It was a game the Sounders refused to let die in a season in which they’d spent the four previous months staving off their demise on a weekly basis.
Two second-half goals Thursday night by Raul Ruidiaz to twice avoid playoff elimination at the hands of the visiting Portland Timbers, then another overtime marker by Nicolas Lodeiro to keep the dream alive. But finally, more than 120 minutes of regulation and overtime after it began, the Sounders couldn’t get it done once more, with misses by Will Bruin and Osvaldo Alonso helping seal their elimination on penalty kicks.