Four MLS quarterfinals went over 400 combined minutes this weekend and produced a grand total of five goals. They brimmed with tension and tenacity, with tough tackles and tight tactics. They were high on drama, but perhaps a bit short on quality — until LAFC visited Seattle on Sunday night.
The reigning champs weathered a Rave Green storm in the second of two Western Conference semis. The Sounders, over two long hours, looked like the better team. But it was LAFC that produced the classiest 10 seconds of the playoff round, and emerged with a 1-0 win.
It was Timothy Tillman who sprayed a sharp ball out to the left, and Cristian Olivera who dummied it and unlocked the Sounders defense. Then it was Denis Bouanga, the league’s top scorer, who did the rest. He carried the ball in stride, at speed, straight into the penalty area. And then he picked out the top corner.
The Sounders doubled LAFC’s shot total and quadrupled LAFC’s shots on goal. But Bouanga’s strike held up as the only breakthrough, in large part thanks to goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau. Crépeau made several massive saves, in the game’s opening minutes and again late on.
LAFC held on, and will now host the Western Conference final on Saturday at BMO Stadium. It will welcome the Houston Dynamo, which beat Sporting Kansas City 1-0 in Sunday’s first quarterfinal. And it will be 180 minutes away from a second straight title.
