Jordan Morris, Stefan Frei lead Sounders to Western Conference final with 2-1 OT victory over LAFC

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jordan Morris scored in the 109th minute and Stefan Frei made nine saves to lead Seattle to a stunning 2-1 overtime victory over top-seeded Los Angeles FC on Saturday night in a Western Conference semifinal at BMO Stadium, earning the fourth-seeded Sounders a trip to the conference final.

Seattle advances to play the winner of Sunday's semifinal matchup between the second-seeded Los Angeles Galaxy and No. 6 seed Minnesota United after ending a 10-match winless streak in all competitions (0-8-2) against LAFC.

Defender Ryan Hollingshead gave LAFC the lead five minutes into the second half when he used assists from Mateusz Bogusz and Eduard Atuesta to score after a giveaway by Seattle defender Jackson Ragen.

It was the first goal this postseason for Hollingshead and his fifth in 23 playoff appearances. Bogusz snagged his third assist in nine postseason appearances over the past two seasons. Atuesta's helper was his first in seven playoff appearances.

The Sounders pulled even in the 59th minute thanks to an own goal by LAFC defender Maxime Chanot.

Seattle lost defender Yéimar Gomez Andrade to an injury in the 66th minute and Nathan Raphael Pelae Cardoso replaced him.

Morris found the net unassisted to put the Sounders on top. It was his ninth career goal in 23 postseason appearances. He scored a career-high 13 goals during the regular season.

All of Frei's saves came in the second half and overtime in his 35th postseason start for the Sounders. He allowed 33 goals through his first 34 starts with 15 shutouts. Seattle allowed a league-low 35 goals during the regular season.

Hugo Lloris stopped four shots — three after halftime — for LAFC in his first season in the league. Lloris allowed four goals through his first three postseason starts with a clean sheet.

Seattle had lost all four previous matchups with LAFC this season and scored just one goal. The Sounders lost 2-1 in LA and 3-0 at home during the regular season. They dropped a 3-0 decision at home in a Leagues Cup quarterfinal and fell 1-0 at home in a U.S. Open Cup semifinal in the most recent meeting.

LAFC entered as the highest remaining seed and would not have had to leave home to claim its second MLS Cup since joining the league in 2018. The club beat the Philadelphia Union 3-0 on penalty kicks in 2022 after a 3-3 draw in regulation. LAFC advanced to the final last season but lost 2-1 to the Columbus Crew.

The Sounders, who joined the league in 2009, won Cups in 2016 and 2019. Their only previous victory at BMO came in 2019 when they beat LAFC — that season's winners of the Supporters' Shield — 3-1 in the conference final.

AP MLS: https://apnews.com/hub/major-league-soccer

Los Angeles FC forward Olivier Giroud, left, controls the ball in front of Seattle Sounders defender Jackson Ragen during the second half of an MLS Western Conference semifinal soccer match in Los Angeles, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Seattle Sounders midfielder Reed Baker-Whiting, right, dribbles the ball over the tackle by Los Angeles FC defender Sergi Palencia (14) during the second half of an MLS Western Conference semifinal soccer match in Los Angeles, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Los Angeles FC defender Aaron Long, left, and Seattle Sounders forward Pedro De La Vega battle for a header during the second half of an MLS Western Conference semifinal soccer match in Los Angeles, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Los Angeles FC forward Cristian Olivera, left, shoots as Seattle Sounders midfielder Reed Baker-Whiting defends during the second half of an MLS Western Conference semifinal soccer match in Los Angeles, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Los Angeles FC defender Maxime Chanot, bottom right, looks away as an own goal goes into the net during the second half of an MLS Western Conference semifinal soccer match against the Seattle Sounders in Los Angeles, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Los Angeles FC forward Denis Bouanga (99) shoots over the tackle by Seattle Sounders defender Nathan (4) during the second half of an MLS Western Conference semifinal soccer match in Los Angeles, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Los Angeles FC defender Aaron Long (33) attempts a bicycle kick over Seattle Sounders defender Jackson Ragen (25) during the second half of an MLS Western Conference semifinal soccer match in Los Angeles, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Los Angeles FC players celebrate a goal by midfielder Ryan Hollingshead (24) during the second half of an MLS Western Conference semifinal soccer match against the Seattle Sounders in Los Angeles, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Seattle Sounders forward Jordan Morris, left reacts after scoring a goal during overtime in an MLS Western Conference semifinal soccer match in Los Angeles, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Seattle Sounders defender Nathan (4) reacts on the team's 2-1 win over Los Angeles FC in overtime in an MLS Western Conference semifinal soccer match in Los Angeles, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Seattle Sounders players celebrate a goal by forward Jordan Morris (13) during overtime in an MLS Western Conference semifinal soccer match against the Los Angeles FC in Los Angeles, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Los Angeles FC forward Denis Bouanga (99) reacts after missing a shot during overtime in an MLS Western Conference semifinal soccer match against the Seattle Sounders in Los Angeles, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Seattle Sounders forward Jordan Morris, left, dribbles the ball as Los Angeles FC defender Maxime Chanot chases during the first half of an MLS Western Conference semifinal soccer match in Los Angeles, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Seattle Sounders defender Yeimar Gómez (28) heads over Los Angeles FC forward Denis Bouanga (99) during the first half of an MLS Western Conference semifinal soccer match in Los Angeles, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Seattle Sounders midfielder Obed Vargas, left, shoots during the first half of an MLS Western Conference semifinal soccer match against the Los Angeles FC in Los Angeles, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Los Angeles FC goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, right, blocks a header by Seattle Sounders forward Jordan Morris during the first half of an MLS Western Conference semifinal soccer match in Los Angeles, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Los Angeles FC midfielder Lewis O'Brien (8) dribbles the ball over the tackle by Seattle Sounders midfielder Obed Vargas (18) during the first half of an MLS Western Conference semifinal soccer match in Los Angeles, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Los Angeles FC forward Olivier Giroud (9) heads the ball during the first half of an MLS Western Conference semifinal soccer match against the Seattle Sounders in Los Angeles, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Seattle Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei, right, catches the pass intended to Los Angeles FC forward Olivier Giroud during the first half of an MLS Western Conference semifinal soccer match in Los Angeles, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

