Comunicaciones Vs. Seattle Sounders, CONCACAF Champions League: Highlights, Quotes, Stats

Make no mistake, a lot was riding on Tuesday's result. If the Seattle Sounders had failed to pull out a point, that would have meant they needed a result against Monterrey. No matter how weakened Monterrey may or may not be, there's just no way you want to go into a match with a Mexican team absolutely needing a result. You'll see that kind of urgency all over the highlights and stats.

As it was, the 2-2 tie against Comunicaciones puts the Sounders through to the quarterfinals with a chance to do so as a group winner. It also made the Sounders the first MLS team to ever go undefeated in Mexico/Central America during the group stage. The season ends today, and there's a lot to be proud of.

To get there, the Sounders took no chances with their lineup. Sigi Schmid basically rolled out a first-choice side. They didn't make it look easy, but they clearly dominated everywhere but the scoreboard. The stats show the Sounders with huge passing, possession and shooting advantages. But both of their goals were basically on scrambles around the net. That they came from Osvaldo Alonso should tell you plenty. The Sounders have clearly learned to win dirty.

Part of the problem was the soaking wet surface, but it also looked like we may have seen the Sounders suffering from tired legs for the first time this year. The passing was not quite as crisp, the link up was disjointed and the finishing was hardly clinical. Fredy Montero, Mike Fucito and Alvaro Fernandez all had chances they usually bury.

There's no reason to dwell on any of that now. The Sounders can now turn their focus to Tuesday's U.S. Open Cup final against the Chicago Fire. Yes, there's a game on Saturday, but the starters have clearly earned a day off. Getting some points from that game would be nice, but they will pale in importance to the point the Sounders got on Tuesday. 

All Statistics contained in this boxscore are unofficial

POSTGAME QUOTES - Sounders FC at Comunicaciones

Sigi Schmid - Sounders FC Head Coach

(On earning a point...) "We are very happy with the tie. We knew we at least needed to get points here...I thought we made a couple of mistakes that were uncharacteristic of us, especially with Kasey Keller making that kind of mistake. I think we bailed him out tonight. But we are very, very happy."

(On the game...) "Our goal as a team was to tie. Comunicaciones was playing a lot of long balls in behind so we had to do a better job of making sure we ran and got to those long balls. Our team has very good character so I was very confident that we could come and tie the game. I think we have the most come-from-behind wins and ties in our league. It's in the character of this team."

(On Comunicaciones...) "I think Comunicaciones played very well. They played with tremendous heart and desire. It was very evident that they were playing with a lot of emotion. I think they played better than they played us in Seattle, for sure. And then the early goal helps them. We had some chances, didn't get one, finally got one. I thought Comunicaciones did a good job, had a good game plan, was a little more direct than maybe we would have expected, but I thought they were very dangerous."

Osvaldo Alonso - Sounders FC Midfielder

(On scoring two goals...) "I'm very happy. I'm very proud of myself. We get a result tonight. We get to advance to the next round, which is good for the team."

(On importance of the game to him...) "For me, unbelievable. [...] Now, the main focus for me is to keep winning as we go into the next round. [...] Now everybody is happy. Everybody is proud of us. So now we keep going."

(On his goal celebration after first goal...) "I did that because ... it's my wife's birthday. I'm very happy for that. I think it's good for her."

Tyson Wahl - Sounders FC Defender

(On the importance of the result...) "Obviously it's an exciting time for the team. We are kind of set up to do that this year. Last year we weren't satisfied with our performances in this tournament so this year I think we really showed our depth, showed how we have grown and matured as a team and the expectations keep on rising and we are meeting the new high expectations. So I think we are all excited. It was a sloppy tonight. It was definitely raining hard but we got the job done. Ozzie obviously had timely goals and we made it interesting. We come out of here with a tie and advance, good times."

(On Osvaldo Alonso...) "Even though he doesn't score most the goals he's our most valuable player. I think if you ask anyone else they would say that. So even if he is not scoring goals he is making a difference elsewhere. Tonight he was finishing off some of his chances so it's good."

(On the defense...) "I think we had some miscommunication issues. Sometimes we were stepping when we should have been just dropping off. As I said they were really looking to get behind us. On the first goal it could've been offside, I'd like to look at it. We definitely should have been backing off a little bit more. In the second half I feel like we cleaned it up a little bit."

(On looking forward...) "We are looking to continuing our success in league and getting shutouts."

(On the equalizing goal...) "It was chaotic from what I remember. I was just trying to get forward and get involved. It was on the right side. The ball bounced kind of on a deep cross, popped over Sammy [Ochoa] and a couple other guys, came to me, I trapped it. I played a short ball into Sammy and I think he ended up shooting it and knocking it back to Ozzie, maybe, from my memory. I was just trying to push forward and make something happen. I was just trying to get in a cross and the ball popped out to me and I put it back in there. Sammy did a good job backing into guys and holding the ball up for us."