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Seattle • Javier Morales was warming up on the sidelines of CenturyLink Field when he overheard a fan in the crowd of 50,022 provide an update on the score over the boarder in Vancouver about 150 miles north of Seattle.

It was near the 60th minute of Real Salt Lake's regular-season finale against the Seattle Sounders and RSL's longtime playmaking midfielder heard the update that made him do a double-take. At that moment, the Vancouver Whitecaps were leading the defending MLS Cup champion Portland Timbers 4-0.

"Are you sure?" Morales asked.

The fan said indeed he was. That's when the 36-year-old exhaled. Morales told himself he could "chill out." RSL was headed back to the MLS Cup postseason after a one-year hiatus. But it needed all the help it could get after its winless streak reached seven-straight games in Sunday's 2-1 loss to the Sounders.

A fruit basket, bouquet of flowers, whatever it is — RSL can send whichever it decides to the Whitecaps for keeping the defending champs out of the playoffs, and allowing RSL to sneak in.

Seattle's win over RSL coupled with Sporting Kansas City's 2-0 win over the San Jose Earthquakes dropped RSL to the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference. Vancouver's 4-1 win over Portland was the swing result RSL needed. RSL's in, but ever so barely, and it will face a familiar foe in Wednesday's first-round knockout match: The L.A. Galaxy, at the StubHub Center, in Carson, Calif.

"We needed everything that happened," RSL captain Kyle Beckerman said.

Seattle handled business at home against RSL as it has done the last four years. En route to their sixth-straight home victory over RSL, the Sounders took an early lead in the third minute thanks to midfielder Alvaro Fernandez. Striker Jordan Morris set up Fernandez off a cross from defender Tyrone Mears with a spectacular back-heel flick across the face of goal. All Fernandez had to do was tap it in.

That lead lasted about 90 seconds.

RSL midfielder Luke Mulholland equalized in the fourth minute after running onto a sly pass by Jordan Allen in the box. Mulholland's shot deflected off Mears and rolled into the far post. The goal was just RSL's second in its last six matches.

"Tried to slip it through the defender's legs and luckily it found the bottom corner, so happy with that," Mulholland said. "It was a good response from going one-nil down so early in the game."

In the 31st minute, Seattle's Cristian Roldan delivered what proved to be the game-winning goal. The one-time RSL draftee — he was soon after dealt to the Sounders during the 2015 MLS SuperDraft — finished an opportunity in front of goal after RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando made a one-handed save on close header by Roman Torres.

"What's really interesting is it's not always the first person that scores the goal, it's someone that's alert to the second balls," RSL coach Jeff Cassar said. "[The Sounders] were on that play."

RSL's struggles continued into the last weekend of the season, but its strong start to the year, followed by the sustained summer months, has the club in the postseason for the eighth time in the last nine seasons.

"It's a new season now," Cassar said. "What I told them is, we're in the playoffs for our body of work that we've done throughout the year … We should be proud of where we're at." —

Storylines

R RSL clinches its eighth playoff berth in last nine seasons despite loss.

• Midfielder Luke Mulholland scored RSL's goal 90 seconds after Seattle's opening goal.

• RSL faces the L.A. Galaxy in Wednesday's knockout match at the StubHub Center.