Seattle, San Jose clinch knockout round berths in MLS tournament

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) — Cristian Espinoza scored his first goal of the season early in the second half, Chris Wondolowski provided the clincher moments after coming on as a substitute, and the San Jose Earthquakes beat the Chicago Fire 2-0 on Sunday night to clinch a spot in the MLS is Back tournament round of 16.

San Jose (2-1-2) clinched the top spot out of Group B after going unbeaten in its three matches in the group stage. San Jose opened with a 0-0 draw against Seattle, before a dramatic 4-3 comeback victory over Vancouver when Shea Salinas scored in the eighth minute of stoppage time for the win.

This time it was Espinoza providing the game-winner in the 56th minute. Midfielder Jackson Yueill found Espinoza free from his defender and Espinoza's left-footed shot beat Chicago goalkeeper Kenneth Kronholm.

Then it was Wondolowski's turn to add to his all-time record for goals scored in MLS. One minute after coming on as a sub, Wondolowski was unmarked in the penalty area and headed Carlos Fierro's cross into the net in the 83rd minute. It was his 161st goal in his 364 MLS matches.

San Jose will now get a week off before its round of 16 match on July 27 where it will play one of the third-place group teams that will advance.

Chicago (1-2-1) lost midfielder Luka Stojanovic to an apparent left leg injury late in the first half. The Fire had limited scoring chance all night, their best coming in the 59th minute when Robert Berić's shot was saved by San Jose goalkeeper Daniel Vega.

Nicolas Lodeiro scored from the penalty spot early in the first half, Jordan Morris added to the lead with his third goal of the season, and the Seattle Sounders beat the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-0 in the MLS is Back tournament on Sunday night.

Seattle (2-1-2) clinched a spot in the knockout round of the tournament, rebounding from a disappointing loss to Chicago earlier in the group stage. Seattle will finish either second or third in Group B, depending on Chicago's final group stage match. The top four third-place finishers among all the group advance to the round of 16 and Seattle has at worst clinched one of those spots.

Seattle will not play again until either July 26 or 27. The Sounders would have been the first team eliminated from the tournament had they lost.

"We're an experienced team. We understand the circumstances," Morris said. "Obviously in the championship seasons they've never been perfect. ... We understand these moments and have been through them before, so I think just that leadership that experience we have on the team no moment is too big for us. We kind of understand and know how to work through these big games."

Raul Ruidiaz also scored for Seattle, which dominated its Cascadia rivals yet again. The Sounders are unbeaten in their past nine matches against Vancouver with six of those victories.

But Morris was the star for Seattle. The winger drew the penalty that led to Lodeiro's opening goal in the 16th minute. Morris's shot caught the hand of Vancouver defender Jasser Khmiri, and Lodeiro sent Whitecaps goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau the wrong direction on the penalty.

Morris then got his own goal later in the first half collecting a chipped pass from Lodeiro, holding off his defender and beating Crepeau. Morris had two goals in Seattle's season opener back in March.

"Overall I thought it was a very, very good performance by Jordan. He highlighted his skills tremendously tonight," Seattle coach Brian Schmetzer said.

Ruidiaz added cushion early in the second half, scoring off a corner kick and a flicked header from Handwalla Bwana.

Seattle opened the tournament with a 0-0 draw against group winner San Jose and a 2-1 loss to Chicago. The Sounders will have to wait for the result of Thursday's group finale between Vancouver and Chicago to determine their placing and opponent in the knockout round.

Vancouver (1-3-0) was already short-handed entering the tournament with a number of key players opting out, and now may be without its goalkeeper. Crepeau had to be subbed out early in the second half after his hand was inadvertently stepped on. Backup goalkeeper Bryan Meredith previously left the Whitecaps in Florida due to family reasons, leaving 21-year-old Thomas Hasal to make his Vancouver debut. Hasal finished with one save.

Vancouver coach Marc Dos Santos did not have an update on Crepeau's injury after the match.

“We weren’t able to get in, we weren’t able to find a player that could have made the difference,” Dos Santos said. “There was chunks of the game that we did very well. The most important right now is for us to move on and to try to get points against Chicago.”