MLS wrap: Salt Lake through despite loss, Kansas also advance

Real Salt Lake held on to advance to the MLS conference finals on Wednesday, while Sporting Kansas City cruised through.

The Seattle Sounders almost produced a remarkable comeback against Real Salt Lake, falling just short on aggregate after a 2-0 home win.

In veteran goalkeeper Kasey Keller’s last game before retirement, the Sounders netted in the second half through Osvaldo Alonso and Lamar Neagle.

But Real Salt Lake, coming off a 3-0 win in the first leg, held on despite the Sounders piling on the pressure late in the encounter at CenturyLink Field.

Seattle had 26 shots in the clash, but failed to find the third goal they needed to send the game into extra time.

The Los Angeles Galaxy hold a 1-0 lead over the New York Red Bulls and they will meet in their second leg on Thursday to book a place against Real Salt Lake in the Western Conference final.

Meanwhile, Sporting Kansas City cruised into the Eastern Conference final as their 2-0 second-leg win over the Colorado Rapids gave them a 4-0 aggregate victory.

An unmarked Aurelien Collin headed in the opener on 27 minutes before CJ Sapong did likewise in the second half as he also capitalised on sloppy marketing at a set piece.

Collin also hit the post after the break as the victors were on the front foot for the majority of the encounter against an undermanned Colorado outfit.

Kosuke Kimura, Drew Moor and Caleb Folan were all missing through injury for the Rapids, while Tyrone Marshall was suspended after picking up a red card in the first leg.

The Houston Dynamo lead the Philadelphia Union 2-1 after the first leg of their tie, with the winner to meet Sporting Kansas City.

The winners of the respective conferences meet in the MLS Cup on November 20.