On July 4th, in the 15th match of the season for both clubs, the LA Galaxy handed Seattle its 8th loss of the season.  It was also the third consecutive match in which the Sounders had conceded 3 goals.  No one knew it at the time, but both sides had reached a crossroads of sorts in their season.  LA's blistering first-half form was to cool substantially, while Seattle would go on the tear that took them from last-place in the West to the playoffs.  See the differences in results after the jump.

First I looked at Goals For and Goals Against, divided into season halves:

Seattle greatly improved their goal-scoring in the second half of the year.  The difference in GA for both clubs is stark.  The LA's inability to stop goals in the final 15 matches was almost as bad as Seattle's in the first 15.

Then I looked at Points Per Match, again divided into season halves:

LA's second-half PPM extended to a 30 match season is 45.9, which would have put them just outside the playoffs in the playoffs as the #8 seed.  Seattle's second-half PPM extended to a 30 match season would have given them 66 points.

While I concede this results-based approach to be imperfect, these look to be two clubs headed in opposite directions.  Conclusion for Sounders fans?  Hope that second-half form trends continue for the next two matches.

All calculations are mine, so I welcome any corrections.