NEW YORK (AP) — Chuck Woolery, the affable, smooth-talking game show host of “Wheel of Fortune,” “Love Connection” and “Scrabble” who later became a right-wing podcaster, skewering liberals and accusing the government of lying about COVID-19, has died. He was 83.

Mark Young, Woolery's podcast co-host and friend, said in an email early Sunday that Woolery died at his home in Texas with his wife, Kristen, present. “Chuck was a dear friend and brother and a tremendous man of faith, life will not be the same without him,” Young wrote.

Woolery, with his matinee idol looks, coiffed hair and ease with witty banter, was inducted into the American TV Game Show Hall of Fame in 2007 and earned a daytime Emmy nomination in 1978.

In 1983, Woolery began an 11-year run as host of TV’s “Love Connection,” for which he coined the phrase, “We’ll be back in two minutes and two seconds,” a two-fingered signature dubbed the “2 and 2.” In 1984, he hosted TV’s “Scrabble,” simultaneously hosting two game shows on TV until 1990.

“Love Connection,” which aired long before the dawn of dating apps, had a premise that featured either a single man or single woman who would watch audition tapes of three potential mates and then pick one for a date.

A couple of weeks after the date, the guest would sit with Woolery in front of a studio audience and tell everybody about the date. The audience would vote on the three contestants, and if the audience agreed with the guest’s choice, “Love Connection” would offer to pay for a second date.

Woolery told The Philadelphia Inquirer in 2003 that his favorite set of lovebirds was a man aged 91 and a woman aged 87. "She had so much eye makeup on, she looked like a stolen Corvette. He was so old he said, ‘I remember wagon trains.’ The poor guy. She took him on a balloon ride.”

Other career highlights included hosting the shows “Lingo," “Greed” and “The Chuck Woolery Show,” as well as hosting the short-lived syndicated revival of “The Dating Game” from 1998 to 2000 and an ill-fated 1991 talk show. In 1992, he played himself in two episodes of TV’s “Melrose Place.”

Woolery became the subject of the Game Show Network’s first attempt at a reality show, “Chuck Woolery: Naturally Stoned,” which premiered in 2003. It shared the title of the pop song in 1968 by Woolery and his rock group, the Avant-Garde. It lasted six episode and was panned by critics.

Woolery began his TV career at a show that has become a mainstay. Although most associated with Pat Sajak and Vanna White, “Wheel of Fortune” debuted Jan. 6, 1975, on NBC with Woolery welcoming contestants and the audience. Woolery, then 33, was trying to make it in Nashville as a singer.

“Wheel of Fortune” started life as “Shopper’s Bazaar,” incorporating Hangman-style puzzles and a roulette wheel. After Woolery appeared on “The Merv Griffin Show” singing “Delta Dawn,” Merv Griffin asked him to host the new show with Susan Stafford.

