GUATEMALA CITY — The Seattle Sounders became the first team to clinch a berth in the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League, getting an 89th-minute equalizer from Osvaldo Alonso for a 2-2 tie with Comunicaciones on Tuesday night.
The goal was Alonso’s second of the match. He also scored just before halftime. On his second score, Alonso gathered in a ball that squirted loose inside the six-yard box and tapped it into an open net.
The draw clinched Seattle’s place in the knockout stage just a year after the Sounders finished at the bottom of its CONCACAF group.
Comunicaciones took a 1-0 lead in the seventh minute Tuesday after Transito Montepeque controlled a long ball from Carlos Mejia that sailed over the top of the Sounders’ defense. Montepeque then chipped it past veteran goalkeeper Kasey Keller from about 25 yards out.
Just when it looked like Comunicaciones would head into the break with a one-goal lead, Alonso equalized for Seattle when his side volley from about 18 yards deflected past Paredes.
Erwin Morales reclaimed the lead for Comunicaciones in the 64th minute. He controlled a botched punch attempt by Keller on a corner kick and shot through a maze of legs from the edge of the six-yard box to make it 2-1.
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