Sounders will hit the road, face Toronto in MLS Cup final

Published 6:40 pm Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Seattle Sounders FC now knows its fate with regards to the MLS Cup final, and unfortunately for the Sounders that fate takes them on the road.

Seattle will face Toronto FC in the MLS Cup championship game in Toronto following Toronto’s 5-2 victory in extra time over the Montreal Impact in Wednesday’s second leg of the Eastern Conference finals. The result gave Toronto a 7-5 victory on aggregate in what turned out to be a wild and wacky conference final.

The Sounders, who are in their first MLS Cup final in their eight-year history, were hoping to host the championship game. Had Montreal, which entered the night with a 3-2 lead following the first leg and was leading on away goals midway through the second half, come out ahead the final would have taken place at CenturyLink Field, as Seattle finished with a better record during the regular season than the Impact. However, Toronto had a better record than the Sounders, and therefore has the privilege of hosting.

The championship game is at 5 p.m. PST on Saturday, Dec. 10.

The Sounders drew 1-1 with Toronto when the teams played in Toronto on July 2. However, that came before Seattle’s transformation upon the firing of coach Sigi Schmid and the signing of Uruguayan playmaker Nicolas Lodeiro in late July.