Monterrey beats Sounders for group title
SEATTLE – The Seattle Sounders conceded a pair of sloppy goals and was forced to settle for second place in Group D of the CONCACAF Champions League after a 2-1 loss in Tuesday night’s group-stage finale against CF Monterrey of Mexico.
Playing in front of 15,866 fans, Seattle (3-2-1) had already clinched advancement into next March’s quarterfinals coming into the game but would have topped the group with a win or tie.
Monterrey, the defending CCL champion, finished first instead with a 4-2 record.
Looking to get even after a 1-0 loss to the Sounders on Aug. 23, the visitors took the lead for good in the 61st minute by taking advantage of a Seattle turnover. The miscue in midfield set up an open shot for Rayados forward Humberto Suazo. His attempt was blocked but midfielder Cesar Delgado finished a second chance on the rebound past rookie goalkeeper Bryan Meredith, making his Sounders debut.
Seattle, fielding a mixed lineup of starters and reserves, pressed hard for the equalizer.
Midfielder Roger Levesque had a great chance in the 62nd minute, but his header was tipped over the crossbar on a spectacular diving save by goalkeeper Jonathan Orozco.
Seattle defender Patrick Ianni had a quality chance in the 76th minute but backup Monterrey goalkeeper Juan de Dios Ibarra – who had to come on for the injured Orozco – stopped his point-blank header.
The frantic final minutes saw few clean looks on goal.
Monterrey opened the scoring in the third minute, when forward Dario Carreno collected a pass from Suazo behind a disorganized Sounders defense and finished the open chance past Meredith.
Seattle responded before halftime when Montero was tripped outside the penalty box to set up a free kick. The forward finished it himself, curling in a nice shot to tie the score at 1 at 42:00.
Montero has 11 goals in his last 11 games in all competitions (MLS, CCL and U.S. Open Cup). He has 18 goals and 10 assists overall this season.
Notes
The Sounders conclude their MLS regular season with a road game Saturday against Chivas USA in Carson, Calif. Seattle has already clinched the Western Conference’s No. 2 seed into the playoffs. … Jeff Parke started for Seattle in what was the defender’s first action since sustaining a concussion on Oct. 8.