MLS / Liga MX Report: Seattle Sounders Win League's Supporters' Shield While Queretaro Upset Top-Ranked Club America
Major League Soccer (MLS)
The Seattle Sounders took home the Supporters' Shield -- given to the Major League Soccer (MLS) team with the best record, for the first time in team history after beating the LA Galaxy 2-0 Saturday night.
Marco Pappa came off the bench in the 73rd minute and broke the 0-0 draw at the 85th minute after Obafemi Martins found the midfielder open in the box, blasting the shot past Los Angeles keeper Jaime Penedo to go up 1-0. Pappa would score the second goal to give his team the Supporters' Shield in the fifth minute of stoppage time in the second half, stealing the ball Penedo as he was dribbling it upfield and chipped a shot into the empty net.
"It was great to win, and to win the game at the end like that," said Sounders coach Sigi Schmid about their win on Saturday. "Obviously, a tie would have gotten the Shield as well, but this gives it a little more pizzazz."
The Portland Timbers came to bitter end on Saturday needing to earn points against FC Dallas and a loss or tie by the Vancouver Whitecaps to capture a spot in the single-elimination Wild-Card Knockout Round.
For the latest sports news, follow @LatinPostSports on Twitter
Portland's Darlington Nagbe and Maximiliano Urruti helped the Timbers do their part, as they defeated Dallas 2-0 but Vancouver took care of business against against the Colorado Rapids after Kendall Waston after heading in Pedro Morales corner kick past keeper Clinton Irwin to advance his team into the postseason.
The Western Conference playoffs round out with the fifth-seeded Whitecaps facing fourth seed FC Dallas in the Wild-Card Knockout Round. Seattle will face the wild-card winner while second-seeded LA Galaxy battle the third seed Real Salt Lake.
In the Eastern Conference, New York Red Bulls forward Bradley Wright-Phillips tied Chris Wondolowski and Roy Lassiter for the MLS single season goal record, scoring his 26th and 27th goal of the season against the defending MLS champions Sports Kansas City to beat them 2-0.
Sporting Kansas City vs New York Red Bulls
The win moved New York up in the standings to fourth place, giving the Red Bulls home-field advantage in the Eastern Wild-Card Knockout game against fifth-seeded Sporting KC.
Number one seed DC United awaits the winner of the wild-card game while the second-seed New England Revolution go up against third-seeded Columbus Crew.
The 2014 MLS Playoffs begin Wednesday night with the MLS Cup being played on Dec. 7.
LIGA MX
Having lost their last three games against Tijuana, Atlas, and León, Queretaro earned a huge win against Liga MX leader Club America Friday night, helping their chances to advance to the 2014 Liguilla playoffs.
Ronaldinho may have been shut out but teammate Camilo Sanvezzo carried Queretaro, scoring the opening goal of the game in the 25th minute, taking advantage of America's shoddy defense. Teammate William Fernando da Silva made it 2-0, off Sanvezzo's assist on the breakaway in the 44th minute before America came storming back with goals from Oribe Peralta (in the 66th minute) and Luis Mendoza (74th minute). But Sanvezzo would have the last word, breaking down the defense in the third minute of stoppage time in the second half to seal the deal for the home team, giving Queretaro the 3-2 victory.
The last-minute goal by Sanvezzo was his 10th of the year, putting him ahead of Monterrey's Dorlan Pabon (nine goals) for the lead in Liga MX's scoring title and leaving Queretaro in ninth place with 18 points, just one behind Cruz Azul.
Cruz Azul, who struggled at the start of the season, is holding on to the last playoff spot, having won three of their last games with one draw and only one loss in their last five games, including this weekend's win over 3-1 win over Morelia.
America finishes the weekend leading Liga MX with 29 points, but the loss to Queretaro also helped out second place team Atlas. Atlas had to comeback against Puebla but managed to beat them 2-1 to keep pace with America, ending the day with 27 points with only three games left before the Liguilla playoffs commence.
Atlas vs Puebla
FOR MORE LIGA MX, MLS AND SOCCER NEWS, VISIT LATINPOST.COM'S SPORTS PAGE