Sounders dominate the Loons from the opening kick, securing 2nd place in the West.

A couple of things could have happened in today's match, the Sounders could secure the 2nd seed in the west or they could fall as far as fifth. Seattle decided from the starting whistle that they would secure that spot right behind LAFC.

The Rave Green's first half was near flawless. They won the possession battle at 54.8% and took 7 more shots than the Loons. They also took 7 corners to Minnesota's 1.

Seattle's dominance paid off in the 29th minute when Román Torres headed home a cross from Joevin Jones. Torres' goal was his first MLS goal in a Sounder uniform. This was his first home match since a PED suspension back in early August caused him to miss 10 games.

https://twitter.com/SoundersFC/status/1180950508405575681

United almost had an equalizer from Ethan Finlay. He had Stefan Frei 1-on-1 but his shot went off of the left post and out for a goal kick. That was Minnesota's best chance in the opening 45' and we headed to half with Seattle up 1-0.

The Loons made it a much more competitive second half. However, even with 5 extra minutes of stoppage time. They still weren't able to find an equalizer.

The Sounders played out the stoppage time and ended the match 1-0. Securing the 2nd seed out West and ensuring that they would host at least one playoff match this postseason.

The final match stats showed a dominating Sounders win. They ended with a 12 shot advantage while having 4 shots on target to Minnesota's 1. They also won the possession battle with a 51.4 to 48.6 advantage. Román Torres, who scored the game-winner, was crowned man of the match.

WHAT'S NEXT:

The Sounders will play host to FC Dallas in the first round of the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs. That match will be held on October 19th with the kickoff time still TBD. With the new playoff format, there will only be one game per matchup. In years past, there was a home and away format with away goals being weighted higher than a home goal. This season goals will be equal and it will be win or go home.

If the Sounders win, they would be guaranteed one more home playoff match. If they were to make the Western Conference Finals, then they would play at LAFC, or if LAFC didn't make it that far they would host the Conference Final.