Seattle Sounders coach Sigi Schmid said he encouraged his players to keep the momentum going into the club's 3-0 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps on Wednesday night, which earned the Sounders a spot in the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals.
"The thing we talked about right before the game was 'Hey, we're starting to get a rhythm, we're starting to win games, confidence is growing,'" Schmid said after the game. "This is just another game in that sequence.
"Obviously we're pleased with the result. It gets us into the next round. Our options were better," Schmid said. "We're talking about sequencing ourselves, building our confidence and continuing to win games."
Lamar Neagle scored two goals as Seattle completed Group F play at 2-1-1 and seven points. Vancouver still can tie on points by beating Olimpia in Honduras on Oct. 22, but the Sounders own the tiebreaker on goal differential, 4-1. The teams drew 1-1 in Vancouver on Aug. 5.
The Sounders beat the Whitecaps this past Saturday by a 3-0 scoreline as well to clinch the Cascadia Cup for the first time since 2011.
Schmid said that the rest Neagle got on Saturday likely helped him be the spark for Wednesday's scoring. Neagle sat out for the first time all season for the Cascadia Cup match.
WE'RE BACK! �� Your #Sounders are heading to @TheChampions Knockout Round! #SEAvVAN pic.twitter.com/Yft3yatgjv
- Seattle Sounders FC (@SoundersFC) September 24, 2015
"He has played a lot of minutes and we've sort of put the mantle on him because of all the injuries that we've had," Schmid said of Neagle. "I think his legs were a little bit fresher. Also your mentality becomes a little fresher. You also wear down psychologically and sometimes the bench is also a good motivator."
Neagle scored the game's final goal in the 47th minute and said that Wednesday's brace was a relief because a loss or a draw would have bounced the Sounders from CCL play.
"After having nine goals [previously in my career] and not really having nine goals this year yet, it's nice to get two in a game," Neagle said. "Especially in a game that's important like this one and after we went up there, I wasn't able to go to Vancouver and we were able to score three goals against them. To do the exact same thing is nice."
The Sounders face Sporting Kansas City on Sunday (5 pm ET, ESPN) with just one point separating the sides in the Western Conference standings.