Site Logo

Sounders begin pursuit of Western Conference title

Published 2:42 pm Tuesday, November 22, 2016

By Nick Patterson

With so much going on — the Apple Cup on Friday, the Seahawks in the midst of another good season — Seattle Sounders FC can get a little lost in the mix. So here’s a reminder that Tuesday night is the first leg of Seattle’s MLS Western Conference final tie against the Colorado Rapids. The game is at 7 p.m. at CenturyLink Field.

The Western Conference champion will be determined over two legs between Seattle, which is the fourth seed from the conference, and Colorado, the second seed. The team that advances to the MLS Cup championship game is the one that’s ahead after combining the scores of the home-and-home set, with the tiebreaker being whichever team scored more away goals. The MLS Cup will be a one-game, winner-takes-all affair against the Eastern Conference champion — either Toronto FC or the Montreal Impact — on Dec. 10 at the home site of the team with the better record during the regular season. That game would be at CenturyLink Field if Seattle and Montreal are the finalists.

The Sounders head into the first leg off the news that midfielder Nicolas Lodeiro was named the MLS Newcomer of the Year on Monday. The Uruguayan international has been a sensation since arriving in Seattle in late July, notching four goals and eight assists in the 13 regular season games he appeared in.

Meanwhile, Colorado is without one of it’s top players as goalkeeper Tim Howard has been shut down for the season. The Rapids announced last week that the U.S. international had a fracture of the right adductor longus in his upper groin, and he underwent surgery last Thursday. That is a major hit for Colorado and could benefit the Sounders.

You Might Like