SEATTLE, Washington – The journey to secure a spot in the 2022 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League Final begins on Wednesday night, as the Seattle Sounders host fellow Major League Soccer (MLS) side New York City FC in the 2022 SCCL semifinal first leg at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington.
Seattle advanced to their second SCCL semifinal and first since 2012-13 by virtue of eliminating Honduran side FC Motagua 5-0 in the Round of 16 and Club Leon of Mexico 4-1 in the quarterfinals.
NYCFC will compete in their first ever SCCL semifinal after topping Santos de Guapiles of Costa Rica 6-0 in the Round of 16 and then edging Comunicaciones of Guatemala in the quarterfinals, 5-5 via the away goal tiebreaker.
Since NYCFC’s entry into MLS in 2015, the two teams have met five times in league play, with NYCFC holding a slim 3W-0D-2L advantage. In the two games played in Seattle, NYCFC recorded a 2-0 victory in 2016, while the Sounders earned a 3-1 win in 2018.
The series also marks the first time that two teams from the U.S. have ever faced each other in an SCCL semifinal and it is just the third all-U.S. knockout round series, with the Columbus Crew-Real Salt Lake 2010-11 quarterfinal and Philadelphia Union-Atlanta United 2021 quarterfinal being the others.
Seattle are no strangers to playing at home in the SCCL, and they will seek to improve upon their 15W-2D-7L record in front of their fans.
Helping the cause is FW Fredy Montero, who has three goals in the current edition and 10 in his SCCL career. The Colombian is one goal away from becoming the all-time top scorer from MLS in the SCCL and will be leaning on the support of MF Cristian Roldan, who has four assists in Seattle’s four SCCL matches.
NYCFC can counter with plenty of strength as well, namely Valentin Castellanos and Talles Magno, who have four and three goals, respectively, in the 2022 SCCL.
Another key presence for the visitors will be MF Maximiliano Moralez, who has supplied a goal and an assist and leads the team in fouls received (10).
A plethora of attacking pieces on both sides should make for an exciting spectacle in Seattle.
