Huge crowd sees Sounders pound Portland

SEATTLE – Eddie Johnson scored his 14th goal of the season just minutes after an own goal gave Seattle the lead, Fredy Montero added another in the 62nd minute, and the Sounders raced past Portland 3-0 on Sunday night before a crowd of more than 66,000.

Johnson’s goal in the 28th minute gave Seattle a 2-0 lead and helped the Sounders move into third place in the Western Conference, two points clear of fourth-place Los Angeles. The fourth-place team in each conference must play an extra playoff game against the fifth-place team in the final regular season standings. Seattle is three points behind second-place Real Salt Lake with games still remaining against L.A. and Salt Lake.

The official attendance of 66,452 was the second largest for a stand-alone match in league history.

The only other crowd to better Seattle’s mark was the first match in league history when Los Angeles hosted New York at the Rose Bowl in 1996 in front of 69,255.

It was the second-largest crowd to see a Sounders match, behind a friendly against Manchester United in the summer of 2011.