ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Dane St. Clair scored and Andrew Thomas hit the crossbar in the 11th round penalty shootout, but the penalty shootout was decided by the goaltender, and Minnesota United staged a shorthanded rally to beat the Seattle Sounders in a regulation 3-3 tie in the best-of-three rubber match of the MLS Cup first-round series on Saturday.
Thomas, who replaced starter Stefan Fry in the 89th minute with a penalty shootout looming, appeared to have injured his finger after a mistake by Joaquín Pereira at the start of the penalty shootout. He finished with his hands tightly taped.
The fifth-seeded Sounders got off to an even faster start in the rubber match than they did in their 4-2 win at home. Obed Vargas’ goal in the eighth minute gave them a lead they never relinquished on Monday.
This time, Albert Rushnak scored in the 5th minute with assists from Danny Musovski and defender Noujo Toro to take a 1-0 lead. Three minutes later, Musovskiy scored an unassisted goal from the center of the box for a two-goal lead.
Minnesota United made it 2-1 in the 19th minute when Pereira scored from a set piece after Seattle’s Yeymar Gomez Andrade was shown a yellow card. It was Pereira’s first goal in his sixth postseason appearance.
The fourth-seeded Loons were forced into a man down in the 41st minute as defender Joseph Rosales was given a red card for violent conduct.
Minnesota United took a 3-2 lead on a shorthanded goal by Jefferson Diaz in the 62nd minute and a goal by fellow defender Anthony Markanic in the 71st minute. Markanic came on as a substitute in the 59th minute and scored from a set piece.
Seattle didn’t gain an extra man advantage until Jordan Morris scored in the 88th minute to tie the game. Rushnak and Cristian Roldan had assists.
Stephen Fry made two saves for the Sounders.
St. Clair held off Minnesota United by five shots and advanced to the Western Conference semifinals for the third time in club history.
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AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer
