The Seattle Sounders will face Minnesota United in the best-of-3 first-round series. The exact dates for the matches have not yet been announced, but it is believed that the Sounders' home leg will be played on Nov. 3 or 4 due to an event at the WAMU Theater that will bleed into Lumen Field.
After flirting with the top spot in the West for much of the season, the Loons stumbled a bit down the stretch. Following their U.S. Open Cup semifinal loss to Austin FC, Minnesota went 1-2-1 in their final four league matches.
That included a 2-1 loss to the LA Galaxy on Decision Day. They had entered the day with a chance move up as high as the top spot in the West if they had won and other results had gone their way. As it was, LAFC dropped points to the Colorado Rapids, opening the door for them to move into the No. 3 spot with a win. The Loons went 4-3-2 across all competitions after Leagues Cup.
The Sounders haven't exactly set the world on fire heading down the stretch either, but they did close out the regular season with three straight wins and were unbeaten in their final four. They went 3-2-2 after winning the Leagues Cup.
Although the Sounders have an all-time record of 14-3-2 against Minnesota, two of those losses came in their two meetings this year. Minnesota beat the Sounders 3-2 at Lumen Field and then 1-0 at Allianz Field.
