MLS Playoffs knockout rounds:
Seattle Sounders 1-0 Sporting Kansas City
In trouble with only a few games left in the regular season, few are those who would have put a penny on Seattle’s chances first to qualify to the playoffs. here they are now in the Conference semis thanks to a Nelson Valdez goal to face the best team of the season – FC Dallas.
Sounders interim coach Brian Schmetzer reacts:
“Valdez’s goal is the biggest goal of our season. He has character, a never-say-die attitude, he’s a winner, he’s played in World Cups. The players respect him, the coaching staff respects him. I could go on. He’s just a really, really good human being.
It shows the resiliency of the team and how hard we fight. We believed the whole season that we would make the playoffs. Now that we’re here, we want to win the whole thing”.
The Impact upset DC United by scoring four goals and is the only team to qualify to the Semifinal with an away win.
Impact coach Mauro Biello reacts:
“We were focused on our task, and that’s what we saw on the field tonight. Our team was ready to fight and to do what it took to win. We are really happy with this result, and we’re confident that we’ll do well in the next two games.
I congratulate my players on what was probably their best performance of the year. Now, we turn our focus to an important game on Sunday. We’ll recover well over the next two days and be ready to go.”
