Seattle Sounders vs. Leon result: Morris, Montero goals move MLS side a step closer to Champions League semis

Simon Borg

Seattle Sounders vs. Leon result: Morris, Montero goals move MLS side a step closer to Champions League semis image

A shorthanded Seattle Sounders team thoroughly outplayed Club Leon, the fourth-place team in Mexico, and came away with a 3-0 first-leg win in their quarterfinal series which started in Seattle.

The two teams will meet again on March 17 in Mexico, where even a two-goal loss would see the Sounders advance. The winner of the series will take on the survivor of the NYCFC vs. Comunicaciones (Guatemala) quarterfinal series.

Fredy Montero scored two goals in the first half and Jordan Morris scored an important third goal in the final minute as the Sounders built a sizable lead and put themselves in good position to advance to the semifinals.

Cristian Roldan was the star of the match for Seattle with a hand in all three goals. He earned the penalty kick which Montero converted, and then delivered two pinpoint crosses for the other two goals — one right-footed cross for Montero's second and one left-footed delivery to Morris — to help the Sounders build a commanding advantage in the series.

The Sounders were missing several of their best attacking players due to injury (Nicolas Lodeiro, Raul Ruidiaz and Will Bruin), but it didn't matter. They still created chances at will and it was only a sensational showing by Leon goalkeeper Rodolfo Cota that prevented the Sounders from securing a more lopsided scoreline.

As Seattle failed to convert chance after chance, there was a sense that perhaps Leon would find a way to break the heart of the Sounders' faithful. 

The turning point may have occurred with 15 minutes remaining. That's when the VAR signaled to the referee to take a second look at a potential Roldan hand ball in the Seattle box. The deliberations took some time, but ultimately a prior offside nullified the hand ball offense.

That episode was followed by a Seattle substitution that allowed Morris to move into a center forward position. That increased the attacking threat and led to several more chances, including a third goal in the 90th minute, which makes for a bigger second-leg hill to climb for Leon.

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Seattle Sounders vs Leon final score

  1H 2H Final
Seattle Sounders 2 1 3
Club Leon 0 0 0

Goals:
SEA — Fredy Montero (penalty) — 31st min.
SEA — Fredy Montero (Cristian Roldan) — 39th min.
SEA — Jordan Morris (Cristian Roldan) — 90th min.

(All times Eastern)

Fulltime: Seattle Sounders 3, Club Leon 0

90th min.: Goal Seattle! Cristian Roldan with another cross and Jordan Morris, playing centrally, puts it home. Seattle's going to Mexico with a three-goal lead. Two more minutes of stoppage time.

84th min.: SUB — The aptly-named Armando Leon comes on for Leon's David Ramirez, and moments later Leon have to clear the ball off the line. Another chance that Seattle can't convert.

83rd min.: Another amazing stop by Leon 'keeper Rodolfo Cota, who comes way off his line to thwart Jordan Morris.

82nd min.: SUB — Danny Leyva comes in for Seattle scoring hero Fredy Montero. Now Jordan Morris will be the highest forward on the field.

75th min.: The VAR signals to the referee to check a potential hand ball in the Sounders' box allegedly committed by Cristian Roldan. But replays show there was an offside prior to the hand ball. So no penalty and Roldan is off the hook.

72nd min.: This game has set up nicely for Seattle. Leon is trying to find a way through and the Sounders are waiting for them and looking to pounce on a turnover.

68th min.: Albert Rusnak with a shot on goal! It was stopped by Leon goalkeeper Rodolfo Cota through traffic. That was a hard one to spot for the 'keeper. Seattle need to put one of those away. They're keeping Leon in this.

65th min.: SUB — Leon's Oscar Villa comes in for Luis Montes. Leon boss Ariel Holan is doing anything he can to wake his team up at this point.

56th min.: Now it's time for Jordan Morris to find Albert Rusnak wide open in the Leon box, but the playmaker can't get the ball on frame! The Sounders are wreaking havoc in transition.

50th min.: The Sounders have looked good to start the second half. A Cristian Roldan cross finds Jordan Morris in the box, but Leon 'keeper Rodolfo Cota once again is alert.

46th min.: SUBS — Kelyn Rowe on for Alex Roldan at right back to start the second half. Meanwhile, Club Leon makes three changes.

Santiago Colombatto (for Angel Mena), Elias Hernandez (for Jean Meneses) and Fede Martinez (for "Jefecito" Rodriguez) are on. It's worth noting that Leon have a big Liga MX game against Tigres on Saturday, but it really feels like they're pulling back by taking off Mena and Meneses.

Halftime: Seattle Sounders 2, Leon 0

Halftime: It was the perfect first half for a Seattle team missing several key players against the fourth-place team from Mexico. Joao Paulo is owning the midfield, and his sidekick Obed Vargas is allowing the Brazilian to push high. After a slow start, Fredy Montero buried a penalty kick and then made a perfect forward's run on the second. Cristian Roldan was key on both goals, drawing the penalty and delivering the first-time cross for the second.

Leon will be looking for at least one goal in the second half, while Seattle's mission will be to get one more and keep the shutout. (Total away goals are the tiebreaker if the teams are even on goals at the end of the second leg.)

