LAFC routs Seattle, San Jose beats Real Salt Lake in MLS tournament round of 16

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Diego Rossi scored on a penalty kick early in the first half and provided the clinching goal in the 82nd minute, and Los Angeles FC thumped the reigning MLS Cup champion Seattle Sounders 4-1 early Tuesday morning.

LAFC advanced to the quarterfinals of the MLS is Back tournament by getting a measure of revenge for last year's Western Conference final when Seattle pulled off a 3-1 upset in Los Angeles on its way to winning the league title.

"We created a lot of chances, which is something that we feel very good about, and when we needed them to finish the game out we kept going," LAFC coach Bob Bradley said.

Even without reigning league MVP Carlos Vela, LAFC pressured and flustered the Sounders early and never let up. LAFC outshot Seattle 25-11. At times, the Sounders couldn't play the ball out of their own defensive end due to the pressure of LAFC.

Except for a brief stint of the second half when Seattle threatened, it was a dominant performance by LAFC that set up a matchup with Orlando City in the quarterfinals on Friday.

"It was a measuring stick for us. And we failed tonight," Seattle coach Brian Schmetzer said.

» READ MORE: Tuesday's MLS Is Back Tournament TV schedule

Rossi was the leader of LAFC's buzzing attack. He scored twice and probably should have scored two or three more times. Rossi drew Xavier Arreaga's foul in the penalty area and beat Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei in the 14th minute for the early advantage.

Latif Blessing doubled the lead in the 39th minute when his shot toward the far post was deflected by Seattle defender Shane O'Neill and into the net. Frei appeared to be in position to make the save, but O'Neill shifted his shoulder and deflected the attempt.

Rossi provide the insurance goal after Seattle had cut the deficit to 2-1. He took advantage of another defensive mistake by Arreaga and regained the two-goal advantage. Rossi now has seven goals in the tournament. Brian Rodriguez added another goal in the 89th minute.

"Diego has been a really good player every year, but he's grown," Bradley said. "He's improved, he's worked really hard on his finishing, his ability to take balls on the move, to make runs through the defense. He's relentless."

Seattle had four extra days of rest, but looked lethargic for most of the match. It took 65 minutes before the Sounders got a shot on LAFC goalkeeper Kenneth Vermeer.

But the Sounders managed to create a nervous final 20 minutes for LAFC. Substitute Will Bruin scored in the 75th minute for Seattle to cut the deficit to 2-1 in his first appearance in more than a year after a major knee injury.

Raul Ruidiaz nearly pulled Seattle even moments later, but Vermeer made an excellent reaction save.

"We gave them some goals. You're never going to beat a team like LAFC — or really any team in MLS — when you play like that," Schmetzer said.

Magnus Eriksson scored on a pair of second-half penalty kicks, Chris Wondolowski added another late goal and the San Jose Earthquakes continued their impressive MLS is Back tournament run with a 5-2 win over Real Salt Lake on Monday night.

The Earthquakes advanced to the quarterfinals of the tournament and will face either Columbus or Minnesota United on Saturday in the final eight.

"The team is growing game after game, showing a very positive attitude, their unity, their sacrifice, but more than anything is how they play," San Jose coach Matias Almeyda said through a translator. "The best thing for a coach is being able to get the max level out of each individual player because I know that will allow us to have growth."

Eriksson scored on a penalty drawn by Tommy Thompson in the 49th minute to give the Earthquakes a 2-1 lead. A dozen minutes later, Vako Qazaishvili found Andres Rios on a diagonal run behind the Real Salt Lake defense. Rios passed back in front of goal where Vako had continued his run and easily beat RSL goalkeeper Zac MacMath.

Real Salt Lake pulled within 3-2 in the 75th minute on Damir Kreilach's left-footed shot. Kreilach was twice denied earlier in the second half by great saves from San Jose's Daniel Vega.

But that was as close as RSL would get. RSL finished with 10 men after Marcelo Silva was given a red card in the 84th minute for a rough tackle San Jose's Jackson Yueill, and two minutes later Wondolowski scored on a rebound. It was the third straight game with a goal for the league's all-time leader in goals scored, although scores from the knockout stages of the tournament are not part of season or career statistics.

Erickson added another penalty in stoppage time after video review ruled Kyle Beckerman should have been called for a handball in the penalty area. Beckerman was shown a red card moments later by referee Drew Fischer at the final whistle.

"I had a great feeling before both the penalty kicks so there was there was no doubt from my side," Erickson said.

San Jose was the first team to arrive in Florida in late June and the win assured it will spend part of three months in the MLS bubble.

Cristian Espinoza gave San Jose an early lead with his goal in the 21st minute on a shot MacMath should have saved. RSL answered immediately with Douglas Martinez scoring barely a minute later when his chipped shot beat Vega

“We take a lot of positives. It doesn’t feel like it when you take five goals, it never feels good,” RSL coach Freddy Juarez said. “But the guys fought their heart out. The only thing we can say is we were in the game and we fought hard. That’s all you can ask from the guys.”