The Seattle Sounders are hosting FC Dallas on Saturday in Round One of the Audi 2019 MLS Cup Playoffs. Here is everything you need to know:
Matchday Guide
WHEN AND WHERE: Kickoff is at 12:30 p.m. PT on Saturday at CenturyLink Field.
WHERE TO WATCH: The match will be televised on FS1 and FOX Deportes.
WHERE TO LISTEN: The match will air on 950 KJR AM and in Spanish on El Rey 1360 AM.
ALL-TIME HISTORY: The Sounders are 14-9-9 all-time against FCD in the regular season and playoffs, including an 11-1-3 mark at home.
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Seattle wrapped up the 2019 MLS regular season with a pair of 1-0 wins over the San Jose Earthquakes and Minnesota United, landing the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference (56 points, 16-10-8). Dallas struggled down the stretch, going winless in four straight matches, before closing the season with a 6-0 win over Sporting Kansas City to grab the No. 7 seed (48 points, 13-12-9).
NEW FORMAT, WHO DIS: Major League Soccer changed the structure of the postseason ahead of the 2019 season, moving to a single-elimination, fixed-bracket format in which the higher-seed team hosts.
EXTRA TIME: If the match is tied after regulation play, two extra 15-minute periods will be played without the golden-goal rule. Should the game remain tied afterwards, both teams will take five penalty kicks (and continuing into sudden death) until a winner has been determined. Lastly, the away-goals tiebreaker no longer applies.
BUILT FOR THIS: Seattle fought through plenty of adversity this year, but they enter the Audi 2019 MLS Cup Playoffs with a roster comprised of seasoned veterans and promising new players. They’re built for another run in the postseason.
RUN IT BACK: The last time the Rave Green faced Dallas in the postseason, they defeated the Texas side 4-2 on aggregate back in 2016, a run that culminated in the club’s first-ever MLS Cup.
AUTUMN NICO: Seattle Sounders midfielder and team captain Nicolás Lodeiro is the club’s all-time leading scorer in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, with five goals from 13 matches.
CLUTCH JJ: Joevin Jones, who returned to the Rave Green midway through the season, is the club’s all-time leader in postseason assists with five, all of which came during the club’s back-to-back runs to MLS Cup in 2016 and 2017.
ONE OF OUR OWN: Seattle Sounders Homegrown winger Jordan Morris on Monday was named one of three finalists for 2019 MLS Comeback Player of the Year.
FOR CLUB AND COUNTRY: Speaking of Morris, the Mercer Island native put on an absolute clinic for the USMNT in a 7-0 win over Cuba in the CONCACAF Nation’s League, bagging a goal and three assists in the first half. You can find a full run down of all the Sounders’ competing with their respective national teams here.
THE FUTURE: For the first time in club history, the Seattle Sounders will be sending players to the FIFA U-17 World Cup. Homegrowns Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez and Danny Leyva, as well as Academy standout Ethan Dobbelaere will travel to Brazil with the U.S. U-17 men’s national team.
