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The Seattle Sounders have cleared the final hurdle that has traditionally been a problem for MLS teams.
Seattle defeated Pumas UNAM, 3–0, Wednesday night in front of a record crowd at Lumen Field to become MLS’s first Concacaf Champions League winner. After securing a 2–2 first-leg draw in Mexico City last week thanks to two Nicolás Lodeiro penalty kicks, the Sounders returned home knowing that a win of any kind in the second leg would be enough to claim the title. No MLS club had won the title in the CCL era (Real Salt Lake, Montreal Impact, Toronto FC and LAFC had reached the final and lost) and Mexican clubs had won every Concacaf title dating back to 2006 prior to Seattle’s 5–2 aggregate triumph. D.C. United (1998) and the LA Galaxy (2000) were the only MLS teams to previously claim a Concacaf title of any kind, but the league has never sent a participant to the FIFA Club World Cup, which is the prize that comes along with the trophy for Seattle.
