Cristian Roldan drilled in a shot from two yards in the 31st minute to propel the Seattle Sounders past Real Salt Lake, 2-1, Sunday at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Washington.
Seattle Sounder Nicolás Lodeiro floated a corner kick from the left wing that Roman Torres hit as a header but slapped away by goalkeeper Nick Romando (team name). However, the ball deflected off Real Salt Lake's Luke Mulholland, which Roldan kicked towards the back of the net for the 2-1 lead, The News & Observer reported.
Cristian Roldan noted that he was placed in the box to pester defenders, keep defenders off his "big" teammates, and pick for them. But he was lucky to escape his defenders that resulted in a goal.
Interim head coach Brian Schmetzer showered praises for Roldan, saying that he has blossomed and showed that he can make an impact even when plating out of position. Roldan played on the right midfield before returning to his usual center midfield spot.
The Seattle Sounders went up 1-0 after just 3 minutes following a backheel pass from Jordan Morris that went to Alvaro Fernandez, who sank in a goal from the far post, according to Sounder at Heart. However, Luke Mulholland managed a shot at close range that was deflected off the instep of Sounders' Joevin Jones and past goalkeeper Stefan Frei to tie the game in the fifth minute.
With the victory, the Sounders managed to make the Major League Soccer postseason for the eight straight year. The Sounders, who have 48 points out of their 14-14-6 record, has never missed the postseason since joining the league in 2009. They will be seeded No. 4 in the West and will be hosting Sporting Kansas City on Thursday night in a knockout round.
Real Salt Lake, which has 46 points with a 12-12-10 record, also made the playoffs after defending champs Portland Timbers lost to the Vancouver Whitecaps, 4-1. Real Salt Lake will be seeded No. 6 in the West and will travel to Los Angeles to play the LA Galaxy on Wednesday.
