SEATTLE, Wa. -- The Seattle Sounders returned home in the second leg of the Western Conference Finals of the 2017 Audi MLS Cup playoffs against the Houston Dynamo carrying a 2-0 aggregate lead. A positive result would see them through to the MLS Cup Final against Toronto FC for the second consecutive time.
Not much activity within the first 10 minutes. However, Seattle did have a good chance to capitalize in the 12th minute when Christian Roldan tried to look at Clint Dempsey in the penalty box but the Dynamo was there to clear the danger.
Victor Rodriguez scores first
It didn't take long for the Sounders to pick up right where they left off.
A good set up from the Sounders forwards was able to set up Victor Rodriguez for the opening goal of the game, giving Seattle a 3-0 aggregate lead.
Houston would finally have their first good shot on goal after 40 minutes of the first half, but Stefan Frei was up for the task and made the save.
Frei made another quick save as Tomas Martinez was able to let a shot go from the point on target.
Deuce seals it
10 minutes after the whistle for the second half started, Seattle pretty much sealed their spot in MLS Cup with a goal from Dempsey on a service from Joevin Jones. 4-0 on aggregate for Seattle.
Tempers flared in the 66th minute when Jones went in low on Martinez. Martinez would retaliate shoving Jones' head into the ground and things went off. Shoves and pushes from both sides.
After the chaos settled down, referee Hilario Grajeda called upon Video Review to sort out the madness. After review, Grajeda issued Martinez a straight red card, and Jones a yellow card. Houston would finish the match down to 10-men.
Will Bruin can't stop scoring
In the 73rd minute, Will Bruin put the icing on a cake with a chip shot goal making it 3-0 on the game, 5-0 on aggregate for the Sounders.
And that was all she wrote. The Sounders will look to reclaim glory two years running as they will travel north of the border to take on Toronto for a rematch of the 2016 MLS Cup Final.
What changes?
Nothing for this rematch changes. Both the venue and teams are the same. However, Toronto will look to claim the leagues first treble in history. Seattle, on the other hand, are the defending champs and are labeled as the underdog against the team that broke multiple league records. With the return of Sebastian Giovinco, Jozy Altidore, and still having Michael Bradley intact, the Reds are the ultimate favorites.
Sounders Head Coach Brian Schmetzer will have a decision to make, whether or not to take captain Osvaldo Alonso on the trip if he is healthy by the time MLS Cup rolls around.
You can catch MLS Cup on Dec. 9, at 4 PM EST at. The match will be shown on ESPN, UniMas, TSN, TVAS, and MLS Live.