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First impressions: Nelson Valdez fires Sounders into the Western Conference semifinals

Nelson Valdez, of all people, fired the Sounders into the Western Conference semifinals, as Seattle edged Sporting Kansas City 1-0 in a one-game playoff on Thursday night at CenturyLink Field.

Nelson Valdez, of all people, fired the Sounders into the Western Conference semifinals, as Seattle edged Sporting Kansas City 1-0 in a one-game playoff on Thursday night at CenturyLink Field.

These are my first impressions:

– Nelson Valdez finally broke the curse.

It had been almost exactly a year since the Paraguayan forward last scored a goal in MLS play – a year almost to the day, when his goal helped the Sounders past the Galaxy in this same round of the last postseason on Oct.