The Portland Timbers and the Seattle Sounders are back for their second leg in the MLS playoffs Western conference semifinals and the match will be on at 11:00 pm on the NBC Sports Network from Jeld-Wen Field in Oregon and will be streaming online as the Timbers and Sounders try to advance to the next round.
The two teams come in as a couple of the most consistent in the league and their fan bases are very motivated and passionate and after getting a nice away win against Seattle on Saturday night, the team has the advantage with a 2-1 goals lead on aggregate heading into their home matchup. Eddie Johnson did not score for the Sounders, and it wasn't enough to get the home victory and now the team is down a goal against the Timbers as they head into one of the toughest places to play in the league. The Timbers are the number one seed heading into the playoffs in the west and Seattle was the number four seed after getting a draw with the Galaxy to finish the season and now they will try their best with Clint Dempsey and Johnson to get back ahead to try and pull the upset to advance, which would match what Houston did to the Red Bulls in the East.
Check here for the MLS playoffs live coverage for the Sounder and Timbers from Portland.
Goalie Donovan Ricketts will be a player to watch and he comes in on a hot streak after not allowing a goal at home and that hasn't happened in like two months, as the last time back against Real Salt Lake and that is a team they could end up playing in the Western conference final round. The teams come in head to head with Portland winning twice and Seattle three times overall and the record this year is 1-1-1 as each team has put up a win and a loss with one draw in the mix as well and on Thursday night, Dempsey and Johnson will be looked at as the top threats for the Sounders and they will need to play their best after losing out on the first leg.
The other side of the bracket has the Los Angeles Galaxy and Real Salt Lake and the Galaxy are looking to win their third straight championship and their fifth one overall as well. Seattle is one of the best teams in the league and they lucked out with a goal at the end of the match from Osvaldo Alonso and that allowed them to at least have a chance in the second leg, as now they need to win by two goals to advance and that could mean some aggressive play come Thursday night. The two teams know each other well and Portland made it as the first seed after getting into their first MLS playoffs and now they have the chance to advance to the finals.
Johnson had his 10th goal this season and Darlington Nagbe was able to add a goal later for the 2-0 lead and that could end up being a crucial score for the team as they play the second leg. The team won its anticipated first matchup on the road and that could propel them to the title. The Sounders defeated the Colorado Rapids to advance out of the knockout round and now they are trying to comeback to make it to the conference finals against either the Galaxy or Real Salt Lake, with LA looking for their fifth title overall after winning the first leg at home 1-0. The Houston Dynamo and Sporting Kansas City will play in the east and the western finals will start up on Sunday and the MLS Cup comes in December. This time the cup will be at whoever has the best record and Seattle and Portland will play Thursday night to see who advances