The Seattle Sounders were the superior side in almost every way in their 3-1 victory over the LA Galaxy on Wednesday night and will now host FC Dallas in a semifinal matchup on August 30th. The Galaxy looked a competitive side for the last five of the first five of the second, but aside from that the Sounders were rampant and unlucky to have scored just three.
Nate Jaqua got the scoring underway just four minutes in, making a well-timed run into the box and finishing a lovely sequence that went through first Fredy Montero and then Pat Noonan. The Sounders got on the board again in the 25th minute when AJ De La Garza's poor clearance was intercepted by Nate Jaqua who set up a cool finish from Fredy Montero, taking one touch into space and blasting past Galaxy keeper Josh Saunders. LA got one back just before the half with Adam Christman directing Chris Birchall's cross past Terry Boss to end a rampant spell that preceded the half, but despite coming out with attacking intent in the second half and testing Terry Boss early on in the second frame that would be it for the visitors.
The Sounders weren't quite done yet however, with Lamar Neagle sealing the victory with a slick finish to cap a beautiful individual effort by Alvaro Fernandez to set things up. It was at that point that the Galaxy seemed to concede, Landon Donovan being withdrawn immediately afterwards and Juninho following in short order. The Sounders threatened to add another on several occasions but in the end would be forced to settle for a 3-1 scoreline. To the Galaxy's credit they did start a strong side and went after the game with fervor, but they looked out of sync (particularly at the back) all night and looked very little like the best team in MLS.
Osvaldo Alonso, Pat Noonan, Nate Jaqua, Fredy Montero and Alvaro Fernandez all put in terrific shifts for Seattle, whose USOC unbeaten streak as an MLS team has now reached 11 games. This will also mark the Sounders fifth consecutive appearance in the semifinals dating back to the team's USL days.