The Seattle Sounders take on the Portland Timbers tonight in CenturyLink Field in the first leg of their Western Conference semifinal series (10pm, NBC Sports).
The Sounders come in having just beaten the Colorado Rapids on Wednesday in the West play-in game, but there’s no time to rest as they must now beat a rested and in-form Timbers side that will be favored in the series.
SBI will be providing live commentary on tonight’s match so please feel free to follow along here. As always, you are welcome to share your own thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.
Enjoy the action (Tonight’s commentary is after the jump):
Epic failure on the part of MLS last night; as someone else said, appearances matter.
How is anyone supposed to take this league seriously?
No to astroturf,no to using NFL stadiums, disgusting!
My wife was amazed at the sight at the Sounders/Timbers game and the comment was, “How could someone watch this?
While I agree it was practically unwatchable and really, really sad, we have to accept that this is MLS’s place right now… and it has come a loooong way.
Back in the 90s you’d see that way more often. Also, MLS is not a tv league yet, the lines dont look as bad for people in the stadium.
The Revs dont have enough support for a SSS and for the Sounders, it is a tradeoff: a SSS would be smaller and probably farther. They cant still rely on a “if you build it, they will come” take on it.
Chivas Guadalajara, arguably the team with the most supporters in Mexico built a class a stadium out of town. After believing people would come no matter what and taking very bad decisions; the stadium is sitting there empty in almost all their games. Great stadium though.
Another thing is that MLS is not a synonym of Soccer in this country. Even in by 2026 every team gets a SSS, a World Cup wont set foot on any of those stadiums. It is far more likely to have a renovated Coliseum or Rose Bowl than having any games on StubHub. Or Reser instead of Jeld Wen.
It’s just that MLS still has a long way to go. But it’s good that people freak out: It shows we dont take it as a given anymore 🙂
Evenly matched teams this year, regardless of recent form. Seattle outclassed Portland and still lost, no better CDM in MLS than Alonso!….Not a given in Portland for the second leg but I still think they’ll make it through….Best atmosphere and fans in MLS reside in Seattle, bar none!…..Field turf still sucks, though, and the NFL lines are a joke!
I think Portland is better on first touches and a little quicker on their passes and that was the difference. Too many times Sounders players let their first touch get away from them and turned the ball over, something Portland pretty much avoided. Also, Portland didn’t ;give Seattle any time on the ball, but when they had the ball they moved it very quickly, quicker than the Sounders. The two teams are very close in quality, it seems to me.
I agree with your very good assessment of both teams and their style of play. The Timbers need to be sharp AGAIN at home Thursday to beat the Sounders one more time. But a tie would also do it too for them! GO TIMBERS and get the MLS Championship!!
Seattle should have played at safeco field, on grass.
Why not make seattle a sss with all that money they have. Make it where the nba arena,was going to be made. Its easy to make a sss, just look around the world and in MLS.
Also, i thought seahawks n sounders had tge same respect n treatment?
They do but like it all business one is always stronger then the other. And tonight showed who’s stronger and when push comes to shove who is king. Yes the Seahawks allowed the Sounders in the castle but they don’t own it. Look everyone is going to freak out about the lines, how about worry about people watching the game period. MLS isn’t any any position to ask anything to the NFL but smile and take it. Until MLS has stronger legs these things happen and will continue to happen.
A big reason the MLS isn’t more popular is the preceptions people have about the league being in many ways “minor league”. Playing with the NFL lines on the field just inforces that preception in a big way. There isn’t all that many places left where this is the case and the league should continue to move away from it even if it cost them seats.
I’ve read a couple articles recently about how the NFL is good partnership for MLS. Well tonight showed how thats just not true. The line were so distracting to the match and embarassing to what should have been a big match in a big rivalary. The next legs we’ll get to see how it should be done in Portland and KC.
Those who don’t watch MLS for the lines are just looking for an excuse. If it isn’t the lines it is the refs or lack of pro/rel or salary cap or unbalanced schedule or split table or playoffs. Anything that makes it not BPL or Euro will be pointed to as an excuse. Having a few games each year with football lines does not push away a significant number of potential fans.
^ Amen!
At the end of the day I still watched and enjoyed the match. So hopefuly others did as well. I just don’t think its the best way to go in the future to grow the game.
Agree with John: these 2 games tonight just reinforce the notion that MLS is a second-rate, Mickey Mouse, fringe kind of endeavor.
And for soccer types, it’s not an excuse at all. not wanting to watch because of the lines. It’s perfectly valid: the lines suck, they’re constantly distracting, they make the real lines hard to see…
I can understand the women’s league playing on such fields, or college teams doing it. Not MLS teams.
You said a perception of being minor, well in pay, popularity, and talent it is minor league. Not saying it isn’t improving but perception is mainly based off what you really are a lot of times. You talk about how it will be done in Portland and SKC guess what clean perfect looking fields = nothing. More people won’t watch because of it so why are we freaking out about it? MLS has to many other issues to reach even the NHL or Nascar popularity that talking about lines on a field is almost sad if not pathetic.
You have to at least try and look the part.
I bet the MLS is paying big bucks for the use of the Seattle NFL stadium and the crappy, stripped field. So, why doesn’t the MLS paint over the stupid football lines before their game and then repaint the stripes afterwards since the paint shouldn’t bother the artificial turf anyway?
The owner of the Seahawks is a part owner of the Sounders. The share the stadium, staff and marketing departments. There simply is not enough time between the games to avoid the gridiron lines.
Why couldn’t they have just had the matches at like noon to give them more time?
I’ll come back and comment on the great games once the field and turf police have had their say.
Rabble rabble rabble NFL, Rabble rabble, Seahawks, Rabble rabble bush league MLS, Rabble rabble, MY EYES ARE BLEEDING!!!
Great game. Huge pace, scoring chances galore, some nice displays of skill. Ball moved like it should.
that was a fun game
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