The Sounders needed one goal to advance.
Trailing 1-0 in the second leg of their Round-of-16 CONCACAF Champions Cup match against Cruz Azul after playing to a 0-0 tie in the first leg, the Sounders simply needed a draw to advance to the quarterfinals because of the away-goals rule. When Jordan Morris sprinted toward a pass into space on the right wing in the 66th minute, it looked like the Sounders were going to have their chance.
But as Morris approached the ball, he began to pull up, a grimace on his face. The chance was gone. Morris hobbled to the sideline and was eventually substituted.
Five minutes later, the Sounders surrendered a penalty kick. Cruz Azul striker Ángel Sepúlveda calmly dispatched the attempt, effectively putting the game out of reach.
“At 1-0, we weren’t in a panic because we knew 1-1 was a good score,” Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer said. “Then 2-0 was challenging. We scored late, so there maybe we thought we had a chance, but then Cruz Azul’s quality in the final 10 minutes when we were pushing showed very clearly that they’re a good team.”
The Sounders were eliminated from the Champions Cup Tuesday, losing 4-1 against the Mexican club at the Estadio Olímpico Universitario in Mexico City. Along with Morris, who Schmetzer said suffered a left leg injury, the Sounders also lost wingback Paul Arriola to a left knee injury during the loss.
Morris and Arriola will be further evaluated before the Sounders take on St. Louis City in MLS play on Saturday, Schmetzer said.
“We took a couple injuries tonight, but we never use injuries as excuses,” Schmetzer said. “Injuries are part of our sport, and we always say the next player has to step up and fill those shoes.”
It’s the Sounders first loss in the Champions Cup since 2018, when Schmetzer’s squad was defeated by Liga MX side Chivas Guadalajara 3-0 in the second leg of the quarterfinals. The Sounders were undefeated in their past 13 Champions Cup matches, though their 2020 campaign ended in penalties against Honduran club Olimpia after a pair of 2-2 draws.
Elimination from the Champions Cup will help reduce schedule congestion that has plagued the Sounders since the season started. They will get a full week off between their match against St. Louis City Saturday and their meeting with the Houston Dynamo on March 22. Since they began Champions Cup play on Feb. 19, the Sounders haven’t had more than four days between games.
However, Schmetzer said he was disappointed the Sounders had been eliminated from the competition. He added he’s enjoyed participating in competitions that involve MLS and Liga MX teams like the Champions Cup and the Leagues Cup, which will begin in July.
“We enjoy going out and playing in different places with different challenges,” he said, “against very good opponents.”
Schmetzer returned to his preferred starting lineup against Cruz Azul. Three players who started in the Sounders’ 5-2 win against Los Angeles FC during the weekend were named starters against Cruz Azul, including defenders Yeimar and Jackson Ragen.
The third was forward Jesús Ferreira, who played 71 minutes Saturday but retained his place Tuesday, replacing the injured Pedro de la Vega. Schmetzer announced the Argentine winger did not travel with the team to Mexico City Monday, and said de la Vega’s availability will be clarified once the team returns to Seattle.
Cruz Azul manager Vicente Sánchez also named a strong lineup, though former Atlanta United forward Giorgos Giakoumakis missed out because of an injury.
Neither team generated many scoring opportunities early in the match, but Cruz Azul began to pressure the Sounders near the half-hour mark. Sepúlveda’s header off a cross from former LAFC midfielder Mateusz Bogusz looped over the crossbar in the 30th minute. Bogusz then came inches away from scoring on his own two minutes later, chipping his shot over the bar, too.
The Sounders’ defense was finally breached in the 33rd minute. Cruz Azul defender Gonzalo Piovi made a long underlapping run and was played in with a through ball. Piovi’s cutback found Mexican international Carlos Rodríguez, who’s header ricocheted off the far post and into the goal to give Cruz Azul the 1-0 lead.
Cruz Azul had multiple chances to extend their lead before halftime. A Sounders turnover led to a 1-on-1 chance for Sepúlveda against goalkeeper Stefan Frei in the 36th minute, but the Mexican forward blasted his shot over the crossbar. Sepúlveda had another opportunity in stoppage time after a Cruz Azul corner, but was blocked by Ragen.
“We weren’t able to establish any possession,” Schmetzer said. “They had the ball a lot.”
The Sounders’ situation continued to worsen right before the first half ended. While chasing down a long ball, Arriola went down holding his left knee after taking contact from a Cruz Azul defender. He was substituted for Paul Rothrock during the break.
Rothrock helped create the first real chance of the second half, running onto a goal kick and getting behind the Cruz Azul defense in the 58th minute. Rothrock tried to set up Ferreira, all alone in the middle of the penalty box, but the American striker launched his attempt harmlessly over the goal.
Morris pulled up injured eight minutes later, but the Sounders got a goal back when his substitute, Danny Musovski, pounced on a loose ball after a Seattle free kick was redirected back into the penalty area by Rothrock.
Cruz Azul’s Luka Romero, however, restored the deficit with an 85th-minute tap-in goal. Jorge Sánchez’s 88th-minute score simply reinforced the result.
Schmetzer said Cruz Azul’s pressure wore the Sounders down, resulting in the late scoring opportunities. He also acknowledged not being able to score during the first leg in Seattle hurt the Sounders in the second match because it allowed Cruz Azul to play at their own pace. Playing in Mexico City, more than 7,000 feet above sea level, likely didn’t help either, though Schmetzer said the result really came down to one simple factor.
“I don’t think my team played as well as they could have tonight,” he said. “I think there were some performances that I know we could do better. But at the end of the day, it was Cruz Azul 4, Sounders 1. We have to accept that.”