39th min.: Goal Sounders! Montero with a second. The Roldan brothers combine down the right and Cristian is again the catalyst — he whips in a quick cross and Montero's there at the edge of the six-yard box to poke it home.

36th min.: What a chance for Leon! Angel Mena controls nicely in the box and puts the ball on his left foot, but the shot is weak and Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei stops it low. The Sounders don't want to see Mena with the ball at his feet in the box. He has the skill to make something out of nothing.

31st min.: Goal Sounders! Fredy Montero sends Rodolfo Cota the other way. Great penalty and the Sounders get this match off on the right foot.

29th min.: Penalty Sounders! Angel Mena rams into the back of Cristian Roldan who beats him to a ball in the box. Fredy Montero set to take it.

27th min.: What a ball by Joao Paulo (again) to Albert Rusnak in the box. But the Seattle midfielder wasn't aggressive enough and didn't attack the ball. Between the lack of urgency and the defender and goalkeeper converging, Rusnak wastes the chance.

22nd min.: Beautiful through ball by Joao Paulo for a run behind the defense from Jordan Morris. But Leon goalkeeper Rodolfo Cota beats him to the ball. The Sounders are threatening when they reach the Leon box.

19th min.: Yellow card for Seattle's Nouhou for a shove that stopped a promising Leon attack on the corner of the Sounders' box. Andres Mosquera went down, and he did well to get in behind Nouhou.

14th min.: That man again, Joao Paulo with a set-piece delivery into the box, and Fredy Montero doesn't get a good header on it. It was shaping up to be a decent chance. Montero isn't looking sharp to start this game.

10th min.: Seattle's Joao Paulo makes an important defensive intervention in his own box. He's already all over the field and we're just 10 minutes in.

5th min.: Lively start to this one with both teams exerting the press and having some success. It's making for a choppy game so far.

1st min.: We're off in Seattle.

9:50 p.m.: A reminder that away goals is the tiebreaker in the CONCACAF Champions League and the Sounders will not want to concede.

9 p.m.: This first leg presents a big opportunity for Seattle especially with Leon missing starting forward Santiago Ormeno.

Seattle Sounders vs. Leon lineups

Both teams rested players during league play on the weekend ahead of this first-leg match at Lumen Field in Seattle. 

Key players Cristian Roldan and Jordan Morris were both held out of the starting lineup in the most recent MLS match so they could be at their best here. The Sounders will need them with influential midfielder and captain Nico Lodeiro (adductor) missing out along with key forwards Will Bruin (calf) and Raul Ruidiaz (hamstring).

Seattle Sounders starting lineup (4-4-1-1, left to right): 24-Stefan Frei (GK) — 5-Nouhou Tolo, 3-Xavier Arreaga, 28-Yeimar Gomez, 16-Alex Roldan — 13-Jordan Morris, 6-Joao Paulo, 73-Obed Vargas, 7-Cristian Roldan — 11-Albert Rusnak — 2-Fredy Montero

Seattle Sounders subs (7): 30-Stefan Cleveland (GK), 14-Samuel Adeniran, 21-Reed Baker-Whiting, 22-Kelyn Rowe, 23-Leo Chu, 25-Jackson Ragen, 75-Danny Leyva

Leon has its own key absences with starters Omar Fernandez, Osvaldo Rodriguez and forward Santiago Ormeno all out. Their forward line is still plenty dangerous with experienced attackers who can cause problems.

Leon starting lineup (4-2-3-1, left to right): 30-Rodolfo Cota (GK) — 28-Jose "Avion" Ramirez, 6-William Tesillo, 21-Jaine Barreiro, 4-Andres Mosquera —  8-Ivan "Jefecito" Rodriguez, 26-Fidel Ambriz — 16-Jean Meneses, 10-Luis Montes, 13-Angel Mena — 7-Victor Davila

Leon subs (7): 1-Alfonso Blanco (GK), 2-Gary Kagelmacher, 9-Federico Martinez, 11-Elias Hernandez, 22-Santiago Colombatto, 36-Oscar Villa, 40-40-Armando Leon.

MORE: Latest updates from Mexico riot

How to watch Seattle Sounders vs Leon

  • Date: Tuesday, March 8
  • Time: 10:06 p.m. ET
  • USA TV channels: FS1, TUDN
  • USA streaming: fuboTV
  • Canada streaming: fuboTV, OneSoccer.ca

Tuesday's CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal first leg between the Seattle Sounders and Leon from Lumen Field will be broadcast on FS1 (English) and TUDN (Spanish) in the USA.

Both those channels can be streamed on fuboTV in the USA and new users can take advantage of a free trial.

The match is also available on fuboTV in Canada, which carries the Champions League through OneSoccer.

Simon Borg

Simon Borg Photo

Simon Borg is a senior editor at The Sporting News who has covered football/soccer for over a decade. A supporter of Italian club Parma Calcio from his years growing up in Europe, he was previously a long-time member of Major League Soccer's digital media team, as a multimedia content producer, on-air personality, and Editor-in-Chief. Based in New York City, Borg is multilingual and has covered the domestic and global scene for TSN since 2021.