The Seattle Sounders defied the odds by knocking off LAFC in the Western Conference Final on Tuesday, yet their upset victory continues a trend that more prognosticators perhaps should’ve taken note of.
With the Rave Green set for the 2019 MLS Cup final, a team from Cascadia has now taken part in the championship game for five consecutive years.
The streak began with the Portland Timbers’ 2-1 win over Columbus Crew SC in 2015, continued with Seattle’s back-to-back clashes with Toronto FC at BMO Field in 2016-17 – Seattle won the first meeting, via penalty-kick shootout – and rolled on with the Timbers’ 2-0 loss at Atlanta United last season.
Notably, with Toronto FC advancing to MLS Cup this year from the Eastern Conference, this will be the first MLS Cup Final held in Cascadia during this five-year stretch, as the final will be on Nov. 10 at CenturyLink Field (3 pm ET | ABC, Univision, TUDN, TSN, TVAS). The only previous MLS Cup final held in the region was at the same venue in 2009, when the hosting site was a neutral venue. In that one, Real Salt Lake defeated the LA Galaxy in a penalty shootout.
