A cakewalk to an opening-round playoff bye grew a lot more interesting for the Sounders as their regular-season finale progressed.
The 24th-minute ejection of Clint Dempsey for elbowing an opponent in the head left the Sounders short-handed a good part of Sunday’s contest and nearly caught up to them in the second half. But a penalty kick miss by Dominique Badji in the 54th minute was followed by the Sounders adding a pair of Nicolas Lodeiro insurance markers for a 3-0 win over the Colorado Rapids.
Lodeiro provided that needed insurance by converting a penalty kick of his own in the 64th minute.