Portland Timbers 2-1 Vancouver Whitecaps
The standings: Timbers clinch the West’s 1-seed; Whitecaps fall to West’s 3-seed
The game: For the entirety of the regular season, no one wanted to finish top of the Western Conference. That lasted until the final day of the season, as the Vancouver Whitecaps, who sat atop the West for the last two months, lost 2-1 to the Portland Timbers and fell all the way to the 3-seed (and the knockout round) on the back of the Seattle Sounders’ 3-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids. Kendall Waston put the visitors ahead on the half-hour mark, but Liam Ridgewell quickly equalized and Darren Mattocks came back to bite his old team with the game-winning goal in the 48th minute.
[ MORE: MLS at Week 34 — it all comes down to this ]
The goals
29' — Waston heads home from a free kick for 1-0 — Waston has had himself a pretty good month or so, turning into a regular goalscorer for Vancouver and helping Costa Rica clinch their place at the 2018 World Cup.
Waston powers it home to put @WhitecapsFC in front. #PORvVAN // #DecisionDay by @ATT https://t.co/8kCg2mKL7p
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) October 22, 2017
32' — Ridgewell responds quickly, and it’s 1-1 — The initial shot was saved by David Ousted, but the rebound didn’t fall very far and Ridgewell was quick to pounce.
Ridgy roll ✅ The @TimbersFC captain ties it up.#PORvVAN // #DecisionDay by @ATT https://t.co/CE1tZvqNPb
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) October 22, 2017
48' — Mattocks beats his former club, makes it 2-1 — Vytautas Andriuskevicius (Vytas) cut the ball back for Mattocks, and the Jamaican picked out the 40 square inches that weren’t completely obscured at the near post.
One. Two. Three. What a great build up from @TimbersFC to take the lead.#PORvVAN // #DecisionDay by @ATT https://t.co/fpcecGbgVL
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) October 22, 2017
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Man of the match: Darren Mattocks
Goalscorers: Waston (29'), Ridgewell (32'), Mattocks (48')
Real Salt Lake 2-1 Sporting Kansas City
The standings: Sporting KC clinch the West’s 5-seed; RSL finish 8th in the West
The game: On the bright side, RSL’s revival, which began after three games when Jeff Cassar was fired and Mike Petke was named the new boss, is complete. On the not-so-bright side, so is their season. Petke galvanized a young RSL side over the course of six months and turned them into legitimate playoff contenders, only to come up short on the final day of the regular season. Luis Silva and Brooks Lennon each bagged a goal in Sunday’s 2-1 victory over Sporting KC. Speaking of not-so-bright sides, Sporting’s regular season ends with three losses and two draws from their final five games. In that span, they went from competing for the West’s no. 1 spot, to something of an afterthought with a trip to the Houston Dynamo in the knockout round on tap.
[ MORE: MLS at Week 34 — it all comes down to this ]
The goals
3' — Silva slots past Dykstra for 1-0 — You could count the number of major mistakes made by Ike Opara this season on one hand, even after this early blunder.
Silva strikes! @RealSaltLake takes an early lead at the RioT.#RSLvSKC // #DecisionDay by @ATT https://t.co/ITqE3EJiFt
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) October 22, 2017
41' — Lennon gets two chances, makes it 2-0 — Silva drew the attention of four defenders and managed to move the ball wide to Lennon. Andrew Dykstra did well enough to make the initial save, but the rebound fell right back to Lennon, who left no doubt about it with his follow-up.
A MASSIVE goal for @RealSaltLake! The home team doubles their lead.#RSLvSKC // #DecisionDay by @ATT https://t.co/mEfaREzdys
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) October 22, 2017
89' — Opara heads home a free kick to the near post — Graham Zusi’s free kick was low and where only Opara could get to it. Opara’s header was low and where Nick Rimando couldn’t get to it.
.@SportingKC deny the shutout! It's 2-1 at the RioT.#RSLvSKC // #DecisionDay by @ATT https://t.co/BAQ7uGrJu3
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) October 22, 2017
[ FOLLOW: All of PST’s MLS coverage | Standings | Stats | Schedule ]
Man of the match: Nick Rimando
Goalscorers: Silva (3'), Lennon (41'), Opara (89')