“I had an interview that stretched to 15, 20 minutes,” Woolery told The New York Times in 2003. “After the show, when Merv asked if I wanted to do a game show, I thought, ‘Great, a guy with a bad jacket and an equally bad mustache who doesn’t care what you have to say — that’s the guy I want to be.’”

NBC initially passed, but they retooled it as “Wheel of Fortune” and got the green light. After a few years, Woolery demanded a raise to $500,000 a year, or what host Peter Marshall was making on “Hollywood Squares.” Griffin balked and replaced Woolery with weather reporter Pat Sajak.

“Both Chuck and Susie did a fine job, and ‘Wheel’ did well enough on NBC, although it never approached the kind of ratings success that ‘Jeopardy!’ achieved in its heyday,” Griffin said in “Merv: Making the Good Life Last,” an autobiography from the 2000s co-written by David Bender. Woolery earned an Emmy nod as host.

Born in Ashland, Kentucky, Woolery served in the U.S. Navy before attending college. He played double bass in a folk trio, then formed the psychedelic rock duo The Avant-Garde in 1967 while working as a truck driver to support himself as a musician.

The Avant-Garde, which tourbed in a refitted Cadillac hearse, had the Top 40 hit “Naturally Stoned,” with Woolery singing, “When I put my mind on you alone/I can get a good sensation/Feel like I’m naturally stoned.”

After The Avant-Garde broke up, Woolery released his debut solo single “I’ve Been Wrong” in 1969 and several more singles with Columbia before transitioning to country music by the 1970s. He released two solo singles, “Forgive My Heart” and “Love Me, Love Me.”

Woolery wrote or co-wrote songs for himself and everyone from Pat Boone to Tammy Wynette. On Wynette’s 1971 album “We Sure Can Love Each Other,” Woolery wrote “The Joys of Being a Woman” with lyrics including “See our baby on the swing/Hear her laugh, hear her scream.”

After his TV career ended, Woolery went into podcasting. In an interview with The New York Times, he called himself a gun-rights activist and described himself as a conservative libertarian and constitutionalist. He said he hadn’t revealed his politics in liberal Hollywood for fear of retribution.

He teamed up with Mark Young in 2014 for the podcast “Blunt Force Truth” and soon became a full supporter of Donald Trump while arguing minorities don’t need civil rights and causing a firestorm by tweeting an antisemitic comment linking Soviet Communists to Judaism.

“President Obama’s popularity is a fantasy only held by him and his dwindling legion of juice-box-drinking, anxiety-dog-hugging, safe-space-hiding snowflakes,” he said.

Woolery also was active online, retweeting articles from Conservative Brief, insisting Democrats were trying to install a system of Marxism and spreading headlines such as “Impeach him! Devastating photo of Joe Biden leaks.”

During the early stages of the pandemic, Woolery initially accused medical professionals and Democrats of lying about the virus in an effort to hurt the economy and Trump’s chances for reelection to the presidency.

“The most outrageous lies are the ones about COVID-19. Everyone is lying. The CDC, media, Democrats, our doctors, not all but most, that we are told to trust. I think it’s all about the election and keeping the economy from coming back, which is about the election. I’m sick of it,” Woolery wrote in July 2020.

Trump retweeted that post to his 83 million followers. By the end of the month, nearly 4.5 million Americans had been infected with COVID-19 and more than 150,000 had died.

Just days later, Woolery changed his stance, announcing his son had contracted COVID-19. “To further clarify and add perspective, COVID-19 is real and it is here. My son tested positive for the virus, and I feel for of those suffering and especially for those who have lost loved ones,” Woolery posted before his account was deleted.

Woolery later explained on his podcast that he never called COVID-19 “a hoax” or said “it’s not real,” just that “we’ve been lied to.” Woolery also said it was “an honor to have your president retweet what your thoughts are and think it’s important enough to do that.”

In addition to his wife, Woolery is survived by his sons Michael and Sean and his daughter Melissa, Young said.

Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits.

FILE - Chuck Woolery hosts a special premiere of the "$250,000 Game Show Spectacular" at the Las Vegas Hilton Saturday, Oct. 13, 2007, in Las Vegas. (Ronda Churchill/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, File)

FILE - Chuck Woolery hosts a special premiere of the "$250,000 Game Show Spectacular" at the Las Vegas Hilton Saturday, Oct. 13, 2007, in Las Vegas. (Ronda Churchill/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, File)