at CenturyLink Field.
The Sounders beat Real Salt Lake 2-0, but it wasn’t enough. Real Salt Lake advanced to the Western Conference final with a 3-2 aggregate victory in the two-game series, after winning the first match 3-0.
The result brings to an end the career of Sounders goalkeeper Kasey Keller of Olympia, who announced he would retire after the season.
All signs pointed to the Sounders making it to the Major League Soccer Championship this year. They ended the regular season with a record of 18-7-and-9 – the second best in the league. They won their third straight U.S. Open Cup last month. And they’ve done well in international play, moving on to the next round in the Champions League of the Confederation of North, Central and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF).
But the MLS Cup wasn’t meant to be for the Sounders this year. It’s the second disappointment in two months for Seattle sports fans, who’ve watched their teams exit the playoffs early. The defending WNBA champion Seattle Storm left the playoffs in the first round back in September.
