FULLTIME: The Sounders fell 1-0 to LAFC on Sunday, ending their season in the Western Conference semifinals. Denís Bouanga scored the lone goal in the 30th minute, taking a pass on the right wing and beating Stefan Frei with a laser to the far post. The Sounders' best chance came when Jordan Morris got 1v1 with Maxime Crepeau, who made a spectacular save reaching back against his momentum.

The Western Conference semifinal pits one of the league's most explosive offenses against the best defense. In Denís Bouanga and Carlos Vela, LAFC have the two players with the most prolific offensive seasons in MLS history, while the Seattle Sounders have a defense that has already posted 16 shutouts in league play.

If this game were being played in Los Angeles, you'd have to like the black-and-gold's chances a lot. Luckily, though, the Sounders were able to leapfrog their Southern California rivals on the last day of the season, meaning this game will be played in near-freezing temperatures at Lumen Field. You have to go all the way back to the pre-Brian Schmetzer era to find the last time the Sounders lost a home playoff game outright, a league-tying record stretch of 19 games.

The Sounders come into the match about as healthy as they've been all year, with every significant player fully cleared to participate after a two-week break following the first round. LAFC will have a bit more rust, having played their last first-round game about three weeks ago.

Notes

The Sounders went 0-1-1 against LAFC in the regular season, with the series' only goal coming in the 1st minute of the meeting in Southern California.
Since LAFC won their first-ever match at Lumen Field in 2018, the Sounders have gone 4-0-3 against them at home. That includes a 3-1 win in the 2020 playoffs.
LAFC are the defending MLS champs and have now gone 8-1-2 against MLS competition in knockout games across all competitions. The only loss in that time was a 2-0 defeat to the LA Galaxy in this year's U.S. Open Cup.
Bouanga has nine goals in hist past five MLS games, including three in the first round of the playoffs. That ties the league record for most goals in a five-match stretch. Josef Martinez has the record for most goals in a six-match stretch (11).