Seattle • Clint Dempsey curled a left-footed shot past Vancouver goalkeeper Stefan Marinovic early in the second half for his first playoff goal in two seasons, added a second goal in the closing minutes, and the Seattle Sounders beat the Whitecaps 2-0 on Thursday night to advance to the MLS Western Conference finals.
Seattle advanced out of the two-leg conference semifinals after the sides played to a 0-0 draw in the first-leg last weekend in Vancouver. The defending MLS Cup champion Sounders will face Houston or Portland in the conference finals.
The Sounders controlled possession throughout but were unable to breakdown the Whitecaps until a series of passes started by Cristian Roldan found the foot of Dempsey at the top of the penalty area in the 56th minute.