The Seattle Sounders' 2021 Leagues Cup journey came to an end in a sad way on Wednesday at Allegiant Stadium, as a late penalty kick surrender and following insurance goal consigned the Rave Green to a 3-2 loss to Club León in the competition final.

After Cristian Roldan's 48th-minute goal, Seattle took control of the game early in the second half. After that, León scored three straight goals, with Angel Mena securing a brace before Emmanuel Gigliotti scored a late rebound goal to negate a late consolation goal from Seattle's Nicolas Benezet.

On the stroke of halftime, León had the greatest chance of the first half, thanks to a Mena corner kick that left Jean Meneses unmarked at the far post. Meneses hammered a header into the ground, but it sailed just past of Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei, allowing the Sounders to escape with a 1-0 lead.

The activity picked up in the second half, starting with Roldan's game-winning goal that put Seattle up 1-0. After Raul Ruidiaz moved him into space along the left side, the US international midfielder deflected a cross from Jimmy Medranda into the net. In the aftermath, Seattle created a handful of strong chances to extend their advantage, the most notable of which was a great opportunity for Ruidiaz, which the Peruvian blasted off the post. That blunder proved costly, as León equalized soon as the game reached the hour mark.

After Seattle's Shane O'Neill was called for a foul in his own area, León scored from the penalty spot nine minutes from time, allowing Mena to convert from 12 yards out. After Frei stopped an early breakaway attempt, Gigliotti pounced on the rebound to score the Liga MX side's last goal. During second-half stoppage time, Benezet's deflected shot entered the net for Seattle, but Ruidiaz's last-ditch attempt at a dramatic leveler went just wide.

There's no shame in losing against a club of Club León's caliber, but Seattle will be disappointed with the outcome. They led following Roldan's opening, and the two goals they conceded to fall down 3-1 were avoidable. Seattle can be proud of defeating two Liga MX opponents and giving León all they could handle to get to this stage, but the disappointment of missing out on the club's first international title will hurt for a long time.

[Photography by ICONIC photographer Alejandro Sanchez]