Goaltender Dayne St. Clair made five saves and then delivered the game-winner in the 10th round of a shootout as 10-man Minnesota United rallied to defeat the Seattle Sounders on penalty kicks following a 3-3 tie in a first-round playoff clincher Saturday at Saint Paul. Minn.
Minnesota United finished with a 7-6 advantage in the shootout to advance in the best-of-three series.
St. Clair stutter-stepped and then drove a left-footed shot into the left corner of the net to start the 10th round and give the Loons the lead in the shootout. Minnesota United rallied from an early 2-0 deficit to force extra time.
Seattle goalkeeper Andrew Thomas’ right-footed attempt to try and send the shootout into an 11th round caromed off the crossbar.
Minnesota United advances to play the winner of Sunday night’s game between top-seeded San Diego FC and the Portland Timbers in the Western Conference semifinals.
Joaquin Pereyra had a goal and an assist, while Andrew Mackanich and Jefferson Diaz also scored goals. Minnesota played the final 59 minutes with 10 men after midfielder Joseph Rosales was shown a red card for violent conduct after headbutting Sounders forward Jesus Ferreira in the face during an argument.
Danny Musovski had a goal and an assist, and Jordan Morris and Albert Rusnak also scored goals for Seattle. Stefan Frei made two saves before departing in the 89th minute for penalty-kick specialist Thomas.
Seattle needed only eight minutes to jump out to a 2-0 lead. Rusnak, unmarked on the left side of the box, made it 1-0 in the fifth minute with a one-touch right-footed shot off a Musovski pass into the far-right corner.
Musovski extended the lead to 2-0 three minutes later when he chipped in a Ferriera crossing pass into the upper left corner of the net. The pass, following a short corner on the right side of the box, went past Loons defender Morris Duggan who whiffed in his attempt to try and clear the ball as it went past him on the edge of the 6-yard box.
Minnesota cut the lead to 2-1 in the 19th minute when Pereyra’s left-footed free kick from outside the middle of the penalty box curled past a diving Frei and into the right side of the net.
Three minutes after St. Clair kept it a one-goal deficit for Minnesota with a kick save of a Morris point-blank shot from the edge of the 6-yard box, the Loons were reduced to 10-men.
The Loons tied it 2-2 in the 62nd minute on Diaz’s first career goal with Minnesota, a header at the back post off a Duggan flick-on header after Michael Boxall’s cross.
Minnesota took its first lead in the 71st minute when Markanich headed in Pereyra’s long corner kick inside the far left post.
Seattle tied it 3-3 in the 88th minute when Morris sliced in a right-footed shot from the middle edge of the 6-yard box off a short pass from Cristan Roldan following a corner.
–Field Level Media
