Sanna Nyassi scored for the fourth time in three games and Designated Player Alvaro Fernandez added the game winner as Seattle booked their place in the postseason with a 2-1 victory against Kansas City at CommunityAmerica Ballpark Saturday night.
Kansas City, now on the brink of postseason elimination, need to win their final three games and hope Colorado fails to earn a point in their final two matches to have any chance of participating in the playoffs.
The Sounders earned a place in the MLS Cup playoffs for the second straight season only days after winning their second-consecutive U.S. Open Cup title against the Crew on Tuesday.
Nyassi, who had two goals on Tuesday, completed a give-and-go with Nate Jaqua in the 65th minute, and had his first shot saved by Nielsen before he slid the rebound under the Kansas City goalkeeper to give his team a 1-0 lead.
Kansas City tried valiantly to come back, but Seattle put the game away in the 78th minute when substitute Alvaro Fernandez slithered his way through the defense to slide the ball past Nielsen.
The home team grabbed a consolation goal in the 84th minute when Jeff Parke took down Bunbury in the penalty area and Arnaud finished past Keller for his fifth goal of the year.
Kei Kamara glanced a shot off the post in the waning seconds for the Wizards, who now face a must-win matchup against Chicago next Tuesday. Seattle face tune-ups against Chivas USA and Houston remaining before the postseason begins.
Both sides took their time settling into the game with the first real goal-scoring chance coming in the 11th minute. After Kei Kamara earned a free kick just inside Seattle’s half, Matt Besler rose to met Ryan Smith’s free kick at the back post, forcing Kasey Keller to make a fine reaction save.
Both sides exchanged back-to-back clean looks but failed to score in the 35th minute. Bunbury started it off, hitting the crossbar with a header from a Roger Espinoza cross. Besler followed a minute later by sending a header directly into Keller’s hands from a corner kick before Fredy Montero squandered the chance of the half.
After fighting off Espinoza following a long clearance, Montero found himself alone with Wizards goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen but sent his dipping drive just outside the far post, prompting frustration from the roughly 50 Sounders fans who made the trip from the Pacific Northwest.
Scoring Summary:
SEA -- Sanna Nyassi 2 (unassisted) 66
SEA -- Alvaro Fernandez 2 (unassisted) 78
KC -- Davy Arnaud 5 (penalty kick) 84
Seattle Sounders -- Kasey Keller, James Riley, Jeff Parke, Patrick Ianni, Leo Gonzalez, Sanna Nyassi (Tyrone Marshall 89), Osvaldo Alonso, Nathan Sturgis, Steve Zakuani (Alvaro Fernandez 74), Fredy Montero (Nate Jaqua 65), Blaise Nkufo.
Kansas City Wizards -- Jimmy Nielsen, Michael Harrington, Jimmy Conrad, Matt Besler, Roger Espinoza, Davy Arnaud, Craig Rocastle (Birahim Diop 85), Jack Jewsbury (Graham Zusi 73), Kei Kamara, Teal Bunbury, Ryan Smith (Josh Wolff 68).
Misconduct Summary:
SEA -- Osvaldo Alonso (caution; Persistent Infringement) 28
SEA -- Fredy Montero (caution; Delaying a Restart) 61
KC -- Teal Bunbury (caution; Reckless Foul) 63
KC -- Davy Arnaud (caution; Reckless Tackle) 81
SEA -- Nate Jaqua (caution; Reckless Foul) 81
Referee: Kevin Stott
Referee's Assistants: Bill Dittmar; Brian Poeschel
4th Official: Mark Kadlecik
Attendance: 11,522
Time of Game: 1:53
Weather: Partly Cloudy-and-75-degrees
