Ruidiaz, Lodeiro cement Seattle’s place in SCCL history

SEATTLE, Washington – For the first time ever, the champion of the Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League hails from Major League Soccer (MLS), as a brace from Raul Ruidiaz and a goal from Nicolas Lodeiro earned the Seattle Sounders a 3-0 victory over Pumas of Liga MX in the second leg of the 2022 SCCL Final on Wednesday night at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington.

With the result, the Sounders claimed a 5-2 triumph on aggregate and have made history as the first winner from MLS in the SCCL era and the first Concacaf champion from the United States since the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2000.

It was a very tight, intense opening first half hour between the two teams, with scoring chances few and far between. It was not until the 32’ when the first real sign of danger came about, as Pumas FW Washington Corozo slipped behind the Seattle defense but missed over the crossbar.

Seattle’s first good look at goal came in the 42’ when a Lodeiro shot was steered just wide of the Pumas net.

Just when it looked like the teams would go scoreless into the break, Seattle found the back of the net in the 45’ when Xavier Arreaga laid a pass back and the shot from Ruidiaz deflected off a Pumas defender and into goal for a 1-0 Sounders lead. 

Pumas set out to find an equalizer and a Diogo header off a cross from Corozo in the 65’ had all the makings of a goal, only for Seattle GK Stefan Frei to deny it at the doorstep.

The Sounders were also keen to find an insurance goal late on and Pumas GK Alfredo Talavera was called on to make a save from an Alex Roldan effort in the 69’.

Things stood on a knife’s edge going into the final quarter-hour, and it would be Seattle that would strike next in the 80’, as a counterattack saw Jordan Morris cut back to Lodeiro, who then played to Ruidiaz and it was a strong finish into net from the Peruvian to make it 2-0.

Seattle then tacked on a third goal for good measure, with Lodeiro pouncing on a shot off the post and firing into net in the 88’ to round out the 3-0 scoreline.